Action Comics #1032
Superman has to deal with some kaiju in Action Comics #1032, 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 makes a plan to handle Trojan as things get worse. Both stories do a great job of setting things up for the next chapter while also being great stories.
At the Fortress, Superman, Supergirl, and Lois deal with the refugee girl, who tells them that there are two Monguls. When Superman tries to take off her chain, she manifests powers and attacks Superman. In Atlantis, the alien fragment has already started trouble. Superman asks Batman for the League’s help when he goes back to Warworld, but Aquaman calls for help- two Kaiju have attacked Florida. Superman flies in to help and goes inside one of them where he has a vision of something to come but still takes the Kaiju down. Steve Trevor shows up to ask Aquaman to relinquish the fragment to the US, but he refuses. In the backup, Midnighter comes up with a plan to deal with Trojan in the present as the future one mocks his relationship. Meanwhile, Trojan has finally succeeded in decoding the Mother Box so he can Boom Tube to Warworld and get what he needs to destroy all biological life on Earth. Midnighter puts his plans in motion as Mister Miracle plans to do what he does best at Trojan’s lab.
Johnson’s been doing a great job with this story so far. Warworld is tried and true ground for a Superman story, but he’s finding new ways to make it work. The Mongul thing is pretty intriguing- someone killed the old one and took his place, and readers have already seen him; he looks like the old one, but what is he exactly? From there, he does a great job of laying out more future plot points- the vision Superman he sees in the Kaiju warns of someone coming, which could be related to the fragment in Atlantis, which is responsible for the Kaiju. On top of that, what side will Superman choose in a battle between Atlantis and the US? What are the secrets of the Phaelosians? This is all great stuff that will play into the future.
Beyond that, this is just a fun issue of Action Comics. The two pages with Batman are great; Johnson does a great job of capturing Batman’s casual know-it-all-ness and the way the dynamic between him and Superman works. It’s a highlight in a book full of highlights. From the beginning section to the kaiju fight, this is just a great Superman comic. It doesn’t re-invent the wheel, but it does show that the wheel isn’t broken, which is just as important. The backup works pretty well, too, with Cloonan and Conrad continuing to build an interesting story that looks like it’s about to pick up.
Sampere’s art is straight-up fabulous. The full-page spread of the refugee blasting Superman looks excellent, and it’s just the start of a lot of lovely imagery throughout- an Atlantean transforming into a monster, the Batman and Superman two-page spread, the kaiju fight, the Necropolis inside it. It all looks fantastic, perfect for a Superman comic. Oeming art is outstanding in this chapter for the emotional acting and figure work, really getting things across well and working for the story. The highlights are the first few panels with Apollo powering up and leaving the apartment; there’s something ethereal and beautiful about these images, and one can imagine that’s how Midnighter sees him.
Action Comics #1032 is such a fun Superman comic. Johnson and Sampere deliver a straightforward narrative that sets things up for the future but does a great job entertaining in the present tense. The backup story is really ramping up nicely, with Cloonan, Conrad, and Oeming’s story starting to branch out and really get some legs. Action Comics continues its streak of good stories since Johnson and company have taken over.
