Action Comics (vol.2) #2 (December, 2011)
"In Chains"
Writer - Grant Morrison
Pencillers - Rags Morales & Brent Anderson
Inkers - Rick Bryant & Brent Anderson
Colorist - Brad Anderson
Letterer - Patrick Brosseau
Associate Editor - Wil Moss
Editor - Matt Idelson
Cover Price: $3.99
They say never to judge a book by its cover... but, have you ever... just by looking at a cover, been able to instantly tell which books you would soon be tripping over in the cheap-o bins?
No sooner did I see this cover... probably in a solicit, did I know that this book would be clogging quarter-bins all over the place. And wouldn'tcha know it, just a few months later that's exactly where I began seeing them pop up!
Perhaps there is a measure of region specificity to it... and maybe I just unwittingly have my finger on the "pulse" of the Phoenix fandom... but, this is the one issue of Action Comics (volume 2) I see in nearly every single discount bin I flip through.
Has this happened to anybody else? Am I just losin' it?
Oh well... let's quit looking at the cover, and get to the chewy center.
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We pick up a little bit after where we left off with Action Comics #1. Superman stopped that rogue train... but it caused him to be captured by Thunderbolt Ross... er, General Lane. He is strapped to an electric chair... and is being tested by Dr. Lex Luthor. Did he have a Doctorate in the pre-Flashpoint continuity? I don't recall. The other science-types aren't terribly comfortable with the idea of torture... even if they're doing it to an alien. I guess that's a good sign. A Doctor Irons (hmm) busts in and tries to put a stop to the proceedings. When Luthor refuses, he quits the project.
Elsewhere, General Lane is having Superman's cape tested... by having it shot hundreds (thousands?) of times over. As the smoke clears, we see that the cape is unaffected. Hell, by the looks of it, it might even be tougher than the New-52! Superman himself!
Lois Lane shows up to the base to chat up her father. She is trying to track down this "Superman" for a story. The General almost coyly admits that he has Superman... and that he's "safe".
Back inside, the tests continue. Superman has woken up at this point... and is presented with... like a goat or something. He is asked if his "natural state" is something similar to that of the goat. Superman laughs... and laughs. Which angers Luthor... and causes me to shrug.
Back outside, General Lane takes all the information Lois had gathered thus far on Superman... and heads back inside. He has his flunky Glen Talbot... er, John Corben keep her occupied. Turns out he (John) has the hots for her... so, he's pretty easily manipulated.
Back inside, Superman is losin' it! He's broken out of the electric chair and is wrecking the place. He busts through the thick door to the observation area and grabs Luthor, using him as a human shield of sorts. After whispering some sweet nothreats into his ear, he drops him to the ground and takes off.
Not before grabbing his indestructible cape, of course. I mean, wouldn't you? From his bloody and beaten face, it's clear that the thing is more resilient than he is! He rushes into the next room and finds... a rocket! Upon touching it, it changes into a crystalline form and begins "speaking" to him.
Superman tells the rocket that he will be back for it... before continuing to flee. Soldiers chase him up a flight of stairs and toward an elevator shaft. By now, Lois has made her way inside... and she's pretty surprised to catch Superman in the act of his great escape.
We wrap up with a couple of pages of epilogue. First, John Corben volunteers to take part in the top-secret Steel Soldier project... that was once under the purview of Doctor Irons. Irons... Steel? Ohhhhhh. Welcome to the All-New, All-Different DC Universe, folks!
The second epilogue features Lex Luthor on the phone from with... an alien?
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Ehh...
I feel like every time we discuss these early New-52! Superman books, I have the same reaction... this feels more like "Ultimate" Superman than anything that should've been pushed as the "real" Superman.
I mean, we're two issues in... actually... we're not even two issues in when we are introduced to "Doctor Irons". That feels so much like an Ultimate move. This is part of the reason why the whole reboot bugged me so much. It's like... "It's all new... except for all of these names we're going to drop to keep you on the line". I mean, if we're going "all-new", why not just make some new characters? Just feels like a case of DC wanting to eat its cake, and have it too. For whatever reason that really got to me during the initial months of the New-52! initiative.
While we're looking at characters... I know I joked about it above, but when did Sam Lane become Thunderbolt Ross? He comes complete with a Glen Talbot-like lackey in John Corben... I mean, dude's even got the Glen Talbot mustache! That's gotta be on purpose, right?
For the story... well, Superman can withstand torture. Is that worth your four dollars? I mean, you and I already knew he could withstand torture... so, we didn't exactly learn anything here. All we get is... Lex Luthor is an a-hole, and the military is working on a Steel Soldier project.
I think it was with this issue that the "new normal" set in for me. There was no longer that weird anticipation/excitement around seeing what a brand-new #1 would bring... now, it was just "the next issue" of Action Comics. Without the excitement and uncertainty, I feel like it fell to this issue to really deliver something special... and it didn't! Hell, they had to use a second penciller... which tells me how much of a priority this was for those involved. If they can't stay motivated two months in... why in hell should I?
The "back-up" feature... remember, this was one of the few New-52! books that didn't "draw the line at $2.99"... was a complete waste. Really, we get no more out of this than we would've in a CBR interview... it definitely didn't warrant adding a dollar to the cover price. Should've dropped the "feature", and the price for this issue. Luckily... if you are interested in checking this out, it isn't likely you'll have to shell out four-bucks for it... as mentioned during our preamble (at least in my neck of the woods), this bugger is in just about every buck-n-below bin I come across.
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"Inside the Action" Featurette (aka. the reason why you expected this story to run a few more pages):
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Action Comics (vol.2) #52 (July, 2016)
"The Final Days of Superman, Part 6: The Great Pretender"
Writer - Peter J. Tomasi
Pencillers - Dale Eaglesham & Scot Eaton
Inkers - Dale Eaglesham & Wayne Faucher
Colors - Tomeu Morey
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor - Andrew Merino
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $3.99
Here's a sorta-kinda important issue of Action Comics, from the tail end of its days as a "Volume 2". Today we're going to usher out the New-52! and revisit how they tied this one off.
Spoiler Alert: It ends on a... to be continued to an issue of Superman/Wonder Woman. Which... eh, I dunno... feels like a cheap way to go out.
Anyhoo... before I convince everyone to stop reading here, let's get into it!
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We open with Superman (52) in a pretty bad way. He and Wonder Woman join with Batman so that they might track down this weird "double". Suddenly, his ability to fly sorta gives out... and he splats onto the window of the batwing. They load him inside, and continue their search.
Speaking of that weird double... we shift scenes to Metropolis, where it is chatting up Lois Lane (52). I think the last time we discussed "The Final Days of Superman" on the blog (all them years back) I assumed that this solar-powered double was going to tie in, in some way with Kenan Kong/New Super-Man. I guess that's why I don't make many predictions! Anyhoo, the dupe (Denny Swan) tells Lois that he has something secret he'd like to show her.
This takes us to Salinas, California... where Clark and Jonathan White are making some good ol' Breakfast-for-Dinner. I used to love having that every now and again... until I'd go to lay down a few hours later and be hit with some of the worst heartburn ever. Anyhoo, before they/we know it, they have been joined by Lois and Denny.
There's a pretty uncomfortable scene where Clark invites Denny to have some pancakes with them. They sit across the table from one another, while Denny prods at Clark about thinking he's really Superman. Lois immediately runs to Jon to keep him safe.
Then, Denny loses his mind... and attacks! Well, Clark doesn't take kindly to anyone coming into his home and putting the lives of the ones he loves at risk... so, it's fight time!
Back in the batwing, Batman informs Superman and Wonder Woman that their next stop is Gotham City... so they might use some bat-tech to get a better bead on the phony Superman. Just then, there's an energy signal on the batwing's radar that syncs up to Superman's new Solar Flare dealie... and it's coming from Salinas, California. Batman agrees to land.
Back on the ground, Lois-52 rushes Jon away from the house and to safety. Clark and Denny continue their fight... just as the Trinity lands nearby. Then we have the long-awaited... and pretty underwhelming meeting of the New-52! Superman... and the real one.
Lois (the real one) returns home to find the place... well, destroyed. Clark then rushes over and pulls Lois, Jon and their pets far away from the battleground.
We wrap up with Denny trying to make nice with the Trinity... and even going so far as to suggest they team up to get rid of "that imposter".
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Not a bad issue... though a bit disappointing for the "big meeting" between Superman and... the uh, other Superman.
When I see this cover, I see so many possibilities... especially considering they were originally going to use it a few months earlier... very likely to tell a very different story. I kept remembering this as being the cover for Action Comics (vol.2) #50... which is incorrect. A check of a handy-dandy Previews catalog (pack-ratting *sometimes* has its perks) shows that this was actually supposed to be the cover to Superman (vol.3) #50. In a story by Gene Luen Yang and Howard Porter, the pre-Flashpoint and the New-52! Supermen were to meet.
Why this was scrapped? Well, probably Rebirth... even though DC will tell ya they had that "in the works" forever. Hell, they said the same thing in 2011 about The New-52!, when I think hindsight shows us they were fulluvit. This is just more evidence that the "current year" comics industry is a rudderless ship. They can stop on a dime and change direction at a moments notice. Which is why I think so many of us have a difficult time getting "comfortable" these days. Though, maybe I'm just projecting.
I know I have a problem getting comfortable... because I know we're only one batch of solicits away from yet another reboot/relaunch/rewhatever. I mean, just look at Marvel! Their "cycle" is almost to the point of self-parody. Big new #1... then 2-3 months of stories... then, an announcement of next big "event"/relaunch... followed by 6 months of "lame duck" stories to get us there... then we start the cycle all over again, only with diminishing returns!
Anyhoo... back to this issue of Action Comics. First, it looks pretty great. In my grand DC reread over the past few years, Dale Eaglesham has worked his way toward the top on my list of "best artists". Was happy to see his name in the credits.
The story? It's a means to an end. Really not much more to say. They need the new Superman "out of the way" so they can replace him with the original. It's an event that needs a story, rather than the other way around. Instead of this happening organically... it's being rushed to get us to Rebirth. Now, I think Rebirth was a great idea... especially when compared to the cosmic toilet flush of 2011, but I still feel like it deserved to go out on less of a rushed "throwaway-ish" story.
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Action Comics (vol.2) #38 (March, 2015)
"Home is Where the Hell Is"
Writer - Greg Pak
Artists - Aaron Kuder & Jae Lee
Partial Inks - June Chung
Colorist - Wil Quintana
Letterer - Dezi Sienty
Assistant Editor - Jeremy Bent
Group Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $3.99
S'funny, well... maybe not "ha-ha" funny (or even "interesting" funny), but before we discussed Action Comics (vol.2) #36 a couple weeks back, I had originally grabbed this one from the longbox. This is always the cover image I associate with this story arc... and I guess I imagined that it was what kicked it off! Even set up the very post you are reading now!
I mean, what a cover it is, right? A wonderfully striking image... even if I wasn't reading Action Comics, this cover would entice me to give it a shot!
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We open with a flashback of Lana Lang as a young girl facing off against a stringy-looking Lovecraftian horror bathed in flame. Worth mentioning that the flashbacks are being drawn by Jae Lee... who Pak had worked with on the first arc of Batman/Superman. It is vastly different from Kuder's "present day" bits, but not as jarring a transition as you might think. Speaking of the present, our bearded Clark Kent wakes up to find his childhood home burning... with Lana inside it!
In a really well-done few pages, we see Clark attempt to save Lana... running down a hallway that continues to stretch... it's like something from a dream, and again, really well-done! She is engulfed in the inferno before he can reach her... and he lets out an amazing bellow! Another great use of the comics "language" to express urgency!
Suddenly, the fire is out... and Clark is left standing alone at his folks' house. He is summoned to the kitchen by a pair of familiar voices... why it's Eben and Sar... er, Ma and Pa Kent! They're back... in zombified form!
They have a pretty uncomfortable chat... as you might imagine. The folks say plenty of hurtful things about their son... including that they'd always feared him. Upon getting a closer look, it's clear that the Horrors are behind this. Lana has been taken over by one... but is still "her" enough to apologize to Clark.
Clark responds by eye-beaming the baddie. This doesn't appear to hurt the beast... but, amuses it in a way. It releases its hold over the Kent-elders, and Clark gets to watch them thud to the ground. He, Clark that is, lets out another shout before carrying the bodies of his adoptive-parents out of the now-really-burning house.
Outside, Steel and Amadeus... er, Hiro are doing some small-town crowd control... which is to say, they're watching over some kids. They ask where Lana is... and after Superman fills them in, they get to planning. Unfortunately, this is cut short by the discovery of disgusting parasitic horrors attaching themselves to the upper-back of everybody remaining (this is a sentence I typed out like a dozen times, and still don't like how it reads!). Steel yanks his off... and squishes it... which causes him great pain.
The townies approach and give Superman the quick and dirty on their newfound "abilities". Ya see, during the "Doomed" storyline, Brainiac placed the entire town in a coma. When they "came to", they had powers. They reveal that they're not responsible for the horrors... instead, they were responsible for containing them! Further, they do cop to being responsible for the mist... because that will keep the horror quarantined to Smallville, at least for now.
One of the townies suggests Superman figure something out quick... because once the little attached critters bring their host-bodies into the "second stage" of their horror-morphosis, they start liking the feeling of fear. Wouldn'tcha know it, no sooner do we learn this, than folks start really diggin' the feel of fear!
We close out... nearby, where Lana has almost been completely incorporated into a horror... to the point where it almost looks as though she's the parasite of a much larger host body!
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A(nother) surprisingly good issue of New-52! era Superman and that ain't a compliment I go doling out all that often...
Horror elements-notwithstanding, this issue made me a bit squirmy. The idea of parasites is one that... I dunno, really skeeves me out. I doubt that's a particularly unique viewpoint or anything... but... how do I put this?
You ever see a picture of something that particularly grossed you out or scared you? Perhaps it's a giant hairy spider... or maybe a snake or something? Like you're looking at it in a book... and it bugs you so much that you don't even want to touch the picture of it? Like, you wanna ask someone else to turn the page for you because the thought of touching... just the picture of the thing... makes your skin crawl? That's kinda how I felt here with the squishy-back-horrors. So gross.
I think that's a pretty good sign that your horror story is effective. I actually didn't want to go through this a second time to synopsize it because it skeeved me out so! That's certainly a testament to Aaron Kuder's art... where he can craft something that can skeeve me out, especially when that was (I believe) the intent!
The story... while good, relied on some pretty predictable pathos. I mean, it didn't take a rocket-surgeon to figure out that we were eventually going to see the Kent corpses.
Where the story shined though, was in the twist. We were led to believe that the townies were responsible for the horrors... when in fact, they were the only things effectively holding them back! That was unexpected, and I thought it was really cool! Great use of past storylines too... which is something I'd all but given up hope on ever happening again post the September, 2011.
Overall... I'd say this arc is definitely worth checking out.
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Channel-52!
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No sooner did I see this cover... probably in a solicit, did I know that this book would be clogging quarter-bins all over the place. And wouldn'tcha know it, just a few months later that's exactly where I began seeing them pop up!
