Mind's Eye Comics Pick!! -- Superman: Lost #1

Superman: Lost #1, DC Comics

Writer: Christopher Priest

Artist: Carlo Pagulayan

As Lois Lane is digging into the sudden resignation of a Senator, which gives the majority representation to the opposition, Superman is called away on a Justice League priority situation. When the League arrives to investigate a Chinese submarine that malfunctioned and sank in international waters, they quickly realize its a more critical situation. Hoping to rescue the crew, and recover the sub before gaining any attention, the Chinese have sent forces in, which led to a confrontation between Chinese and the U.S., risking an all out war. Realizing it's actually an alien vessel on the sea floor, and that the Chinese were trying to steal its hyper-drive technology, destabilizing the containment field in the process, the League has little time to act to save the planet from being drawn into a singularity caused by the destabilized core. Only Superman can survive the effort, and seems to go missing into the singularity in the process, until he shows up at his apartment hours later. Except for him it's apparently actually been twenty years.

Okay, there's a lot to unpack in this first issue, so lets get to it. If that lengthy summary seems a bit confusing or intimidating, don't worry about it. As with all comic books, the best thing you can do is just to go with it, and in this case the macguffin needed to have Superman disappear for twenty years is a destabilized alien core at the bottom of the sea. There you have it. If this is your first time reading Christopher Priest, he can get wordy, non-linear and likes to put superheroes into real world situations with a comic book flare. Superman: Lost is that taken to the extreme. I enjoyed the issue quite a bit. I liked the subplot upfront with Lois cynically digging into the Senator's resignation, and I'd bet that comes back into play quite a bit in the following issues. I also liked the scenario the League responds to, and seeing them just act like heroes together to solve the situation. It felt very Silver Age, yet modern at the same time. It was just cool to see them face this situation head-on, and to see Superman step up to risk his life to save the planet...again. As we unpack the mystery of Superman's lost time, and why only a mere few hours passed for everyone else, it'll be interesting to see how Lois and Superman reconnect.