REVIEW: Action Comics #1079
Action Comics #1079, “Phantoms Part Ten: Where is Superman?” brings in the majority of the DCU to help fight off the released Phantom Zone inmates. Then in the Supergirl backup feature, “We”, more revelations, and now a confrontation, occur. All in all, it’s one of the more action packed issues of each story thus far.
The standard cover is by Clayton Henry and Tomeu Morey. The El family looks on with concern as the Phantom Zone energies continue to devour the Sun. If they’re worried you know it’s bad, but they wear a symbol of hope for a reason, so it all can’t be lost.
The variant by Jon Bogdanove and Madpencil Studio is a fun brawl scene of Superman vs. The Phantom Zone inmates. Bogdanove’s designs give this a Silver/Bronze Age flair to the inmates which makes it an entertaining image instead of a dire one.
Jason Shawn Alexander’s variant is a majestic image of Superman viewing Earth from space. Having the background be a vast darkness really gives the piece a cosmic sense of awe.
Fico Ossio’s variant is a take on the dual identities of Clark and Superman. Changing from a bit of a disheveled Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter, to the ever powerful Superman quicker than the eye can see. They don’t skimp on the background details either which makes the cover that much more impressive.
Michael Shelfer, along with Colorist Matt Herms, make up the interior art team. There clever use of the title/credits page is pretty fun. They bring in some major players to help cleanup the Phantom Zone mess and get to play around with different action sequences because of it. Also, this story being a precursor to the official formation of the new JLU, it’s cool to get to see a bit of a preview of all these characters working together.
Skylar Partridge and Colorist Marissa Louise continue their visual work in the Supergirl backup feature. Their work is simply spectacular and adds a certain depth to the story being told. The shear emotion that’s portrayed through characters without facial features is a testament to their craft.
Mark Waid, lettered by Dave Sharpe, show no signs of slowing down even though we’re approaching the end of the weekly release of Action Comics. The Phantom Zone inmates are running amok as the zone itself needed reset after Aethyr’s tampering. The entire hero community gets involved in the cleanup and there’s some clever use of powers that help get the job done. Even with everyone’s help, the problem is worse than originally feared as some of the worst inmates are unaccounted for.
Mariko Tamaki, with letters by Becca Carey, brings Supergirl’s predicament to full light in “We”. Her charge’s brother stakes claim to his sister’s predisposed purpose but Kara decides to fight for their right to choose. Although previously outmatched by the cosmic beings prowess, Kara becomes infused with the presence of both her charge and Power Girl which should be more than enough to even to odds.
(7/10) Oddly enough, now that the Conner and Kenan side story is finished in Action Comics #1079, things feel a little rushed within the main Superman tale. There seems to be some interesting themes being glossed over for the sake of over complicating the resolution of the original plot. To me, the Supergirl story has gotten way more compelling and socially relevant as it’s gone on and I find I’m more interested in how her story will end up playing out.
