Action Comics #3 and #4 Review

Action Comics #3 & 4

writer- Grant Morrison
artists- Rags Morales, Gene Ha

Some of the best titles DC Comics has ever produced are out right now. The continuity of the universe may still be confusing to us, but the writing and art are incredible.

In Action Comics #2, the government had Superman strapped in an electric chair. They were torturing him to discover his limits and they were doing so on the orders of Lex Luthor. Of course Superman escaped and rushed off to save the day. Issues #3 & 4 deal with some pretty heavy anti-Superman sentiment. Luthor has effectively turned Metropolis against our hero at a time he's needed most. It's an alien robot invasion. Who's fault is that? The public believes it's Superman's fault.

The art in this book is high quality. In issue #3, the story flashes back to when our hero was a baby. It's a beautiful rendering of life on Krypton. The flashback art is done by Gene Ha. It's soft and colorful and very pretty to look at. In my opinion, Ha was an excellent choice and he really deserves his own book. The rest of the book is still well illustrated by Rags Morales and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that DC keeps this caliber of art on Action Comics for its entire run.

The art in #4 is a little different. It's well done in the sense that it's nice to look at and consistent but I'm a little disappointed in Morales for not making every character unique. Lex Luthor is a white male of average build and has no hair. When John Henry Irons returns in this issue, it's amazing how much he looks just like Lex Luthor. Irons is a bald African-American male of average build. The only difference between him and Luthor is that Irons has darker skin but when he was sitting in a dark room brooding with a drink in his hand, I actually thought it was Luthor darkened by shadow. I like Rags Morales but this issue had me shaking my head. I'm going to keep telling myself that it's not enough to throw my hands up but it is a bit of a downer.

So what about the writing in these books? Still awesome. It's on the top of my list of favorites for DC's New 52. It's refreshing to enjoy every single thing about a character. Superman still can't fly and he can be injured by extreme force. This is something I think will change over time.

World Against Superman is the title of issue #3 and it's not lying. Morrison does a great job of showing how fickle humans are and how they can turn so quickly and so violently on the ones who protect them. I can't help but compare it to stories about wild animals as pets who finally turn on and kill their keepers. Only here, Superman isn't imprisoning anyone. He's only trying to help. This theme and the robot alien invasion carry into #4 along with a character I am happy to see. Steel makes his debut in Action Comics and he takes on the robot aliens in a big way. His appearance is brief in the Morrison story, but #4 has a Steel back-up story that shows us more of what this new hero can do. I have a feeling John Henry Irons is going to make a big splash in the DCU very soon.

I've said before that Morrison's writing is tighter than it's been since Batman and Robin and there's no sign of him losing his grip. Action Comics is still by far my favorite comic book out there.