Smallville Season 11, Volume 4: Argo

Smallville: Season 11 #4

by Bryan Q. Miller (Writer), Cat Staggs (Illustrator), Daniel HDR (Illustrator)

The first time in print for these digital-first stories, the hit CW series Smallville continues!

Clark Kent finds himself transported to the future, where he meets the greatest heroes of the 31st Century: Booster Gold and the Legion of Super-Heroes! However, it's not a mere social call: Superman must stop war between Earth and a stunning villain! Collects issues #13-15 and SMALLVILLE SEASON ELEVEN SPECIAL #2.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superman, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Fantasy

160 pages, Paperback

First published March 18, 2014

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

[David Roberson]

"Argo" is a bit of a slog. While I enjoyed seeing what became of Kara and the kandorians, the back-and-forth between New Krypton and Earthgov wound up ultimately being a bore. I somewhat think there were simply too many narratives at play to flesh anything out to satisfaction. I love seeing the Legion, but barely got to. Kara and Clark's throwdown over humanity's worthiness was interesting, but it should have been explored a bit more. The only thing I got enough of? Booster Gold.

"Valkyrie" was fantastic. It was far and away the best segment of this volume! I loved seeing Lana again, and a Lois/Lana team up is not something I thought I needed. The only drawback is I wanted more...

[kierra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate Gold. I dislike adventures in the future and the absence of Lois or Batman or even Chloe. Besides, it's one hundred years from now, but the fashion or devices are exactly the same? Hmmm, sounds like "not a very good scenario".

[S.E. Martens · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an odd one. Smallville Season 11 Volume 4 sees all of the in-progress story arcs pause abruptly as Miller attempts to pick up the thread from several different unresolved plot points from the TV-series.

While I don't hate the idea of checking in with Kara (she had a disappointing send-off on the show, to say the least!), or the Legion, we also get Booster Gold, Brainiac, and the entire Kryptonian civilization crammed into this. And it feels . . . off.

The story starts with the return of Booster Gold, so it's already putting me in a bad mood (sorry.) No sooner does Clark finally get to go home to Lois, then he and Booster are whisked away to the 31st Century, where the Legion of Superheroes is embroiled in a conflict between Earth and "New Krypton."

Turns out the Kryptonians that Clark sent to another planet in the Season 9 finale ("Salvation"), established a new civilization that's been thriving ever since.

The thing is, the pacing is all off in this story, possibly due to having too many characters. It just turns into an extended roll call. Kara is a spy for the Kryptonians and gets in a fight with Clark about how xenophobic humanity is, but these things are touched upon in only the broadest strokes. And as happy as I am to see Kara again, she barely feels like herself in this story.

Then Doomsday reappears and of course there's a big fight with Superman, but instead of feeling as though we've built to an exciting climax, it's just . . . there. It's hard to understand the stakes. I have no idea what anybody's motivation is and everyone comes across as one-dimensional.

A disappointing middle volume, that ends up feeling way-too much like filler.

Then we come to the back-up story, Valkyrie, which sees the return of Lana Lang as she and Lois team up. This turned out to be the highlight of the volume. It was nice to see Lana thriving and doing something on her own.

It was nice to check in with her, but I feel ambivalent about her returning for more than this side-story. Still, a nice bit of closure for her character (if that's all it is.)

[Kushnuma · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, I ended up reading this in one sitting. Loved it and loved to see some old characters too.

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This particular edition to the "Smallville: Season 11" book series was so great, it almost felt like I was reading the comic, rather than the comic book adaptation of the television series. This is quickly becoming my favorite DC Comics book series to read.

[Bridget LaMonica · Rating 4 out of 5]

At this point in the series, the artwork has certainly improved. I remember commenting on the artwork of the first volume or two and being shocked at how badly the characters were rendered. Don't get me wrong, the covers were beautiful, but the inside work was very strangely proportioned.

Here we get a story that looks at the future and what happened to Zod's people after Clark sent them away at the end of Season 9. It's actually a pretty good look at the politics of two worlds that don't agree.

The Kara in this volume is much more mature and likeable than how she was portrayed for much of her tenure on Smallville.

We also get a look at what Lana's up to, and surprisingly it was also well done. (Lana stories tended to get worse towards the end of the TV series so having her in the comic brought back mixed emotions). Lana's bit as the desert Angel was actually really touching, and I'd be interested to see if this was explored in later volumes.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tie-in digital series that followed the end of Smallville actually managed to improve quite a bit on that series, and explored variations of major parts of the DC continuum that the show couldn’t do. In this volume, the Legion gets a decent bit of airtime, though it could have used even more, and Supergirl makes a comeback (sporting a great Cat Staggs-designed costume to boot.) The last section of the book finds Lois running into Lana Lang in Southeast Asia, where she’s using her powers to save children. It’s pretty decent stuff, overall, and the Legion sequences look great (and Nooster Hold isn’t *too* irritating.)

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never liked Booster Gold, and the Kandorian subplot always bored me, so the first part of this wasn't great. (It was, however, great to see Kara again).

But the second part was fantastic, as it featured Lois and Lana teaming up! I know I'm in the minority here, but I always loved Lana and was heartbroken over what happened to her relationship with Clark. I definitely feel bad for her character now that she knows Clark has moved on with Lois, and I wonder if she will make any future appearances in this series.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smallville: Season 11 Vol. 4: Argo

An emergency in the 31st Century causes the Legion to pull Clark and Booster Gold from the 21st Century, where Clark is reunited with an old friend. Meanwhile, Lois runs into another old friend in Cambodia.

The artwork is just poor. It's lazy and makes no attempt to be screen accurate. That normally is not a problem, but it makes stylistic choices which are equally poor. The story hangs together quite well, but does little to advance any arcs.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

The return of Lana Lang was a bit of a disappointment and the Argo storyline was confusing. Did Doomsday return or did they create him from fetus DNA? The panels look like they created him, but the dialog sounds like he's the show Doomsday returned.

I am usually all for "show don't tell" but the whole future story lines needed a better explanation for what was going on, who was who and who was who's side. It was exceptionally hard to follow.

[Keri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a little more difficult to follow. It has been a few years since I watched the tv series so when they bring back characters and follow up on a story line, it takes me a little bit to remember what happened in the show. I hate that Oliver and Chloe aren't around anymore too. They were my favorites!

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Legion-New Krypton-Earth dynamics and motivations were poorly laid out and tedious. Booster was underused. Kara was the only decent point in the future arc.

The Lois and Lana team-up chapter was pretty fun, even though I'm really tired of Lana in the show (watching for the first time, through season four - no friggin' clue her status quo at the time of these comics).

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review is for the first 8 arcs in the Smallville Season 11 line

The tone and style of the main characters is there, and the storylines feel like they belong in the same 'verse, but two many gaps in the flow, to many unestablished new players, to many jumps back and forth between plots and present/past tales makes for an individually enjoyable but overall unsatisfying read.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one only gets +1 Star because it had Booster Gold in it. And he's with a different voice on this one than you usually would read, so if you're a fan of Booster Gold you'll find this take of him interesting.

Other than that, pretty mediocre stuff all around.

[Nastassja Riemermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of it in the 31st century

I didn't love that most of it was in the 31st century. I couldn't care less about Booster Gold, though it was nice to see Brainoac again, even if he looks weird with bond hair. I also liked catching up with a finally fulfilled Lana in Valkyrie.

[Roberto Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Future fight

The Legion, Supergir and Booster Gold aid Superman to stop a war in the future. And in the present, Lois travels to find Lana fighting to save children. The world of Smallville keeps getting bigher in this continuation of the series in digital comic form.

[Celina · Rating 5 out of 5]

These comics are really entertaining.

[livia · Rating 4 out of 5]

one extra star for the lana + lois team up

[Wolverinefactor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This didn’t feel like Smallville and that’s probably why it’s better than the other volumes

[Nika · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute but a bit boring

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

To the future. Kara's loyalties are tested. Booster's borrowed power.

[Stephen Abell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was always a fan of The League Of Superheroes, what with Lightning Lad, Brainiac 5, Saturn Girl, and the rest how could you go wrong (?)

Well, you can't.

Because this story is set in a future where war is imminent, thanks to Superman in the present day, there's not much scope to expand and continue the backstories, which in itself isn't a bad thing as it allows you to enjoy the main story arch. This includes finding out more about Booster Gold, his ego, and his heroism. Along with the return of Supergirl, Kara, and her allegiances with the supposed oppressive government of the 31st Century.

It's a good story and I do love The League, though, for me, they don't get enough story time. It would have been nice to have this as a four parter and bring in more characters and their characterisations, which could've filled out the story more.

The bonus though is because Argo is a three parter, you get space in the back for Valkyrie; a story which only includes Lois Lane and Lana Lang. It's nice to have two strong female characters holding the lead in a story. Lois is chasing up "The Angel of The Plateau" unbeknownst to her "The Angel" is Lana, who is trying to help the children of Africa survive to war there. Unfortunately, this makes her a target and John Corben is sent in after her.

Daniel HDR does a good job on the artwork for Argo, both with the action scenes and the portraits. But it's really nice to see a full Cat Staggs story as her artwork usually seen on the digital covers for Smallville. It wasn't until I saw this full story that I could fully appreciate her art and skill. It would be nice to see more of her work in these pages.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on what has been released thus far, this trade/story is by far the weakest of the 4 trades. Especially after the stunningly brilliant 3rd trade (Haunted), it fell flat because it didn't have as much heart. Booster wasn't snarky enough, the Legion seemed fragmented (because of a love triangle? - Still can't figure that one out), and the redo and fight with Doomsday was a flash in the pan (much like the fight that happened at the end of season 7). I just felt that with two worlds at war, I should have felt more invested, but I wasn't. Maybe that is because I have never been much of a Legion fan. Who knows? But on the flip side, I did however enjoy the little story at the end of the book that involved Lois and Lana. Fun seeing Lois in the field, discovering what Lana has been up to this whole time and what she has been doing with her powers, and seeing the awkward conversation between Clark's two loves of his life.

But will this get me to stop reading? No. There is a flash of green in the sky that flew by New Krypton! (Hint to an upcoming GL story!) And up next...Wonder Woman! Love seeing how characters that the TV show didn't have the rights to come to fruition on the page.

[NullusAnxietus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume four of Smallville Season 11 carries within it two stories. The first is Argo, which sees the return of Booster Gold and Blue Beetle. When Superman touches Booster's stolen Legion ring, it enacts a recall protocol, sending them both into the far future. Here they end up in the middle of a conflict between the forces of Earth and New Krypton, a society founded by the Kandorians that left Earth at the end of Smallville season 9.

This is one of the greatest Smallville stories thus far. It has a great intriguing story featuring Kara Zor El and the members of the League as well as Booster Gold and Skeets

The second story is told in parrallel and follows Lois Lane on assignment to investigate a mysterious figure who is menacing Cambodian crime gangs and rescuing children from slavery

Both stories are great and I highly recommend them!

4/5

[DavidO · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first of the Smallville comics I've read. The characters and backstory are consistent with the TV show, though the characters looks a bit different than the actors. There's more of a focus on plot and action in this than the TV show, which focused more on the characters. Highpoint is probaly when Supergirl reappears.

[Jan van Es · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVE Supergirl so it's been about time that she got back for Season 11. Too bad she decided to stay there though. I wish she would have returned with Superman but we can't always have what we want, right? Always love Laura Vandervoort as well.

[Ashlynn Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

My love for Smallville is endless so these continuations are like a drug for me. Besides, the return of Booster and a "defeated" Lana? Thank you! (Not a Lana fan, but I didn't mind her so much this installation. So long as I never see her again that is).

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the Lana and Lois stuff in this one!

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as previous issues. It had nice moments, but hardly felt like Smallville at all.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh this was ok. best line of the book "avenge my boobs!"