Remember that confused feeling you got after reading the last issue of “Final Crisis”? Get ready for that. Remember that joy and appreciation you had for Superman after reading “All Star Superman”? That’s here too.
Get ready folks, this one’s a doozy.
Written by Grant Morrison (Back-up by Sholly Fisch)
Illustrated by Brad Walker and Rags Morales (Back-up by Chris Sprouse)• You don’t dare miss Grant Morrison’s stunning, extra-sized final issue of ACTION COMICS!
• It’s no small battle as Superman fights to save all of creation in this epic!
• This issue is destined to be a milestone in The New 52!
• Plus: In the backup story, whatever happened to the men of tomorrow(s)?
It’s been a long and bumpy road toward the conclusion of Morrison’s run on “Action Comics.” What began as a 6 issue origin story for Superman in the New 52 ballooned into a 19 issue opus wrought with fleeting moments of brilliance but marred by inconsistent art and pacing. “Action Comics” #18 hits a lot of the same notes as “All Star Superman,” just not quite as well. Still, as pointed out on the opening page, Morrison has set out to create “nothing less than a new American mythology.” While it may not be new, it’s a fantastic revitalization. At the very least, this is the best Mxyzptlk story you’ll ever read.
This issue picks up with Lex Luthor battling against Super Doom for the right to kill Superman. However the story quickly moves away from superheroic brawls to straight up psychedelic. One minute Superman is punching bad guys, the next he’s standing under a demonic red sun.
Oh, and then he turns into a lion.
Fans who had trouble following Morrison in “Final Crisis” will likely find “Action Comics” #18 completely impenetrable. Even with this extra, oversized issue, the story still struggles to find breathing room. Morrison jumps between ideas and locations at break-neck speed. Pages are littered with disembodied thought bubbles and captions. Characters we’ve never seen are introduced for no apparent reason. Story threads that only the most astute and diligent reader will recall are addressed and capped in single lines of dialogue. Much like “Final Crisis,” the story resolves itself through a major deus ex machina. With all these apparent flaws, many will write this issue off as a giant mess and leave it at that. However, like “Final Crisis,” there’s a lot of gold buried deep below the surface.
In the same way Morrison wove all eras and interpretations of Batman into a rich tapestry, the writer dredges up various aspects of Superman continuity that fans either love or would rather forget. While these moments aren’t as fully developed and integrated as those in “Batman,” it’s nice to see the same love and recognition of Superman’s history being applied here. Longtime supporting cast members like Krypto and the Legion get the spotlight as well.
As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of fantastic ideas in “Action Comics” #18 that will likely never be fully realized. Super Doom, the embodiment of Superman as a brand, is the perfect representation of the greatest real world threat to the Man of Steel. Captain Comet and the Wanderers appear to be DC’s answer to Marvel’s Inhumans, and are an interesting addition to DC’s cosmic stable. The idea that Vyndktvx’s multi-pronged attack has drastically altered Superman’s history goes hand in hand with the continuity changes in the New 52. It’s a shame that, like many of Morrison’s dangling threads, many of these ideas and characters will be lost to comic book limbo.
Most of all, this is a story of Superman overcoming the impossible, which is one of the things that makes the character so endearing after 75 years. While it may seem antiquated, that Superman will always triumph is an intrinsic characteristic. Superman embodies the greatest aspects of human potential, gives hope to the disenfranchised, is the ultimate force of good. Even when faced with real world problems like creative censorship and corporate agendas (which Morrison deals with in his usual meta way) Superman prevails. It’s hard to not feel a strong emotional connection will dealing with a concept as pure as that.
Continued belowWhile it’s easy to endlessly analyze and critique Morrison’s work, this issue would be nothing without the fantastic artists that bring it to life. Rags Morales, Brad Walker, and Chris Sprouse carry the reader through the equivalent of a comic book acid trip with the greatest of ease. Superman himself has hardly looked better in any of his New 52 appearances, and characters like the Legion and the Wanderers are larger than life and brimming with detail. The artists fully capture the epic scale of the story, packing each page with iconic imagery that hearkens back to moments throughout Morrison’s run. Although “Action Comics” has been plagued with art troubles throughout this run, it’s great to see the art team pull together to deliver some of their best work in this, their final issue.
It’s possible that, in Morrison’s final Superman story for the foreseeable future, he reaches a little too high. A fifth-dimensional attack through time and space is so abstract and ill-defined, it’s difficult to connect to on a personal level. However, Morrison remains true to the core of what makes Superman, and tells what may be the most important and definitive stories involving the character since his own “All Star Superman.” Because of the conflicting nature of this issue and arc in general, it’s extremely hard to assign a number value. While the issue is technically flawed in a number of ways, the raw care and creativity exhibited is rare in mainstream super hero comics, DC especially. In the current state of Superman books in the New 52, Grant Morrison’s Action Comics will be sorely missed.
Final Verdict: Buy. For “Action Comics” #18 as single issue – 7.8. For Morrison’s run as a whole – 9.0. This is your American mythology.
