Every once in a while, it’s really nice to take a break from the regular action in Superman stories and look at Superman as an in-universe inspirational figure. It’s easy to get bogged down in grumbly life-or-death battles and lose sight of him as a guy just trying to do as much good for as many people as possible. So when you get stories like Superman delivering presents to kids on Christmas Eve, or building a house at super-speed for Habitat for Humanity, or this one from Superman#39, it’s a wonderful change of pace.

DC sent over an exclusive first look at the issue for us, and may have also dropped an advance copy of the issue on the ground and pushed it towards us with their toe, knowingly raising their eyebrows the whole time. Having read it, I can assure you that these are not tears, my eyeballs are just sweating.

Series regular writers Pete Tomasi and Patrick Gleason give Clark a breather this issue and have him and his friends in the Justice League take a group of kids from Metropolis Children’s Hospital to the Justice League Watchtower to hang out for an afternoon. I would throw a spoiler warning up if it was warranted, but there isn’t really anything to spoil about the issue – it’s just a lovely, sweet reminder of the good these characters do in and out of the comics, full of joy without a hint of cynicism. Honestly, it’s a breath of fresh air.

Barry Kitson steps in for some fill-in art, and that’s a hell of a sentence to write. He does a magnificent job of showing the awe these kids feel, and nailing some subtle character moments with the League. There are a couple of nice bits at the start and the end that add to the pleasantness of the issue, and along with a great cover from Chris Burnham, the art here is every bit as top notch as you’d expect. Superman#39 is out Wednesday, January 17th.