ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #1 = ★★★★★

Two of my favourite creators, Chris Samnee and Jeff Lemire, give their takes on "classic" Superman. Samnee draws a version of the Man of Steel that would be at home in a Max Fleischer cartoon. As always, Samnee's art is always enhanced by a colourist like Matthew Wilson here who uses a palette that nods in the direction of the Silver Age. It's a piece with Samnee's work on Thor: The Mighty Avenger. Lemire's is the first time I've seen him draw a mainstream superhero. He draws on his strengths: childhood and dreams (it's almost another take on the opening scene from Essex County) and there's a lovely interplay between the water-colour style colouring of the children and the flatter "comic book" style of the fantasy sections. Lemire gets to draw a range of villains: Braniac, Bizarro, Luthor, General Zod and Mr Myxlplyx. They all have the early eighties designs that would have been read by a young Lemire. I'm most taken by his rendering of Superman himself sitting atop a farmhouse: he looks like a regular working-class man who wouldn't look out of place in a rural community.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #7 = ★★★★✩

Cap is still fighting his way through Zola's base in order to find his son, Ian. Meanwhile, Zola launches his invasion of Earth. The shock ending of the last issue, where Cap apparently murdered a defenceless Jet Black while she was showering - turns out to have been nothing more than a knockout. This cover should have been held over for the next issue as it largely spoils this issue's closing scene.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4 = ★★★★✩

Just as I was about to give up on this, it gets really good - almost like an "old"-52 DC team comic. Catwoman is the centre of what happens here and something pretty startling happens to her (though, no doubt, it'll turn out not to be as dramatic as it seems). There's more Martian Manhunter origin as a second feature.

NEW AVENGERS #6 = ★★★★✩

If they hadn't already stepped over the line, then the Illuminati do now by destroying another universe that's crashing into theirs. I'm liking this much more than what's happening over in the main Avengers title. It's one of those stories where there can't possibly be a happy ending. It's turning into very nasty survival story.

Brian Wood and Olivier Coipel ace this. Beautiful art and fast-paced plotting. There's a fantastic dramatic sequence on a train. This certainly wasn't the gimmick I was expecting it to be.