Review: Action Comics #1075 Superman Story

Action Comics #1075 was released last week, a milestone issue according to the trade dress. 

It is also the halfway mark of this weekly run on Action Comics with the main story being told by the creative team of writer Mark Waid and artist Clayton Henry. 

This has been an impressive story showcasing just why I love Mark Waid as a writer. Superman is investigating the ever changing nature of the Phantom Zone. He runs into an immensely powerful being called Aethyr. He interacts with Mon-El. He ends up being thrown back in time to Krypton where he meets his father, a scientific genius who discovered the Phantom Zone. .

That all sounds very classic and Bronze Age. This has elements which are true to longstanding continuity. As such for someone like me, this reads as 'true'.

At the same time, Waid is polishing that Bronze to a more modern sheen. Aethyr is a vindictive god. Mon-El is has had a more troubled time in the Zone than normal, perhaps resorting to murder. Jor-El understood that the Phantom Zone was a troubling option for imprisonment. Jor-El has a temper, not suffering fools. And Lara is clever. 

Classic and new and most importantly, entertaining. It is what Waid has been doing since he returned to DC. Add to that a fun side mission with Kenan and Conner. Throw in more nods to DC history and you have a win.

The art continues to be very strong. Clayton Henry does very well with the Krypton scenes which are mostly verbal sparring, not fight sequences. His work on Jor-El and Lara, showing their anger and indignation, is strong. I love the 'milestone' cover showcasing some famous moments. Michael Shelfer brings a different energy, more electric, to the side story.

There is also an extra Perry White story by Joshua Williamson and Jon Bogdanove which ties up a bubbling Superman subplot.

All in all, a great issue. On to details. 

Kal (posing as Klar-Ken) has come to Jor-El to see if his father can recharge his solar gauntlets and head home. Instead,  the Science Council has arrested Jor-El for doing experiments off the grid.

Here is where we see Waid making changes, perhaps making Jor-El more ethical for our current social norms. He doesn't think the Zone with its intangible existence isn't a good prison. That goes against all Superman has heard, of the proud Jor-El touting the Zone. 

Perhaps the history books are wrong about Jor-El. 

I like this change, not completely rewriting Jor-El's history (like Mr. Oz) but deepening it, making it more cohesive.

Meanwhile, Kenan and Conner are trying to figure out how to get Superman's stuff out of the British Museum ... um, I mean this space museum. Moreover, they have to stop Khunds who are after their own stuff from looting the whole place.

I sort of like the Odd Couple vibe I am getting from this Kenan/Conner side plot. It is interesting to see Kenan, played up as a little immature in the late lamented New Super-Man book, being played as the thinker.

And I love that Conner just talks over Kenan in doing what he thinks is the right move, challenging a Khund to single combat. We shall see ...

While not really overlapping with the main plot, I am loving this. And this is my first encounter with artist Michael Shelfer whose work I have been enjoying.

In the Kryptonian court, Jor-El will be freed but his experiments, including the PZ Projector will go to his rival Ro-Zan.

When he speaks up, the council shouts him down.

Shades of Trevor Howard, this is straight out of the Donner movies where the council declared Zod guilty! Nice homage.

And then Jor-El speaks up even more, really hammering home the cruel and unusual nature of the Zone.

This isn't a staid Jor-El. It is a loud, opinionated scientist who obviously cares about people. For me it is 'Pa Kent wisdom' (and Ma Kent too) who make Clark who he is. But I do like this change in Jor-El's character making him as noble as Pa.

And having Superman come to like his father as a person who he is seeing is another nice new wrinkle.

Even Lara is a bit bold. She gets right in Ro-Zan's face claiming that he is persecuting Jor because of unrequited love for her.

She has some fire in her. I can see why she and Jor would be partners. 

But there's more.

Her emotional explosion was actually a distraction so Jor could palm the gauntlets. 

These are parents willing to bend the law to do what's right.

Again, I am used to a more cold, or perhaps more clinical Jor-El. A scientist. So seeing Jor and Lara now a bit more emotional, a bit more humane, a bit more willing to rock the boat, makes them a bit more relatable. In a good way.

The best person to help recharge the batteries is a different scientist .. Zor-El. Awesome.

Waid just seems to get Supergirl. I love this moment of a sassy young Kara. Reminds me of how Robert Venditti wrote her in that World of Krypton mini-series.

But the best part is how we get a cutaway of current Kara talking how well behaved she is. That is awesome.

And hooray for the blue shirt/red skirt costume. Please bring it back!

This is a wonderful Supergirl moment the best of the issue (despite there being a Supergirl back-up story). 

But we cut to the present time when we see that Aethyr needs energy to do the major changes he has been doing to the Phantom Zone. We learn he is draining our sun. 

Nice cliffhanger.

In the final story, we see Perry White win the election for mayor.

But Williamson and Bogdanove show us just how much Perry has seen and done in his time in the city. 

I like these 'memory' panels of White walking the streets of the city and being reminded of news that happened there.

This is also the third time in the last 3 months that we have seen a riff on 'The Mechanical Monsters' robots from the Fleischer cartoons. Wonder why this has hit the zeitgeist of comic artists?

So overall, outside of the Supergirl story, a very entertaining issue.

Overall grade (for these two stories): A