Andy Diggle got exactly one month of writing duties all to himself before he walked off the book. His “Action Comics” #19 had us feeling bittersweet about the beginning of something good that would never see its intended conclusion. Although Tony Daniel picks up a writing credit and graciously purports to finish what Diggle had started, what issue #20 mostly ends up doing is being a very clear example of why creators are so important and why it’s a good idea to follow creators, rather than just the characters.
Written by Andy Diggle and Tony S. Daniel
Illustrated by Tony S. DanielSuperman battles an enemy of his own making in the horrible Hybrid—but what else does Lex Luthor have in store for The Man of Steel and the people of Metropolis? Get set to learn some of the secrets behind Luthor’s role in The New 52!
Grant Morrison was a tough act to follow. Not because his “Action Comics” was so good or anything, but because you have the burden of coming up with a take on the character that comes in the wake of a massive arc that explored the very “idea” of Superman. You could argue that “All-Star Superman” is still fresh enough that no one, not even Morrison himself, has properly followed up on that masterpiece. So what do you do? Well, you re-establish the characters you’ll be using, for starters. Diggle established Lex Luthor, Superman, Clark Kent, and the Daily Planet staff and everything felt very spot-on. It may have been in the “New 52”, but it still felt as familiar as this iconic cast should be. Diggle then looked to have the right idea in taking Superman and pitting him against a sinister Luthor scheme, where Morrison only peppered Luthor in very sparingly in his own run. Following a modern master by pitting Superman against his most well-known villain was looking like the right choice.
That concept, however, lost its elegance in someone else’s hands. To say nothing of all of Tony S. Daniel’s superlative artistic abilities (we’ll save that for a bit later), there are distinct weaknesses in the writing of issue #20. It may never be known how much of an actual Andy Diggle “script” is present in Action Comics #20, but it is quite obvious that this is not coming from the same voice that wrote issue #19. Daniel tends to over-explain to the point where narration boxes describe the very action we’re seeing, though no more elegantly than the art already provided. There are points in the issue where Superman or Lex Luthor utter something aloud that is entirely understood by everyone present, including the reader, multiple times over. When Luthor stands confidently shouting at his robot assistant about how she cannot express emotions because she’s just a robot, the reader really starts to wonder whether Luthor actually is the “greatest criminal mind of our time.”
The superfluously lengthy script drags down a story that is clearly meant to be told at a faster pace. Diggle’s #19 was economic and established the start of the run with great character-work, where issue #20 lags noticeably more and leaves any trace of “character” behind. Unfortunately, as the arc begins to focus more on the conflict, the issue doesn’t end up satisfying from a thematic standpoint. Characters that are many decades old should rightly have many available avenues for storytelling. Not every comic book has to be a Morrisonian examination of the character to its very core, but there should exist something in the plot that embodies the reason for the characters’ existence. There is nothing in the central conflict of this issue that tells us anything about the character. Issue #20 becomes a standard beat-em-up against an amorphous enemy that Superman will ultimately make quick work of. When you get tired of your friends telling you that Superman is the worst superhero because he can’t be hurt and can do anything, you realize that it’s sometimes tough to rebut them because stories like this keep getting told again and again. To bring it back around, a beat-em-up Superman story like this doesn’t work unless it’s pithy and fast-paced, rather than mired in wordy narration and uncharacteristic dialogue (of which Superman himself suffers the worst).
Continued belowTony Daniel’s art is a saving grace, creating mind-teasing designs in a book full of made up pseudo-science mumbo jumbo and adding a modern flair that is actually mostly welcome. Well, aside from that stupid collar, of course. Daniel is the right artist for the job of pitting an iconic character against, well, pretty much anything. Superman looks appropriately mighty and powerful taking on whatever nameless, faceless shape-shifting virus (or something) has been unleashed upon him. And though the story doesn’t really carry much weight, Daniel makes the best of the fight scene from a penciling standpoint. Daniel’s art has a very detailed style that plays more loosely than one would think. The result is action that flows immensely well and could never be accused of being stiff, but without sacrificing anything. There are some issues that pop up when Batt is inking versus when Daniel is inking himself, however. Both look good, but there is a clear difference that is almost immediately noticeable. In the modern age, it’s not often that we’ll see consistent art teams – even within the pages of a single. Regardless, the final full page splash is still a thrill in its design and presentation, despite being rather obvious and coming on the wings of an issue that really didn’t earn it. It’s a classic comic book play so deviously good that you might accidentally fall prey to buying the next issue, having forgotten that the last one really wasn’t very good.
Don’t make that mistake. What happened to Diggle and Daniel is something that can hopefully be avoided in the future. Daniel is an artist who will be doing steady work for a long time in this business and for this company. Whatever he does next is going to look great, to be sure. But he was left holding the bag for issue #20 and it’s best to just let this pass and hope that the next creative team to pick up the “Action Comics” banner will get off to just as hopeful of a start. And this time, hopefully, the editorial staff will trust the men and women with the talents they’ve hired them for.
Final Verdict: 4.0 – Pass.
