thefrozenreptile Comic Reviews

This seems to have been a typical score for most of the Action Comics run of the New 52. Morrison and Morales are a perfect compliment to each other, and Superman is well on his way to being the premier hero of the world again (which he should be. I especially loved in this book the Justice League scene. One thing I have enjoyed about the new 52 in the last couple of months in general is the real effort behind all titles to incorporate everyone into the new universe, even in the "Five Years before the rest of the books" stories as depicted here.

I hate that this score is low this month; the cover really took away from this effort. After one year, however, Action remains one of my favourite titles (eclipsed by few; Supergirl and Buffy for example), and I'm positive this book will continue it's solid efforts for a long time yet.

The scene where Superman removes Krypto from the Zone and brings him to space to bathe him in the yellow sun rays is the most moving page drawn in this series so far, without any question. The sequences where Krypto is also protecting and watching over Clark are good too. But the rest of the book is of such mediocre quality to bring the overall rating for the book down, and the future will not be bright if the stories don't get more substantial soon.

I like this story; I really do. I just wish that maybe I would have waited until I had all parts of it before I read it, as I have found myself having to pull out last month's issue to refresh my memory of events. I really recommend that if you don't have Action Issues 15 and 16, that you get a trade for this storyline (if they issue one) because it will be a very good purchase.

This new creative team has potential to be very good in the near future. Andy Diggle's reputation is such that I do believe that the story overall will be satisfying when complete, and to me that, more than anything, is why I read comics. Until next month.

The art saved the book again; I think however if the Fatal Five story doesn't do well, it will be the end of this book; sales have dropped considerably just as DC is contemplating their new wave of books. As for this month's quick history lesson, the Fatal Five debuted as a team in Adventure Comics #352, with the following members: Valdiaus, Tharok, Mano, the Persuader and the Emerald Empress. It will be interesting to see if they ill be the same members with the same powers. Back to normal sequential order next moth.

This was a fun read. Considering that this story line will in all likelihood carry us to the "Zero" issue scheduled by DC in September for this title (and the other 51, for that mater") I think this series will continue to be one of the better ones until then.

History lesson aside (I feel like it is part of my mandate to educate, especially with DC from the Bronze and Silver Ages, but really, I'm just a guy who doesn't know when to shut up), this book overall needed more. As the next issue will most likely be the conclusion before the "0" issue month, one can hope that this storyline that started with so much promise, can be resolved in a much better fashion.

The art keeps this book from having a score that is only average. I'm glad now that this arc is concluded as overall; it ranks as some of the worst work Paul Levitz has completed in a long time. As we still have the unresolved plotline of the Fatal Five tie-in (from five issues ago), we may still get some good stuff ahead yet. I hope so. I am a huge Legion fan, but if the book continues to be this mediocre, I see I ending in the fourth wave.

A good effort overall, but this story will end up ultimately being judged on how the whole arc ends up. There is some promise here, as is typical of LSH history, but the mediocre quality of the last arc has me weary to see it through.

Two weeks ago in this space, I had said how Action Comics #0 was one of the best books I have ever read. This one is almost as good in overall quality, but as I like Supergirl a little more than Superman, I think this one is a new favourite (I have always loved the Kryptonian stories over the years.) I'm going to reread the first twelve issues now and really can't wait for the nest issue.

A solid book, but the writing does bring down the overall rating a bit. After the Worldkillers storyline, and even the promise of last month's issue as Supergirl has finally found a friend on this strange planet, this title can use a slightly better scripting effort next month. (However, Mahmud and Dave, keep up the solid work!)

I didn't write a lot of words this month, but there wasn't a lot to write about either. This book started out well; I thought we would have a bit of a throwback to the Superman Family era where Supergirl's personality outside of the costume was developed, but it was just a sample, and thus I feel that the authors leave me wanting a little more, and not in an intriguing way. At least the final teaser makes next month's book seem interesting.

As noted above, this was a pleasantly surprising read with some character development, (and more mysteries added than solved.) After the last issue which felt almost random and a way to fill an issue so that things weren't too involved before the Zero break, I am happy to have a nice read, and once we return to issue 13, I think that the book will get even better.

We have now began to settle into the second year of the New 52, and I'm sure there are many stories about this in the various media (print, internet, and broadcast) so I don't really think that other than yet another opinion I don't have anything fresh to offer on that point. But, from the perspective of this and the other Super-Family titles that I read, it has been off to a good start. However, it is time to have stories that don't exist just to introduce a new concept every single issue. This has become too predictable, and these characters are strong enough to stand on their own in just meaningless stories, or stories that can concentrate on other parts of their lives. Let's see more of Kara adjusting to Earth and less mourning over Krypton.

Honestly, I haven't been the biggest fan of this storyline, mostly because it has seemed very rushed and that there have been a few holes that I still don't understand (I hope the Oracle character is better explained in the conclusion as I really am confused as to his/its role in the story.) Next month, I believe we have a new writer for the book so we'll see what direction Kara takes next. See you next month".

The interior art saved this issue from being consigned to one of the worst of the run. I didn't like the H'el on Earth storyline very much and was hoping that the series would pick up again once it was over. Sadly, the first effort was a bridging book, and without significant character development (other than showing again that Kara can be stubborn.) I look forward to the new regular writer and Asrar's return.

I am a little biased when it comes to Supergirl. She is hands down, my favourite comic character (except for maybe Dogbert) and I would buy this book simply to try and keep the sales up. I was not as big a Power Girl fan as I really didn't see much of her before Crisis, and after Crisis; she wasn't the same character for a really long time.( I do buy Worlds' Finest as well, I always did like the Huntress.) But I have to say that this was a little bit fun, and I am enjoying this series immensely and I hope that these characters crossover a little more often.

This story has been told in various forms three major times (four if you count Jor-L from the Golden Age), and each time it is told, the basic premise of doomed planet, child sent to Earth has been a staple of the story. This version currently feels incomplete and I hope it will be fleshed out better in the next coming while. I feel we know more about Clark/Superman on Earth from Action 0, than we got of the Kryptonian part of the story here. If this effort is the best this team could come with for "The Origin", than I shudder to think what may be coming next"

A solid book, especially for those like myself who like a little of everything (although I always love a little more story background to books and less emphasis on action sequences; one of the things I liked about Swan's art was that he would use three panels where other artists might use five.) Superman (as a series) is one of the new 52's most consistent titles. I admit I am looking forward as to how the Zero issue for this one ties in with the Zero for Action. If this is the first Superman book you buy, it stands out as a better one.

As a prelude to the H'el on Earth storyline, this book only passes the mustard on a small scale (but we did get more Kryptonian information with regards to the creature.) As a book in the whole, it is above average (see Story section above as to why), but passable. The next two issues of this title will be taken with this storyline in a crossover with Superboy and Supergirl. If the overall story arc is half as good as the hype I have seen about it, it will be good indeed and this month's effort will be remembered more fondly. NOTE: I don't normally review (or read for that matter) Superboy, but I will be for the next couple of months in order to cover all parts of the storyline.