CREDITS: Written by Chris Duffy; art by Neil Vokes and Terry Austin.
REVIEW: Jimmy, low man on the totem pole, acting too big for his britches? Time to take him down a peg by reminding him where he stands. It's a humiliating episode for Jimmy, but not one where he comes across as incompetent. A self-important jerk though, yes, as he drags the poor intern around town and never lets him finish a sentence. One of which solves a problem for Superman anyway, another unspoken which would have told Jimmy this wasn't the intern he was supposed to babysit (the real guy stayed at the Planet to make Jimmy look bad), but rather Lois' little cousin. The recurring gag is that every time Jimmy tries to snap a picture, the kid gets in trouble and Jimmy has to lay off pressing the button to save him and never gets a good pic (except the one the kid accidentally gets, as we find out in the final wink). It's fun, it's got surprises, and the letterer does clever things with Perry's anger.
Though the supervillain of the month is essentially the B-plot, it still gets roughly 50% of the action and doesn't feel short-shrift. Sinter actually has a cool weapon, and he gives Superman a good work-out, both physically and mentally. The inclusion of a gun show feels, at least today, like muddled commentary about the second amendment, and feels out of place in a Superman story.
I'll end on a couple words about the art. First, this is the most "Terry Austin" Terry Austin inking I've seen on the series. Which isn't a bad thing. Second, the design of Lois' cousin is... awkward. He looks entirely too much like a young Clark Kent, enough so to make you wait for an inevitable reveal as to why that's important that just never comes. A choice that never pays off.
REREADABILITY: Almost Medium-High - A nice little Jimmy story that just misses the mark in my opinion, but jusssst.
Comments