Superman #666

Superman #666
I'm not sure what Busiek was trying to do with this story, other than figuring out some reason for Supes to have a hell themed story for his 666th issue. I figure that Busiek is mimicking some older story with which I am not familiar, but this certainly doesn't read like a typical Kurt Busiek story. For one thing, it's pretty disjointed. For another, it really doesn't make much sense. In general, when Busiek writes dream or alternate reality issues, they still make sense. Not so, this issue. The gist of it is that when Krypton exploded, one of the demons of its theological hell hitched a ride with baby Kal-El's spaceship, and nestled in his subconscious (?) until he killed someone, whereupon it made a deal with the lords of human hell to acquire his soul. Yeah, I know, it REALLY doesn't make any sense. I've read some good hell stories, in Moore's Swamp Thing, Gaiman's Sandman, and even in the recent issues of Shadowpact. This story is not good. It doesn't make any sense, and Walter Simonson's odd artwork doesn't contribute anything towards understanding it.
It's not good, but I'm hesitant to rate it lower than EH. Because maybe I'm just not getting it. But I didn't enjoy it. Which is surprising, as Busiek's run on Superman (both titles) has been one of my favorites in years. For a long time Supes was being written by people who just didn't understand who he was or how to write him. Busiek gets him. So I'm not sure what's going on here.