JLA: Shogun of Steel

 This Elseworlds tale takes place in feudal Japan as a despotic ruler has thrown Japan into a near-fascist state. None is safe as robotic drones wreak havoc in the countryside, eradicating any chance for a force to fight back. A small band of freedom fighters have one last opportunity to fight back, but time is running out. Thankfully, there’s a man who can fly, shoot fire from his eyes, is incredibly strong, and he hates this new ruler of Japan just as much as they do.

   The story is very good. It's kinda original even though I figured out who the bad guy really is about half way before the big reveal and it was really cool and fitting since the heroic mystery man is Kal-El.

   Here’s my problem with this book: while the art is visually stunning, reflecting the woodcut style of ancient Japan, why is Kal-El portrayed as Asian? In regular DC books, Superman looks like a Caucasian male with raven black hair. Here, Kal-El, along with his father Jor-El, is drawn as a Japanese strongman. Shouldn’t Superman look more like he would in the regular DC books since he was born on Krypton and not Earth? I think having him be more like a “fish out of water” in feudal Japan would have been even more poignant.

    There’s a definite Shogun vibe here. In  that novel by James Michener,  an American explorer is thrust into the world of feudal Japan and I think the artist and writer missed a great opportunity to explore that route had they kept Kal-El looking like himself in the comics and not having his appearance drawn like a Japanese man. Though I consider this a serious nit/ continuity error, I consider this book to be Worth Consuming. 

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.