REVIEW: Action Comics #1081

Action Comics #1081, “Phantoms: Part Twelve” is the grand finale to the “Action Comics Weekly” endeavour with multiple status quo changes to be had. Then in Supergirl’s backup featurette, “Sentence”, Kara witnesses the result of carrying out her mission and gains perspective about the importance of her involvement. Although multiple things are wrapped up this issue, that’s not to say it isn’t still full of action packed sequences and looming threats on the horizon.

The standard cover is by Clayton Henry and Tomeu Morey. Some great imagery of Phantom Zone diamonds and the villains that have occupied that interdimensional space. Superman also looks impressive as he soars triumphantly through the cover. Henry and Morey have done an excellent job on this run of Action and it’s nice to see them finish up strong.

The variant by Mark Spears connects with his variant of Action Comics #1080 to create a gorgeous rendition of this entire story arc. Aethyr and some phantoms are charging towards the edge of the cover where The El family would be approaching. The swirling colors are simply captivating.

Fico Ossio and Ulises Arreola do an All In foiled bookend variant to Daniel Sampere’s Action Comics #1070 variant. Where Superman was solely featured on #1070, Supergirl gets all the attention on #1081. It’s a great rendition of Kara and with her story featured alongside the entire run of “Phantoms” it feels appropriate to give her the All In spotlight.

Fico Ossio has another rather steamy variant to keep an eye out for as well as a great piece by David Talaski.

Clayton Henry and Colorist Matt Herms finish out this “Action Comics Weekly” era with some fantastic fight sequences. There’s a few surprise moments as it all plays out and they do a great job keeping us in the dark until the time was right.

Skylar Partridge and Colorist Marissa Louise also finishes strong as the final instalment of Supergirl’s story wraps up. This one has more of an “what now?” feeling to its ending as truly a new beginning starts. Still, the art is dynamic and engaging as it has been throughout the entire story.

Mark Waid, lettered by Dave Sharpe, has you wondering how things will work out right up until the very end. There’s some new roles to be conducted by Kandor and Mon-El that could have some interesting outcomes in the future, but for the most part the fallout of the Phantom Zone disaster is put to rest.

Mariko Tamaki, with letters by Becca Carey, conducts a therapy session about what it means to reconcile things within yourself you either fear or hate and what healing oneself often looks like. This not only applies to the entity in Supergirl’s charge, but also to her and us as well. There’s also a tease that Supergirl will continue to have solo adventures in the coming year which is exciting to see.

(8/10) This was about as satisfying an ending as you could expect from both stories. Overall I think Supergirl’s tale stuck a better landing but the elements put in motion in Superman’s story could have some interesting repercussions for the future.