Action Comics #1047
Superman returns to Earth with Warworld, and Lex Luthor has a plan in Action Comics #1047, by writer Philip Kennedy Johnson, artist Riccardo Federici, colorist Lee Loughridge, and letterer Dave Sharpe. In the backup by Kennedy, artist David Lapham, colorist Trish Mulvihill, and Sharpe, the Superman family in the Fortress of Solitude deal with an unexpected event. This is a great first issue of an arc and sets up a great new story.
The issue starts in Stryker’s Island prison, where John Corben is visited by his sister. A week later, Superman returns to Metropolis, foiling an attack on the city and saving children. He and the Superman family go to the UN and tell them about what happened on Warworld, what they found there, and what’s going to happen next. Lex Luthor is watching and launches a thought-controlled probe to Warworld, exploring the planet and finding something interesting. Superman and Lois talk about the Phaelosian children staying with them while Luthor visits Corben with a proposition. In the backup, set a week before the main story starts, Thao-La wakes up and is told what she missed. At that moment, Warworld returns, and the Superman family prepares for the worst. However, Superman and the Authority show up and tell them they won, but there’s still more work to do, but old enemies have another plan.
Kennedy has just come off a best of all-time Superman story, and what does he do? Lex Luthor and Metallo. It’s been ages since there’s been a good Lex Luthor vs Superman story. Snyder’s Justice League run doesn’t really count, so before that, it was the Apokolips story in the Tomasi/Gleason run, but at a time when that book was definitely falling in quality. For Kennedy to come off “The Warworld Saga” and jump to Lex Luthor is hubristic, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s him. On top of that, bringing Metallo, a Metallo that definitely doesn’t want to get involved, is the cherry on the sundae.
Kennedy ups the ante even more by revealing that someone on the Authority, or at least someone who worked with Superman on Warworld, is a mole. This is a chapter full of great storytelling and set-up, and that’s not even counting Johnson doing his trademark character work. There’s so much going on in this comic, and it’s all sensational. The backup is the connective tissue between the main plot and the end of “The Warworld Saga”. It finishes up the Thao-La story, shows the moment that Superman and the Authority got home, and sets up an attack on everyone that Superman loves. It is a banger, but is that surprising by now?
Federici is back, and his art is gorgeous. His earlier issues had a wonderful old-school sci-fi feel, and this issue is prime superhero. He is a great artist, and seeing him work is a treat. His pencils are amazing, but the best part is how he draws Metallo. Metallo can’t talk and is in a much less expressive body than before, so to get across how he’s feeling is all about body language and what his body looks like. Federici is able to capture just how pathetic and beaten he is at this point in his life with his art, and it’s amazing. Loughridge’s colors are beautiful as usual and really make Federici look even better. Lapham and Mulvihill are still on the backup, and their art is still great. Lapham’s old-school style for this book looks amazing, and Mulvihill’s colors really make the whole thing pop.
Action Comics #1047 kicks off a great new story. It hits all the right notes, which is expected from Kennedy at this point. Kal-El is back, as is Lex Luthor, and all is right with the world. Federici, Loughridge, Lapham, Mulvihill, and Sharpe provide excellent visuals that make this story work better than anyone could imagine. If the beginning of this story is this good, the rest should be a blockbuster.