SUPERMAN: SPACE AGE (Russell / Allred(s); DC, 2022-23)

(*****+ / *****) Thought I'd spend the next couple of days with SPACE AGE and ended up binging the thing this afternoon: easily in my top three Superman stories of all time (WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW and ALL STAR being in first and (now) third place, respectively), this is one of the most beautiful and profound superhero series to come out in (at least) the last 20 years. Love the retelling and reimagining of the first Crisis; the formation of the Justice League (bored Flash is brilliant); the first (and last) confrontation between a version of Batman and The Joker that I wanted to see so much more of (almost a mixture of Pattinson's THE BATMAN and Robert Downey Jr.'s IRON MAN); a spot-on portrayal of Superman that deftly mixes the outsider with the beacon of light (that I hope James Gunn has paid attention to); and a pitch-perfect version of the greatest love story in comics. Everything comics could be and then some; a triumph.