Review: Action Comics #43

Ever since the team of Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder took over Action Comics, I have felt that it has been the most consistently well done of the super-books. You could tell from their earliest issues that these two clicked as creators complementing each other. So it comes as no surprise to me that they have been producing the best part of The Truth, a story that overall hasn't grabbed me.

Action Comics #43 really recaptured the optimism I had in this book from a couple of issues ago, a populist hero, protecting the people, and inspiring. We got a whiff of a possible romance. We saw a very human hero. And we got a Superman who was fighting with ... not against ... the police.

Aaron Kuder has become one of my favorite artists for his impressively detailed and expressive work. But in this issue his breakdowns are what shine. We have 4 single page splashes and one double page. But on other pages he uses small inset panels so well that I did not feel cheated on story. And his work on monsters and demons is truly terrifying.

The cover dress is Alienation, an interesting follow up to Truth and Justice. Not the American Way. It works. Superman feels alone. Clark has been outed as an alien. And alienation could be read as Alien Nation, a riff on a phrase about the American Nation.

Last issue ended with Superman slugging bad cop Binghampton. Last month I cringed.

Luckily, thankfully, Binghampton turns out to be a shadow demon. Superman is off the hook for punching out a police officer. 

One thing I like about this sequence is Kuder's use of smaller panels and nearly covered faces. It adds a sense of chaos and speed to the scene. I felt like I was there, as a spectator, looking all around in the brawl and catching only bits of things.

And lastly, Binghampton and his segmental face is horrific.

The melee continues with Binghampton absorbing energy from the outed weapons the police have and attacking the citizens as well as Clark. 

With Superman depowered, this fight with Binghampton seems to be an even battle. We see Superman being battered and questioning whether he can win. What is great is that we see the others step up to also help with the fight.

Here Lee Lambert grabs a bat and joins the fight. A fire fighter. A woman and person of color. Brave and compassionate.

With the unwritten 'no relationship with Lois' editorial edict still in place and with Lana now out of the picture and with Steel, Lee might just be the biggest woman in Superman's life moving forward.

And it isn't just Lee and the citizens of 'Super-Town' that help Superman.

The police officers also join in, just as shocked to realize that Binghampton is a demon.

I don't know if I am used to seeing this but here a police officer rescues Superman! It is a somewhat reversal of the norm. But it also shows that there are heroes all around us. With Superman out of the way. the police open fire on the demon and drive it away.

It is a weird battle with Superman minimally effective. It shows just how much things have changed. And I liked that the 'normal' people are just as involved in the fight.

Again you get a sense of the dynamic page layouts for art here.

Throughout the fight, we see Jimmy in the background snapping pictures. And here the mayor of Metropolis, another woman of color (hurray), is looking at Jimmy's social media and seeing all the images of this confrontation. From the police in riot gear wielding huge rifles, to Superman punching Binghampton, to the horror that erupts after, this tells a story of people rising up together.

This is a publicity nightmare for the establishment and the mayor knows it.

Again, I love this page. This is sort of a splash page. Jimmy on the top with his camera really sets the tone for the page. The scattered overlayed varied panel size of Jimmy's pics sort of felt like the mayor was swiping through photos on her tablet. Bigger ones maybe she paused on longer. And the word balloons going vertically back and forth carry the eye down the page with the photos.

Lee seems to be veering towards love interest in a way. She embodies a lot of the gumption and strength of Lois. Which again makes me wonder why people aren't just using Lois.

Here she calls Superman 'Clark', a sort of soft opening, a way to show that she understands who he is. He even says that Clark is his 'real name'. I have always said that it is the Clark part of this character that defines him for me. The Super part just means he can help in a different way.

With his life in turmoil, this small moment of Lee calling him Clark is probably emotionally powerful for him. In a moment that speaks volumes, he gives her one of the scraps of his cape (which we know he cherishes) to use as a bandage.

I have always said that big moments need big art.

Clark returns to his apartment to find it completely trashed. And this fear of aliens is hit home by the graffiti. Even a picture of him as a boy with the Kents is marred, the tiny Clark scratched out.

The shot of the entire apartment, the word dominating the shot, Superman a small piece of it, works to drive home the sentiment. After the 'Clark' moment with Lee, playing up the humanity, we are slapped in the face with this xenophobia.

And it you want another powerful big moment, you get another a couple of pages later. This book was a sort of visual feast with great story. But this moment was my favorite.

Clark calls 'super-town' together and begins a speech. He talks about how his presence might bring threats to the area. He talks about how people could be hurt. He talks about how he isn't powerful enough to protect everyone ...

I thought for sure he was going to say that he was leaving. I thought for sure that was going to happen. And I was going to be disappointed.

I turned the page.

And boom ...

We get a two page spread where instead of leaving, Clark galvanizes the crowd. They are all Superman. They all have to protect each other. They have to stick together. It has an almost religious, 'sermon on the mount' feel to it.

And again, big moments need big art. This is an inspirational Superman. This is Pak giving me what I need in this story. And this is Kuder making it feel real.

Now obviously not everyone is pro-Superman. Officer Petrozulli, one of the officers involved in the street protest fight, one who doesn't seem to like Superman, is brought before the Mayor. It turns out that the Mayor is calling this officer in not to chastise her but to try to bring her into the shadowy force fighting Superman.

This is another image that speaks volumes. The Mayor's aide looks like he is being consumed by shadows. That light in the center is the door closing. But it looks as if the Mayor is closing off the light, squeezing it, crushing it between her fingers.

So the reveal that the Mayor is evil would have been enough of a ka-pow moment. But this creepy image just makes it that much more terrifying.

She might not like Superman. But Petrozulli doesn't like demons either.

She runs from the office only to see Superman, flanked by other police officers, ready to attack the demons.

So nice cliffhanger moment with an action pose of Superman readying to fight. And Superman's sentiment, that they all are in this fight together, works well given the gun-wielding cops behind him.

Whew.

Let's start out by saying once again that I don't know if I am behind The Truth as a whole. But this take on a populist hero, an almost folk hero rather than a god-like being, who is fighting prejudice and tyranny and the dark ... literally ... is engaging.

And as a comic, as a mix of pictures and words working together, this is superb. There is some sort of creative resonance happening here between Pak and Kuder as this thing just crackles.

If you are going to get any of The Truth, it should be this title.

Overall grade: A