The New 52: Action Comics

Title: Action Comics
Issue: #1
Release: September 2011
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artists: Rags Morales and Rick Bryant


Image via iFanboy

DC bills this one book as no less than "the cornerstone of the entire DC universe." Mock also clued me into the legendary stature of Grant Morrison within the industry. Given all that, I think high expectations are more than fair.

I have to admit to being generally underwhelmed by Superman. I don't just mean this book, either. Superman was first created in 1938 and has been the world's biggest comic hero pretty much ever since. And yet, with all of those decades of development potential behind him, I've never found him to be a particularly interesting character. Were there a Hamlet Scale of great characters in world literature, I think Superman would rate fairly low compared to, say, Wolverine. He's good. He's strong. He's invincible. He's pretty static. Even within his own storyline, he's less intriguing than Lois Lane or Lex Luthor, for instance. If there are stories of a morally ambiguous Superman or an emotionally complex Superman, I haven't seen them.

Before I get to the spoiler section, I will say that Action Comics #1 did not pass my curiosity test. I'm not particularly interested in what happens in issue #2. That is not to say that I don't think it's a quality piece of work. It is. But I'm really looking to get hooked into one of these stories and it just didn't happen for me this time. I do, however, love the "Guided View" in the Comixology interface. With both this book and Justice League, I caught a lot of details that I missed with the normal view.

For the record, My Wife is not impressed by the short sleeves and blue jeans costume.


*****SPOILER ALERT*****


For poster-worthy images, the one with Superman jumping down from the zeppelin is a nice one. It's a shame comics don't have page numbers for easier reference but on the seventh page after the title page, there's an image-within-an-image shot of the wrecking ball coming towards the building. General Lane and Luthor are watching on a large TV screen and the image is black and white, a notable contrast with the rest of the page.

As for the story itself, I'm not too worried about Superman. Even pinned against a wall by a train engine, we all know he's going to be just fine. Whatever is going on between General Lane and Luthor is a lot more intriguing, but not enough for me to run out and buy the next issue, I'm afraid.