Action Comics #35

by Kalem Lalonde on October 05, 2014

Written by: Greg Pak
Art by: Various

Action Comics under Greg Pak has been a brilliant character study and evaluation of Superman’s environment. The first arc proved that Pak has a tremendously strong handle on the character and his good friend Lana Lang. Then Doomed came around and slowed this book down immeasurably. The crossover was stretched out and never reached the enthralling heights of Greg Pak’s inaugural arc. I was hoping that the end of Doomed would mean the return of this book’s previous high quality and while this is a very slow issue, I can already feel Pak returning to the roots of his opening arc.

We begin with Superman flying back to earth after 2 months of traveling through space. His sense of responsibility is explored here as he reflects upon his promises to keep the earth safe. He’s worried that every second someone is looking to see if he’s there so he could help them but he doesn’t show up. We then follow Clark to Smallville where he wants to check up on his home town. This begins a very emotional analysis of Superman’s place in the world. Some writers may use subtle means to convey messages but Pak utilizes a very prominent Superman character to deliver his directly. This works very well because it’s true to the characters at play in this issue and the message is a great examination of Superman’s motivations.

The art is split between two artists this issue and their styles mesh quite well. Their styles both resemble the likes of regular artist Aaron Kuder even if they don’t live up to his excellent work. Some of the faces drawn were a tad too rectangular but that would be my only complaint with the art besides the fact that it isn’t Kuder’s. Also, am I the only one who thinks that bearded Clark Kent looks like Greg Pak?

Overall, I can feel Pak bringing Action Comics back to the standards of the first arc. There are no other writers influencing the plot and it seems that we’ll be returning to the same weird, fun tone Pak established before Doomed. The phenomenal character work and clever ideas made up for the relatively slow plot of this issue forming my favourite entry since the beginning of Doomed. If what’s coming is anything like what came before it, we’re in for something special!

Our Score:

9/10

A Look Inside