Superman: Action Comics #1059 – Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Gene Luen Yang, Dan Parent, Writers; Eddy Barrows/Eber Ferreira, Viktor Bogdanovic, Marguerite Sauvage, Artists; Matt Herms, Mike Spicer, Colorists
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: With only a few issues left before Phillip Kennedy Johnson mic-drops on this run, the Blue Earth plotline heats up as the Supers face not just new enemies, but the public’s wrath. Blue Earth has taken on a new role as vigilantes, and they’re not taking prisoners. But as the heroes fend them off, Otho finds that she’s gained the personal attention of Norah Stone—who sees the girl as a kindred spirit. The mystery of Norah Stone and how she can affect the Supers’ powers has been fascinating for a while now, but this issue’s big reveal calls back to one of Johnson’s earliest DC books—with a dangling plot thread that I hadn’t ever expected to see again. It’s a little odd that this is the second book right now dealing with Superman with temporary power loss and a suit of armor, per solicits, but the issues this book deals with and the deft way Johnson balances the huge cast continues to impress.
The second chapter of Yang and Bogdonavic’s return to the character of Kong Kenan finds the Superman of China at death’s door after uncovering Superman’s secret identity—and immediately having a psychic bomb go off in his brain. This leads to a reunion with Master I-Ching in the spirit realm—but it also brings Baixi, the Batman of China, to the apartment looking for a fight after he thinks Kenan is dead. This forces Kenan to try to fend off his friend without giving away the secret that could kill him—leading to him eventually making a difficult decision. This neatly explains how Kenan became so close with the Supers, but also serves as a great epilogue to Yang’s run.
Finally, Dan Parent makes his DC debut with Marguerite Sauvage on art for “A Heart in Metropolis,” a Jon Kent story. This nicely covers Jon’s many roles now—son, boyfriend, and big brother (who is taking the lead role in helping Osul and Otho adjust to Earth). There are some great scenes here of Jon interacting with his family, but the focus is on Jay as the couple tries to adjust to all their new responsibilities and find time for each other. This story fits with Parent’s usual Archie style more than I would accept—it’s a very light, relationship-focused tale that somehow still works very well within the Superman world. Hopefully this is just the start of Parent in the DCU.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
