All together, Superman Annual 2023 is the best issue in Williamson and Campbell's Superman run and it only makes me excited for whats to come for Superman and Lois. Read Full Review

This was maybe one of the more unexpected treats from DC in a few months as this annual over-delivered with quality storytelling, superb art and engaging characterization to make a strong pitch for more World of Metropolis specials. Read Full Review

All in all, the 2023 Superman Annual is everything a good comics annual should be. It is an introduction to the series' status quo and a continuation of the current story. This issue will also give readers a new appreciation for Superman's underrated supporting cast. Read Full Review

The main Superman series has been on hold for a few months for Knight Terrors, but this oversized art-jam one-shot fills the gap with one of the best issues of the series. Read Full Review

2023 is truly shaping up to be the year of Superman, and the Superman Annual is a perfect example as to why. Read Full Review

Superman 2023 Annual is a great break from the focus on the Man of Steel himself, opting to focus on worldbuilding and establishing more of the supporting cast. This issue is a rare occasion when using a variety of artists actually works. The reveals are big and bombastic, yet the odd choice of release date means that many people may accidentally miss out on this one. Read Full Review

The creativity that's been fueling this entire Superman comic is kicked up a notch with this annual issue, which has a lot of fun with some supporting characters, while setting up even greater and niftier stories to come. Read Full Review

Taking the spotlight away from the Man of Steel and placing it on the Daily Planet team proved for an enjoyable read. Williamson and the teams present a grounded story recapping previous stories while setting the foundation for another go-around that simply cant be missed. Make sure you pick this up on New Comic Book Day! Read Full Review

The artists deliver some great imagery throughout the issue and the action is brilliantly thrilling. Read Full Review

Superman Annual 2023 is arguably the best issue Joshua Williamson has written since Dawn of DC started. Lois Lane and the staff of the Daily Planet are given strong presentations they've had. It's so well done that once Superman Annual 2023 ends it leaves you believing a Daily Planet series should definitely be in the plans for the franchise. That is a sign of a successful comic book. Read Full Review

There's a lot of fun to be had in this special issue. The story is fun, the art is gorgeous and I had a hell of a lot of fun reading it. Read Full Review

Superman Annual (2023) #1 delivers a mildly amusing collection of Daily Planet news assignments to bring updates on an assortment of characters, presumably heading back to Superman post-Knight Terrors. Each assignment has a certain entertaining charm, but a Superman Annual with barely any Superman seems a letdown, and the large artist pool results in inconsistent art. As a positive, the final page tease spells big things for Big Blue soon. Read Full Review

This was the perfect place to flesh out the Metropolis Williamson is building, and shows that even without Superman, his supporting cast can carry a story. Williamson has done a great job with Lex, who is absent in this issue, but we see that he is just as adept at giving depth to other villains. God I wish Knight Terrors would end so we can get back to more of this.

If your gonna do an issue about all the supporting cast of the main book then the annual is a fine issue to do it in. This was great. All the plot from the main book is explored and expounded upon here through the side characters and villains that make this run by Williamson so wonderful. I'm so happy they didn't do the usual multi writer anthology style annual that has nothing to do with what is happening in the main book at the time. This annual is integral to the regular series and should not be missed. Yes, Superman is barely in it but who cares when the book is this damn good and it helps remind us of the main story we're missing during this Knight Terrors lull.

Maybe it's because I'm used to watching television shows that take time away from their main character(s) to focus on side/supporting characters for an episode, but I could not care less that this was more of a Lois Lane book than a Superman one. "Superman: Annual" will sell more than "Lois Lane: Annual," and I actually thought this was an entertaining story. I think it adds some intrigue to the main title's current story with Lex Luthor. Plus, at the end of the issue, we get two very interesting appearances, with Lobo and Brainiac. I'm not the biggest Lobo fan, but I am looking forward to seeing where this goes. As for the art, it's well-documented that I'm not a huge fan of it changing mid-issue without reason, but it didn't bother me that much in this instance. Overall, while this may be a Lois Lane story rather than a Superman story, it's still a well-written and intriguing annual. more

Continues the fun and ongoing threats at play in the series but the goofy Parasite felt a little too goofy that it hurt the overall issue.

Is a comic still a Superman comic if it hardly features Superman? That’s the question I found myself asking throughout Joshua Williamson’s SUPERMAN ANNUAL 2023 #1. The issue reads more like a Daily Planet annual with a heavy focus on Lois Lane’s new role as Editor-in-Chief and a day in the life of the paper’s editorial staff, including Jimmy Olsen, Cat Grant, and the Lombard siblings. With the bite-sized views into so many Daily Planet employees, the issue reminded me of The Simpsons’ Season 7 episode “22 Short Films About Springfield.”

Whether it’s Jimmy and Lisa Lombard interviewing Mercy Graves on her history, Cat striking a partnership with Marilyn Moonlight during a ride-along with Chief Kekoa, or Lois finding common ground with Livewire, Williamson’s micro-character moments offer a glimpse of what’s in store for the future of his run on Superman as each scene feels intended and not just included as filler. It all builds up to Williamson’s reveal of Braniac as a big-bad in waiting on the final page. Just when we’ll see Braniac in the ongoing series remains to be scene, but it’s clear that Williamson is using this annual to lay breadcrumbs that may take time to become fully realized. With a writer as smart and capable of balancing pacing across a prolonged period of time as Williamson, I’m excited to see how these storylines all eventually play out.

The issue also include a wonderful mix of artistic approaches from it’s cadre of superstar artists: Mahmud Asrar, Edwin Galmon, Caitlin Yarsky, Max Raynor, and Jack Herbert. It was surprising to see Jamal Campbell absent from the annual after stellar work on the series so far, but the issue hardly suffered with Campbell’s absence. Each artist gets to shine in individual stories and is aided by bold, stunning colors from Dave McCraig and Alex Guimarãres, in addition to Galmon also providing color work, throughout the book.

One thing I did want to mention related to this issue is the truly bizarre timing of it’s release. I have no idea why DC thought it was a good idea to release an annual for one of their most popular superheroes during their “Knight Terrors” event when almost every other major title has taken a two-month hiatus. Superman himself is caught up in the event’s plot and the stories in this annual are happening completely separate from it. Not the end of the world in the grand scheme of things, but a real head-scratcher considering how poorly “Knight Terrors” seems to be unfolding.

Rating: 7/10 more

Hey kids! Do you like Superman? Do you like stories that feature him as the main character and focus of the book? Well guess what? This book only has Superman in it for a grand total of 5 pages. That's right, it's a total bait and switch. So enjoy reading a Superman Annual that has Lois Lane as the main character and focuses on secondary and some third rate supporting cast!An annual book should be your end of the year wrap up story. If it was televsion it would be your season finale. This book isn't even fun to read, just a pointless garbage book.