Villain books can be tricky, because you’re being expected to sympathize with the bad guy. Usually that’s accomplished by pitting them against adversaries who are even worse, but that ends up diluting the lead character. If there are worse villains out there, why aren’t they the ones that we’re reading about? Arguably, Lex Luthor is one of the few villains who makes for a workable protagonist, simply because there’s more to him than hating Superman. He’s the smartest man in the world and he knows it, which is a pretty good jumping-off point.
The overall story focuses on Lex trying to harness the power of the Black Lantern rings, from the recent Blackest Night event. So he’s traveling the world, trying to find the source of the power and claim it for himself. But you don’t have to be familiar with all of that nonsense – the story lays out everything you need. It’s just pure fun, with an insane-ideas-per-page quotient that rivals that of Grant Morrison.
