Superman '78: The Metal Curtain, the sequel to the brilliant Superman '78 miniseries from a couple years ago, seems like the idea was to take the basic premise of "what if Superman IV The Quest For Peace was more of a Cold War era action-adventure of America vs the USSR?". There is a Soviet Metallo instead of Nuclear Man. It also incorporate aspects from the first miniseries, like Jor-El and Lara being alive in the bottle city of Kandor, and some modern DC continuity such as Lois' father being an Army general, and still works in Gene Hackman's version of Luthor. With such an agenda, somehow writer Robert Venditti pulls it off and proves that he should be the head writer on the main Superman titles.
But where this sequel falters a little is in the art. Gavin Guidry replaces Wilfredo Torres, and while Gavin does a good job, his art can be rough at times, not as polished as Torres. Some panels border on caricature art like you would find in Mad Magazine. Most panels capture the likenesses of the actors, but there are quite a few panels where the likenesses aren't there, and it is generic superhero faces.
Even so, this is an excellent miniseries, even if both the script and art a bit more workman like than the predecessor. It earns a B+.
