Superboy, Volume 2: Extraction

Superboy (2011) #2

by Scott Lobdell (Writer), Tom DeFalco (Writer), R.B. Silva (Illustrator)

As a part of the acclaimed DC Comics—The New 52 event, this second volume of Superboy ties directly into the New York Times best seller TEEN TITANS storyline "The Culling" featuring the Teen Titans and the Legion of Super-Heroes!

When the organization known as NOWHERE captures Superboy, the Teen Titans, and the Legion of Super-Heroes and pits the young heroes against each other to weed out the weak, it will take everything Superboy has to save himself and his new friends from eachother. But the ruthless Harvest won't give up easily leading to one of the young heroes making the ultimate sacrifice for the others.

Collecting: Superboy #0, 8-12 and Teen Titans #10.

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

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 4, 2013

About the author

Scott Lobdell (born 1960) is an American comic book writer.

He is mostly known for his work throughout the 1990s on Marvel Comics' X-Men-related titles specifically Uncanny X-Men, the main title itself, and the spin-off series that he conceived with artist Chris Bachalo, Generation X. Generation X focused on a number of young mutant students who attempted to become superheroes in their own right at a separate school with the guidance of veteran X-related characters Banshee and Emma Frost. He also had writing stints on Marvel's Fantastic Four, Alpha Flight, and The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix mini-series with artist Gene Ha. He wrote the script to Stan Lee's Mosaic and an upcoming film from POW Entertainment featuring Ringo Starr. He also participated in the Marvel Comics and Image Comics (from Jim Lee's WildStorm) crossover mini-series WildC.A.T.s/X-Men.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 2 out of 5]

(C+) 66% | Almost Satisfactory
Notes: Measly, maddening and missing material, it's meaningless mastication, maladroit monkeying in meh misadventures.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really like The Culling the first time I read it in Teen Titans. The issues in this trade were of a much lower quality than the first volume. I still like Superboy but I want a new story I don't already know the end of!

I did like issue #0 because I wasn't aware of the whole problem with clones on Krypton so having that backstory seems important to know about. (Although, again, we're forced to backtrack and essentially re-read issue #1, just from a different POV.)

The majority of this volume is spent with the Teen Titans, so if you're reading or have read that series already this particular book could be skipped without losing much.

[Julio Bonilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having escaped the government agency that created him, SuperBoy experiences what life is like in New York City as a "normal" boy. Some of the dialogue is humorous. I am ready for the next volume!

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's start by saying 'skip the first two issues of this trade', because they're intrinsically linked to The Culling crossover, and make no sense on their own - I have no idea why DC bothered collecting them here.

The next few issues are good fun, as the Teen Titans and Superboy try to escape a dinosaur infested island, and then Superboy goes out on the town with Bunker. These stories are inoffensive, and good fun.

Then the final two issues are both boring and unimaginative; the first is one long scene which drags itself out for 20 pages and just serves to be dull, whilst the zero issue makes no sense and is just full of Harvest posturing, which he's done enough of in 13 issues to last until the next reboot.

The art is inconsistent, with far too many fill-ins, but whenever regular series artist R.B Silva appears, the pages are much better for it, even if the story is pants.

So overall not bad, but suffers from fluctuations in both plot and artwork.

[Arturo · Rating 4 out of 5]

#8- The Culling prelude. vs Grunge. Story 2.5. Art 2.5.
#9- The Culling part 2. Story 2. Art 4

#10-11 & Teen Titans #10- Mystery Island. 5/5 stars
#12- 2.5
#0- 2.5

Be warned

[Sans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Things felt out of order here. I read the Harvest stuff separately, but then it came back again at the end of this volume?

That's another peeve I have with N52. All the crossovers end up leaving half a story out or include a random issue of another title and I'm sitting here wondering how many people actually bought floppies and read them in order because that's not very practical.

[John Yelverton · Rating 2 out of 5]

A major cross-over event that fell completely flat on its face. When will DC start telling normal stories again?

[Douglas Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, these Superboy New 52 volumes are really a mixed bag for me! I want to like them and I am enjoying the appearances by and cross-overs with the Teen Titans, but because DC was trying to make us buy multiple titles to get the entire story arch, this volume doesn't make sense on it's own. Aside from the mixing in of Teen Titans characters, I also really dig the art and Superboy's new look (although I do have to admit I miss the cape). What I absolutely hate are the major changes made to Superboy's origin and character. I am so over character's that were designed to be weapons and are going through a crisis of conscience as they decide what it means to be a hero/human/American....whatever. Now even though I am old school about this, I don't mind at all a superhero having a crisis of faith, or a bad day (Christopher Reeve's unshaven Superman at a bar in Superman 3 is everything!!) but the hero has be good, and know they are good, at their core and this Superboy is not (at least not yet in the series).

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superboy: Vol. 2: Extraction

Having fought alongside the Teen Titans in the Culling, Kon-El now tries to find his way in the world. Still unused to having a secret identity, he struggles to assimilate.

A good mix of adventure, mystery and a smattering of comedy, the story development is well defined. The art is of a very high standard.

[Rick Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was a bit of a step backwards. Scott Lobdell was the only writer on the series in the first volume, but shares writing with Tom DeFalco in this one. The issues written by DeFalco don't seem to have the same wit in the dialogue as the issues penned by Lobdell. Scott's story in volume 1 was pretty good, but after the Culling storyline part of this book is over, the story seems to be just filler until the next real arc begins. I think the main reason that the story wasn't as good was because of DeFalco's involvement. Writing gets 3 stars.

R.B. Silva was the artist for volume 1, but he gets some help here, thank God. Iban Coello helps out in issue #8. The art doesn't really seem to be an improvement over what Silva did alone. This issue has an occasional good panel. Those are mostly closeups of male characters. Silva seems t be the only artists in comics that can't draw a good looking female character to save his life. After drawing the worst looking Fairchild and Supergirl ever in volume 1, he now gets to draw the ugliest Cassie, Solstice, Omen, Rose Wilson and several others over the course of issues #9, #11 and #0. Silva's art once again gets 2 stars.

Luckily issues #10 & #12 were drawn by different artists. Sebastian Fiumara is the artist for #10. Robson Rocha and Eduardo Pansica are co-artists on #12. Fiumara has some nice detail. yet, a lot of the panels viewed from a distance look sketchy. Faces are decent at best in the closeups. The T-rex is the best looking thing he drew. Environments would be second best. 2 1/2 stars for Fiumara. Rocha and Pansica have the best art in the series so far and they only have one issue. Every single thing they drew looked magnificent compared to the rest of the art in the series. Superboy and his friend Dallas look exceptionally good. This art gets 4 1/2 stars.

Adding all the art scores up and dividing them by the number of issues gives the art a 2.5 star overall score. That averaged with the 3 star writing score gives a 2.75 star score for the book. I really want to like this series. The art is making that hard though. It really is holding this series back.

[Lillian Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

#0 Origin story. Enjoyable art.

#8 - 9. Part of The Culling crossover (plus the Annual). Infuriating because there's no conclusion. The Big Bad escapes and there's no clarification as to who he is and whether he's mad or justified in his horrific actions. I do like the various teams and how they come together.

#10 Superboy and Wonder Girl find themselves on a mysterious island with dinosaurs. Cassie picks the name Kon for him. Story continues in TT #10. They find the TTs. Tim has a leadership crisis of confidence. Bart makes out with Solstice. They find Danny the Street, damaged, but he helps the escape. I love Bunker in this episode. Talking Tim off the ledge. Finding Danny. Hugging Superboy.
#11 Aww Kon and Bunker are BFFs. Love this issue.

#12 Who the hell is whitewashing Bunker in this issue. Bloody colourists are useless. Kon meets some ‘ordinary people’ in a night club.

Overall I liked this.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is another scattered issue, with a couple pieces of 'The Culling' crossover followed by a couple of pretty random issues of Superboy trying to acclimate to the real world. There's no strong 'through' story here, just a grabbag of issues (and the inclusion of a Teen Titans issue seems odd, as it's not even a part of the crossover, more an epilogue to it, although Superboy does play a prime role in the issue). This collection highlights one of the biggest problems with a connected universe - taken out of that universe it doesn't really stand on its own. There are some cute things with Superboy stealing money and hobnobbing with the effortlessly rich, but it's not enough to justify the collection.

[Richard Rosenthal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super Crossover Boy. This Volume should probably come bundled with Teen Titans, The Ravagers and perhaps a few others I missed along the way. It tells a good portion of the N.O.W.H.E.R.E story but it can be comfusing if you haven't read all the other titles. Once it gets away from death match the story gets better. He robs a bank, gets life lessons from Bunker destroys a giant robot and has a date with his party girl land lady. Good times.

[The Rudie Librarian (Brian) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the integration of Superboy into the Teen Titans. There's a great playfulness between him and Wonder Girl.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe this is my first Superboy graphic novel, sadly this doesn't make me want to read more.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Początek nowego tomu jest całkiem niezły. Mamy mały sparing, który kończy się dość makabrycznie, aby potem w skutek knowań organizacji N.O.W.H.E.R.E Super boy ląduje w pewnym miejscu wraz z całą masą innych meta ludzi. Culling jest wydarzeniem, które ma wyłonić najlepiej dostosowanych. Tak zaczyna się cała masa starć i fajerwerków. Pojedynek między Superboy'em a Warblade'm jest efektowny.

Zaraz potem Superboy ląduje wraz z Wonder Girl na wyspie pełnej dinozaurów. Relacje pomiędzy nimi są nawet niezłe. Widać, że się czubią.Jest tu kilka scen, które naprawdę bawią. To chyba najjaśniejszy punkt omawianego tomu. Chwilę potem Teen Titans znów łączą siły i ponownie możemy nacieszyć oczy całkiem niezłą oprawą plus kilkoma dobrymi dialogami.

W tym momencie wszystko co dobre się niestety kończy. Dalsze zeszyty ukazujące próby życia Superboy'a w świecie ludzi zwyczajnie nużą. Jego relacja z Bunkrem miała być chyba z założenia śmieszna, ale nie jest. Nawet w zaprezentowanej nam kupie jednak są pewne plusy. Chociażby pojmowanie własności przez klona Supermana. Też bym tak chciał.

Końcówka należy do opowieści przedstawiającej problem klonowania na Kryptonie. Podbudowuje nieco całą historię, ale też nie należy do jakiś najlepszych. Reasumując. Udział Superboy'a w wydarzeniu jakim było The Culling można uznać za udany, aczkolwiek nie pozbawiony wad i nieco nudzący w końcówce. W pewnym momencie można się nawet pogubić, bo wpada Harvest z zapowiedzią niezłej bęcki, ale omawiany tom nie śmieszy z żadnymi wytłumaczeniami. To chyba najgorsze rozwiązanie, zmuszające do sięgnięcia po inne pozycje z propozycji wydawniczej New 52. Nie każdy musi to lubić.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still trying to understand his own origins, powers and purpose, Superboy begins a tentative friendship with his former enemies, the Teen Titans. Through then he begins to develop his social skills and explore the concept of being a hero.

I actually quite enjoy this rebooted version of Superboy and he's definitely better than the original 90s version (although not as good as Conner Kent became in the early 2000s).
I particularly liked the idea of this lab-grown individual beginning to make friends and engage in sociability, which feels like a nice metaphor for being a teenager in general. The development of the relationship between him and Wonder Girl is particularly engaging, with both struggling as their established hostility pushes up against an obvious chemistry.

Unfortunately, how all of those elements are delivered is much less satisfying in this second volume. One of my criticisms of Volume 1 was the parts where there were gaps left by events told in other books (specifically 'Teen Titans') but those gaps are much bigger and more jarring here.
Combined with the fact that the latter quarter of the book is largely a retelling of events up to this point from the POV of Lord Harvest and we're left with a book that has very little narrative cohesion despite having some good elements within it.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *

[Scott Waldie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, this book jumps around a bit since its omitting some of the issues the story was crossed over into, but they do make plenty of backwards references so you can figure out what happens. Tons of DC characters in here, especially in the fight against the Ravagers, and then some pretty charming stuff with Kon-El and Bunkur hanging out, and we even get a little background to part of the clone's DNA. Another solid read even though the gaps are annoying.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best I can give this book is that the art is pretty good, but the story drags it down hard. New 52 Superboy suffers greatly from the New 52 reboot. In an attempt to do something new with him, it fails on almost all fronts. While you can see Scott Lobdell tried his best with this, he had very little space to actually create a good story. It's a case example of how the New 52 did Superboy, aka Kon-El aka Connor Kent, one of my favorite heroes, dirty.

[Sean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Scott Lobdell & Tom DeFalco combine to continue The New 52 Superboy's incredible bad run. Here, DC editorial collects 2 parts of a terrible crossover with the Legion and Teen Titans. Then, basically two more parts after the fact. We then get to see Superboy act like an idiot or a jerk. This version of him is completely unlikeable, his powers make no sense whatsoever, and he has no purpose. The art was fine but the story is the issue. Overall, terrible.

[Eric Cone · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the book is part of The Culling event. The second half is Superboy trying to figure out how to live outside of a lab. Parts of it are like a sitcom, where he plays the straight man. Some civilian asks him a question, he gives an honest answer and they think he is playing for laughs. Interesting idea.

[Rhiannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps I would have enjoyed this a bit more if my local library had volume 1 so I could have read that first. I didn't really connect with any of the characters and found the flow of issues in this volume to be fairly disjointed. The art style was decent.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the first in the series. Still felt lacking.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Titans vs legion out to become ravangers. Harvest Main villain. Like him and wonder girl in Dino planet. Shows SN creation and getting S tattoo. Suggests krypton clones caused planet destruction

[Andrew Alvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the Culling bits, I really enjoyed this. The artwork for TT #10 was the highlight for me.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

[Misty Superhero · Rating 3 out of 5]

the pacing was whack but the art was good

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, just good.

[Annice22 · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you disregard the terrible "The Culling" crossover story (issues #8 and #9) and the equally terrible #0 issue then what's left (issues #10, #11, and #12) is actually interesting to read. From Superboy and Wonder Girl trapped on a mysterious island to Superboy fighting a villain who excels at altering your mind. It would have been nice if anything associated with the The Culling and Harvest had been left out it was really poorly written.

[Kyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of all the titles in the New 52, I find Superboy to have the worst art work. To me, all of the faces look like Cabbage Patch Kid faces, and the expressions on the faces are completely disconnected from the text.

It is kind of nice to see Kon-el trying to build relationships with his Teen Titan team mates... But really, wouldn't that be better material for a Teen Titans issue? I would rather see Kon-el struggle with his super-family identity in the pages of Superboy. I mean, the kid DID get an S tattoo... Shouldn't we explore why it holds significance for him? Or, at least see him develop as an individual character.

Issue 0 seemed like needless reiteration, to me. And I will only like Harvest when he turns out to be Pariah, or Superboy Prime, or Alexander Luther, or Wally West, or Donna Troy, or someone else totally unexpected... Right now he is just a canned villain, constantly posturing himself to no avail.

So, bad art, weak stories and very little character growth.... I would say this series is stalling.

2/5