Action Comics Annual #1

One thing I have always liked about Annuals was the fact that someone could tell a longer, more complete story inside of one issue. (Their rarity is another fun factor, as they tend to come out in "Fifth Wednesday" weeks.) There has been a lot of significant stories over the years told in Annuals (Sue and Reed Richards' wedding comes to mind, just off the top of my head; as well as the birth of Lightning Lad's and Saturn Girl's children) Certainly, I am glad that I only have to wait a week for the next issue. Otherwise I would get really frustrated because I loved this book so much. I hope you have enjoyed it as well. Read Full Review

Action Comics Annual #1 is an example of how 'Annual' issues should play out; a fun story, great character writing, and fantastic cultural insight.  Read Full Review

This comic has some great elements, both in the writing and the art. Therefore, it deserves a 4/5. This could have been a little better, but not my too much. I definitely recommend that you buy this if you're a Superman fan or a completist. Read Full Review

So overall a very good character driven issue. It is one where we see how Superman can inspire people to do good (Steel, Lois) or evil (Ramsey, Luthor). It puts a new spin on the Kryptonite Man and colored Kryptonite. And it also shows us a Superman who feels responsible for everyone. It was this characterization that carried this book. I'll be sad when Fisch stops doing the Action back-ups. And I always love Cully Hamner art. So I was pretty happy with this issue. Read Full Review

We've been wondering where the classic Superman villains are and we're finally getting them. As annuals should, this double sized issue focuses on giving us the origin of the New 52 versions of Kryptonite Man and Atomic Skull. They both have similar stories to their original counterparts but the update is fitting for the new 'universe.' Sholly Fisch gets the chance to step away from the back ups in giving a fully length feature and Max Landis makes his comic writing debut with a chilling silent story illustrated by Ryan Sook. Both villains may not blow you away but seeing them in an issue focused on their story rather than mixed into a regular one allows for more exploration into who they are. This is what comic book annuals should do, rather than continue a story from the main series. Read Full Review

First-class art with a mixed bag of writing. Ultimately, it's the story that matters, and no matter how much you love Hamner or Sook, they can't elevate a mediocre tale that far. Read Full Review

I won't spoil the Superman/Kryptonite Man showdown but it's a blast to read! I understand that Morrison is an artist and likes to explore some of the themes and messages behind an iconic character like Superman but, as a fan, sometimes I just want to see a cool villain throw down with the Man of Steel. Fisch delivers that kind of fun in spades with this issue! It doesn't move the storyline along much other than setting up Kryptonite Man and his ties to the government and Lex Luthor but it's sure to have repercussions in the Superman titles in the stories to come. Read Full Review

The final page promises we will see more of this character in 2013, and from this brief introduction, it will certainly take the book to interesting places under the guidance of new writer Andy Diggle, who joins Action Comics with #18 in March. Sook's art is also quite eye-catching, telling the story in a cinematic fashion, in keeping with Landis's sensibilities. A solid example of what an annual should do: provide some one-off stories while teasing things to come in the monthly title. Read Full Review

Seeing how other writers are making twenty page stories work so well, it's all the more of a shame that this one doesn't make good use of the extended page count. You get the impression that a few scenes were dragged out just to fill those extra pages, actually. Steel has been underused in the New 52 so far, yet his time in the spotlight here comes off cheesey rather than inspiring. Instead of providing an accent to Superman's character, he just makes the Man of Tomorrow look lazy. Steel goes on around the globe using his talents to help the world while Superman seemingly stays in Metropolis doing much less poignant things with his god-like abilities. Fisch's Action Comics backups have admittedly not been much to write home about, but they did earn a certain emotional response, a trait that would have served him well in this full-length venture. Read Full Review

Hamner's visuals in the lead story are impressive, clean and crisp. The artist provides plenty of detail, but implies so much more through his strong storytelling. His work isn't ornately decorated with shards and random shapes, but rather presented in traditional sense, with outlined panels intelligently composed throughout the issue. Hamner does play around with the orientation and composition of those panels, adding action and energy to his drawings. Sook, likewise, provides a masterfully composed story that needs no wording to transmit its message. With these two artists on board, the Superman brand is looking good and worth checking out. I just hope we don't have to wait another year for a Superman story to be this enjoyable. Read Full Review

K Sharath

Jun 23, 2021

Grant Morrison was having an ok run on new 52 Superman.. The idea of substituting him with a backup writer yields marvellous result.Sholly Fischer takes elements from the Morrison run and delivers an excellent issue which takes the run to newer heights and provides much more input to the run's future.The backup pages which includes origin of Atomic Skull adds to the shocking quality of the issue.