Clark Kent flying high

The 8-part story “Up, Up and Away!” running through “Superman” and “Action Comics” is the best Superman story I’ve read in some time - even though there’s been no sign of Superman so far.

The story, part of DC’s One Year Later that jumps all of DC’s titles a year into the future, finds Clark Kent has been without his Superman powers for that missing year. In Part III, in this week’s “Superman” No. 651, Clark is offered the chance to fight crime with a Green Lantern ring, but he declines. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor, who has shed any attempts at respectability, is hatching some nefarious plot.

There’s a wonderfully written scene between Clark and Lois Lane, who seems pretty happy with the new status quo. “It’s been new for me, having a partner I don’t have to share with the world,” Lois says. “Who isn’t someone ... I can never completely touch.”