Friday, February 3, 2012

Action Comics #6

You have to give writer Grant Morrison credit for being very clever.

This issue of Action Comics (and the one before it) are fill-in issues, bridging the gap between the threat of Brainiac (and the destruction of the Earth) and what happens next.

So he creates a fill-in that doesn't feel at all like a fill-in.

It doesn't hurt to have art by the tremendously talented Andy Kubert, but best of all he's got a story that's a bit of a mind-bender.

It's a time travel adventure that features three members of the Legion of Super-Heroes bringing the modern-day Superman back in time to a deadly encounter with the Anti-Superman Army, a deadly force of dozens of powerful villains. And it all takes place "between the panels" of the end of issue #4 and the beginning of #7.

At stake is the safety of the Earth, Superman's own fate and, of course, the matter of his survival. All especially tricky when his enemies have just discovered (or created?) Kryptonite.

It's interesting to see Morrison's take on the grown-up Man of Steel, who is confident and comfortable with his powers, while the one we've been following in this series is still learning the ropes and figuring out what he can do.

I just hope Morrison has a nice long run on this title - so far, it's the best by far of the "New 52."

Grade: A

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2 comments:

Glen Davis said...

During the golden age of fill ins, sometimes they were a welcome respite from a lame subplot.

Chuck said...

Glen, that's certainly true, but some of them were pretty painful, too.