Action Comics #1031
Superman and company make a shocking discovery about the Warworld refugees in Action Comics #1031, by writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson, artist Daniel Sampere, colorist Adriano Lucas, and letterer Dave Sharpe. In the backup, by writers Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad, artist Michael Avon Oeming, colorist Taki Soma, and letterer Dave Sharpe, Midnighter deals with the voices in his head and Andrej Trojan.
Superman and Superboy fight off Mongul's Warzoons to save the refugee ship, but the attackers are able to take it down, but not before Superman saves the passengers and hears one of them speak a Kryptonian. From there, things only get more interesting as Superman and company investigate. Underwater, the Atlanteans take Superman to the wreckage, where they reveal the ship is powered by an unknown metal that seems to be powered by the Source. At the Fortress, Superboy thinks the whole thing is a trap and storms off, fearing for his father's safety… and he doesn't know how right he is too. In the backup, Midnighter breaks into Trojan's factory and causes some chaos, then goes home. As his relationship with Apollo is strained by the voice in his head, Trojan speaks to his assistant about his end game and the prisoner they hold.
Johnson starts this issue in action, and it works very well. From there, things slow down. The whole thing with the refugees speaking a Kryptonian dialect is interesting and acts as a central mystery for the issue. Who are these refugees, and why do they wear the symbol of the House of El? One of these questions is answered in this issue, and the other isn't, but it's a very cool development. Where Johnson goes with it will be interesting, especially considering the other revelation made about them at the end of the issue. There are legit clues, but clues can be red herrings.
Another interesting development is the power source of the refugee ship. A ship powered by the Source is unprecedented. Another little factor to that is the Atlantean's desire to keep the tech for themselves, not even allowing Superman to take a sample back to the Fortress. Elsewhere, Jon's reaction to the situation makes perfect sense- he knows his father is going to die soon, and Jon knows how finding and protecting more Kryptonians would be a great way to trap him, especially with the recent destruction of Kandor. He also knows his father is going to die soon. This fuels him and his reaction to the situation and plays into Johnson's overall story about parents and children. The backup is plenty interesting, but the real shocker is the last page and who Trojan is holding. Where this story is going is anyone's guess. Still, it's a lot of fun, full of cool action and great emotional storytelling because of the toll it's taking on Midnighter and Apollo's relationship.
Sampere's art is great. The opening action scene looks amazing, which is sometimes hard to do with aerial battle scenes and things get better from there. His figure work and character acting are top-notch, and everything looks great. His Mongul is really, really good as well. Avon Oeming's art is good, but much like before, it's not as great as some of his more trippy work, especially the Young Animal Cave Carson books.
Action Comics #1031 is a solid issue. Both stories end on nice cliffhangers that bode well for the future. The main story is action-packed and intriguing, and the backup's ending finishes the whole thing with a lot of questions. The fact the stories oddly mirror each other is icing on the cake.
