Wow, that was mighty slow-paced. So little actually happened in this premiere issue that I felt like I had already read most of it in the free previews DC put in the back of their books a few weeks ago. This really was a total set-up issue. Geoff Johns doesn't even provide a real conflict, well, not a physical one at least. Superboy has moved into Superman's old room in Smallville, where's he's attending high school, saving girls from collapsing bridges and playing with Krypto. It seems that Lex Luthor is from Smallville again too. (I thought that was retconned?) So Superboy spends some time wandering around the ruins of Casa de Luthor to learn about the other half of his genetic template. Superman shows up to warn off Superboy, telling him there isn't anything to be learned in the wreckage. Superboy promises he wants to stay away from Luthor, which is a lie, putting SB on Lex Luthor's path too. So the only conflict we do get is Superboy's inner turmoil at who will be his template for development, although he seems to be leaning pretty heavily pro-Superman.
The Starman back-up story seems to relate directly to the core plot, as Starman meets up with some big alien from the Legion who is hiding in a lake in Smallville. I don't know who that weird alien is, but it seems the two parts of this comic will be tightly interconnected, which isn't a bad thing.
The art in both features is fine, although I'm a bit more of a fan of Clayton Henry's crisp, classic pencils. Francis Manapul is going for a real soft, hazy look to play up the laid back nature of Smallville. That's fine, but it just made me feel kind of sleepy as I read the lead story. It might boil down to the current Superboy being too mopey for me. I always liked Superboy in the leather-jacket and silly goggles from Karl Kesel's run. He was a lot more fun then. (I'll admit he was silly looking though.)
Average
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