Action Comics #1058 review

After Clark Kent interviews Norah Stone, head of the anti-extraterrestrial society Blue Earth, her minder morphs into a Superman double and attacks him. Somehow the doppelgänger steals a portion of Superman’s strength and begins pummelling him, dragging him into the sky. But while the stranger has Clark’s power, he doesn’t have his experience.

And that’s only the beginning of our hero’s fightback.

Meanwhile, at the Kent-Lane apartment, Lois learns that one of her alien foster kids, Otho-Ra, has had a rough day.

Firm words from Lois about how fighting isn’t the answer to everyday problems lead to a fun moment that defuses the tension. Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson is excellent at balancing light and shade, moving forward the threat of Blue Earth while throwing in engaging domestic moments. Which isn’t to say the two story strands won’t come together soon. This issue’s instalment of the New Worlds serial is strong on action while showing that brawn backed by brains is optimum. I’m a big fan of writers exploring the potential and problems of Clark’s abilities and here Johnson does that with, as seen, super-hearing and another Superman staple.

Other scenes see Nora Stone using chess chat to enter a secret sanctuary and reporting to some sinister sponsors; Kara reading the Super Twins a bedtime story from their culture; and John Henry Irons getting very excited at the chance to make Superman some new toys. It’s fun, it’s dramatic, it’s another example of how great a fit Johnson is for Action Comics.

Partnering Kennedy is artist Rafa Sandoval, who conveys the brutality of the attack on Clark, and intensity of his response, with conviction. The ‘dark Superman’ is suitably scary but Clark’s determination to resist, to win, is equally on point. And the representation of Clark’s powers, with colour artist Matt Herms adding his talents to Sandoval’s, is something special. Letterer Dave Sharpe employs his knack for fonts wisely, with my favourite this time being that assigned to Norah’s co-conspirators.

The story ends not on a cliffhanger but a high note that promises swashbuckling action.

As with recent issues of Action Comics the Superman story is followed by a couple of Super Family back-ups. Unlike recent issues, both are really rather excellent.

First up, original New Super-Man writer Gene Luen Yang and artist Viktor Bogdanovic return to Kenan Kong, and suddenly the character is engaging again. He’s been in the Superman strips recently, but basically been just another leather jacket in the crowd. Here he’s front and centre, and full of personality, in a story set a little while back, before he became officially part of the new, expanded Super Family.

While based in China, Kenan has been showing up in Metropolis, conveniently saving the day when Supergirl, Steel or whoever are in trouble.

A spy? Surely not! Yang and Bogdanovic, aided by colourist Mike Spicer and letterer Dave Sharpe, craft a delightful little mystery which closes on quite the cliffhanger.

The Super-Twins make their third appearance this time in a team-up with Metropolis’s fav’rit bar owner Bibbo Bibbowski. He’s taking the kids to the city’s annual parade, and the light-hearted affair provides quite the culture shock for the Warworld natives.

This is a hoot from start to finish, with writer Greg Hahn gifting us a smartly plotted short full of character-based humour – and wait until you encounter the DCU’s answer to Hamilton. There’s plenty of animation in Travis Mercer’s good-looking cartooning, with a particularly great take on Superman in his costume – it looks like actual clothing. Dave Sharpe letters, of course, while Andrew Dalhouse makes Metropolis magical so far as colour is concerned.

This really is a great strip, it’s a revelation that Othol and Oso can be anything other than grumpy gremlins. I hope Action editors Paul Kaminski and Jillian Grant have more assignments for this creative team – if DC Comics still did a Year’s Best Comic Stories digest, ‘Panic at the Parade’ would be a dead cert for inclusion.

The best issue of Action Comics since it became an anthology is topped off by another glorious Steve Beach cover. Can next issue top it? I’ll certainly be here to find out.