Superman: Action Comics #1054 – Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Dan Jurgens, Dorado Quick, Writers; Rafa Sandoval, Dan Jurgens/Norm Rapmund, Yasmin Flores Montanez, Artists; Matt Herms, Elizabeth Breitweiser, Brad Anderson, Colorists
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: The Superman line continues to be the best it’s been in many years, and while Josh Williamson’s adjective-less title may be the most-hyped, this Superman family anthology feels like it’s the heart of the line. The last issue ended with a shocking cliffhanger—as young Otho was driven to rage by the Blue Earth anti-alien protests and seemed to kill a bigot live on TV. As John and Osul show up to restrain her, it turns out she’s been bailed out by the fact that the protester was a Metallo drone designed to lure her there—the ultimate good-news, bad-news. Metallo’s latest strike against the Super-family turns out to be the most dangerous yet, as the Super-Twins are taken hostage and Jon is driven to a near-breakdown, but it also leads to some fantastic moments as we see how far Clark will go not just to protect his family, but to save his villains from themselves. The reveal about the true villain of this arc was spoiled in solicits, but it fits perfectly given the villains’ motivation.
The backups continue to be excellent as well, and it made me especially happy to see Dan Jurgens’ iconic art returning to the backup. As Superman and Lois deal with the attack of the fast-mutating Doombreaker, Jon has returned to Earth with the fugitive princess in tow—and the death squads aimed at executing them both in fast pursuit. This story calls back to the tone of some of the Super-Sons stories, but with some added political context and a surprising last-act twist that casts everything we’ve seen in a much darker tone. It’s worth noting that Jurgens is now into his fourth decade of writing and drawing the Man of Steel!
The second backup is new, turning the focus on Steel before his solo series in Steelworks. Dorado Quick and Yasmin Flores Montanez pit Steel against a new villain—the rogue arms dealer Amalgam—before the launch of the Steelworks project. The villain doesn’t make much of an impact here, but the story does as the creative team flashes back to Steel’s down-to-earth origin and shows what still motivates him to make the world a better place. He continues to be one of the most relatable and human heroes at DC.
Overall, this book continues to surpass expectations every month.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
