Review: Action Comics 41 & 42
STORY BY: Greg Pak, Aaron Kuder ART BY: Aaron Kuder
COLORS BY: Tomeu Morey, Hi-Fi LETTERS BY: Steve Wands COVER BY: Aaron Kuder, Darwyn Cooke PUBLISHER: DC Comics
I was pretty hesitant to get bacl into Action Comics after the New 52 run, and I have to say that I'm really into what Pak and Kuder have going on here.
We are dealing with a almost completely depowered Superman after having his secret identity as Clark Kent made public by Lois Lane. While we still don't know for sure how he got this way it makes for pretty compelling a different kind of read for a Superman title.
Pak and Kuder find their voice by almost bringing Superman to his Golden Age freedom fighter roots and taking on social justice issues that we haven't seen in in a major character in nearly a decade. Clark is just learning how to still be a superhero without his powers when the Metropolis Police Department is ordered to end a nonviolent sit in in Suicide Slum. The set up and the speed at which these books draw in the reader is well paced and deliberate.
Kuder's artwork tells the story perfectly and fits Clark into a reality that fits his powerlessness and also fights against it. The action scenes are exhilarating and the softer moments are touching and sincere.
DC is taking a gamble with changing their characters so drastically and no one was more vocal about this "casual friday" version of Superman but this gamble is starting to pay off and take shape in ways longtime fans might not have expected. DC You has another hit on it's hands and I can't wait to see where this story is taking us.
Writing: 10 Art: 8 Cover: 7.5 Overall: 8.75