Writer: Grant Morrison
Artists: Rags Morales, Rick Bryant, Brad Anderson
Okay, time for me to make a confession; I’ve never been a fan of Superman. I find he’s overpowered, often comes across as arrogant, his extraterrestrial origins make him hard to relate to. In short, not exactly a fan. So going into Action Comics, I can’t say I was expecting much. A steel jawed, holier than thou, overpowered living tank. Instead, what I got was a Superman who is fighting against corruption, both as himself, and as Clark Kent, a journalist exposing corruption where he can. I got a Superman who starts off as he did right back at the beginning; able to “leap tall buildings in a single bound”. That’s right, he starts this book unable to fly! What’s more, by the end of the first issue we see him taken down, without resorting to something ridiculously overpowered, or to kryptonite.
So yeah, the first issue really piqued my interest. This was a version of Superman I could get behind! Now believe me, he’s still very powerful, and he still has that swagger, that sort of cocksure attitude. But he doesn’t come across as so sanctimonious this time, and it’s refreshing. We also meet Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, her father General Lane, and Lex Luthor in the first book, so a big chunk of the cast is established here. At the end of the third issue, we see the signs of a bigger threat, and that our old friend Lex is in league with something bigger.
These are spoiler light reviews, so I won’t go into too much detail of the plot after that, but it manages to keep moving, and to keep up my interest. Issue #9 was interesting, being set on Earth 23, and featuring a black version of Superman, who is also the President of the United States. It was definitely an interesting version of the character, and I’d not mind seeing more of him at some point. The rest of the book is good too, though I’m a little wary, since in the last issue we see Superman exhibiting exactly the kind of over the top abilities that made me dislike him in the first place. Hopefully this won’t be a continuing trend, or I may lose interest.
Artwise, this was a solid title. There wasn’t anything in particular that made me go slack jawed in wonder, but I certainly can’t pick out any flaws. It’s a good job on the art, and gives the book a suitable look for the story.
Overall, I’d place Action Comics at a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars, it would be a four, but there is some stuff in the middle of the run I found a little less compelling than the rest. Either way, I’d recommend you pick it up, even if you’ve not cared much for Superman in the past.
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