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Action Comics #1
Script: Grant MorrisonPencils: Rags Morales Ink: Rick Bryant Price: $3.99/$2.99 digital Publisher: DC Comics |
For far too long have we witnessed Superman the Boy Scout, willing to bow to the president's every whim – and taking flack from just about every other superhero for doing so.
Enter Grant Morrison, the writer deemed by many as totally off his rocker, and his vision of Superman the Populist: a hero donning a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt who fights for us, not the American government. Not only does this refreshing take on the world's first superhero breathe a new sense of life into the genre, but it successfully takes us back to square one with a Man of Steel who is young, idealistic, and leaping tall buildings in a single bound. That's right, the guy can't even fly yet!
More than any other title in the "New 52," Action Comics truly returns to the roots of its super-powered hero, and brings the version of Superman that first appeared in 1938 soaring and crashing into the 21st century. Folks, this comic is a blast, and the script would earn a perfect "5" if it weren't for a couple slightly jarring and disjointed sequences courtesy of Morrison's brilliant but kooky brain.
Score: 4.5
Art
Other than a few minor inconsistencies regarding a certain villain's facial features, Rags Morales' work here is hopping with energy and absolutely thrilling. His action sequences are dynamic and brilliantly paced (a scene involving a wrecking ball and a tank is particularly friggin' cool), and they certainly help Action Comics live up to its title by making the whole issue fly by like a bullet train. Also, a splash page early on featuring our hero dangling a corrupt businessman over the ledge of a skyscraper will soon be added to the library of iconic Superman images. Mark my words.
Score: 4.5
New-Reader Friendly? – Absolutely! Even if someone had never heard the name Christopher Reeve, they could easily pick up this book and meet a Superman who is still working out the kinks. However, Morrison's unconventional and occasionally confusing style may take some getting used to.
Overall Score: 4.5
Next: Batman can't stop talking and The Joker gets naked in Detective Comics #1!
