Mild Mannered Reviews - Action Comics

Action Comics #1023 Action Comics #1023 KindleDownload iBookBuy Now

Action Comics #1023

Scheduled to arrive in stores: July 21, 2020

Cover date: September 2020

"The House of Kent" - Part Two

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Klaus Janson
Cover: John Romita Jr.
Variant Cover: Lucio Parillo

Reviewed by: James Lantz
Click to enlarge



It was a difficult fight, but Superman and the Superboys have thwarted Red Cloud's attempt to kill Jimmy Olsen in front of Lois Lane. Now, she is trying to figure a way to break the Man of Steel with help from the Invisible Mafia's leader and owner of the Daily Planet, Marisol Leone. If they succeed in doing so they could retain total control of Metropolis' underworld.

The rules to the game have changed. Superman is now waging war on Ms. Leone's forces. Gang members involved in a drug deal were taken into custody after the Black Label Club was shrunken like Kandor. Meanwhile, Jimmy Olsen knows Robinson Goode is the Red Cloud. However, he doesn't get a chance to prove this to editor Perry White. The FBI has taken everything out of the offices in their search for evidence that can incarcerate Marisol Leone.

5Story - 5: After being disappointed in the recent issue of Justice League, I'm happy to read this. I sincerely needed a good Superman story, and this is it in spite of its use of parenthetical expressions. Sorry, but seeing those in comics irks me. I'm not sure why. Anyhow, I can't stress enough how much I'm enjoying what Bendis has been doing for Superman. I didn't think a lot of elements would work, but they do. They make for a fun comic reading experience. I'm going to miss Bendis' work when he leaves the Man of Steel.

4Art - 4: As much as I want to, I can't give Romita's Superman related work a perfect score. Certain characters look off and some panels look rushed. Romita did a better job with Marvel characters back when he was drawing them.

4Cover Art - 4: Was Superman's S shield added in via Photoshop at the last minute? Like previous Romita covers for this series, it suffers from the same troubles as the interior art.

5Variant Cover Art - 5: Why isn't Lucio Parillo doing interior art for this book? His style is perfect for any title featuring Superman.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2020

Note: Except for digital first releases, the month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020

Back to the Mild Mannered Reviews contents page.

Check out the Comic Index Lists for the complete list of Superman-related comics published in 2020.