REVIEW: Action Comics #1080
Action Comics #1080, “Phantoms: Part Eleven” takes the El family on a literal worlds tour as they head out into the galaxy to detain the remaining Phantom Zone inmates. Then in Supergirl’s story, “Understanding One”, Kara’s confrontation with the entity known as Rage results in a fascinating turn of events. These stories may be in the verge of wrapping up, but they are far from over.
The standard cover is by Clayton Henry and Tomeu Morey. A fairly gruesome image of a skeletal Superman afloat in space sets a way more dramatic flair for the contents of this book. Still, it doesn’t fail to get your attention and it definitely lets you know this issue is serious.
The variant by Mark Spears is a pretty cool painting of the El family charging towards something off panel. The realistic art brings these characters to life in such a believable way and the storm they’re racing towards, while looking ominous, is rather captivating.
Fico Ossio’s variant is just classic Superman, plain and simple. It’s a great image of Clark floating above Earth while soaking in some unfiltered Sun.
Adding some graffiti style flair to their variant, Mario “Fox” Foccilo and Prasad Rao (Pressy) gives us a colorful and dynamic depiction of Superman. It’s a really fun cover and could easily be imagined painted on the side of a building somewhere.
Clayton Henry and Colorist Matt Herms handle the interior art for “Phantoms” while Skylar Partridge and Colorist Marissa Louise continue on Supergirl’s featurette. There’s not a lot that hasn’t already been said about the stellar work of these two art teams. Their standards of quality heightens their respective stories which wouldn’t have the same impact if done by someone else.
Mark Waid, with Letterer Dave Sharpe, hands us an all star lineup of Kryptonian Superman villains in Action Comics #1080. Pairing off into various teams, The El’s and their allies track down the remaining Phantom Zone inmates from across the galaxy. Here, we finally get a payoff to the Kenan and Conner side story as Superboy calls in his new Khund fleet to help with the cleanup. Things aren’t about to wrap up in a tidy little bow, however, as a cliffhanger appearance from an unexpected villain suggests the finale will be hard won.
Mariko Tamaki and Letterer Becca Carey delivers the most action this story has seen since it began. Staying true to its more Sci-fi themes, the physical battle quickly becomes a fight about knowing oneself. In doing so Kara’s mission, and the point of the entire story, seems to fully reveal itself in an unexpected way.
(7/10) This is a fun issue overall. Seeing some “old school” Bronze Age Phantom Zone villains is definitely a treat, but again the confrontations felt rushed and formulaic towards the end. With each story’s cliffhanger, I can’t wait to see how the finale plays out.
