Written by Tom King
Art by Andy Kubert
Published by DC Comics
Up in the Sky is a series that has been a mixed bag of results.
The main plot regarding the intergalactic kidnapping of a little girl from Earth and the potential consequences of Superman leaving the planet to rescue her loomed over the story.
However, each quest carried little rhyme or reason with halfhearted execution while providing no answers. Tom King finally provides the answers, but it all comes together like a sloppy hodgepodge.
The aliens who held the little girl captive also imprisoned Superman. They invade Earth and nearly decimate the Justice League.
Superman defeated the big bad, and all of the aliens shut down, as you see in every other sci-fi film.
The artwork made this affair confusing because, on a couple of pages, we see Superman battling the aliens on Earth even though it has been established that he’s on the other side of the universe. A few pages later, Superman is back on the alien homeworld with no explanation for such a dramatic visual shift.
Superman rescues the little girl, and their long trek back to Earth comes off as the annoying version of twenty questions one might ever read. The inquisitive youngling left no stone unturned with questions ranging from “Who would win a fight between Superman and Batman” to “Has it been a second, yet” as Superman made a pit stop along the way.
This could have been a cute moment, however, Superman even appeared to be annoyed, which made it cringe-worthy to watch.
Up in the Sky will not go down in the annuals of great Superman stories. Even a collected work in graphic novel form won’t improve upon or overcome the stories’ many shortcomings. The sum of its parts is greater than the whole, and even those parts don’t carry enough narrative clout to produce any tangible excitement.
The story itself is a good idea. I would like to see it revisited someday with more care and detail.
Rating: C
