Smallville Season 11, Volume 1: Guardian

Smallville: Season 11 #1

by Bryan Q. Miller (Writer), Pere Pérez (Illustrator)

A New York Times Bestseller!

When we left Clark Kent at the end of Smallville Season 10, he had finally donned the iconic Superman suit and set out to defend Earth from Apokolips. Picking up six months later, Smallville Season 11 explores Clark's understanding of the true power of his Superman identity, its effect on those close to him and its ability to inspire the people of Earth.

Smallville Season 11 features Clarke as well as fan-favorite characters including Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Chloe Sullivan-Queen, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and General Lane.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superman, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2013

About the author

Bryan Q. Miller is an American television and comic writer most notable for his work on the CW’s “Smallville” and DC’s “Batgirl.” (with Stephanie Brown as Batgirl)

Reviews

[Michelle]

I MISSED CLOIS SO MUCH.

[Subham]

This was a fun read!

Superman has been saving people here and there but what happens when a flight test goes wrong and will he be able to save Hank henshaw and his crew and if not then which enemy will emerge and the consequences of that plus Luthor's machinations and whatever is happening with Tess and Lex, its a strange volume filled with intrigue and I love the multiple sub plots and the ultimate battle of Lex and Clark just showing how different they are and the way Lex outsmarts Clark is awesome and that subplot with Ollie and Chloe is awesome, loved the whole volume and the art was so good and makes for a smooth and nice read.

[Jesse A]

This is fine. Not great but decently diverting.

[Daniel]

I was a massive fan of the tv show Smallville when it was on tv. And after the season ten finale I always thought thy should have made at least one last season because Clark Kent finally learnt his last power on the very last episode. So I thought it ended too soon. Recently I found out that they made a few comics continuing straight after the events of the season ten finale. And I had to read it. I actually really enjoyed this comic book, it was a lot of fun and great seeing all of my favourite characters return. Also this was the first ever comic I read which I quite enjoyed.

[Ben]

What a great start! I just wish that I could see this come as a real episode. The whole book reads like the first episode of a season, all characters are well written and stay true to the way they were written on the show, and discusses people's reactions to him becoming Superman. Plus, Lex is back and just as evil as ever. Love the set up for a Crisis! Can't wait to read more.

Note to readers: If you have watched all of Smallville, you will love this. Those not familiar with the show will have problems understanding it because it is in its own unique Superman universe and not that of a typical Superman comic.

[Ahmed Gohary]

بعد الانتهاء من مسلسل سمول فيل للمرة الثانية كان لازم ابتدي الكوميكس عشان اعوض الفراغ اللي سابة المسلسل
الجزء الاول كأنة حلقة من المسلسل الاحداث الاساسية ليست كثيرة اهمها عودة تيس واستمرار ظهور ليكس الجديد
سأحاول البحث مرة اخري عن باقي الاجزاء لأني لم اجدها من قبل في اي مكان

[Jessi]

So cool, the only thing is. They don't really look like themselves half the time.

[Tara T.]

They said “now let’s get REALLY weird with it”
I just wanna know why they were able to draw everyone accurate except for Clark. Idk who that was but it wasn’t Tom Welling that’s for sure

[Kushnuma]

This was amazing! Really enjoyed it and it made me miss the show so much! I loved how the characters were drawn and I read each of their parts in the voice of the actors from the show.

Just AMAZING!

[John Yelverton]

This book takes up right where the television show left off, and it's a wonderful read!

[Eric]

I am such a sucker.. I know in my heart of hearts I will be buying the next trade paperback so it doesn't matter what I write here.


I hate myself right now.

[Ali]

Was fun to read about what happened after Smallville ended but it was a fast read. Unsure I want to keep going at $11.99 a pop. We'll see...

[S.E. Martens]

3.5 stars. I have a love/hate relationship with Smallville - I loved the early seasons, but by the time Season 10 rolled around I was frustrated by a lot of the directions the writing had taken.

Season 10 was actually my least favourite and I hated the finale, so it was with some trepidation that I dipped into the graphic novel continuation.

But I was pleasantly surprised. This was fun.

The plot picks up pretty much in line with where the TV show ended. Clark has finally (finally!) taken on the mantle of Superman, and is living with Lois in Metropolis. Chloe and Oliver are around, but planning a move to Star City. We do get a cute subplot with them here, though.

Lex Luthor is also back, but he is "assembled by cloned pieces" and has amnesia. It's painfully bittersweet to see him "meet" Clark again.
Though we do get this line:

"Quite the attitude buried under all the clumsy, Kent.
Maybe that's what used to interest me about you."

Bryan Q Miller does a good job capturing the sort of dialogue I would expect from the show, with the cadence of the character's voices. The integration of additional characters from the wider Superman canon (such as Hank Henshaw) does not feel out-of-place considering the type of storylines they had on the show.

Lex is interested in using the public's fear of aliens (stoked by the Darkseid's near-invasion in Season 10) to capitalize on securing military contracts for space weapons, which is very Lex Luthor and echoes a similar arc he had in the later half of Smallville.

There's an additional wrinkle to Lex's storyline, in that he is apparently being haunted by the ghost of his sister, Tess.

Pere Perez is a competent penciller, but he struggles with capturing the likenesses of the actors. I would say his Lex is the closest, but the others are fairly inconsistent, with Lois faring the worst - she really doesn't look like Erica Durance.

The coloring doesn't help, with characters' eyes and hair not matching their onscreen counterparts. While this may seem nitpicky, this is meant to be a media tie-in, so these details are relevant.

Also: I liked the "exploding baby" reference and was surprised Miller went for a callback to such a widely panned episode (Ageless).

Overall, I really like this so far. It's a decent retelling of Hank Henshaw's villain origin, and it manages to position Lex as an actual villain, something the Smallville tv show never really managed to pull off.

There are a couple of good scenes between Lex and Superman here, with Lex being charming but ruthless, and Clark actually trying to reach his one-time best friend with seemingly genuine regret over how things have worked out.

"You remind me very much of someone I used to know."

I was also amused to see that even with the upgrade to full-on "supervillain," Lex still gets tossed around like a ragdoll and thrown through glass. It wouldn't be Smallville without that.

[Britt Van De Woestyne]

ik hou van smallville maar dit is allemaal zo niet nodig. De serie eindige op zo een leuke noot, al had het meerdere vragen bij mij achtergelaten zoals: waarom geeft niemand een fuck om tess haar dood, spoilers: they still don’t care (rip tess you’d loveeee family tree by ethel cain) en like leuk dat clark en lex terug zijn maar lex zonder zijn herinneringen aan al het kwaad dat hij iedereen heeft aangedaan is gwn zo saai, ik wil niet superman en lex ik wil clark en lex uuggggh also ik mis de blur en clark in zijn zwarte lange jas… lois i died when you left am i right?? also waarom denkt smallville dat ik chloe haar kop in stripboek vorm wil zien GET HER OUT!!!! …. Trouwens, chloe van earth 2, is dat gwn die mirror universe… komt clark luthor terug….. ALSJEBLIEEEEEEFTTTTT!!!

[Kieran McAndrew]

Having recently revealed himself to the world as Superman, Clark Kent is struggling with the knowledge that he cannot save everyone. When Lex Luthor instigates a series of tests for the Man of Steel, it not only endangers Superman, but those around him.

The story continues well from the end of 'Smallville' and, even though there is a sense that readers have missed some adventures, these are retold in enough detail that we have a sense of continuity. The colours are distinctive and, although the key art sometimes misses the mark, the dynamism carries readers through the "iffy" patches.

[Aly]

Meh. So weird seeing Chloe after the actress sex cult involvement was revealed. FeelsBadMan

[Laura Miller]

4.5⭐️
This was a fun read after just finishing season 10 of Smallville. It picks up right where the show left out and I can hear the actors saying the lines as I read. Great story and great artwork. It all is very true to the show.

[Caroline]

I found this today at a yard sale, wish there were other volumes of the series because this gave me nostalgic vibes and made me feel like I wanna rewatch Smallville again :)

What can I say about it? Fun read, a great introduction of what's to come, and also a nice callback to the past friendship between Clark/Lex, even though the latter's lost his memories he can't fathom how they were once friends, and ultimately in this cat-and-mouse, Lex proves to be successful in outsmarting Clark as Superman, forcing him to take measures to protect his secret identity and those he loves.

Also, this story brings up an issue that sometimes as much as Clark/Superman tries to be there and help people, he isn't ALWAYS there on time despite being the fastest man on earth (other than the Flash) and in this comic, there was a casualty, Hank Henshaw, who blames Superman for not being able to save him and for being the reason for his current situation of his soul/mind trapped in a cyborg's body. However, we all know Hank's fate was sealed as a means to an end of Lex's machinations against Superman, very sad indeed as Clark/Superman also constantly deals with regret on those who haven't been able to save/help but remain steadfast in his convictions that his actions still matter, save lives, inspire others to do better. Still, he never forgets those who aren't so lucky.

[Devin Perez]

Supes is Amazing!

A continued storyline that doesn’t disappoint. This series is a must read if you are a fan of the show.

[Mars]

"Smallville Season 11 Vol. 1: Guardian" picks up six months after the events of the show's season 10 finale. I am a fan of the show, so I had really been looking forward to reading this for some time. However, truth be told, I was a little let down by season 10, so I did not really know what to expect from the continuation of the show in comic book form. Well, now that I have read the first volume, which compiles the first four issues of the series, I can say that I am not disappointed. In fact, I really enjoyed reading it and look forward to the second volume.

Overall, I think the likenesses of the actors and the voices of the characters are captured quite well. It is fun to see the familiar characters fans know and love, but now they are in the iconic roles the show was setting them up for over the course of a decade, which is pretty cool. The story is pretty interesting. I feel that it picks up a little more towards the end, when more mysteries and problems are revealed, making me want to read and know more! I would surely recommend this to fans of the TV series.

[Jair]

I actually loved the show when it was on, it had it's problems (although season 8 was really strong) but I really liked it, it was my gateway to Superman, a character that I love now. When I saw the last episode I was one of the few fans who really did enjoyed it and liked, but when I heard about the comic I was in heaven. A continuation of the series that meant so much to me, and BQM was the writer! With every new interview I could see how much he loved the series and it shows in the work. I read the digital copy, and liked it so much that I finally got the paperback. It's an okay "episode", but just catching up with this cast of characters and be able to read new stories (well written and where everyone is in character) in this universe makes me give it 4 stars. If you liked the show, this comic is a must have. And from what I've read, this could be the best season yet!

[Craig]

It was nice to revisit the Smallville world once again although I wasn't a big fan of the show's last few seasons. I assumed that without budget concerns the graphic novel would focus attention on big action scenes that the producers could never afford and take it away from its strengths. Thankfully they didn't and stayed true to what made the show successful: character driven plots. If you were a fan of the show, (at least when Lex was on it) you will probably like this and if you never watched the show well you could do a lot worse.

[Andrew]

Smallville is back via comic books, and I am loving it so far. The writers and artists did a great job capturing the original franchise and converting it to comic books. I still felt like there was a great story. Everything has changed after the end of Season 10. Oliver and Chloe are starting a new life, moving to another city, though Chloe and Oliver are continuing their lives as The Watchtower and Green Arrow. Lex Luthor is also still up to no good, and may have found a way to make him really piss off Superman. I can't wait to read volume 2.

[Jo]

Smallville is in my top five favorite TV shows list. To see it continue on through comics is really exciting. The story line is really great, but I was hoping the characters would resemble the shows cast better-they didn't. Other then that, I am hoping this comic is popular enough to continue on for a long, long time.

[Nicolas]

That's a kind 4 stars. I enjoyed it and it definitely had a Smallville vibe. (I was worried it would be just another Superman story.) It has it's flaws and I wouldn't classify it as a strong start, but they planted some seeds that interested me. I look forward to volume II.

[Jemma]

An absolute gem of a comic! It follows on perfectly from the show in a way I couldn't have even imagined. It flows beautifully and the witter banter is present as always and in no way diminished by its move to comic form. I highly recommend this!

[K.L. Townsend]

Excellent continuation of the series! I loved how the voices matched the Smallville characters and the plot was solid. Nice blend of comic book lore, past incarnations of different characters from different media, all while staying true to the Smallville universe.

[thea]

Off to a great start! It's quite hard to picture the actors from the show in comic book form from time to time. I do like the idea that this takes place in the seven year gap that we saw the finale and I'm so glad we get to see more of evil Lex Luthor back from the dead, I mean, who doesn't????

[Angie]

2.5 out of 5, actually. The story is pretty good, but the art is kind of terrible so it's actually very disheartening.

[Timothy]

I am so looking forward to this coming on the bn nook color I <3 smallville.