Comic Review: ACTION COMICS #2

Book: Action Comics #2 Written By: Grant Morrison, Art By: Rags Morales & Brent Anderson Publisher: DC Comics Price: $3.99 Pages: 40 Release Date: OUT NOW IN STORES & VIA DIGITAL DOWNLOAD (COMIXOLOGY) The #2's of DC's New 52 have arrived and what better to star off the month with than Action Comics. The issue picks up shortly after last issues climax, Superman has been captured and is being examined/tortured by Lex Luthor. Lex's characteristics are spot on and can be summarised at its best from his refusal to acknowledge Superman as a person, deciding to call him "It" rather than "him". It establishes his cold and calculated persona while setting up the dynamic between him and his new enemy without reverting to a cackling mad scientist. One moment I enjoyed greatly was the army's vigorous attempt to damage Superman's cape and his later need to reclaim his property. This is one element writer Grant Morrison has spoken off frequently in interviews over the summer, Clarks "magic blanket" that saves him from ever being harmed while being his one and only possession from Krypton. Sure this was well established in the previous continuity however it has not used as a defining plot point in a story for years, it is a fresh take on the lore and add's huge potential to such a simple piece of fabric. I can't wait to read the scene in which Clark first leans of the blankets abilities in a future issue. Over the past few weeks I have heard many friends say they do not like this interpretation of The Man Of Steel. He is young, cocky, rash and quite dangerous (I can see an impending flock of fanboy rage from friends and online community's after Superman threatened to snap Luthor's neck in this issue). As a huge Superman fan since childhood I am enjoying this current interpretation of the character (especially at this specific point in his young life). As Morrison himself put it:

"Experience doesn't even come into it - he doesn't have to think. He's a kid who's been set free from Ma and Pa Kent. Both of them are dead and suddenly he thinks "I'm the most powerful thing on the planet. It's time to star cleaning up!" - he's just doing it because it feels right"

I said it in last issues review and I'll say it again, if you are the most powerful being on the planet, in a world with no superheroes at this point, you-would-act-like-this and it fits. I am fully expecting to see a huge amount of growth to the character in the impending issues to get him to where he is in five years time but it's a nice change to see such a different version of Kal-El/Superman/Clark Kent just for a little while. For this issue, regular artist Rags Morales is joined by co-penciler Brend Anderson, once again a majority of my problems I had during last issue can be found throughout these pages: even though Superman looks powerful and dynamic as always in almost every panel he is seen in, a handful of supporting characters have potato faces where proportions are slightly off and foreheads can seem to be a bit too elongated at times making this feel like a comic version of the Coneheads. Other than that art is a solid and the team (including Ink's from Rick Bryant & Brent Anderson and colouring from Brad Anderson) have a real knack for drawing machinery, weapons, mecha suits and alien ships all pop and are a highlight of the issue. One of my biggest gripe is the page count. Action Comics is one of the few books DC has returned to a $3.99 price with a higher page count to compensate, supposadly. Action #1 boasted 30 pages of story compared to DC's now standard 20 page for all of its $2.99 books, #2 however only has 20 pages of story and 8 pages of behind the scenes interviews and sketches. Behind the scenes extras for me are all fine and dandy in say, a Hardcover or a Directors Cut release of an issue (ala Blackest Night), but seeing behind the scenes in single issues month in month out? It feels like padding to me and doesn't justify the higher price in my books, case in point it's nice to see what Jor-El's and Krypton will look like throughout these pages but I wish I could have experience it in the actual story rather than in these add on sketches. Action Comics will continue at this price point throughout the first arc however I feel DC should re-evaluate the need for this price and the extras we receive from it when the second arc arrives. Once again this issue only gives us small glimpses of the bigger picture and feels as if it is set over 20 minutes timeframe at most. It is fluid, fast paced and once again leaving me dying for more. From what I have been told and feel from the story beats, #3 is where the meat of the story will begin to emerge. At the issues climax we feel a real sense this is the end of act one for the story, almost every player in the book has been established and put into their place for the real game to begin. There are only so many issues where the audience are allowed only the smallest glimpse of the bigger picture before it becomes tiresome, soon the scope must broaden and let us into the world fully. As enjoyable as this issue was I hope #3 will alter the pace and shake up the story as the second act begins to show its head.

rating: 3.5