Superman Supergirl Maelstrom #5 (OF 5)

I, like I assume many comic fans are nowadays, am not a big Superman reader. I know the basics, but haven't really been all that interested in his story for most of comic-reading life. That's changed dramatically over the last year. Geoff Johns on Action Comics, James Robinson on Superman, and now Jonah Hex's wonder twins Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray take me on a wonderful journey off planet Earth for a little retreat and a little hero school with Superman, and his little cousin, Supergirl. The majority of this miniseries revolves around two simultaneous plot threads: Superman taking his cousin on a trip to teach her a few lessons on being a good superhero, and a lowly slave, Maelstrom, from Apokolips who thinks she can win Darkseid's cold, dead heart by bringing him the head of Earth's Greatest Hero. Previous issues gave us some Kal and Kara battles with strange aliens without the use of their powers, the results of which humbled both tremendously and great scenes of Apokolips, Darkseid and some good old Granny Goodness. This last issue wraps everything up pretty nicely. Supes and Supergirl do a little sunbathing to regain their powers and immediately return home to find Metropolis being torn apart by Maelstrom and The Female Furies. They want his head on a stick, but are too wrapped up in fighting amongst themselves to be a real threat to the two Super-siblings. Long story short, Supes kicks butt, Supergirl kicks even more butt, and Metropolis is saved. I liked the last scene with the two cousins recounting their lessons learned and how Supergirl who, in the beginning of the series was just another girl wanting to party all the time, is now realizing her role on this planet. One page, after Supes gives her the go ahead to have some fun, has her just staring at the planet, listening to newsbroadcasts from around the world. She feels the weight of that responsibility, but finally realizes the importance of adhering to it as well. Great stuff from Palmiotti and Gray. Not too much filler here, though it wrapped up a little too neatly for my tastes. The star here and why I kept coming back was the Phil Noto interiors. Beautiful, very minimalist work here. He only puts down what's really needed in a scene and it works wonderfully. Special props go out to Rob Schwager, the colorist on this series, for making Noto's lineart stand out even more. Noto needs to be doing more interior work, period.