I wanted to like this issue and it didn't disappoint. I haven't read a Superman story since Warworld. I find the entire extended "family" exhausting and contrived. Jason Aaron is a great writer. I appreciate the references he used to demonstrate his knowledge of the DCU. The artwork was excellent, and the colors were eye-popping. If he can keep it grounded around the core characters and the character that is Metropolis, it will be a memorable run.

This is a great story with great artwork. It is a Captain America story with tiebacks to Steve Rogers' youth. It is not cluttered with a lot of deep dives into 80 years of history to unpack. Clean and simple. It's also a solid mystery. There is some humor but it's not over the top. There are not a lot of characters to follow. Basically, two storylines, past and present, tied together. There are no hidden political agendas. The poor reviews must come from readers' personal dislike of the author. Forget the author. Just read it as one of the best Captain America stories produced in a long time. It has the feel of Mark Waid's World's Finest - as if it was written by an author with reverence for the history of the character and a deep understanding of his core. Keep it going!

It's the first issue of a new run. The author put a lot of thought into it. I didn't enjoy it. There was too much distracting internal dialogue. It was a struggle to get through this ponderous story and I won't be buying issue #2. The family trope is overdone. We see it in the Batman books. We see it in the Superman books. We're even seeing it in the new Green Arrow and Wonder Woman books. Too many characters. Plot and action are drowned by exposition. Interaction between characters is replaced with page after page of internal dialogue boxes. I found the whole thing to be difficult to enjoy on any level. One case in point, Mr. Spurrier wants us to know he's a clever writer but putting that clever text in the mouth of Impulse shows a lack of understanding about Bart Allen. The author would be better served by trimming down the number of characters, which does not seem to be DC's way these days when there are so many editorial boxes to check, or better still go back to a Barry Allen-centered book about a forensic scientist solving cases.

This story is Barry and Hal at their Silver Age best. It shows you can take long-established heroes and make them contemporary. Great writing. Impeccable art. This series is off to a flying start. The only downside is the unnecessary backup story. DC Editorial can't help but try to create silly kid spinoffs. Just get rid of it, save money on printing, and drop the cost of the book by a buck. Skip the backup story and re-read the main story. It's excellent.

I'm enjoying this run. It's fresh but grounded in tradition. All of the main characters are spot-on. The art is spectacular. I would grade it a 10 but for the backup story. Good to know this is spinning off as a new title because I could not have less interest in a book aimed at 10-year-olds. I would have preferred another 8 pages of the main story. I hope future issues don't include back-up stories a la Tales of the Green Lantern Corps. However, with the team splitting off in different directions, it would appear inevitable. As long as the tone and quality of the main story are maintained, it will be OK with me.

This is a fantastic book. Even if you've never read a single story of the Golden Age Sandman, you would want to read more about this character after reading this one. Robert Venditti knows these Golden Age heroes as well as anyone in the business as his previous Hawkman series will attest. I've been turned off by Riley Rossmo's art in the past. Its weirdness was just not my cup of tea. Here though, it's clean and under control. Along with the great script, the two creators really capture the noir of the pre-war period. This is another most-welcomed return to DC's roots. Now we need DC to follow up with collected editions of Golden Age stories.

I really enjoyed this story. I'm glad Mark Waid wrote it. Ever since the first splash page of this team in the main World's Finest title, I've wanted more. However, I did not care for the artwork or the colors. Maybe I've been spoiled by the incredible work of Dan Mora and Tamra Bonvillain in the main title. The artwork did not have Mora's detail or realism. It is more reminiscent of Phil Hester's chaotic style. The inks were thick. The colors were the worst part. They often appeared washed out. Reds looked orange. There was too much gradation in the colors and the overall pallet did not pop like the work of Bonvillain. Often the art seemed to be filtered in sepia or violet which was not appealing, in my humble opinion of course. If the same team does another arc, I will gladly buy it, but I hope the artwork can be improved.