REVIEW: Action Comics #1025

Action Comics #1025 is finally here and wow, I still can’t believe this series is numbered over 1000! In this issue, nearly the entire Superman family has assembled to continue the fight against The Invisible Mafia!

But before we go into that, let’s discuss the covers. Our regular cover is by John Romita Jr, Klaus Janson and Brad Anderson and it shows off the Superman family, including Lois which is something I love to see. The rest of the Super-family standing behind Lois in Silhouette, looking positively intimidating. The cover is striking and definitely captures attention, while giving passersby a pretty good idea of what’s in store, should they buy the issue. Like I said before, it’s so great to see them all together.

The variant cover is a painting by Lucio Parrillo, and it’s utterly classic! That shirt rip, wow! Not to mention the great detail on the face! Something that stands out to me about this one is that we see Clark in more casual attire than is traditional. Instead of a full suit, he’s got on an untucked button-up, some jeans and a blazer. I’m always a fan of Clark dressing more casual in his Daily Planet work clothes. It just seems more natural to me. 

Inside the issue, we are greeted with a flashback that seems to shed some MAJOR light on two of our villains – Dr. Glory, and Invisible Mafia leader, Marisol Leon. It is NOT what I was expecting, and I won’t spoil it here, but if you’ve been following along with Dr. Glory in the pages of Young Justice, a lot of things are going to make much more sense now!

We also get a brand new villain! One that actually appears to be an update to a classic (and one of my favorites) Superman villain, drawn in a very “Romita” style! If you’ve been waiting for Bendis to break out some classic baddies in the pages of Action, well, here we go! 

Bendis continues to tell the unfolding story in painfully slow fashion. I say “painfully,” not because it’s boring, but because I want to know what happens next already! It shouldn’t surprise me, though. It really takes me back to my Ultimate Spiderman monthly reading days. I love the unfolding drama of The Daily Planet newsroom subplot and wish we could spend a little more time there.

I’ve been reading Superman back issues from the 90’s and man, they just packed in SO much story back then. But, they weren’t writing for the trade. One thing I do appreciate about Bendis’ writing is that he writes for the trade paperback, as trade paperbacks are likely the future of the industry. So when you do end up getting the graphic novel, these stories should (in my opinion) be much more enjoyable, knowing you’ll get the whole thing all at once.

Bendis’ dialogue is a little hit and miss for me in the main Superman titles, sometimes it rings true, and sometimes it feels out of place. We get a funny line from Brainiac-5, once again reinforcing just how well Bendis is doing writing The Legion characters. But I will say that some of Superman’s and Conner’s dialogue just doesn’t seem like it should be coming out of their mouths.

The interior art is by Romita Jr and is unique to him as always. If you like his stuff, you won’t be disappointed, but compared to some of the other artists that have worked on the Superman titles recently, it can be lacking in detail sometimes. With that said, Brad Anderson does a fantastic job on colors throughout the issue, which well and truly adds to the aesthetic, feel and stakes of the issue. I do really like the way Romita draws Lois and The Red Cloud specifically though.

All in all this issue ended way too soon and merely teased us with the answers we seek! But I really can’t wait to read the next issue!

Haven’t picked up your copy of Action Comics #1025 yet? You can get the standard cover by John Romita Jr here (UK), or here (US).