Action Comics #870

It's an indication of just how much a part of modern culture comic books have become. Still, it was a surprise to turn to the news this morning and see stories devoted to the story events that unfold at the end of this issue of Action Comics.

What a difference! Comic books have spent the better part of a century being considered little better than trash, or fit only for children. Most adult readers my age spent years hiding the fact that they read or collected comics. I remember running into a woman I knew at a newsstand years ago - I was buying a few comics. She saw my selections, looked down her nose and said, "Going through your second childhood, Chuck?"

Now comics are the basis for the biggest movies of the year (Batman and Iron Man, of course). Graphic novels are regularly reviewed in newspapers and entertainment magazines. I'm not sure we've reached the point where an adult can sit on a park bench and read a comic without "fear" of being judged, but surely we're close. When major news outlets are reporting on plotlines like the death of Captain America, the unmasking of Spider-Man, or the events in this issue, you have to think the long-awaited "sea change" must be at hand.

Since the management at Chuck's Comic of the Day is devoted to reviews that don't spoil the story, I'm not going to say what shocking event happens - it's the kind of thing you should read for yourself.

But we can talk about the comic in general! As the story begins, we find Superman trapped by Brainiac, who has just fired a missile at the sun. When it hits, the sun will explode in a supernova and the Earth will go the way of Krypton and many other worlds Brainiac has destroyed.

The titanic battle which follows, as created by writer Geoff Johns, penciller Gary Frank and inker Jon Sibal (& Bit), is perhaps the best conflict we've seen in a Superman comic in a decade, and the story alternates between brutal fights, moments of tenderness, a sense of wonder and terrible tragedy.

The events in this issue really do change the status quo for the Man of Steel - in a way that lays the foundation for any number of stories in the future.

It's very simple: if you're not reading Action Comics, you're missing a classic.

Grade: A