Action Comics #8 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (writer), Rags Morales, Brad Walker, Rick Bryant, Bob McLeod (artists), Brad Anderson & David Curiel (colorists)

The Story: Watch out, Brainiac—Superman’s gonna blow your mind.

The Review: Back in 2006, NBC premiered two new shows, both premised on the backstage activities of a sketch-comedy show.  One was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a powerhouse production created and written by the great Aaron Sorkin, with veterans of both big and small screen, Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford, starring.  The other was 30 Rock, a frugal sitcom led by Alec Baldwin and SNL’s former Weekend Update co-anchor, Tina Fey.

I bring this up to illustrate the fact that you can never predict what creative projects will work out in the end.  Suffice to say, no one would’ve expected Studio 60 to get canned within a year, while 30 Rock years later (and still running—I won’t say “strong”) would bring on Sorkin as a guest to mock him for his costly failure.  It just goes to show that A-list producers and ideas don’t always translate to quality material.

Back in the comics world, we’ve seen this semi-paradoxical situation in Justice League, which, despite its tremendous sales numbers, will likely go down in history as a largely mediocre affair.  Lately, I’ve come to find a similar problem with this series.  You would think pairing Grant Morrision and Superman, with Rags Morales on art, would be a shoo-in for a sure win.  Yet somehow, for whatever reason, the talent hasn’t gelled with the story as much as anyone imagined, and the disappointment is all the greater since your expectations were so high.

Not to imply the story has been terrible, exactly—more like we’re getting just your garden-variety Superman origin story with some snazzy dialogue and a T-shirt thrown in.  Speaking of which, Morrison’s rapidfire style of speech has gotten a bit out of control.  Between Glenmorgan’s pill-laden breakdown (“It’s like one of those films where—those horrible films—they’re trapped in hell and the bartender is the devil…”) and Corben’s rage-induced malfunctions (“I read what she wrote about you.  About your eyes!  Search: ‘Faster than a speeding bullet!’  That’s Metropolis’ latest wonder of tomorrow…”), it gets a bit wearisome to read at times.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: The Unwritten #35.5 – What a great issue this was!  It gave us a chance to see the events of The Unwritten since the beginning of the series through the eyes of a “henchman”.  This dude is just a guy who has a job working for the bad guys, but he isn’t evil himself and he’s hardly in on any of the nefarious schemes from The Cabal.  Hence, it offered us a very grounded view of the action through the eyes of this Everyman.  But, not only is it a recap, it gives us a lot of insights into how The Cabal operates and how their story-based technology functions.  As this series gets close to its fourth year, it is just getting stronger.  Runner-up: Elephantmen #38

Most Anticipated: Sweet Tooth #32 – Two big cliffhangers remaining from last time.  How will Jepperd get out of his jam?  Is Gus about to go all Rambo and save his friends?  In a week where nothing else is really standing out, mostly because Marvel is telling a lot of stories that don’t stick to my brain after I finish the issue, I’m very curious to see what is going on in Jeff Lemire’s bleak, post-apocalyptic world.  Is this series wrapping up?  Is it just hitting a mid-30’s stride (like The Unwritten)?

Other Picks: Creepy #8, I Zombie #24, Glamourpuss #24, Amazing Spider-Man #683, Wolverine and the X-Men #8

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Avengers vs. X-Men #1 – Yes, it’s not “supposed” to come out until this week, but I read it last week and thoroughly enjoyed it.  A welcome surprise, AvX at this point looks like a big event with an actualy emotional core and meaningful character-work, which was very refreshing.  Bendis and Romita Jr., creators of at times inconsistent quality, are at their very best here.

Most Anticipated: Swamp Thing #8 – As a huge fan of Swampy, it’s hard for me to pick anything else given that awesome final page in last month’s issue.  Swamp Thing is officially back and ready for war and I can’t wait to see what his first course of action is.

Other Picks: Action Comics #8, Animal Man #8, Sweet Tooth #32, Venom #15, Wolverine and the X-Men #8, Brilliant #3, Fatale #4, Daredevil #10.1