Times are strange at DC Comics, no doubt.
The beginning of 2021 is a two month experiment, Future State, looking at their characters in a possible (or probable or definitive) future. Those books must be the remnants of the proposed '5G' reboot where DC was going to replace all their main characters with new versions. I can only assume that AT&T squelched the destruction of their newly acquired IP. And so Future State instead of being *the* future state is a 2 month detour. (I do find it intriguing that so many Future State creative teams have been announced on oncoming titles come February.)
But to lead us into this new state, DC also took December off, running the Endless Winter crossover throughout all their major books. Creative teams are not present. Ron Marz and Andy Lanning are at the helm. And so we get a speed bump before the detour.
This is not a bashing of Endless Winter, a story that I am enjoying so far. It is a questioning of DC's editorial hierarchy. Three months away from the main universe in a questionable market seems like a gamble. Trust me, I have lived through periods where a new 'jumping on' point has been a potential 'jumping off' point for me.
But enough about DC's difficulties cultivating audiences. Let's talk about Endless Winter Superman Special #1. Written by Ron Marz and Andy Lanning with art by Phil Hester and Marco Santucci, this is a decent character piece looking at Superman in contrast to the Frost King, the cause of Earth's next Ice Age.
I have been around long enough to have read many similar character studies on Superman. But when done right, they make me smile. I liked this issue. So let's dive in.
