Mild Mannered Reviews – Action Comics #1011

Action Comics #1011

Scheduled to arrive in stores: May 22, 2019
Cover date: July 2019

“Leviathan Rises” – Part 5

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: Steve Epting
Inker: Steve Epting
Cover: Steve Epting
Variant Covers: Francis Manapul

Reviewed by: Mario Bennese

Leviathan is beginning to rise and the world is in disarray. The Metropolis Special Crimes Unit barges into an apartment to arrest Kate Spencer for murder, conspiracy, and terrorism. Spencer fights off the MSCU and makes her escape as Lady Manhunter. Following a brief battle in London, Superman searches for Lois. She rushes to the street and tells him what happened while he was fighting. After Superman left, Lois and Tiger ran from the building they were in. They enter a special bubble that renders them invisible for 20 seconds. In the bubble, Tiger gives Lois all of his information, including intel that the leader of Spyral knew Leviathan was coming and did nothing. Tiger runs off, begging Lois to publish the story.

Lois and Clark call The Daily Planet to give them the scoop, but Perry insists on having a second source. With Tiger long gone, they make their way to Gotham. There, they meet with Huntress who advises against publishing the information. Amanda Waller gets brought up in the conversation and Huntress inquires about her location. Returning to the Fortress of Solitude, the couple find Waller gone, Kelex deactivated, and Olsen knocked out. Elsewhere, Guardian sleeps in a hospital bed where he is visited by a stranger who offers him a chance to be part of the coming change.

At the Fortress, Lois types up the story as the three try to make sense of the new information. Olsen mentions that upon asking if Waller was in charge of Leviathan, she knocked him out and stole one of Batman’s pods from the Fortress. The three wonder to themselves what’s about to happen.

Story – 3: First things first, it appears I made an error in my last review. I claimed Kate Spencer was Talia Al Ghul. That is not the case.

The story itself is fine. I’m not quite in the mood for another event after the dragged-out Doomsday Clock and the underwhelming Heroes in Crisis, but that has less to do with the book’s quality and more to do with my personal preference. Upon flipping through the issue again to write this review, I found I liked the story a little better. I’m interested in knowing what happens and how the issue gets resolved. My main issue lies with how dialogue-heavy the issue is. I’m not opposed to lengthy dialogue passages, but every character seems to deliver speeches here. Sometimes, less is more. Too much dialogue slows down the pace of a book.

I’m also a little confused as to what Superman and Lois thought would happen after leaving Amanda Waller in the Fortress. Did they expect her to just sit silently, touching nothing? It’s Waller.

Art – 3: I feel like I give Epting a little too much flack. His style is perfectly fine, but it doesn’t always work for me. All of it comes down to the way he draws faces.

Cover Art – 4: We’ve seen this type of cover before, but I always end up enjoying them. Maybe it’s because it’s a break from the typical superhero comic cover or maybe it’s because it’s uncluttered and clean.

Variant Cover Art – 4: I love the idea, but the execution is off. Much like Epting’s interior work, it all boils down to the faces.

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