Mild Mannered Reviews - Action Comics

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Action Comics #1054

Scheduled to arrive in stores: April 25, 2023
Cover date: June 2023

Cover: Steve Beach
Variant Covers: Rafa Sandoval, David Talaski, Yasmin Flores Montanez and Ibrahim Moustafa

Reviewed by: James Lantz
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"Power Like This!"

Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Max Raynor

It seems Otho has killed someone until it's revealed that the victim is actually one of Metallo's Kryptonite powered drones. He, his fellow drones and Metallo have captured the Super-Twins. They want to make the young Phaelosians into cyborgs because Metallo believes Superman has taken his sister. If Otho and Osul are not rescued soon, they could very well bring about the destruction of Superman and his family.

After an intense battle with Metallo, whose Kryptonite heart is encased in a Warworld Orphan Box, Superman agree to help the cyborg find his sister. Metallo will still have to answer for his crimes, but his family needs help. First, the Necro-Drones must be shut down to prevent more death. Yet, Metallo is not in control of this robotic army. The soldiers' true master is the Cyborg Superman, and he's about to use Tracy Corben in his next experiment in cybernetics.

5Story - 5: Philip Kennedy Johnson continues to add twists, turns and excitement to his run on the title. Bringing Superman back to Earth and adding the family to mix allows him to explore things that have been done while adding something new to the mythos. Johnson is perhaps one of the best new writers in comics. He gets the characters of Superman, Lois, Jon and everyone else in their lives, and the way he handles him gives me faith he'll do well on his upcoming The Incredible Hulk book for Marvel. I hope he stays with Superman for a long time.

5Art - 5: At first, the first page looks a bit too cartoony. However, that is because I'm used to the previous artist's work on this story arc. Once I got to may second reading of this comic, I saw that Raynor's art is better suited for this title than that of Rafa Sandoval. Sandoval's images sometimes look to dark due what looks like the use of too much ink. Max Raynor's lines look excellent and are what I hope to see more art like this in future chapters.

"Home Again" - Part 4

Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artist: Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund

Superman has his hands full fighting Doombreaker, and he is unable to get to Jon and Glyanna, who have crash landed in the South Pacific. Glyanna has made Jon believe that her world's resources were limited. Her father was executed, and Glyanna came to Earth to seek Superman's aid. Now, her Killamek has put Jon in stasis to insure Superman will help her.

5Story - 5: This chapter does take a slightly predictable route, but that doesn't stop from being a great read. I've been enjoying this series since its return, and I still hope DC comes to their senses and allows to have a bigger format like a monthly book or another mini-series. Dan Jurgens proves yet again why he's still among the best creators in the business with this feature.

5Art - 5: I admittedly miss Lee Weels' art. Yet, I love having Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund on art this time around. They've done some amazing sequential imagery throughout their career, and this second feature looks downright incredible in their hands.

"Steel: Engineer of Tomorrow" - Part 1

Writer: Dorado Quick
Artist: Yasmin Flores Montanez

Prior to the events of Action Comics #1051's main story, a fight with the cyborg Amalgam allows Steel to look back on his life and the construction of the new Steelworks Tower. A quick hammering defeats Amalgam, and Steel is just in time for his press conference. However, as Amalgam is sent to Stryker's Island, another villain lurks in the shadows waiting to strike.

5Story - 5: Steel honestly deserves his own comic. Hopefully, this feature can lead into that. We have a short, but fun back-up that blends superhero action with great character moments. Plus, it's very reader friendly with pages that fill in new readers on Steel's up until this story. This and all the other content in this comic book make it the best issue of Action Comics in the "Dawn of DC" line.

5Art - 5: Yasmin Flores Montanez is a new artist for me. Their style works superbly for Steel, Nat and their part of the Superfamily. I stated that Steel merits his own series, and Montanez should draw it. They are a perfect fit for it visually.

5Cover Art - 5: Granted, I probably would have chosen a different image for the main cover. However, it does give one a sense of curiosity, and it dares people to buy and read the comic book. That's what every cover should do.

5Variant Cover Art - 5: There's a lot of talk of superhero fatigue lately. The thing I'm suffering from is variant cover fatigue. The number of those has gotten ridiculous recently. Still, in spite of all that, the art on each image this month is absolutely perfect.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2023

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

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