MYSTERIES OF LOVE IN SPACE #1

Mysteries of Love in Space #1 is a collection of several one-off stories from a huge array of creators, from the well-known, to the up and coming, to the lesser known. In spite of that, each story here is a great read, whether you’re familiar with the characters or not. If you’re looking for a fresh take on love stories in comics, this is a must buy this week.

An Apokoliptan Love Story
By James Tynion IV, Jesus Merino, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Clayton Cowles

There really couldn’t be a better start to this anthology. This story takes an unexpected look at Apokolips, Granny Goodness and – you’ll see once you get to the end. Tynion IV’s script and art from Merino and Fajardo Jr. come together for a realistic, dramatic style that fits the bill of An Apokoliptan Love Story perfectly. Although you may have never actually read a comic with some of these main characters, the team makes them, and their circumstances, seem intensely familiar.

Old Scars, Fresh Wounds
By Kyle Higgins, Cian Tormey, John Kalisz, Clayton Cowles

Next on the list is a story featuring a fan favorite Green Lantern: Kilowog. It’s a true inside look at what he gets into when he’s not flying in to save Hal Jordan or John Stewart, from awkward first dates to training sessions with hopeful new Lanterns. It feels like a genuine pulling back of the curtain, partially thanks to Cian Tormey’s art. All the visuals from Old Scars, Fresh Wounds are well thought out and impactful. Tormey draws just about every emotion Kilowog can have with finesse and consistently punctuates big moments with even bigger artistic flares from inks and layouts.



Backward Heart
By Saladin Ahmed, Max Dunbar, Paul Mounts, Dave Sharpe

This is probably one of the best stories in the lineup. Bizarro, the backwards yet lovable anti-Superman, is one of the DC universe’s great underdogs. He’s misunderstood and oftentimes just trying to help out, but things frequently go the wrong way for him. He’s a character you just want to see get a win. That’s the journey Ahmed takes us on in Backward Heart. Bizarro wins, laughs and cries. Art by Dunbar and Mounts and lettering from Sharpe make it stand out, too. Told as a bar story, we see a cast of different aliens that are all given distinct looks and voices. Bizarro himself looks the best he ever has – or the worst he never hasn’t?



Galentines Day
By Cecil Castelluci, Elena Casagrande, Jordie Bellaire, Steve Wands

Out of all the stories in this book, this one takes the cake when it comes to visuals. Elena Casagrande and Jordie Bellaire have a unique, tactile style with a horizontal layout that flourishes just when it needs to. There’s an action towards the end of this story that Casagrande and Bellaire handle perfectly. Being part of a holiday anthology, readers know these fights aren’t going to be anything groundbreaking, so it’s silly to try and build up life or death stakes, smart move on Castelluci’s part. Instead, the action layouts are more reminiscent of an Archie comic with its character spotlight panels. Castelluci slam dunks this story with a small cliff hanger (check out the Justice League Annual for more!) and makes me even more excited about her forthcoming Female Furies book.



GPS I Love You
By Aaron Gillespie, Max Raynor, Hi-Fi, Dave Sharpe

This story is a dark horse. In truth, there’s almost nothing grounding it in the DC universe. Not a named character, not a reference to a cape or a cowl, just a cabby driver and his one true love. In a really good way, GPS I love You looks more like a Star Wars comic than anything else. Raynor and Hi-Fi create huge star cites, aliens, future cars and asteroid belts to make any sci-fi fan swoon and, bundled up in all that, is a touching story from Aaron Gillespie. He takes the focal relationship through a few time jumps deftly, so by the end their feelings for each other are cemented, even though it’s only been a few pages.



Crushed
By Andrea Shea, Amancay Nahuelpan, Trish Mulvihill, Tom Napolitano

When it comes to roller coasters, Crushed is the stand out. Andrea Shea’s story takes Crush, a character I only heard whispers about until reading this story, and carries her through an emotionally brutal, yet realistic and, dare I say hopeful one-off. Daughter of the notorious galactic bounty hunter, Lobo, readers join Crush as she’s trying to make a way for herself, to survive, alone on Earth. Nahuelpan and Mulvihill on art is the perfect combination, too, with layouts and style that iterate all the big moments of this story. Crushed, though not the happiest of all these stories, is an important and welcome entry here.



Glasses
By Jeff Loveness, Tom Grummett, Cam Smith, Adriano Lucas, Tom Napolitano

Loveness, probably the most aptly named creator on this issue, puts forward a story that reads as a love letter to Superman from Lois Lane and his fans. Most of Glasses is narration over flashbacks. It’s a simple style, but made really effective thanks to emotional scripting and vintage art stylings from Grummett, Smith and Lucas. This story looks at Superman in a way that only someone intimately close with him can and it’s absolutely touching. As Lois is telling Superman all the things she loves about him, and the story of their relationship, you can’t help but smile and feel the same way.

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It’s never too early to get into that Valentine’s mood and, hell, it’s only two weeks away so why not dive into DC Comics’ $9.99 Valentine’s special? This special explores forbidden love in Apokolips, the tricky thing about romance when you’re a Green Lantern and more.

So what’s it about?
The official summary reads:

Sometimes love can make you feel like you’re from another planet…but what if you actually were? Join Superman, The New Gods, Green Lantern, Starro, Hawkgirl and even the Teen Titans’ new sensation Crush for eight tales of romance that will whisk you to the moon and back!
Why does this matter?
This comic features eight stories running 84 pages so it’s a massive amount of talent contained in one book. It also plays around with current characters in creative ways and delivers a different kind of reading experience.

Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?

Love in a place that’s basically Hell? No way!
Credit: DC Comics
With any anthology, there is a good chance you’re going to like something in the collection. Be it the art, clever storytelling, or the fact that you like some characters more than others you’re bound to like this anthology. Of these eight stories I highly enjoyed six of them and at the very least appreciate the other two. The romantic tales range from love lost, love desired, false love, loving oneself, and even falling in love with inanimate objects!

The first story by James Tynion IV and Jesus Merino tells a tale on the unlikely location of Apokolips. Love does not and should not exist and yet it does. This story comes with a great twist that puts into perspective what love can mean in other cultures.

Following this story is Kyle Higgins and Cian Tormey’s Kilowog story focusing on Kilowog wanting love, but the duties of the Green Lanterns taking up too much of his time to develop relationships. This story has a touching end as it captures how he may be alone, but he’s still affecting the lives of others.


Dude, no!
Credit: DC Comics
Next up is a Bizarro story by Saladin Ahmed and Max Dunbar that’s filled with action, love, and even sex. This story hits the feels as Bizarro comes to grips with the fact that a girl actually liked him but it won’t work out.


Cecil Castellucci and Elena Casagrande are next up with a Hawkgirl story exploring what it’s like to be allowed one true love that has lasted over 1,000 years. The story has interesting takes on love using Starfire and Jessica Cruz’s cultures to reflect on Hawkgirl’s unique position.

Next up is everyone’s favorite cab driver Space Cabbie in a story by Aaron Gillespie and Max Raynor. This tale is all about Space Cabbie’s love with, what else, his cab! It’s a cute tale that explores sci-fi tech and Space Cabbie’s easy to enjoy personality.

Andrea Shea and Amancay Nahuelpan take on Crush aka Lobo’s daughter. It’s a sad story that involves Crush falling for a girl who may not have her best interests in mind.


Watch your back Crush!
Credit: DC Comics
Wrapping up this collection is a story by Jeff Loveness and Tom Grummett which uses a story by Lois Lane for Clark’s eyes only. It’s a sweet story that recaps their relationship over the years and touches on Clark’s alienation.

This collection ends with a quick Adam Strange story by Garnder Fox and Mike Sekowsky. This is a Silver Age romance story that suits this collection nicely as it reminds us of love in the history of comics.

It can’t be perfect, can it?
As I said above not every story is a winner, but given this is an anthology you might like something someone else is sour on.

Is it good?
This is yet another great holiday collection by DC Comics. They seem to knock every single one out of the park whatever the season, whether it’s Halloween or Christmas/Hanukkah specials. This collection celebrates love in a variety of ways and will put you in the mood for Valentine’s Day.
 
Written by: James Tynion IV, Kyle Higgins, Saladin Ahmed, Cecil Castellucci, Aaron Gillespie, Andrea Shea, Jeff Loveness, Gardner Fox
Art by: Jesus Merino, Cian Tormey, Max Dunbar, Elena Casagrande, Max Raynor, Amancay Nahuelpan, Tom Grummet, Mike Sekowsky
Colors by: Romulo Fajardo Jr., John Kalisz, Paul Mounts, Jordie Bellaire, Hi-Fi, Trish Mulvihill
Published by: DC Comics

Occasionally, the big two release these one shots out there into the wilderness. They have short stories about some theme (on most occasions, related to a holiday), usually written and drawn by people you’ve never heard about, and they have no consequence on whatever’s happening now. Most people ignore them and they are left to rot at the bottom of bargain bins or back issue boxes at comic book shops.


I’m not usually compelled to read them, because they’re usually either Halloween or Christmas related, and I’ve already read a lot of those types of specials. However, this one caught my attention due to its theme: Love.

Speaking honestly for a minute, I am a huge romantic. I love romantic movies, I love listening to love stories, I love the tiny details of loving someone, I just love the whole thing about romance. So, superheroes in love? Totally in for that.

Since this is a collection of shorts, I’ll be going one by one and then doing an overall appraisal.

The first story is “An Apokoliptian Love Story”, written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Jesus Merino. It tells of a love that bloomed in the horrifying fire pits of Apokolips.

Tynion seems to have recently caught some sort of bug that’s turned him into a very wordy writer, and this story shows symptoms of that. Some things feel a bit over written, and the over the top narration boxes that he’s used in JL and JLD are starting to spread over other projects, and I don’t know if I like it. Also, while the idea of the story is interesting, it feels very weird to start a compilation of love stories with such a depressing one. Couldn’t you have thought of something a bit more cheery, Tynion?



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The art by Jesus Merino is fine, although I am getting sick of seeing Romulo Fajardo Jr.’s colors everywhere, so that alone pulls it back a few points. Overall, this story gets the job done, but it’s nothing spectacular

The second one is called “Old Scars, Fresh Wounds”, written by Kyle Higgins and drawn by Cian Tormey, about how Kilowog deals with romance. Now, I’ve read a bit of Green Lantern and Kilowog always came across as a very “No time for love” guy, cause he’s always on the job getting new Lantern recruits into shape, so this story felt extremely natural. It’s about how there are some sacrifices that have to be made in the name of the greater good, but also about how Kilowog’s personal hang ups do get in the way of his happiness, regardless of what he says. It was a little piece of melancholy that helps humanize this universe of Anti-Monitors and New Gods, and I always love those kinds of things.



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The art by Cian Tormey is pretty good, and his usage of shadows with colors reminded of those generic artists you’d find during the mid-2000s, working on some throwaway Batman story or some such. However, unlike those guys, Tormey has a great colorist, good line work and a penchant for expressions. If I saw that he would be the next artist on whatever ongoing I’m reading, I wouldn’t have many objections is what I’m saying. Overall, this is a more melancholic story and the love aspect is toned down, but it still has the necessary emotion to fit the book. This is a good one.

The third is called “Backward Hearts”, written by Saladin Ahmed and drawn by Max Dunbar, about Bizarro healing a broken heart and me am crying, me not swear. As far as I know, this Ahmed’s first DC Comics work and I already like it more than what I’ve read from his Spider-Man and Black Bolt runs. It’s fun, it’s romantic, it has the appropriate amount of super heroics and, most of all, it’s sad. Ahmed is able to build this romance up and then immediately break your friggin heart. My only complaint is that I think the ending was a bit rushed and it probably could’ve benefited from an extra page to round things out.



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The art by Max Dunbar is also really good, with really fun expressions and a lot of energy, although he should probably still work a little on his line work before getting really major work. Overall, this was really good and me not love it.

The fourth story is “Galentine’s Day”, written by Cecil Castellucci and drawn by Elena Casagrande, about Hawkgirl dealing with her first Valentine’s Day without being in a relationship with Hawkman.


It was fine for what it was and it was free from the pretentiousness that Castellucci showed in “Shade: The Changing Girl”, although her “fun” dialogue needs a little work (don’t worry Cecil, Kelly Thompson has the exact same problem). Also, this story could’ve benefited by not being as superhero-y and focusing more on Hawkgirl just sitting back and chilling with her single superhero friends.



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The art was fine and, even though the faces had a little bit of an early Patrick Gleason quality, overall it stands on its own. I really wouldn’t find seeing more from this artist. Overall, a good concept but a bit meh on the execution.

The fifth story is “GPS I Love You”, written by Aaron Gillespie and drawn by Max Raynor, about Space Cabbie falling in love with the onboard computer of his taxi. Not even joking.


So, Gillespie just basically remade “Her” in 10 pages and it was pretty well done. You feel the emotion and the connection, the romance is mixed in with some high flyin sci-fi shenanigans and the entire thing works quite well. The biggest problem for me was that the “turn” when Space Cabbie falls in love with the A.I. is rushed and I didn’t quite buy how he went from “This A.I. ain’t so bad” to “EVERYTHING I DO… I DO IT FOR YOU!”, but that’s peanuts.



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I know I’m repeating myself but “The art was fine”, did its job well and I think it was even better than Raynor’s previous work on Sideways. Another fine story.

The sixth one is called “Crushed”, written by Andrea Shea and drawn by Amanay Nahuelpan, about the recently created character Crush falling in love with another really tough alien woman. This was my least favorite of the stories, because not only did it feature a character I don’t care about, but it also feels like the biggest cop out. They could’ve had a legitimate sweet lesbian relationship in this book, but instead they went with “Oh, I’m actually eeeeeeeeevil!” which is pretty weak. The lead up to their potential not-kiss is fine, but it’s wasted.



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The art is good, if perhaps a bit generic. Good colors though. This story wasn’t even the worst thing ever, but it annoyed me.

The final story is called “Glasses”, written by Jeff Loveness and drawn by Tom Grummet, and it’s a reflection (ha, pun) about the evolution of Lois’s and Clark’s relationship. This story is the MVP of this issue and, in my opinion it could be the first thing you show someone when you want to explain to them why Superman works. It’s just a very clean and efficient telling of their relationship, that keeps all the emotion and really gets at the heart of why Lois loves, not Superman, but Clark. It’s warm and inviting and the sweetest thing ever. I really loved this story.



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The art by Tom Grummett is also very good, which isn’t surprising since he’s a veteran artists, but still, it’s simple yet effective. This is a great one.

I’m ignoring the last story, because it’s a reprint of an Adam Strange story by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky (in a futile attempt to justify the usage of the name “Mystery in Space”) and talking about silver age stories requires a whole different set of criteria that I’m not getting into here.

Overall, I really enjoyed this issue. There are a few weak stories and missed opportunities, but for the most part, these are solid tales that are sure to play with the heartstrings. Recommended, go buy it.

Mysteries of Love in Space #1 Re
 

Another DC anthology! I've been reviewing these over-sized books for a long time now and I really enjoy them whenever they come out. Sure, not all of the stories are great, but clearly a lot of love is put into them. As usual, I'll be critiquing the quality of the story as well as judging if they fit the theme of the book properly. Let's jump in!

"An Apokoliptian Love Story"
Written by James Tynion IV
Art by Jesus Merino
Colouring by Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Lettering by Clayton Cowles

This was a fun story! I thought it was getting a bit muddled towards the end by you're hit in the head by a pretty good twist. While this is a love anthology, this story fell more into the category of tragic love and I was fine with that. It worked for me. The art was pretty fantastic. I like Jesus Merino's work quite a bit and he works well with Romulo Fajardo Jr.

"Old Scars, Fresh Wounds"
Written by Kyle Higgins
Art by Cian Tormey
Colouring by John Kalisz
Lettering by Clayton Cowles

This was another great story. I know about this artist, Cian Tormey, as an artist in Declan Shalvey's circle of creator friends. His work here was stellar! I loved his take on the characters, and since Kilowog is normally a very hard character to find emotion in, I was doubly impressed with Tormey's expression work. Kyle Higgins' plot was really heartwarming as well. I judge that this fits the parameters of the anthology, although it stretches it a tad. It's generally about Kilowog's relationships with his friends rather than a romantic prospect, despite him going on a date in the story. Still, excellent story!

"Backwards Hearts"
Written by Saladin Ahmed
Art by Max Dunbar
Colouring by Paul Mounts
Lettering by Dave Sharpe

I'm a sucker for a genuinely emotional story, and this hit it home for me. When a Bizarro story is done right, then I can really respect a writer since he's normally a pretty hard character to pin down. Luckily I respect Saladin Ahmed a whole bunch due to BLACK BOLT and MILES MORALES over at Marvel, and this just amplifies his range for me. The Bizarro dialogue was mostly readable and flowed quite well. Max Dunbar's very expressive art worked very well for the main character himself, and Paul Mounts pulled off his usual magic and tightened the entire thing. Dave Sharpe has some solid balloon designs here that I thought were pretty gorgeous.

"Galentine's Day"
Written by Cecil Castellucci
Art by Elena Casagrande
Colouring by Jordie Bellaire
Lettering by Steve Wands

This is more of a story that I could relate to. Here, Hawkgirl is left alone without at the Hall of Justice without a date on Valentine's Day. Hawkman's going through some things over in his book so he hasn't been around. Cecil Castellucci frames this as a simple premise but she gets a lot done with it. There's a solid arc and she gets the most out of the limited page count she's given. Elena Casagrande's art is pretty nice too. It's amazing that, save for the letterer, this is an entirely female creative team, which lent a bit of authenticity and reality that strengthened the ending in particular.

"GPS I Love You"
Written by Aaron Gillespie
Art by Max Raynor
Colouring by Hi-Fi
Lettering by Dave Sharpe

This might have been my favourite story so far. I love Space Cabbie and this story hit all the right notes for me. Firstly, I found it hilarious. It's not realistic by any means, since Cabbie falls in love with in newly integrated A.I. feature in his cab. The relationship between Cabbie and the A.I. and the eventual forbidden romance that springs forth just made me giggle… and warmed my cold Canadian heart at the same time. Max Raynor's art was fabulous and I honestly wouldn't mind see this creative team handle as Space Cabbie anthology title.

"Crushed"
Written by Andrea Shea
Art by Amancay Nahuelpan
Colouring by Trish Mulvihill
Lettering by Tom Napolitano

This was a pretty good story, but I'm afraid it didn't meet my qualifier of fitting in with the theme of the book. There was a little bit of romance, but not enough to rock my socks off. As far as I know this is Andrea Shea's first writing job. I know her as a member of DC editorial, but this was a pretty solid debut. There was no awkward dialogue, the story moved pretty nicely with Amancay Nahuelpan's amazing artwork, and it just a solid read. Good job!

"Glasses"
Written by Jeff Loveness
Art by Tom Grummett
Inking by Cam Smith
Colouring by Adriano Lucas
Lettering by Tom Napolitano

This was just amazing, and perfect too. Superman is my favourite character of all time, and his general world and cast of characters is my favourite world to live in. The Daily Planet, Lois, Jimmy, Perry, Steve, Cat… and Metropolis. This story captures the essence of the relationship between Lois and Clark, and why Clark Kent is the greatest hero in the DC universe. Tom Grummett's art perfectly encapsulates the humanity and the loneliness of Clark. This was just a wonderful piece of art that everyone should read.

"The Planet and the Pendulum"
Written by Gardner Fox
Art by Mike Sekowsky
Inking by Bernard Sachs

This was certainly interesting to read. I didn't really expect DC to reprint any classic DC stories, and honestly I wasn't a fan of this move. I would have preferred reading something by a contemporary creative team. Nothing against Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky, but I wasn't in the right mindset to read a Silver Age story and I honestly skimmed through it. The bits I read were very good, though. There's something about Fox's writing that transcends the usual Silver Age weirdness.

Overall I had a lovely time with this anthology. They keep getting better and better, and I think the editorial team of Alex Antone and Dave Wielgosz should be immensely proud of not only the talent they managed to accrue for this anthology, but also for the quality of these stories. I liked every single one, and even loved a few of them! It's kind of unprecedented.
 
When you think ‘comic books’, you think ‘superheroes’. Granted, there are comics of other genres but the capes are top dog, no doubt. It can be easy to forget, this wasn’t always the case. Once upon a time, readers were all about romance! Real mushy, lovey-dovey, melodramatic stuff. Seriously, readers ate it up. DC’s “Girls’ Romances” ran for 160 issues. DC’s “Girls’ Love Stores” (a completely different title that ran at the same time!) lasted 180 issues. Of course, superhero comics reasserted their dominance and romance comics faded away. “Mysteries of Love in Space” #1 bridges the gap between both genres.

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Cover by Joëlle Jones

Written by James Tynion IV, Kyle Higgins, Saladin Ahmed, Cecil Castellucci, Aaron Gillespie, Andrea Shea, Jeff Loveness, Gardner Fox
Illustrated by Jesus Merino, Cian Tormey, Max Dunbar, Elena Casagrande, Max Raynor, Amancay Nahuelpan, Tom Grummett, Mike Sekowsky
Lettered by Clayton Cowles, Dave Sharpe, Steve Wands, Tom Napolitano
Colored by Romulo Fajardo Jr., John Kalisz, Paul Mounts, Jordie Bellaire, Hi-Fi, Trish Mulvihill, Adriano Lucas

Sometimes love can make you feel like you’re from another planet…but what if you actually were? Join Superman, The New Gods, Green Lantern, Starro, Hawkgirl and even the Teen Titans’ new sensation Crush for eight tales of romance that will whisk you to the moon and back!​
“Mysteries of Love in Space” #1 is the latest in DC’s holiday giants, dropping with Valentine’s Day just around the corner. This issue contains seven new short stories as well as a classic story featuring Adam Strange. Now, the last two holiday giants (“Cursed Comics Cavalcade” #1 in October and “DC Nuclear Winter Special” #1 at the end of November) didn’t grab me. I liked a handful of the stories but felt indifferent to the rest. “Mysteries”, on the other hand, is pretty solid all the way through.

Maybe two stories were just okay but the rest were really good. I appreciate that the comic is lighthearted and fun, sometimes even silly in the very best way. It has its emotional moments but isn’t some melancholy, heart wrenching affair. It’s a cute comic. It also highlights lesser-known characters, which is always appreciated.

The giant begins with ‘An Apokoliptian Love Story’ which reinforces how bleak things are on that planet. It’s probably the darkest story of the bunch. It seems that Mr. Miracle and Big Barda were the only ones to get their happily ever after. A captured rebel learns the hard way that on Apokolips, Darkseid is love. Darkseid is everything. Darkseid is.

Kilowog’s short stories was one of my favorites. Kilowog is the last of his kind, a teacher that can help a student reach out to others but can’t quite take his own advice. The final three panels hit the emotional note perfectly. In the first, his face is illuminated by the lovely date he pushed away. In the second, his face is shadowed and ends on just his silhouette. Poor poozer.

Bizarro’s tale is similarly effective in conveying the inherent loneliness of the character. He finds love and loses it just as fast. His story dials up the silliness just a bit though (the guy talks backwards, is that ever not funny?) and ends on a cute note. The classic Adam Strange story with alien barbarians and giant death blades hanging from spaceships is pretty weird in retrospect. The absolute silliest story though is definitely Space Cabbie’s. He’s already an odd concept by himself but falling madly in love with his GPS A.I. is just…wow. I’m still chuckling as I think about it.

I’m pretty unfamiliar with Crush (Lobo’s maybe daughter on the Teen Titans) but she seems cool in a ‘Lobo but PG-13’ kind of way. Falling for an alien MMA fighter and then fighting said alien in the octagon when things turn south is definitely something ‘the Main Man’ would do. It was a good showcase for her character. Hawkgirl, Jessica Cruz and Starfire wrestling an alien creature and spending a quiet Galentine’s Day together was a nice moment as well.

The only real A-Lister in the giant is Superman. His story reinforces the fact that Lois and Clark are absolutely perfect for each other. ‘Glasses’ really humanized the Man of Steel and shows that when Superman needs to be saved, Lois comes to his rescue. It really is an effective story in just ten pages.

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There are plenty of different artists throughout the giant, each with their own style. All of them do good work. I particularly liked Lois’ expression when she put on Clark’s glasses, amused she could never figure out the secret. The space monsters (there are a few) are all fun to look at. The creative choice to put a restaurant in an asteroid was cool too. I also have to take a second and note that the cover is absolutely perfect. It’s so over the top with Superman’s thought bubbles, Lois’s dialogue and the advertised ‘cosmic agony and ecstasy’. It’s a spot-on parody of romance comics.

“Mysteries of Love in Space” offers the best of both worlds. It focuses on superheroes while giving a little taste of romance comics’s long gone heyday. It’s nice that this giant chooses to laser in on the positive aspects of the DC Universe, like friendship and love. It might be a little corny, but it’s always appreciated. It makes the heroes more relatable, fleshes out their character. Somewhere in the multiverse, there’s a reality where romance comics still reign supreme. Since we can’t visit for the foreseeable future, this issue is as close as we’re going to get.
 
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