Wednesday, October 5, 2011

NB of the Week

Action Comics #2 - In Chains
After being trapped by a speeding locomotive at the end of issue one (oh the irony), we get another Superman that most may not be used to.
For the first 11 pages of this issue, we get Superman being poked and prodded and essentially tortured by Luthor and the Army, trying to get answers to what he is and how he works. After page 11, though, we get back to the action (aptly titled book, finally) as Supes breaks free. "All I needed was a minute to recover. Lucky for me you talk too much." Following a threat to snap Luthor's neck (classy move), Superman heads out. Along the way he finds his ship which seems to be slightly alive. He reassures it that he will be back for him later and takes off again. Crashing through walls and melting guns, Superman finally makes it out to safety. The last page is a doozy as we have Luthor talking to his "source" who has been feeding him his knowledge about the Kryptonian. As he screams into his phone, demanding to know who or what it is he's talking to, we are left with an alien ship hovering up high, looking a lot like what would be Brainiac's ship.
There are eight pages in the back of art with commentary from Grant Morrison and Rags Morales and it only makes me love the book more. Morrison intends on making Superman move a lot. Action entitles movement and he wants it that way. Also, things can hurt Superman like they could in the good days. He bleeds and is knocked out and heals and it happens again. It gives him vulnerability that the reader can get behind and it's brilliant. It's one of those things that I never may have figured out on my own but is absolutely obvious when it's said. Morrison seems to be the perfect choice for the relaunch of Action Comics and I am extremely glad that I have gotten it so far.

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