Luthor

Capitalizing on the success of the same team's 2008 Joker graphic novel, DC has collected and added new pages to a 2005 miniseries that similarly explores Superman's megalomaniacal nemesis. Azzarello (100 Bullets) paints a complex portrait of the villain as a committed humanist with a fiend lurking beneath, born of his pride in human achievement. This pride, naturally enough, is mortally offended by the godlike alien flying around Metropolis, so Luthor hatches a plan to shake the city's faith in the hero, which ultimately requires a heartbreaking sacrifice from the villain himself. Creating a character who uses his influence to offer great opportunities to even his most menial employee and at the same time is prepared to bomb a day-care center full of children is not an easy task. It is masterfully abetted, however, by the harsh realism of Bermejo's art, which, with the subtle shifting of shadow or a slight tilt of angle, can turn a supervillain into a human being and a superhuman savior into an alien monster.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2010 Booklist

Hot from the success of their award-winning Joker, Azzarello and Bermejo pair up again to create an intricate story intermingling subtle plotting and social commentary. Lex Luthor mutates Superman's persona into an alien force perceived as a glowering, angry, superpowered threat. Bermejo's stunning, gritty art skillfully depicts the hero as a grimacing, bulging monstrosity with glowing red eyes-a potential evil in the eyes of the public-while Luthor showers affection on janitors and the general populace. Molding the press and even Batman's opinions of Superman, Luthor creates his own superhero, an android woman named Hope. As Hope's heroic deeds garner attention, Luthor builds a "science spire"-a giant tribute to humankind's ingenuity. Using violence, coercion, and money, Luthor plans to capture Superman "on camera" in the public eye during a battle with Hope. Verdict The mature themes, violence, and multilayered nature of the story mean this is best for older teens and adults. Highly recommended.-Jeff Hunter, Royal Oak, MI (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.