Action Comics #10 Preview

[Retro315]

Clark PO'd at the death of an innocent. And ready to do something about it. Good.

If this were pre-N52, there would be tears streaming from his eyes and he'd be wracked with doubt and guilt. Quivering with the IDEA of doing something. That idea probably amounting to a quiet chat with Lois or ma and pa Kent about "oh, the humanity of it all!" *sob*.

Got to give this props; if Jonathan or Martha were still alive, or Clark still married to Lois, it'd be way too tempting for writers to have him in scenes where he "talks it out" with these very important people in his life. Screw that ... stripping those options from him means that Superman is making his own decisions, for his own reasons, with no committee meeting before making them. Going from the gut, Colbert-style.

[El Sombrero]

Slow?
I mean, in 8 issues, Superman threatened a corrupted businessman, saved people from a collapsing building, fought a tank, stopped a train, got captured by the Army, escaped, fought robots, fought the robot henchman, fought a shape shifting monster, used his own poisonned by Kryptonite self to repower his rocket, jumped into space using the ramp of a truck and a sattelite, infiltrated a giant space ship, fought the alien leader and used his rocket as a dart to stop him. That's not exactly what I would call slow.

Haha awesome. This should be on the back of the collected edition.

[BBally]

Harry Potter?

See, as far as I'm concerned, Clark Kent should look like Harry Potter. Sort of geeky and relatable but ultimately heroic.

Thank you, I thought I was the only one who liked that Harry Potter look for Clark Kent, it actually helps hide his identity

[direction9]

Got to give this props; if Jonathan or Martha were still alive, or Clark still married to Lois, it'd be way too tempting for writers to have him in scenes where he "talks it out" with these very important people in his life. Screw that ... stripping those options from him means that Superman is making his own decisions, for his own reasons, with no committee meeting before making them. Going from the gut, Colbert-style.

that's such a damned good point. it's really the first time i've thought about the idea that supes is exiled and on his own, from krypton.....and shouldn't be managing adulthood with a comfortable surrogate family, he should be reexiled (into adulthood, the city, the workforce) and independent. forehead smack on the level of finally giving batman an actual son.

[crossbones]

Of the criticism I've heard of Action Comics, this is the first time I've heard anyone call it slow. It's probably the fastest paced comic I'm reading right now.

really? ha ha, well maybe it was the weird Legion story in middle arc that that sort of killed the momentum for me.

it could be even faster though, i'm thinking about the old Byrne reboot and those Action issues, Superman was fighting even more on those, in fact all he did was fight.

[Auguste Dupin]

really? ha ha, well maybe it was the weird Legion story in middle arc that that sort of killed the momentum for me.

it could be even faster though, i'm thinking about the old Byrne reboot and those Action issues, Superman was fighting even more on those, in fact all he did was fight.

I'm not sure, I mean, the fights back then used to go for the entire issue ( I think of the Metallo fight, or the one against the Titans, where nothing else happened).
And, in all honesty (but you should that I believe the Byrne reboot to be crap), I just think the current run has much more diversity in his action scenes: you have h
chase scenes, Superman saving people , one on one, fights on group, unbelievable stunts.....In Byrne, there was nothing but one on one from what I read at the time.

[Space_Butler]

it could be even faster though, i'm thinking about the old Byrne reboot and those Action issues, Superman was fighting even more on those, in fact all he did was fight.

Your post made me pull out my trade of Byrne's Man of Steel miniseries to compare the first few issues.

Comparing issue 1's, it's 2/3 of the way through Byrne's first issue before the "saving a plane" scene. By this point in Action, Superman has already roughed up Glennmorgan, led the police on a chase, attacked a wrecking ball, fought a tank with said wrecking ball, and then fled back to his apartment where he changed into Clark. This doesn't even account for the remaining pages where he derails the train in trying to stop it. Action winner: Morrison.

Issue 2, in Byrne's issue Lois goes on a wild goose chase to find Superman. We mostly see the aftermath of his actions, but we see him easily stop a mugger and foil a hostage situation with his heat vision and flicking his finger. The rest of the issue is dialogue pages where Lois interviews Superman. In Morrison's issue, he breaks out of an electric chair, fights off armed soldiers, completely humiliates Lex Luthor, and breaks out of the army base. Winner: Morrison

I'll probably do more issues later, but so far the lead in terms of raw action is given to Morrison. Things will probably pick up for Byrne once the issues with Batman and Bizarro show up.

[RoughNTumble]

we need another grant morrison interview

guy hasn't done an in depth one in so loooong

[crossbones]

Your post made me pull out my trade of Byrne's Man of Steel miniseries to compare the first few issues.

i'd start with Action #584, as it's Action Comics we're discussing.

but whatever. tastes differ.

[Space_Butler]

i'd start with Action #584, as it's Action Comics we're discussing.

but whatever. tastes differ.

My reasoning for comparing MoS to AC was to compare origin story to origin story. Byrne definitely had a lot more action once he got out of setting up the new history, and that's why I'm excited for this new arc. Morrison is out of the establishment phase and is now entering ongoing action territory.

[ascended]

Agreed. I think I recall reading somewhere that Morrison said that when Superman is standing still, you know he's in trouble. I love that, as it fits perfectly with my own vision of how Superman should be. Always moving, always multi-tasking and doing something, if not several something's at once.

Anyway, preview looked good. I tried to avoid it but just could not stay away. I blame this fifth week for eroding my willpower. Nimrod seems more interesting with each appearance.

Also like what appears to be a subplot with the little girl's murder. Could this be the first hint of Morrison's Toyman? And I echo the poster who mentioned how pre-Flashpoint Superman would have handled it. Gods, its so nice to see a Superman who has not lost his balls. Absolutely love the macho, super confident and action oriented thing Morrison is doing.

As for Rags, its weird. I actually agree with most of what people are saying here. The monthly grind seems to be taking its toll on the guy and his work has been wildly inconsistent. Yet somehow, I cant really complain. I sort of like that his art is rough around the edges. It feels old school and has a certain pulp quality to it that fits the Golden Age vibe of Morrison's Superman.

[RoughNTumble]

My reasoning for comparing MoS to AC was to compare origin story to origin story. Byrne definitely had a lot more action once he got out of setting up the new history, and that's why I'm excited for this new arc. Morrison is out of the establishment phase and is now entering ongoing action territory.

Yeah, I feel like somehow the real action comics is starting right here. This is my favorite new 52 book tied with batman incorporated.

[Patroklos]

Is Nimrod/Maxim Zarov an original Morrison creation?

[Auguste Dupin]

Is Nimrod/Maxim Zarov an original Morrison creation?

I think so. I never saw that name in another Superman before at least, and he said in interviews he was going to create some villains.
He does have a slight Terra-Man feel though, and the "Zarov" name is probably a reference to the movie "The most Dangerous Game".

[Jody Garland]

As far as anyone knows, yeah, he's a Morrison original. However, he owes a huge debt to the short story "The Most Dangerous Game", which featured a hunter named Count Zaroff.