Action Comics #28 – Review

By: Greg Pak (story), Aaron Kuder (art), Wil Quintana (colors)

The Story: Every farm girl should be so lucky to have Superman for a slave.

The Review: I don’t often talk about covers, but the one Kuder made for this issue really stuck out to me: Superman, flying—no, blasting out of an exploding light, one arm stretched up in flight, the other rigid and clenched into a fist, his face tight and focused but with no hostility.  It’s so classically Superman-ish.  Aside from the high collar and missing underpants, this is a Man of Steel even past readers would immediately recognize.

That seems to be the trademark of Pak’s run on this series: bringing Superman back to his roots while keeping him updated for the pleasure of a contemporary audience.  The pre-relaunch Superman was noble and virtuous, but also kind of a stick in the mud.  His PG-rated personality often seemed to make him incapable of relating to a population that grew more audacious every year.  Unfortunately, the Superman post-relaunch lost a bit too much of what made him a beloved icon, putting him at risk of becoming too much like any other modern superhero: powerful, aggressive, and snarky.  We can thank Pak for stopping that trend before it completely takes root.