As I think I’ve mentioned before, I’m not hugely impressed with this recent habit of taking chapters of an ongoing story out and putting them into one-off “Specials”. I find it throws off the momentum and sequencing of a title, even if it falls as a bridge between two arcs proper – as New Krypton Special does. You’re left wondering whether it’s an essential part of the story that’s been pulled out to emphasise its importance, or whether (as in the case of last week’s Jimmy Olsen one-shot) it’s there more to add colour and background for the more dedicated reader.

In this case, I’d have assumed before reading it that it was going to be the former – when in fact, it’s more about the latter. Nothing happens that you’d miss if you just went on to the next issues of Superman and Action Comics, it’s more about establishing the tone (and certain character beats) of the story to come. As it happens, it’s not a bad read. It’s fairly padded out, which only strengthens the argument that it should have been kept to the main titles – a number of scenes have no real reason to drag on the way they do, and thus feel suspiciously like page-filler (the dialogue-free opening of Jonathan Kent’s funeral also feels like it’s copping out of working on bringing out genuine emotion, instead falling back on the time-honoured device of silence).

The sequence that works best, however, is the middle section of the issue – Clark’s conversation with Zor-El and Alura in Kandor itself. It’s the mixture of Clark’s joy at having fellow Kryptonians around, and the increasingly ominous tone as we realise that their presence really isn’t going to turn out to be a good thing for Earth – aptly demonstrated by one Kandorian’s killing of a blue whale.

(Incidentally, while I previously complained about the apparent lack of relevance in killing off Jonathan, I’m starting to see the point of it as this story kicks into gear – killing him has put his very existence, and more notably his influence on Clark, into the spotlight, and we’re presumably going to see the difference between an all-powerful Kryptonian that was raised by the Kents, and ones that weren’t. Let’s hope that we get a more convincing range of Kryptonian characters than a simple one-note “non-understanding alien” take across the board, though.)

The other moment that leaps out comes right at the issue’s close, when the identity of the previously-unnamed “General” is revealed. I have to say that it says a lot about this character’s prior lack of relevance that he can have appeared on-panel unrecognised by simple virtue of not naming him (the reader could be forgiven, in fact, for wondering if Thunderbolt Ross hadn’t crossed universes) – and even the earlier conversation between the Lane sisters didn’t have me twig, although it was probably supposed to. What really strikes me about the closing scene, though, is the way Luthor is used. It would seem that, after a hazy few years where his status has never quite been clear, the final shackles of the Byrne-era “corporate criminal” have been cast off, and he really is back to being an habitually-jailed scientific genius. Not before time, to be honest – Morrison’s All-Star version (clearly an influence here, down to the orange prison suit) showed that it’s an interpretation that can still work, and indeed arguably works better than any other.

It’s a good-looking comic, too, by virtue of the fact that the Superman stable currently has by far its strongest set of artists since the days when Jurgens, Grummett, Bogdanove and Guice were the four main pencillers. It’s a shame, though, that while Pete Woods and Renato Guedes offer no small measure of consistency in their styles, it’s not matched by Gary Frank – whose work is excellent, but stands out as markedly different from the other two, and so gives the funeral sequence an even stronger impression of being something that should have been in the pages of Action, but simply didn’t fit.

Against my expectations, this really isn’t an essential chapter in the ongoing story, and so – especially at the price – I’d hesitate to recommend it unreservedly to anyone looking to get onboard with the new story. But for the current Superman reader there’s a good amount of colour established, and it does the job in a tidy and professional way.

I’m quite kindly disposed towards James Robinson at the moment, having recently picked up volume one of The Starman Omnibus and been reminded of just how perfect in almost every conceivable way that series (er, up until Jack goes into space) really is. I’m not sure whether this made me want to like his burgeoning Superman run a bit more or not, but certainly, the third issue is the most enjoyable so far.

It’s been a difficult run to get a handle on, primarily since the main plot has consisted of little more than Supes having a big punch-up with someone a bit stronger than him. But what this issue makes apparent is that, as with much of Robinson’s comics work, this is really about nuances, and moments. And so scattered around a fight sequence that really has far too many echoes of Doomsday to be accidental (but then, it’s hard to know exactly which ’90s Superman stories are supposed to have even happened now we’re on New Earth) are a number of scenes that suggest that maybe Robinson does have a handle on at least part of what makes a good Superman tale, even if the whole doesn’t quite convince as much as it should just yet.

Of particular note is a two-page flashback sequence with Clark and Lois at home that’s slightly cheesy but just about gets away with it (not least because it features Clark reading a paper called “The Opal City”), and an even better scene that finally deals with the unfortunate problem of having Lana Lang in charge of Lexcorp, at the same time making her far more of a character than she’s been in, ooh, decades, really. More, please. And then there’s the closing page, an utterly brilliant - and unexpected - moment that’s one of those rare “Cheer at the page!” events, and which showcases a unique but entertaining grasp of canine “dialogue”.

As I think I mentioned when reviewing the first issue of this arc, a real attraction of the book right now is the presence of Renato Guedes as artist. I’ve been championing this guy - “the new Butch Guice” as I always call him, and will continue to do so until it catches on - for a while now, and it’s great seeing him really cut loose on a character that it feels like he was born to draw. While issue-long fight sequences tend to bore me a bit (and this one has gone on for two), it’s well-choreographed, and indeed rather brutal at times. It’s also great to see his more unconventional take on Supergirl given some prominence, and we can only hope that this interpretation catches on a bit more with other artists. One slight criticism is a sequence on the penultimate page which is a little unclearly-told - Steel and Bibbo either suddenly appearing from nowhere or instead being a poorly-conveyed piece of metaphor - but generally this is a lovely-looking book. Indeed, with this and Action Comics - and, if you care to count it, All-Star - the Superman books as a line look better than they have done in years, perhaps even better than any other current DC line.

It’s not perfect, and it certainly feels like the last two issues could just as easily have been told in one - but there’s a definite sense that Robinson is working on a return to proper, classic-style Superman storytelling; and this, combined with his use of character strokes, is making it a pretty decent read so far.

It’s a well-established narrative trope – heck, you could call it a cliché if you want – that as soon as someone goes on about how happy they are with everything, something’s about to happen to make it rather less so. So when we open James Robinson’s first Superman issue with a charming scene featuring Clark playing fetch in space with Krypto (while a bemused Hal Jordan looks on) and remarking on how great things are, I can’t help but get worried. Not for Lois – not even the events of Final Crisis #2 are enough to make me think anything bad’s ever going to happen to her – but for Krypto. Seriously, if something happens to that dog, I’m dropping the book like a stone.

Following that opening sequence – which in its few pages is enough to give us a sense of the way Robinson is approaching the character – we spend the remainder of the issue in a Superman-less Metropolis, and in one of many inevitable Starman comparisons, it’s clear straight away that he intends to use the city itself as a character rather than simply a backdrop for the artist - as a big monster rages through the streets to be taken on by the power-suited “Science Police”, it’s very much an “only in Metropolis” kind of story. For the main narrative, meanwhile, he falls back on another of his preferred devices – looking at the action through the eyes, and thoughts, of supporting characters. In this instance, it’s a member of the Science Police, and it’s good to see a certain amount of ambiguity as regards someone’s reaction to Superman - sometimes he hates him for making their job look trivial, sometimes he’s in awe of what the guy can do. It’s not black-and-white - it’s believable. It’s exactly the sort of vignette we used to see dotted throughout Starman (indeed, unlike with a lot of writers, I wouldn’t necessarily expect the character to show up again after this), and it demonstrates that one of the keystones of Robinson’s run will (hopefully) be character work - undeniably his biggest strength as a writer. And unlike his One Year Later Batman story, a longer run here will hopefully mean that that sort of thing gets time to breathe.

Renato Guedes has already made waves as an occasional Superman artist in the last couple of years, and it’s good to see him locked in to a proper run on the main title - as he’s one of the best out there at drawing the character at the moment. As I’ve said before, he reminds me of Jackson (Butch) Guice’s early/mid ’90s work, and his Superman has the requisite mixture of power and grace. He’s also no slouch when it comes to the action sequences, and there’s a pleasing amount of precision to his linework and Wilson Magalhaes’ inks - although some of the rippling muscle shots of Atlas leave a bit to be desired.

It’s a promising start, anyway. It doesn’t do anything mindblowing, doesn’t promise much in the way of great shakeups - but it shows a measured pace in building things up, and the tone is absolutely spot on. Robinson is clearly, just for the moment, setting himself up to bed in for the long haul - and as long as he doesn’t do anything to that dog, I’m happy to join him.