Action Comics #1029
Superman and Superboy try and repair the rift or die trying in Action Comics #1029, by writers Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Becky Cloonan, and Michael Conrad, artists Phil Hester and Michael Avon Oeming, inker Eric Gapstur, colorists HI-FI and Taki Soma, and letterer Dave Sharpe. This issue picks up from Superman #29 and does an excellent job of getting the plot across while introducing a new threat as well as containing a Midnighter back-up story.
Back at the station, Superman and Superboy fight their way through the aliens to the space station and help with repairs. Superman finds out that Amanda Waller wanted the S.T.A.R. Labs crew to re-open the portal because of how it affected Superman, but they can close it with the weapon that opened. Superman prepares to go close it, but Superboy tries to stop him, telling him about things he learned in the 31st century. They both go back out in space, but the aliens get the best of Superman, and Superboy takes over, going into the rift and closing it from the inside. Later, as they are trying to figure out what happened and why the future was wrong. Meanwhile, an old enemy prepares to attack. In the Midnighter back-up, a version of him from another time is trying to use the technology of the present version of his arch-enemy from his time to get home but makes a huge mistake as the tech takes him over.
Superman #29 dipped into a lot of parental anxiety, and Johnson makes it seem like he’s staying in the same place with this issue but casually flips the script and hits that area that every parent looks forward- the moment when their kid takes everything the parent taught them and uses it, stepping out of the shadow the parent casts. In this case, it’s saving the day, something that Superboy has proven capable of in the past but never in such a way as this- he goes off on his own and pulls a Superman, flying into the rift and dealing with the problem. It’s a moment of triumph, one that feels earned after the last two issues of the story, but it also raises an interesting question- why it even worked.
Throughout the last two issues, Superboy has warned Superman that he read about the present and how Superman died and that this would be the event that caused his death. However, he’s changed that, so what gives? Was the history wrong, or has he broke time? The issue doesn’t really give any answers. However, an interesting thing is that he keeps saying, “this is the beginning of the end.” Maybe the history books don’t know exactly what happened, and the next events are the ones that will bring about the death of Superman. The cliffhanger ending points to this just being the beginning. As far as the back-up story, it’s pretty good. The time travel plot is a little weird and begs the question of where the present version of Midnighter is, but it’s a good enough story for what it is.
Hester does a good job again. His work is more about the emotion of the scene, and while his action isn’t the most fluid, everything still looks very good. There’s something about his square-jawed style that really captures Superman very well, and while his facial expression can be kind of minimalist, they still sell the scene. Avon Oeming’s art in the back-up is pretty good. It’s a bit more restrained than his work in the Young Animal Cave Carson books, and it’s hard to tell that it’s him drawing it at first, but it works for the story.
Action Comics #1029 gives the payoff to the last issue, trading parental anxiety for parental triumph. Kennedy does a great job in this comic of playing with the emotions of the scene. This issue also raises some questions about the future and Amanda Waller’s role in everything, as well as setting up a great cliffhanger. The back-up story is interesting if a little weird. All in all, this is a satisfying comic that is building something interesting.
Grade: B
