Review: Action Comics #1060

Action Comics #1060 came out this week, the penultimate issue in the Phillip Kennedy Johnson run, ending in the upcoming Action Comics Annual. It's hard to believe that it has been a nearly 3 year run on the Superman titles for Johnson. I had no idea who he was when he started on the book but I am going to follow him around comics, for sure.

I think one thing I have loved about Johnson's run has been his pacing. Arcs like Warworld weren't rushed but weren't slow either. They felt epic. Each issue pushed the story forward but left you wanting more.

The current Blue Earth storyline has a different feel. I almost wonder if Johnson had to compress the story he wanted to tell. These issues feel a little too rushed. A little too much happens off screen. Reveals and movement happen quick. This is still a very solid story. But the Earth Al Ghul reveal happened last month and we only have one more issue to wrap it up. That's fast.

I also wonder if Johnson isn't taking advantage of his last story to put in all the things he dreamed of. Superman wielding a sword? Done. Constantine and Superman? Bloodwynd? Why not play with the toys while you can. 

I do like that the axle of this story is Osul and Otho. I do wonder if they are going to stick around after Johnson leaves. Surely the Kryptonian myth of their family is foreshadowing.

As has mostly been the case, the back-up stories in the anthology aren't as solid as the main feature. Steve Orlando, Nicole Maines, and Fico Ossio gives us a story of Dreamer being recruited by Amanda Waller. It is pretty impressive how that Dreamer, a character created for the Supergirl show, gets a back-up feature in Action before Supergirl herself. I am pretty sick of Waller. Joe Casey and Dan McDaid give us a prologue of the upcoming Kneel Before Zod mini-series. But I have more questions than answers about what that story will be about. 

On to the book.

Review: Lazarus Planet: Assault On Krypton

Lazarus Planet: Alpha #1 was a brilliant opening to the latest DC event. The story had legitimate stakes, moved at a brisk pace, showcased some of my favorite characters, and had beautiful art. 

Now the aftermath of the Lazarus volcano are being felt throughout the DC Universe. We'll see this in one-shots and mini-series, setting up the next year of stories. Today it is Lazarus Planet:Assault on Krypton. Really it should have been called Assault on the Super-Family. This book takes a peek at Dreamer, Jon Kent, Mercy, and Power Girl, all characters with connections to Superman. 

Each character gets their own story in the anthology. We know Jon and Power Girl will be getting their own stories, in the Adventures of Superman and Action Comics anthology respectively. I don't know where Dreamer and Mercy will end up, although the Lex-centric new Superman book is a good place for the latter. 

The stories themselves are quite solid, each ending on a sort of cliffhanger to get us interested in reading more. The Jon story was probably the best of the bunch, introducing a new villain, charming and irreverent. 

The art includes stories by veterans like Scott Godlewski,Sami Basri, and Marguerite Sauvage. Skylar Partridge pencils the Dreamer story and is a new name for me. Her work is stylish enough to work in the dreamscape. Partridge draws a pretty good Supergirl to boot.

If you're a fan of the Super-Family, I'd say this is worth the $4.99. On to the stories.

Review: Superman Son Of Kal-El #13

Superman Son Of Kal-El #13 came out this week, the debut of the Supergirl TV show character Dreamer into the comic DCU. Outside of that event, the issue seemed to push the Gamorra storyline closer to the finish line even if very little actually happened in this issue.

Tom Taylor teamed up with Dreamer actress Nicole Maines to write the story. We get a fair bit of information on Dreamer to catch up those who didn't watch the Supergirl show (and shame on you if you didn't). As in the show, she is going to have almost too big a power set. But maybe that will be controlled a bit more here. I do like that she seems a bit of a novice here. She isn't the more accomplished Dreamer from the show. She's a newbie. That should be fun to explore.

Using her powers, we get to see the threat that President Bendix is preparing as the Gamorran Rising is just about to crest. As you'll see, Bendix seems to be more organized in the future, unlike the odd random attacks he has done in the past.

Clayton Henry is on art and does a very good job here. Much of the issue is people talking but the expressive work and body language helps tell the story more than the words. And the action we do get is brutal. 

I am growing a bit fatigued of this whole storyline so I am hoping this issue is a bit of an accelerator to bring us to the end. On to the book.