Danielle's Reading Adventures

I wasn't expecting much from this volume, but the Superman story was quite innovative, with a narrative angle I wasn't expecting at all. It's really kind of a scary what if about Superman's origins. He is not the man we know but that doesn't mean he doesn't come into his own as much as he's able. I liked the theme of villainy not necessarily starting from a place of pure evil or self-interest. To my mind, some of the worst villains are true believers or fundamentalists. Their intense belief in their cause can lead to committing atrocious acts in the course of the mission. In this case, it makes for a disturbing story. I really loved Lois Lane. Normally, I'm not a fan, but the Flashpoint situation seems to bring out the best in her character.

The Booster Gold story was interesting, and I think it shows him as heroic in ways I haven't previously encountered. In other words, he doesn't come off as inept and fixated on looking heroic. He has to deal with well-meaning military who decide to harness Doomsday as a weapon, but fail to realize that he cannot be controlled. It wasn't the strongest volume here, but it was pretty good.

Traci 13 is not a character I'm familiar with, but this story was very good. Traci finds herself in an adversarial relationship with her father, who both want to save the world, but in vastly different ways. Very intense look at how grief can tear a family apart.

"Canterbury Cricket" was pretty weird. Closest to horror in this volume out of the stories. A bunch of antiheroes have become guerilla warriors for the cause of England, including Cantubury Cricket, who has a very checkered past. I liked it, but it ended a bit too abruptly for my tastes.

Overall a very good volume of this series.