I feel like I had been waiting forever for this one to come out, with Absolute Batman's fourth volume feeling like it released weeks ago. In general the Absolute Superman volumes do come a little later, but I found myself constantly looking online to see whether it had finally released or not. Trying my best to not forget that I was reading it in the first place. Don't get me wrong, it's not out of boredom with the story, it has been quite an interesting ride so far with various turns within the character and their narrative, but the constant wait with so many other comics to read really makes it easy to forget about one or two comics that I've already started. From what I remember from the previous volume, Absolute Superman continued with a little bit of backstory that saw us seeing the state of the planet, where massive corporations had effectively mined the planet to near death, with various changes taking place throughout the planet that led to crops dying and strange gasses appearing upon the land. It's a story that has been taking quite a dystopian turn so far, looking into a universe in which high-technology is met with superpowers. Where AI suits can protect a being, and planets are ruled over by money-hungry corporations desperate to control and profit from whatever they can, whether it results in deaths of workers, or women and children in the process. This backstory saw Superman in his youth, always rebelling to some degree, questioning the narrative of the ruler.
I have been enjoying the more dystopian look at things, especially with elements of world-building that show the occasional perspective from the regular citizens of the planet. Moving away from the main character sometimes to give the world a little more depth to it. Though with it now being four volumes in, I was starting to question whether the ball would start rolling a little faster. Back story, world building, and a little bit of the general stuff we've all seen before in the Superman story have been what we've been seeing so far. This fourth volume started with an interesting idea though: interviews from around the world in which citizens are essentially interrogated about their previous encounters with superman. In the previous volume we saw how Lois was a journalist part of the Lazarus Corporation (which is a joke that somewhat writes itself given the dystopia) and had her own encounter with Superman, now starting to see a bit more of a bigger picture regarding the happenings of the planet and the person himself. Portrayed as a loose cannon, someone of great danger to society, despite most people he encounters actually having nothing but good to say about him. Lois in her journalistic pursuit wanting to find out more information on him. I do like that the Lois character is different here, not really one that supports Superman nor is a friend of his, instead a worker for a giant evil corporation. The sentiment of the people that promote Superman's capabilities was an interesting touch, people essentially begging for the day that genocides the people of the corporation.
I really liked the portrayal of Superman in this volume, switching from him generally being a hero but more a weapon that everyone is aware of, he's someone that is feared from both sides but it's clear which side he's actually on. Talked about like he's some strange mythical being rather than a normal person, a ghost that appears and disappears, leaving behind endless amounts of costly damage in his path, though the one thing that is always noted is the lack of dead. Superman doesn't kill despite the damage. There's this contrast between the sheer amount of destruction Superman causes and the number of bodies that appear whenever the Lazarus Corporation is present, it's something I noticed whenever there is any conflict within the panels. There's always civilians caught up in the action somehow, and it's always on the end of the Lazarus soldiers, and always not a care in the world for those who do end up dying. I think this addition is a nice tough, but it's also something that adds to the depth of the story. While Superman doesn't kill, someone else does. That darkness is still present somehow, making the story still feel like it has a bit of punch to it. This tends to be one of the greater weaknesses of these types of stories, where the hero is the good one, and the villains aren't actually that evil in comparison, more just comically bad.
Mixed with the art style, which I think was absolutely incredible in this volume, I really felt the comic's darker tones shining through. It felt real, rich in detail. And the action panels were really impressive with some great perspectives. The moment Superman suddenly enters a conflict, it's met with this rage, an anger that fills the space with red. Suddenly the general scope of the conflict changes, now there's something present to really fear. And even with little of Superman even present this volume, all the attention of mine was on the other characters, especially Primus. Her design was incredibly cool, such strength and futurism to her design, especially in the panel in which she's firing a shotgun. Suddenly, Absolute Superman has jumped up greatly in quality. And what a sudden, unexpected surprise his was! The mystery in the story of where Superman was, the various corporations mixing together and clashing over him, and all the designs in the art to display it all. The best volume in the series so far for sure.
What started off as a casual read out of curiosity has suddenly grown into quite an interest in the story. I've read conflicting opinions on it all so far, but I'm really digging the art style and the direction this is going in. It isn't all focused on Superman. There's many different characters here popping up with their own weight to the volumes. There's the more distinct setting and tone that comes with the dystopia and futurism, and that's something I really appreciate.