When Geoff Johns abandoned the Adventure Comics ship far earlier than many of us expected, I'm sure I wasn't alone in wondering if it would be worth sticking with the title.So far, however, it has continued to be a great read - with the current issue boasting three separate stories that all tie-in with the current Superman 'event' title: Last Stand On New Krypton.
The first story, by James Robinson, continues the struggles of the 31st Century Legion Of Superheroes to avert the time-altering event of Superman's death at the hands of Brainiac back in the 21st Century (and during the 'Last Stand').
Mainly a P.O.V. piece focusing on Brainiac 5 who is jerry-rigging a device to transport him back in time to prevent the original, evil Brainiac from offing the Man of Steel, this is tense stuff - ending with the cliffhanger of him disappearing into the time stream.
The second story, by Sterling Gates, concentrates on the ongoing battle on - and above - the surface of New Krypton as Superboy, Supergirl and other members of the Legion of Superheroes, battle Brainiac's android legions - while trying to keep the various Kryptonian guilds from killing each other.
(Superman, himself, and Mon-El are facing down Brainiac and Luthor in Superman #686, which runs parallel with this)
The final story in Adventure Comics issue nine is set back on Earth and follows General Lane's anti-Kryptonian activities and the machinations of one of General Zod's double-agents in Lane's staff to maneuver the blinkered general into a position where Zod can strike.
It's all wonderfully Machiavellian and despite three authors working on the stories in this issue, it still feels part of a unified, greater whole, taking established elements of Superman's multi-decade mythology and expanding it in convincing new directions.
The arc features a large cast, but unlike Blackest Night, it's not so many that you need a scorecard and sourcebook to keep track.
I've said it before, but it's an example I can't understand why DC don't roll out through their other titles, but the simple addition of the numbered shields on the front cover (so you know what order to read a pile of Superman titles in) is a great asset.
Form instance, there were numerous times when I read Blackest Night tie-ins, only to subsequently find a later issue of a different title should have been read before hand... but once you've learned some nugget of information ahead of time it's impossible to unlearn it.
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