Action Comics #901 – Review

By: Paul Cornell (writer), Kenneth Rocafort & Jesus Merino (artists), Brad Anderson (colorist)

The Story: To kill five Super-people, of course you need five Doomsdays, right?

The Review: In my review of Superboy #6, I described Doomsday as a shallow character who no one cared (or at least, I didn’t) much to see again, a statement worth elaborating on given how this issue plays out.  Doomsday, for all the hype surrounding him, simply exists as a means to endanger Superman, that’s all.  D-day has little thought or depth to his character, and almost no potential to be anything more than a convenient way to threaten Superman.

Small wonder then Cornell’s previously excellent writing on this series has devolved along with the class of villain featured in this storyline.  Mind-boggling as it is to believe, the script comes off generic—at best!—and confusing, a big step down from the thoughtful, elaborate, and witty material we’ve been used to getting when Lex Luthor ran this title.  Cornell even descends to moments of melodrama: “Lois, I will find my way back to you!”

It’s hard to tell whether the confusion of this issue comes more from the almost absolute lack of direction (the Super-family literally don’t know how to get out of the starship) or from the puzzling motivations of the characters, like Superman choosing to drag Doomsday along with them because he’s “worried the other Doomsdays might harm it.”  Why exactly would they harm essentially the source of their creation?  And how can the original Doomsday get harmed by his lesser-powered clones anyway?

There’s a lot of chattiness in this issue, yet without much purpose to the chatter except to kill time before we can claw our way to getting this storyline over with.  It really shows how the characters have no idea what to do with themselves.  Eradicator: “—this looks like a language…  If we could start to translate it…”  Superman: “Yes, that should be part of our long-term plans.”  The implication they could be staying here for much longer is enough to make you wince.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Rocketeer Adventures #1 – And…I’m not even a Rocketeer fan.  But, I do love seeing three anthology stories with art by John Cassaday, Mike Allred and Michael Kaluta.  That’s some hot art, right there.  The stories are fine, but with art like this the stories really don’t matter.  Dave Stevens, the creator of the Rocketeer has been dead for ~3 years and it’s nice to see that top-notch creators still have a passion for his character.  I’m not in favor of seeing Rocketeer be launched as an ongoing series with some C-list talent, but if IDW can keep bringing this level of creator to the table, they can publish Rocketeer stories for as long as they want.  Runner-up: Li’l Depressed Boy #4

Most Anticipated: Strange Adventures #1 – I’m a complete sucker for anthology series because you always have the possibility of catching lightning in a bottle.  Featuring work by Scott Snyder, Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso, Jeff Lemire and others this should be pretty hot.  It is also really nice to see Vertigo launching something new as they haven’t put out a new piece of intellectual property since I Zombie last summer.

Other Picks: American Vampire #15, Detective Comics #877, Butcher Baker the Righteous Maker #3, The Walking Dead #85, Hack/Slash #4

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: DMZ #65 – It was a bit of a breather last week as far as the number of books went, but that doesn’t mean there was a lack in quality.  DMZ #65 took it this week, for me, showcasing everything that has made the series such a success for Vertigo. Everything you’ve ever liked about Wood’s DMZ was right here.  Good stuff.

Most Anticipated: Strange Adventures – I don’t think I can remember the last time I had such a huge stack with one book so clearly ahead of the rest of the pack as my most anticipated.  The concept for Strange Adventures excites me so much.  A big anthology of retro sci-fi, with creators like Paul Cornell, Jeff Lemire, and Peter Milligan?  The first chapter of the new comic by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso?  The first comics work of science fiction author, Lauren Beukes (whose two novels, Zoo City and Moxyland, you should really check out)?   There’s even a cool Paul Pope cover.  What more could you ask for?If there was ever a comic I really want to succeed, it’s this one.  $7.99 is a high price, but a bargain for an unbelievable package like this.

Other Picks: Action Comics #901, Detective Comics #877, Green Lantern Corps #60, Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #10, Green Lantern #66, American Vampire #15, Amazing Spider-Man #662, Captain America #618, FF #4, Iron Man 2.0 #5, Mighty Thor #2, Secret Avengers #13, Secret Warriors #27, Venom #3, Wolverine #9