Superman Vol. 2: Secrets & Lies (The New 52) Paperback – January 14, 2014

I bought this for a read for a family member and they said it was an easy read and had great graphics. It came on time and was exactly what the description said. It was worth the price!

Superman enfrentando a Helspont, una intrigante aventura

As I sit writing on Volume 2 I think but to Volume 1 and how it left little to impact on me. I remember only Morgan Edge buying up The Daily Planet, a fight with Kara and that Lois & Clark are not an item at all.This title had some interesting ideas for one I loved the idea of a so-called "reporter" er-blogger claims to have found the secret identity of Superman (SPOILER - he's wrong about it) and it's a media field day. It was rather entertaining. Then we have a new villain by the name of Anguish. This created a interesting parallel for Superman. Our hero who is so hard to challenge with his somewhat limited rogue's gallery. So how do we make a challenge for the Man of Steel? What if he couldn't touch the villain? Unfortunately, again we get a villain with not alot of depth but the story here is still interesting.We get the cliche' of Russia trying to make their own Superman. This might have worked in the Cold War and I know America is still skiddish with Russia, but really? However, the backfire and the character in it make an interesting argument with our Man of Steel.Finally, is the introduction of Helspont! Initially, I was very set off by his appearance. "Who is that guy? He reeks of the 90's and almost looks familiar." Yup, Helspont of Wild C.A.T.'s. I never read it, but though designs stuck with me as they were quite a product of the 90's. I never knew the name Helspont but I knew it was him when I saw this. I like him! He works here, very well. A very powerful and intelligent villain. Luckily they make his next appearance more subtle and less 90's. The ending is not exactly a cliff hanger but letting Superman know there's more in store.Better stories, good ideas but the art is well I cannot say anything nice. Superman still looks like Clark! I thought Clark was supposed to look frumpy and nerdy. Superman is supposed to look dashing, bold and gallant yet he doesn't. Why in the last pages is his hair down like he just got out of the shower? The character design feels so over the place. But it doesn't help we have different artists for the last issue. Meanwhile, this volume carries no additional art and or sketches. A shame, for I would have liked to see the Helspont concepts.Still, New 52 Superman is leaving little to no impact. It sells an average of 56 month so far, which is above average but for Superman?! When Batman has been selling an average of 130k a month. Superman really needs an equivalent of The Court of Owl or Death of The Family - something of that caliber. I am hoping and thinking his H'el on Earth for Vol. 3 maybe just that. Let's wait and see.

Easily one of the best volumes in the New 52 Superman run thanks to the inclusion of Wildstorm Universe's Helspont villain. Now that those comic book characters have been brought into the main DC fold we get to see the daemonite prince go toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel himself. It is only epic introduction for the villain (even though he was ultimately wasted in the crappy Red Hood and the Outlaws series). Definitely interesting to see Supes so outmatched by a new foe.

Vol.2 is good, but I wasn't amazed by it until the end. Seeing Supes handled like that was something else. I can't wait to see what happens when Helspont eventually returns.

I love that it was a hardback book, instead of just paper. The drawings and color are just amazing! And the story keeps you wanting more!

I buy comics for grand kids as presents. These are hard covered so they don't fall apart and they read a book. It has gotten them interested in other books as well.

If readers wonder why Lois shouldn't discover Superman's alter-ego, Secrets and Lies gives the answer: it's a tension builder. Actually, this story is a page turner and the best in this collection. A geek blogger, Victor Barnes, claims that a software designer named Spence Becker is Superman, and hell breaks loose when this is reported on the news. This story gets funnier when Spence turns out to have some resemblance to the man of steel, and it has Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane on the run. The plot gets complicated when a mysterious villain Superman is fighting finds out through the news Superman's alleged alter-ego and decides to get revenge upon his family. This shows how a Victor Barnes can destabilize the Superman universe more effectively in story-telling than any Helspont story. This is a home-run story.Helspont, introduced by Jurgens, and followed by Scott Lobdel and Fabian Nicieza, is in my opinion the weak point here. He's supposed to be more powerful than Superman, and yet, he will not destroy him. Helspont is a newer version of Darkseid, but there is nothing fresh about his character here. Heslpont's character is developed in issues 7. 8, and Superman Annual 1. Issues 7 and 8 show readers some action, which is well illustrated by Jurgens and Jesus Merino. Reading Superman Annual leaves me wishing for the old simplistic General Zod motto in the Superman 1978 movie, "Bow! Yield! Kneel!"In Combat and Home, Superman deals with an alien threat on Russian soil. An alien brought by force on Russian soil through a dimensional gateway kills innocent civilians on his quest to get back. Superman wants to fight him and make him pay for his crimes, while the alien justifies them as self-defense in a planet that doesn't want him.I like the introduction of Lois's sister, Lucy. Her presence immediately adds tension to Superman stories. She is going to be another person left wondering about Clark. Let's see how Superman writers build tension around this in the future.