Written by Grant Morrison
Ilustrated by Rags Morales and Brent AndersonIn his weakest moment, Superman is taken down — but by whom? And if the world wasn’t ready for a man with super powers, they’re utterly unprepared for the rage of a Superman cornered! The cornerstone character of the new DCU continues his debut adventure!
Now that the smoke has cleared, we are left with the DCnU as a permanent structure. How will these books fare in the coming months, when the hype has dissipated and when content alone will determine the success or failure of a comic?
Action Comics is one of the titles that probably has a bit of a longer lifespan than some other books — I doubt very much that DC would ever cancel Action, despite the lows that may come.
However, despite its borderline untouchable status, the cracks are already beginning to show on this, and other, DC titles post-relaunch. On only its second issue, regular artist Rags Morales is joined by Brent Anderson to help get the issue out on time. In addition to a fill in artist, what is supposed to be an oversized issue (or so its $3.99 price tag would lead you to believe) instead only has 20 pages of story. Despite these problems, is the issue worth picking up?
Find out after the cut, but be warned — spoilers are discussed.
There are a few problems with Action Comics in its current iteration that I think are going to have to be simply accepted and moved past in order to enjoy the series. Because of the timeline established as part of the DCnU, this takes place approximately one year before Justice League #1 and six years before Superman #1. That means two things: number one, there aren’t many life or death situations for most of the characters — we see Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, and, obviously, Clark Kent in six years, and know they’re cool. Secondly, we know how the next chapter goes: in six years, Superman has become more of a public figure and, although not as beloved as in prior runs, is a hero of the people. It also means that, whether we like it or not, the Lois Lane we meet here, determined journalist and borderline activist, gets co-opted by the system pretty quickly. The stakes for these stories are pretty low, in terms of big superheroics.
The plus side to all that is that Action Comics has the possibility to become a book for character and world building in a way that other books can’t because of potential reader indifference. However, because of its status as one of DC’s flagship books and having industry sweetheart Grant Morrison on board, Action may get that chance to be a low-stakes comic that will survive despite not having the typical cliffhangers or will they/won’t they moments — i.e., we know how this part of the tale ends, so let’s just move on and tell the best stories we can.
Taken in that light, Action Comics #2 works pretty well. The story picks up with Superman in custody; already an odd sight for those of us familiar with the more powerful Man of Steel from the last forty years, with Lex Luthor (referred to here as “Doctor”) working for the US government to try and analyze and anesthetize him. There is some nice Luthor character work here, from his insistence that Superman be called an “it” (because “it” isn’t human, and therefore can’t be a “he”) to his logical, cold, and cruel amping up of the torture.
A parallel I didn’t see coming when these books were announced is the similarity in this issue’s torturing of Superman and the genetic testing that is going on in Scott Lobdell’s Superboy. We see both characters being analyzed and attempting to be broken down into understandable and, perhaps, reproducible parts. This is a nice piece of synergy between two Superman-family books and, hopefully, a sign of things to come in terms of writers working together to tell a more complete and consistent story across a family of titles.
Continued belowThis book has been pitched as a return to the classic Superman stories of the forties, but in this issue we see two much more contemporary ideas being re-established as part of the Superman lore. First of all, we are introduced to Dr. Henry Irons, the once and (presumably) future Steel. Here, Irons is a scientist working for General Lane, Lois’s father, on a “Steel Soldier” program. Irons, a character always noted for his integrity, quits the project when he sees how Lane and Luthor are treating Superman, presumably to unlock the secrets of his powers. We also meet John Corben, a character from the Silver Age that has stayed around, but is presented here in his Geoff Johns-adapted origin (from 2010) of being in the army and serving under General Lane. Corben (spoiler alert) is best known as Metallo, a man who yields a metal suit with Kryptonite embedded in it. The suit we see Corben going for here does not appear to have Kryptonite capabilities, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that is eventually part of the suit’s powers.
This issue is far more about the supporting cast than it is about Superman himself — the only things we really see from him are a sentimental attachment to his cape, some of his powers we didn’t see last time (using his heat vision to fry computers undetected) and, most importantly, we see him interacting with the rocket that brought him to Earth. The rocket speaks to him, literally, and his presence transforms the rocket into crystals (much like those seen traditionally at the Fortress of Solitude).
On my initial read through, I felt that both this and Action Comics #1 were a bit slight; the Morrison stories I am used to need footnotes and annotations, and this story seemed almost, dare I say, straightforward? However, when reading the issues multiple times, I began to see more depth and more seeds being planted for future stories. This is especially true here; in one issue, we get Steel, Metallo, the rocket, and the first Superman/Luthor interaction. Hopefully this first arc is the Rosetta Stone of Superman stories for the next few years, and we can keep referring back to it to discover where these things began.
What I still consider slight in this issue is the art. I am not a huge fan of Rags Morales or Brent Anderson, but I feel that both of their work is damaged by sharing the penciling duties. The art comes across inconsistent and rushed, with characters sharing little similarities from page to page. Lex Luthor’s head appears to be made of Silly Putty and changes shape every couple of panels, and the boyish Superman is only boyish about half the time. The inking on the book is also heavy-handed and sometimes takes away (or tries to hide) the sharpness of the pencils. Overall, the story deserves better art than it is getting here.
My biggest problem with this book is its price tag. DC made a huge stink last year of “Holding the Line at $2.99.” Only oversized books would get the $3.99 price tag, and when the “New 52” were announced, only four titles were solicited with $3.99 price tags: Justice League, Action Comics, All-Star Western and Men of War. Two of the four (Western and War) have back-up features, and the other two were supposed to be oversized stores. Here we get 20 pages of original, illustrated content and 8 pages of notes and sketches from Morrison, Morales and Gene Ha. Now, I love reading this stuff when collected in a trade, but these 8 pages aren’t worth an extra dollar for singles. I’m paying for a book that is supposed to give me more than others do, and instead I just get filler.
There have been some quotes recently that make Grant Morrison appear a tad bit upset at the strict monthly schedule DC wants their books to adhere to and, to be fair, I think he is being a bit ridiculous. Comics are a monthly medium; they are supposed to be serialized in a regular fashion. If that means that you need to bust your ass to get your work in on time, well, bust your ass. Many of us work jobs where we need to meet deadlines, “or else.” Well, 20 pages in a $3.99 book is unacceptable, and I feel that we, as consumers, need to say “give us more or else.” So, next month if there are no more than 20 pages of content, I’m done with Action Comics in monthly form, and that is a shame because I seriously enjoy the story that Morrison is telling. However, I feel it is equally important to tell good stories and be fair to the consumer and, until I see that happening, I’m not going to actively support this book. If this is a onetime aberration, I can look past that, but I fear this is going to be the new status quo for $3.99 books and I just don’t have the patience for that.
Final Verdict: 7.8 – Buy, but grumble over the page count and art
