But the action stuff is really secondary to the very personal discussion Supers is having. And kudos for Bendis for answering the 'does Superman eat' and 'does Superman sleep' question for new readers. I always feel like I could use a refresher since things change so rapidly. No big reveals here. I loved this issue. Another crackling entry. Let's hope DC doesn't reboot everything again and sweep these runs off the board. Read Full Review

Superman #23 (Bendis, Maguire, Timms) introduces a new magical foe but more importantly gives some much needed clarity and unpacking of the entirity of Bendis' run on the run thus far. Read Full Review

All in all, an enjoyable Superman tale which Bendis makes quite fun, especially the counseling of Clark by the rather inexperienced Khalid. While the villain will be cliched (who isn't?), particularly with his, her or its villainous dialogue "Xanadoth the Lord of the Lords of Chaos. Xanadoth, true owner of that Helmet of Fate", I'm sure it will come together exceptionally well and in classic Bendis fashion. Read Full Review

This storyline would be a lot more effective if Xanadoth didn't come off like the ultimate in stock magical bad guys. He talks like an '80s cartoon villain and doesn't look much different. But there's an interesting twist regarding the character that comes into play at the end of the issue. Read Full Review

Another arc in Bendis' Superman run. This time he is playing in the the mystical aspects of the DC Universe, and hopefully it will lead to some interesting things. This is a promising start, but Bendis' work does not always pay off. Read Full Review

While not a perfect issue, Bendis does do a decent exploration of what he's been putting Superman through in the previous 22 issues. Hopefully, we will get to see more of this more introspective side of Superman once in a while. And maybe it might just lead to some favourable changes in Bendis' Superman saga. Read Full Review

There is some reason for optimism as Fate gets Superman to confront some of his personal problems head on. Xanodath doesnt seem that interesting a villain yet, but maybe Bendis has some surprises to pull this arc off. Read Full Review

Superman #23 is an okay issue, but it's a classic Bendis opening issue of a story arc comic- a whole lot of talking and set up. Read Full Review

While you do get an interesting new villain for our Man of Steel to go up against in this arc, a large portion of this story is just recap for what's been going on since Bendis took over the Super books and while some will appreciate the sympathetic look at our hero as he recalls what's been going on, it just left me underwhelmed.  The art is decent overall, but I need more from our title character in this book. Read Full Review

Doctor Fate is such a rich character that maybe Maguire can team up with another writer and get a better take on the character. The book ended and I could hardly care at all. Read Full Review

Could someone maybe sit Bendis down and explain the concept of a conversation to him? He seems to think that it’s just two or more people speaking in proximity to each other, with at MOST tangential relationships between their utterances. Why is this Dr Fate who he has never met suddenly giving Superman therapy? Why is absolutely nobody in character? Why is the plot such a mess already? Also art looked bad.

Well, Bendis finaly realized how much he screwed up with Jon kent, it's toó late to turn things around but not too late for DC to stop giving him such big titles

This isn't even worth the paper it's printed on.

Nothing in this issue worked, and the "meta" humour poking fun at what this run has done only highlight how absolutely abysmal it is and continues to be.

All I can say is "No" to this, ALL of this.

Note to everyone who hated this for being like all the other issues of this series: why are you still reading? Save your money and buy something you will like.

Anyway, I appreciate that Bendis took the time to slow down and made Supes slow down as well. Even if he doesn't really have Dr. Fate's voice anything near right. And Maguire is welcome any time.

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• cincyfan

Fizgoog - Aug 8, 2020

I’ll tell you why I’m still reading. It’s an allegiance to a fictional character that’s inspired me for 60 years. It’s to maintain long cared for and beloved collections. It’s due to an affection for comics generally. That’s also the reason we write reviews that criticize creative teams ( and I use the term loosely) that pisses on the object of our affection. Does that make any sense to you? What sort of moron would even question it?

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Cannot believe the disparity between the critics reviews and those of the average comic buyer. I certainly don't believe this comic reaches the stellar heights that some critics assigned to it but it is not the worst offering DC has released during Covid.

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• KErtneY

Comics Code Authorities - Aug 14, 2020

Bendis is a big name in comics. The critics praise anything writers like him or Geoff Johns do, no matter how good or crappy.

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Why does it feel like 50% of every Bendis comic is just recapping previous Bendis comics? I honestly don't know how the man does it. Just peering into the madness every few weeks is enough for me to recognize what I'm seeing as some twisted never-ending looping Hell. I can hardly handle it anymore, to be perfectly frank.

Bendis must go. He's not even trying, it's all on auto-pilot.

While this is the better of the Superman titles in print, that's still not saying much. Why is Superman confiding so much in a guy he just met? And now he's questioning why he exposed himself to the world? And While I will give the artist credit for some of his work, how he draws Superman definitely isn't one of them. This issue has some of the stupidest facial expressions I've ever seen on Superman. And I remember how he was drawn in 2000-04.
I am glad to have a story back home, away from that corn league of worlds or whatever you call it. So there's a positive thing I can say. But like the rest of Bendis' work, it's stale and dull. When he leaves for something else I won't miss him here.

Love seeing some JLDark presence here but man is Bendis bad.

This book is poop.