In Public Enemies, a huge remnant of Superman's home planet, Krypton, menaces Earth. Lex Luthor, U.S. president in current Superman stories, accuses the Man of Steel of complicity in the threat and commissions a squadron of superheroes to bring him in. Writer Loeb, known for thoughtful takes on the early days of superhero icons, crafts a generally typical, if uncommonly elaborate, story, replete with the high-powered brawling characteristic of the genre. The most distinctive touch is Loeb's use of captions conveying the thoughts of the heroes as they battle, contrasting Batman's dark vengefulness and Superman's straight-arrow decency. Ed McGuinness' artwork--vaguely manga-inspired but much more detailed--is well-suited to the tale's kinetics but doesn't do much for quiet moments, which are few and far between, anyway.
