Superboy, Volume 3: Lost

Superboy (2011) #3

by Tom DeFalco (Writer), Rob Lean (Illustrator)

Deep inside a lab run by an organization known as NOWHERE, a living weapon was being developed from the DNA of the Kryptonian visitor Superman. Spliced with human DNA, this clone of Superman seemed to be a failed experiment, until it escaped and became known as Superboy.

As Superman attempts to help Superboy understand and control his powers, they are set upon by another Kryptonian refugee by the name of H'el. H'el is determined to resurrect his home planet by any means necessary and that includes the destruction of Earth.

Collecting: Superboy #13-19, Annual #1.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Superman, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 7, 2014

About the author

Tom DeFalco is an American comics writer and editor, well-known for his association with Marvel Comics and Spider-Man.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 1 out of 5]

(C+) 65% | Almost Satisfactory
Notes: Intrinsically incomplete, it's incredibly irritating, an insidious infraction, incomprehensible and inexcusably immoral.

[Kyle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Most of this book is part of the "H'el on Earth" crossover storyline. Do yourself a favour and read that story in the collected edition. As they stand collected in this volume of Superboy.... well it's quite messy and disjointed and it's an odd editorial choice, so I won't judge this volume based on the crossover issues. I will simply judge it on the other issues that stand separate from "H'el on Earth". Here goes....

The other issues sucked.
Harvest returns with some lame backstory of how he created Superboy, yadda yadda, Lois Lane's dead baby, yadda, time travel, blech.
Harvest is the worst villain ever created. He just sucks. Sucks suckity suck sucks.

1/5

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last issue with Harvest was more interesting than the rest of this volume combined.

full rant to come, with images!

[Sans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read since half of this book was covered in Superman: H'el on Earth. Nice to finally get some of Harvest's backstory. Jon wearing the Nightwing symbol really confused me, I thought Dick was in the bacta tank, or whatever they're calling it here.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Editing does this volume no favors.

The first issue drops Superboy into the Ravagers storyline. Then the second issue has him post battle with no context.

Then we get all the Superboy H'el issues. But unlike Death of the Family which included the conclusion in every affiliated collection. So even though that is the bulk we don't get the conclusion.


And the other issues are not interesting to me. In fact the inclusion of the Good Boy short story makes little sense for inclusion.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superboy Vol. 3: Lost

As H'El continues his mad quest to resurrect Kryptonite by destroying Earth, Harvest reveals his strange connection to Superman and his clone.

The plot calls on the wider 'New 52' characters and plotlines to drive the story as everything connects together well. The art is exemplary as ever and the layout helps pull the reader into the page.

[Arturo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once again the He'l crossover gets 2 stars.
3 note worthy things are.
1. Batman's fur cape in #16
2. I think Superboy and Supergirl face to face on one page of #17 is an homage to not just a Reign of the Supermen cover, but Supergirl's first appearance in the silver age.
3. Wonder Woman vs Supergirl
Catfight! Graow!

Issue 19 has Harvest telling his and Superboy's origin which is crazy but ... Decent.

[John Yelverton · Rating 1 out of 5]

More whining and more ineptitude from this latest incarnation of Superboy. If the point of the New 52 is to make us loath their characters, then they're succeeding.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

incomplete stories.
stories I've read in other trade volumes.
still a Superboy I don't care for.
I'll let Vol 4 be the last chance for this title, simply because it has a new writer.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 1 out of 5]

Po lekturze trzeciego tomu Supka myślałem, że nic gorszego mnie już nie spotka w ramach crossoveru H'el on Earth. Nadeszło...

Superboy od początku nie miał łatwo. Klon diabolicznej organizacji w zamaskowanym villainem na czele o bliżej nieokreślonych zamiarach (morderczych, sie wie), dodatkowo z takim sobie charakterem. Losy Superboya od początku są ściśle powiązane z Teen Titans i w sumie dobrze, bo chłopak właśnie z tym zespołem potrafi odpowiednio rozwinąć skrzydła. Samemu nie idzie mu to zbyt dobrze.

Rozpoczyna się całkiem nieźle. Kilka pomniejszych akcji, zwykła dziewczyna w obwodzie, małe utarczki z policją. A potem zaczynamy zabawę z H'elem. Superman miał przynajmniej oprawę wizualną. Tu nie jest zła, ale też nie wyróżnia się niczym specjalnym. Przygody Kon-Ela są zwyczajnie nudne. Nie pomaga tutaj obecność Kenta i spółki.

Myślałem, że dwa końcowe, dodatkowe zeszyty będą dawały mi taką frajdę jak to miało miejsce przy Supergirl, ale nie... Okazało się w końcu, kto jest Harvestem i jakie są ukryte motywy tego złoczyńcy. Za późno, zbyt typowo, przez co mało interesująco. Schrzanili genezę tej tajemniczej postaci.

Jest tu też ten chaos obecny przy dwóch innych powiązanych tytułach ze względu na skaszaniony podział zeszytów do czytania, przez co aby zrozumieć całość należało by przeczytać wszystko tak jak to przygotował wydawca... Słabo. Odradzam.

[Lillian Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

#13 - 17 and annual (review incs tie ins) Overall I enjoyed this. The art was more or less on par in style across the 3 series for it not to stand out too badly, although it was most to my liking in this title with Superboy next and Supergirl following up behind.
What I enjoyed:
Clark and Kon’s developing relationship. The banter, so much fun.
H’el. Yes I liked the bad guy of the piece. I liked his look, apparently his design was supposed to be to be New 52s Bizarro but they went with something else. I understood his motivation, even if I couldn’t approve of his methods (master manipulator, anyone?) or his lack of empathy, for Earth, Kon, anyone really. They let no opportunity pass to draw him in the ‘Jesus ascending from the heavens’ pose, as though he truly was the saviour of Krypton.
Batman’s fur lined cloak. 😂

What I didn’t like
There was no explanation as to why H’el was so much stronger than Superman. And had all sorts of other powers that none of the Kryptonians have.
Was H’el who he claimed? Why did Kara not remember him leaving on his journey?

What I hated
The ending/epilogue. Pants. Timey whimey bullshit. Hate it. Hurts my brain when I start to think about it.
Kara. Stupid bitch. So easily manipulated.
Why did none of the JL just shout out ‘he’s going to blow up the Earth’ instead keep fight her. Wonder Woman had so many opportunities.

#18

[Douglas Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, by the 3rd volume these writers are crafting some good stories for Superboy! The thing I love about the issues collected in this volume is that they are actually able to blend together the development of Superboy’s character and great action sequences (unlike many current Rebirth titles that favor action and no character development) This is perfectly done in the story arc that teams Superboy with Superman for the first time allowing Superboy to first hand see a real hero in action, as he decides if he wants to be one or not. The second reason I love this volume is it teams up the title hero with the Teen Titans (briefly) the Justice League, and pits him against Supergirl ( 3 of my favorites!) These are perfect crossover characters for Superboy. The downside to these awesome crossovers, is the money hungry creatives at DC spread the stories out over several various titles to try to make you buy them all, so this volume does not contain satisfying endings to two different stories! If it had, my rating would be, “it’s amazing,” instead of “really liked it.”

[Sean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Want 40% of a poorly written story involving the worst version of multiple DC characters? Well, this book is for you. DC editorial once again collects a book in a way that shows they don't want readers to enjoy their work. Here, various parts of stories are collected with those stories continued and collected elsewhere. Its awful for readers. What readers do get is incredibly bad. This Superboy is unlikable, H'El is far too over-powered, plot threads are left dangling, dialogue is so robotically bad. The art was also average at best. Overall, one of the worst New 52 titles continues to be just that, the worst.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's just get it out of the way that this collection is nonsense. If you are reading this story, just pick up the H'El on Earth crossover collection. That includes these as well as relevant issues of Superman and Supergirl.

With that caveat, this story as actually the first of New 52 Superboy that I have enjoyed. I love the art and think Lobdell and DeFalco do a good job writing these characters.

I'm covering my reread of New 52 Superman over on Comic Book Coffee Break: https://smallvillechronicle.blogspot....

[Scott Waldie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some decent stuff in here, and H'el is a solid antagonist that can throw up a challenge to all the Supes, the Justice League, etc. Again though, you'll be skipping some story if you aren't also reading the other titles that it crosses into and out of. That can be a distraction when you're trying to enjoy a trade. Here you'll have to just fill in the gaps with your own answers.

[Paweł · Rating 2 out of 5]

Połowa to H'el on Earth, dalej jedna mała przygoda i jeden zeszyt który wreszcie wyjaśnia fabułę 9 innych książek. Serio. Tyle czytania, żeby dopiero teraz dowiedzieć się kim jest Harvest!?

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is getting better story wise. I liked the art better in this issue.

[superhero fan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Connects with superman he'l on earth which is great so this is great too

[Lee Diamond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was a bit of a slow burner. But I really enjoyed it towards the end. Volume 4 is on the way!

[Trevor Kidd · Rating 1 out of 5]

Convoluted and collected in a way that makes little sense.

[Rick Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot going on in this volume. The first issue in this book, #13, was part of a crossover with The Ravagers, Vol. 1: The Kids from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. and Legion Lost, Vol. 2: The Culling so we didn't get to see the entire story in this book. Issues #14-17 are all a part of the H'el on Earth story that crossovers over with the same issues of both Supergirl, Vol. 3: Sanctuary and Superman, Vol. 3: Fury at World's End. We only get 1/3 of the story there. These first 5 issues were all written by Tom Defalco. What is there of both of these crossovers is pretty good, but it is hard to rate the story without having read the whole thing. There is also an annual issue in here about Superman and Superboy that ties into the above story.The rest of the book is either plotted or written by Scott Lobdell. We get Superboy's origin and also that of Harvest in these issues. Maybe it is because of Lobdell's hand in these 2 issues or maybe it's due to the fact that there is a complete story here, I enjoyed this last part of the book more. Writing for the book as a whole gets 3.5 stars. I may feel better about the story once I've read the other stuff that crosses over with this series.

R.B. Silva is the main artist on the series. The outlines of the characters look good and the initial face of the characters do too, but he should let someone else draw the details in the faces. He has no idea what he's doing in that regard. Almost every person has a little square shape on their face for some reason. The rest of the details look like chicken scratch. Diogenis Neves works on the last issue with Silva and Ken Lashley provides the art for a backup story featuring Krypto in issue #18. The art by both of these guys is the best in the book with Lashley being the better artist of the two. There is someone else that draws in the middle issues, but I forgot the name. His art was just as bad as Silva's and could easily has been passed off as Silva's had his name not been in the book. Overall the art score gets 2.5 stars. There just wasn't enough art by Lashley to provide a better score.

3.5 star for writing and 2.5 stars for art make this a 3 star book. I'm still interested in this series, but the art is hurting it.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The opening issues of this volume make a grand total of zero sense, but they're not overly bad per se. Once H'El on Earth started, I thought everything was going to get even worse and I'd end up throwing out my first 1 star rating, but it's actually not that bad, even with most of the story missing since this only collects the Superboy issues. That said, the Superboy Annual is some of the most pointless, filler, boring tripe I've ever read since starting comics, so that definitely drags the volume down, and I'm actually disappointed that we didn't get to see how H'El on Earth ended overall. Then once the crossover is over, we're back to pointless and nonsensical but inoffensive. It's a shame that artist R. B. Silva is wasted on this title, because his artwork is excellent and it gets stuffed onto this mess of a title. There are glimmers of hope, and most of the book isn't particularly bad, but I'm in no hurry to read this volume again.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of the book isn't bad; there's the crossover with the H'el on Earth story, which has some good moments, especially between Superboy and Superman. But there's also a couple of loose story fragments at the beginning and end that don't stand on their own and don't have any real resolution. And Superboy is REALLY whiny for most of the book. And the last 5 pages seem like they fell out of a completely different book; they have nothing in common with anything else in the book. And there's a story from the Annual that is just odd, with Dr. Psycho and Superboy and exploring Harvest's origins (which, yes, thank you for at least a bit more of the story, as kind of stupid as it is, and giving some rationale for his existence, even if it doesn't justify the amount of page time he's gotten over the myriad titles). Ultimately, I think the book has more misses than hits, but it's not all bad.

[M. Ashraf · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one... the whole encounter with Superman, even H'el it was very good and it added to the character more than took form him unlike what happened in the culling :/
this was much much better and paved the way to tell the story about his origin :) that was some sort of a mystery since the start of the new 52 :)

My Superboy collection

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disconnected portions of the H'el story that make no sense without context and have no resolution, combined with a couple of ridiculous one-shots that fail to elicit interest for other possible storylines.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gets his ass beat by Kyptonian HEL. Shows Harvest backstory, came from future to build metahuman to destroy all others. Shifted gears quickly from JL and boy taking on HEL to showing boy fight radiation monster. Some chick lands on a planet and krypto shows up

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked that so many DC characters made a appearance but that was about it.. random issues that didn't work together at all.

[Jon De · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am pretty disappointed with this trade. I think the author is high or something when writing this story line.

[Annice22 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being connected to two different crossovers, it wasn't a bad read. The H'el on Earth crossover has such a weak story and a boring villain, I did enjoyed reading all the snarky interactions between Superman and Superboy.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok..
The Good.
I really enjoyed the art.
The pieces of this story are good. The bits with Superman and Superboy are great.
The Batman, Wonder Woman and Superboy pieces are fun.

Everything else...
This collection of stories is all over the place.
Not sure that it holds together as a single story.
If I had read this as a monthly I would have been lost.
While the story panels look great, they don't make for easy reading.

Read it beacuase it will leave you story holes if you don't but.....