Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Power Couple

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 29 SEPT. 2014

Forget Lois Lane these days, Superman only has eyes for Princess Diana of Themyscira. Writer Soule (Swamp Thing) and artist Daniel (Detective Comics) have taken over the romantic subplot that spun out of the Justice League series. The super couple must try to keep their relationship secret while saving the world from threats from the Phantom Zone, but their privacy comes crashing down when photos of their first kiss are leaked on the Internet a twist somewhat prescient of the recent celebrity hacking outrage. But the focus is clearly on action, as Daniel remains DC's go-to artist for glorious widescreen panels of superhuman punch-fests. Soule keeps things from seeming too mindless with clever dialogue (and mildly steamy PG romance) for both Clark and Diana, and adds in delicious meddling from the Greek god Apollo for a classical flourish. Letterer Carlos Mangual also deserves kudos for wrangling Soule's sometimes overly wordy script into neat speech bubbles. The plot gets muddled and then abandoned toward the end, but that doesn't stop the book's first arc from being an enjoyable spandex romp.