Supers Sons is a pretty popular series at my library, as is Ridley Pearson, so together, this newer series from DC is a pretty easy sell. Older teens that enjoy Supers Sons are not so sold, as this is a completely different version of the characters they know and love. Younger readers don't seem to care at all and love both versions. All that said, volume 2: The Foxglove Mission is much closer to the original Super Sons run at DC than the previous volume. It is still its own thing completely, but it feels closer and as an older reader, I enjoyed it more.

Jon Kent and Damian Wayne along with Candace and Tilly are hunting for the virus that laid Lois Lane low. They end up traveling and fighting with the Four Fingers and try to foil the unknown criminals who are working on taking over the world. Candace manages to find relic hid by her mother and now needs to return home to claim her kingdom. Will have to see if the third volume is as much fun as the second in the AH DC world.

Much like the first book in this series, I found this story hard to follow. The characters are not developed at all and I often had no idea who some people were or what was going on. I also don't think the climate change story line was well. Mostly this left me confused and uninterested in continuing on with the series.

I have to say, I was less than impressed with this series. The plot's practically all over the place and part of the time I don't know what's going on. I get that the general premise is find the cure for a deadly virus and help a powered princess from her evil council; but nothing makes sense. Ian and Jon's friendship is just as messy; one moment they're good friends, the next Ian's being a butthead. For something called the Super Sons, they sure don't even fit into the overall plot that much. If anything, it's Constance's story more than anything and even that's not much. So much just goes on that plots and methods change on the fly. I don't know if reading the first volume would've helped but I doubt it would've helped.

I had a wonderful time reading this graphic novel. Candance heads out on her own, and discovers she had abilities she wasn’t aware of before. Meanwhile Ian and Jon are working together to help out his mom, and a friendship starts to grow. There are some powerful foes after all of them, and to beat them they might have to work together. As this story came to a close Jon makes a promise to someone close to him, and his friends will help him follow through on it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ridley Pearson, and DC Entertainment for the opportunity to read Super Sons: The Foxglove Mission in exchange for an honest review.

The first volume was okay, and I was curious as to where the story would go, mostly because of my interest in Candace. She seemed like she would have interesting character development, and she did, I suppose.

And...uh, what's the plot here? Something about finding a cure to a thing? The title comes from Candace and four other girls who all have the ability to control some type of animal. By far the most interesting point of the book...

The pacing is odd... it's swift in a negative way, with constant shifts between scenes with little/no transition. At least the art is decent!

Overview: The Super Sons are back, along with Tilly and Candace. While their fathers are away, Jon and Ian continue to investigate the mysterious virus that threatens humanity, with Tilly along for the ride. Meanwhile, Candace continues to investigate her past, with a group of dangerous enemies hot on her trail.

Synopsis (spoilers ahead): Jon Kent and Ian Wayne continue to have the weight of the world on their shoulders. With their fathers away, the boys work together to find the origins of a deadly manmade virus. The stakes are personal for Jon as his mother, Lois Lane, is still fighting the virus. Tilly joins the boys with helping to keep them level headed, which is no easy task. Ian’s insistence on doing things by himself leads to conflict between him and Jon, which threatens their mission. The boys eventually cross paths with their friend Candice, who is on a quest to uncover the truth about her heritage. Unfortunately, Candice is being hunted by some folks who don’t have the best intentions for her, and the Super Sons get caught in the crossfire.

Analysis: I hadn’t realized how much I missed these kids until I opened up the first page. The main continuity version of Jon has currently aged up to a teenager, while Damian is currently involved in a freaky hostage situation with his alternate reality grandfather, which means that we need these versions of the Super Sons now more than ever.

I will emphasize as I did in the last review, that this is not meant to be looked at the way you would a traditional comic book. This part of the DC Zoom young reader imprint, which is meant to be read and enjoyed by tweenage children who aren’t typical comic readers. This is for middle school students who read young adult adventure novels and can be seen as a gateway title to the larger DC Universe. That doesn’t mean that diehard DC fans can’t enjoy this, but keep in mind that this isn’t for those sensibilities and you may need to adjust your expectations.

As young reader books, this series continues to deliver. It’s a group of young kids exploring new settings and fighting off dangerous enemies. What more could you want? The banter between Jon and Ian was more fun this time around, with the highlight being a fight the two Super Sons have after Ian tries to leave Jon behind during their mission. I know I said not to go into this expecting the Super Sons comic, but that exchange was familiar in all the best ways.

Tilly gets her own superhero identity as the Puppet and it’s absolutely adorable. Curiously, she’s left off of the cover again, a mistake I hoped would be corrected this time around. Tilly is just as big of a player as the other three kids and I hope book three gives her the cover placement she deserves. After all, behind every good Super Son, there’s a female friend motivating them. Speaking of which, one of the most endearing parts of the story is where she gives Jon a kiss for luck (ala Princess Leia) before he makes a super leap. Jon blushes and is then motivated like never before. Some of the best parts of the story are just the kids being kids.

The new settings were fun, and the society that was built on the flooded ruins of coastal cities was an interesting sight. I would’ve loved to have spent more time in that world. Ridley Pearson crafts a fun world and Ile Gonzalez continues to bring it to the life with style. My only complaints are similar to what I mentioned for book one, the scene transitions feel weird. Conversations begin and end abruptly, and scenes switch settings awkwardly. It can make for an awkward reading experience at times, but the strength of the narrative makes up for any shortcomings. All in all, this book is another fun outing for the Super Sons.

Final Thoughts: Another victory for DC Zoom. The latest chapter in the Super Sons saga is a classic young adult adventure that will thrill middle school-aged readers, and remind adult fans of the feeling they had back when they were kids.

Reviewed by Joshua Lapin-Bertone for The Batman Universe

Super Sons: The Foxglove Mission continues where the first episode ends. There are several things going on in this story, of which the two boys are a part of, but only a part. The entire story is fragmented into various mini-stories, and as a whole it does not earn the right to be a Super Sons story. Like the last episode, the magic and comedy is gone, and the characters are vanilla to the point that I don't recognize them as I do the previous versions of the Super Sons adventures. Here they are weak and do little to show themselves as the heroes they should be. Their characters are not developed enough to be what they should: heroic, powerful, funny, or awkward.