The initial New 52 run of Superman titles was, in all honesty, pretty awful. Try as they might, DC just couldn’t get the stories to fly (see what I did there). Over the last several months, a new dawn has come to the man of steel. First, with Scott Snyder’s Superman Unchained, then Charles Soule’s Superman/Wonder Woman, and the double shot from Greg Pak – his run on Batman/Superman and now taking on Action Comics.
Action Comics #28 is only Pak’s third issue, and really only the second of the new story arc (his debut was a Zero Year tie in), but it already feels like a good move. Writing Superman isn’t easy. He’s the most powerful man in the comic book universe. A being that can blow out stars, move planets, and fly into the sun. Getting anybody interested in reading about the infallible and unbeatable is akin to trying to urge people to root for the government. For Superman to work, really work, you have to create emotional tension, give the stories humor and find a way to bridge the character’s massive power with massive inadequacies.
What has been so effective with the current run on Superman is the questioning. The conflicts and constant inner battles with who he is as a hero and who he is as an alien brought up with Earth’s idea of humanity. Pak is bringing that with Lana Lang, which is a brilliant idea. Pre-New 52, the entirety of Superman’s emotional spectrum rested on the shoulders of Lois Lane. In a rebooted DCU, Lane is no longer the main squeeze, nor is she the fallback emotional support system. Superman has to look elsewhere for support and direction, which is especially potent given that in the New 52, Superman has only been around a few years. He’s still unsure of what he’s supposed to be.
Pak’s gift is his ability to wrap the bigger ideas into awesome action spectacles. In Planet Hulk. he dealt with acceptance, rage, family and betrayal, all the while giving fans one of the greatest Hulk runs of all time. In Action Comics, he’s doing the same thing. Superman’s banter with Lang, his questioning of his right to kill a species simply because it poses a threat, his attachment to Smallville and how it represents the human side of him – all of that is present, but within a story about ancient civilizations, ghost soldiers, dragons, weird cats and unlimited power sources. It’s that Greg Pak magic brought home to Superman.
DC has given Pak a perfect partner in Aaron Kuder. His style is absolutely perfect for Superman. There’s an energy to his pencils, the thin line work coming together to give off incredibly detailed, refined and yet action-packed panels. Kuder has a style that calls to mind Frank Quitely and the old school Fleischer cartoon series. Part of that magic is colorist Wil Quintana, who also knocks it out of the park here.
With Pak and Kuder at the helm, the world of Superman just got that much stronger.
(4.5 Story, 4.5 Art)
