Action Comics #1031
Scheduled to arrive in stores: May 25, 2021
Cover date: July 2021
Reviewed by: James Lantz
“Warworld Rising” – Part Two
Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Penciller: Daniel Sampere
Inker: Daniel Sampere
Cover: Mikel Janin
Variant Cover: Julian Totino Tedesco
“Thalkis Help Us!”
Refugees from Warworld with Superman’s family sigil burned on to their flesh have said this in Falkiri, a long-dead version of the Kryptonian language. The Man of Steel’s quest for answers takes him to Atlantis where the escapees’ ship crashed. He finds a stone that could be made of the same material as the Source and a large prisoner who wishes to fight him. Jon Kent, who storms out of the Fortress, believes the arrival of these people is a trap set by Mongul. He may be right as we witness the leader of Warworld burning Superman’s S shield on the chest of someone in chains.
Story – 5: Brian Michael Bendis is a hard act to follow. However, Phillip Kennedy Johnson has been doing a great job with Superman as of late. This particular story is a great space opera set in the Man of Steel’s universe. I’m loving every page so far.Art – 5: Sampere really should be doing more science fiction stories like this one. His strengths in creating alien worlds, beings and technology make him fit like a glove in this story.
“The Passenger” – Part Three
Writers: Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad
Penciller: Michael Avon Oeming
Inker: Michael Avon Oeming
Midnighter wants to kill young Andrej Trojan, the same person who occupies the artificial intelligence in his head, in order to prevent his technology to arrive on Warworld. The present day Trojan is trying to reverse engineer the Mother Box taken from his captive Mister Miracle. Can the world’s most famous escape artist escape Trojan’s trap before he unlocks Mother Box’s secrets?
Story – 5: My prediction of a Superman and Midnighter team-up may be coming to pass in July. Stay tuned, folks. In the meantime, try to enjoy the mayhem of this second feature as much as I did. It feels like one of those cheesy, yet fun movies of the 1980s I grew up with. Yet, there’s also the complex character analysis my current self loves.Art – 5: Admittedly, the fact I’m a fan of Michael Avon Oeming is coloring my rating, but his art work’s perfectly for the story.Cover Art – 5: This one makes me feel like I’m seeing Superman fly for the first time. That makes it one of the coolest covers I’ve ever seen.Variant Cover Art – 5: This time we have something that feels like the Golden Age mixed with “Superman: The Animated Series” and Tedesco’s own style. I’d love to see his art grace the pages of some DC or Marvel special project along the lines of Alex Ross’ “Kingdom Come” and “Marvels”.
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