How often do you read a superhero comic and find the hero facing the biggest of threats but failing to call in help. Not so here, as not only do the resident members of the Super Family step up when the Phantom Zone prisoners escape into our solar system, but the Justice League are on hand too.
One member who isn’t on the frontline is the Man of Steel, who we left last issue confronted by the mass ‘jailbreak’ by Krypton’s worst criminals. Right now he’s recovering from their beating, garbed in the med-suit than once brought him back from the dead. On hand as he wakes is best pal Jimmy Olsen, and ‘big brother’ Mon-El.
Chapter Ten of the Phantoms story features another cracking script from Mark Waid. As writer of the new Justice League Unlimited series he’s perfectly placed to use the new team set-up, and makes good use of those with the most relevant abilities.
My favourite moment comes as Superman, feeling well enough to rejoin the fray, comes across Supergirl in the clutches of the crazed Kryptonians who have been ravaging Earth for the two days he’s been out of it.
I do enjoy seeing the Kryptonian cousins acknowledged as equals. There’s another lovely bit, this time with Mon-El, calling back to his first appearance in the Silver Age.
Michael Shelfer has been helping regular artist Clayton Henry with a handful of pages each issue. This time he draws the whole story and while there’s plenty of energy, the pages look very rushed. Shelfer is obviously pleased, though, signing a splash page – I hate it when artists do that. The storytelling is fine, and there’s a nice ‘ready for action’ moment with Jimmy and Mon-El looking proudly at Superman.
Matt Herms provides the vibrant colours, while Dave Sharpe letters as ever, doing especially nice work with the opening narration provided by the Daily Planet’s International edition.
Clayton Henry does supply the cover, a shot of the Super Family looking mildly worried as the sun dies. It’s lovely, I especially like the colouring… but we had the same five characters last time – a pic of Superman and the Justice League would’ve been excellent.
The Supergirl back-up (an apt term as it really has been getting my back up) once again has striking Skylar Patridge art… and an impenetrable script from Mariko Tamaki. It’s something to do with symbiotic twins Rage and Fear, and Fear wants to be less fearful, or perhaps Rage is trying to be less ragey. It’s one or t’other, I can’t keep it straight because it’s nonsense, with the writer again implying a psychic link between Supergirl and Power Girl.
Ignore the words, have a top-notch cosmic image from Patridge, with colours by Becca Carey and letters by Marissa Louise.
With two issues of this weekly iteration of Action Comics to go, the quality remains consistent – the Superman strip is a treat and the Supergirl strip is, well, nice looking.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
The quality is consistent cover to cover: Terrific storytelling up front and an abysmal failure on that front in the back!
Is Kara and Karen’s connection due to fallout from Absolute Power perhaps? It’d be like Tamaki to omit relevant details like that but she could just be channeling how Stan Lee wrote Silver Age Thor and pulling powers out of her ass to solve a story problem.
I loved art and story on the lead and glad the artist toned down the goofiness he gave his previous pages to just the occasional panel here. It fit then but tonally did not match here and I’m glad he realized it.
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That’s a pretty good idea about how Peege and Kara could have a sudden psychic connection – I wish you were working for DC!
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The art doesn’t work for me after so many issues of Clayton, but it services the story nonetheless. Waid has been writing a good story. It’s not groundbreaking or trendsetting, but it is exactly what the series needs: solid plotting that allows for bigger ideas. However, I do have to wonder how much of Waid will remain after the storyline is done? Will Waid remain? Tune in two weeks from now to find out. Great review.
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Thanks for the kind worlds. I reckon you’re likely right that this story won’t have immediate aspects continued but I expect some parts will be picked up down the line.
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It’s a shame but unsurprising given the scheduling that CH was off art duties. I do wonder when they’re not giving enough lead time for the main artist to keep up, why they don’t try to get someone with a closer art style as it is tonally quite a shift to the more cartoon style even with the forewarning of the Connor/Kenan subplot.
Stu
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I do agree, if the editor particularly likes the work of Michael Shelfer they could’ve given him work down the line – there are loads of artists whose style would have blended better.
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I think if you’re at a point when your main artist realizes he has to skip an issue, you’re down to a small pool of artists you trust that have time in their schedules — matching styles is a luxury. Chances are Shelfer budgeted time to do his usual five pages, and then was called on to do all 20. No wonder he looked rushed!
I loved the look in on Four Heroes, Maine — formerly Codsville, the town that the original Doom Patrol gave their lives to save!
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Fair point about artists! And I am ashamed – ASHAMED! – not to have noticed good old Codsville.
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