Superman: Action Comics #1071 – Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Writers; Clayton Henry/Michael Shelfer, Skylar Partridge, Artists; Matt Herms, Marissa Louise, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: DC’s weekly Superman comic has kicked off with a bang, as a fused abomination from the Phantom Zone terrorized Metropolis and sent Superman into the cursed location for a mission that puts him at his most vulnerable. This plot was teased in World’s Finest last year, as a mysterious cloaked figure is determined to put an end to the Phantom Zone and free all its prisoners by any means necessary. When Superman arrives, he’s immediately met with hostility by the prisoners and has to use his limited power supply to get out of it – but soon he’s leading the reluctant warriors across a desolate landscape to the source of their trouble. There are some scenes here that have shades of the iconic Warworld Saga.
Things pick up in a big way when they encounter a giant spider in the wilderness of the Phantom Zone – maybe a tribute to the Nic Cage movie that never was? There’s a great subplot back on Earth involving Kon-El and Kenan playing superspeed baseball that reminds me of the little subplots that worked their way into the Triangle Era of Superman comics when the books were coming out weekly, but most of the action this issue is confined to the main location – and that leads to a truly shocking cliffhanger and one of the Phantom Zone’s biggest dangling threads reveals itself. This is essentially a hard-sci-fi story, and it’s a great change of pace from Superman’s usual style.
The backup finds Supergirl in space as well, but in a very different adventure – trying to navigate the corrupt bureaucracy of the United Planets. She’s been deputized to escort a prisoner to trial, but arrives to find them already convicted and sentenced. While she expresses some doubts about this process, she is quickly told there is no room for them. But before she can find out who the prisoner is in the massive prisoner, a strange spider-human hybrid assassin appears, and all chaos breaks loose. This is an odd story, but with really strong Supergirl characterization so far.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
