Title: Action Comics #1
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Rags Morales
Inker: Rick Bryant
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewed by Johnny Destructo
THIS should have been the book to kick-off the DCnU. No offense Geoff Johns or Jim Lee, but holy shit. Whereas I would give Justice League #1 a 3.5 rating, Action Comics is a 5 star book, easily! You know what? 6 out of 5 stars. That’s how good this is. Superman lovers beware, this isn’t the Supes you’re used to. This Last Son of Krypton has no qualms about almost scaring an old man into a heart attack, of tossing abusive boyfriends through windows, or breaking hips and ribs in order to make a point. This character almost feels like a Reese’s candy. You got your Batman in my Superman! (no Ambiguously Gay Duo undertones implied). This Superman does feel like he’s got some of the Caped Crusader’s characteristics, as far as his bad-assitude is concerned, so if you’ve been a fan of breast feeding, boy-scout Supes, you’re in for something a little bit different. He’s rougher around the edges and far weaker in terms of power, which already makes him more interesting for me to read. Something that would have taken Superman from DCoU 30 seconds to handle with his pinky, actually does serious damage to nSupes.
This is what Superman Earth One should have been, in my opinion. I wasn’t a huge fan of Emo-Supes, and while there were some nice changes to the lore, I just wasn’t all that excited about it. With Action #1, I found myself turning the pages faster as the story went on, to match my excitement. This book moves at a break-neck pace and it just doesn’t let up. It’s an interesting counter-balance to last week’s Justice League, which was a slow burn, and this was a welcome change of pace.All of our most familiar faces make an appearance, you’ll be happy to know. Lois, Jimmy, Lex, Sam Lane. As well as a new face: Clark’s landlord, Mrs. N, who reminds me of Marsha the landlord from one of the best UK sitcoms ever: Spaced. I could almost here her saying ” ‘Ellooooo Briawwwnn”.

The only negative thing I can think of to relay is that if this is supposed to be a NEW take on the Man of Steel, it’s not so much that. Even though it takes place only 5 years ago, it definitely has a classic vibe to it. Despite the fact that there is current technology and contemporary fashion styles, Metropolis doesn’t feel particularly like a City of Tomorrow so much as a City of Yesterday..is that just what naturally oozes out of Rags Morales pencil? Or was it a very specific choice made by the team? Instead of feeling NEW, this has more of a Return To Basics vibe, but either way, it works. There’s also a line so cheesy, I can’t tell if it goes beyond cheese into awesome or if it is just plain awful. “You got sumthin’ to say…SAY IT TO THE GUNS!”

Also, the Jim Lee cover. I feel like I should say something about this. I loveLOVElove the Rags Morales cover, but picked up the Jim Lee cover to review, and found that the Lee cover actually did the book a slight disservice for me. The Superman as Jim Lee drew him is NOT the Superman inside the book. In attitude and posture, yes, but he’s dressed in his “Kryptonian Armor” with the V-neckline, pointed cuffs and is covered in shiny reflections. Besides that, he’s also in the middle of fighting super-futuristic looking robots which don’t fit the more classic feeling smothered all over the interior pages. Atmospherically, it just doesn’t match. They should have saved this cover for when the continuity leaps ahead 5 years.

Even if you were less than impressed by last week’s offerings, I can almost promise you’ll dig this book. This book made Superman exciting again, and thank Rao for that.