Action Comics #1004

No issue has better defined why Brian Michael Bendis is the right writer to steer the Superman line of comics than Action Comics #1004. Read Full Review

Everything about this issue of Action Comics rings true to form and Brian Michael Bendis has presented Superman as he is meant to be in this unfolding story arc which is "The Invisible Mafia". This issue was a joy to read and had almost no "Super" action in it. That should tell you quite a bit. I highly recommend this book. Read Full Review

At the end, you realize that Bendis wrote a very character based issue. And I love that. It was a nice break and it was good to catch up on Lois and Clark's relationship. He made a choice. And, working with Sook, it was a very smart one indeed. Read Full Review

A strong issue that is not only romantic but genuine. Bendis and Sook deliver one of the most romantic, and genuinely mature relationship issues ofAction Comics, and superhero comics in general ever. Read Full Review

Bendis' Superman run has been a mixed bag so far, but his run on Action Comics coming off the big Action Comics #1000 issue has been getting better and better. Read Full Review

Bendis' overarching plot in Action Comics isn't grabbing anyone just yet, but conversely toSuperman issues, the deep character moments in this title are what make it a delight to read. Read Full Review

Bendis and Sook gave us an excellent issue of ACTION COMICS. Clark digs deeper into Red Cloud, the Planet gets attacked, and we finally figure out what's going on with Lois! Read Full Review

If you're looking for stellar character work, incredible artwork, and a Metropolis that feels more real and engaging by the issue, you owe it to yourself to pick up this series. Read Full Review

And the art. The perfect god Cyclops, the art. OH THE ART! Sook takes Bendis' story and just makes magic. The lines are sharp. And the faces, OH THEN FACES; he captures expressions and the momentum of any given scene so well. Then, of course, he get a couple of action scenes where he gets to cut loose and excel. I have absolutely no complaints. Read Full Review

But those are minor complaints - the series is a lot of fun to read and moving in new andinteresting directions. What more couldany fan ask? Read Full Review

It did a great job of slowing down the action and concentrating on the relationship between Clark and Lois. Read Full Review

"Action Comics" #1004 boasts an honest interpretation of Lois and Clark's relationship and beautiful illustration work. Read Full Review

Bendis seemsintent on elevating the supporting cast. Perry White displays a dimension ofcharacter I havent seen in years, if ever. Hes not simply Clarks boss, hesa man with a job, and an individual with his own agenda. However, Supermansson is only mentioned off-hand, which I dont particularly mind. I stillstruggle with Lois and Clark being married, let alone having a kid. But atleast Bendis gave us the reunion weve been needing. Read Full Review

Discovering where Superman's marriage stands in this issue was the high point of the book and for the most part, I think it was really well done.  Yeah, Lois' dialog was odd as hell and some of her reasons behind things seem off, but all in all, I look forward to continuing my Bendis Action Comics journey and finding out what he has planned for the long haul of our hero. Read Full Review

Action Comics has some really great character development, but it's unfortunately coupled with a really lackluster plot. Read Full Review

Action Comics #1004 puts the spotlight on the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane. The overall story is okay, with nothing too dramatic happening, but the art in this issue really stands out in a good way. Read Full Review

Worth reading if you're following Lois and Superman, but if you're following the arc and you skipped this issue you wouldn't miss out on anything you didn't already know. Read Full Review

The issue itself didn't move the story forward, but only sets Clark's relationship back in Bendis' hope to move Clark's story forward in the future with no strings attached. Read Full Review

This was the first issue in Bendis' Action Comics run that left me disappointed. He's made Lois and Jon's return such a big deal that this underwhelming payoff is cause for concern. Superman was the one book that didn't need a drastic change in the status quo and a solo Superman just isn't as interesting in 2018. Read Full Review

Since the Lois/Clark pair is the foundation of these characters and these books, I suddenly feel like I am on slightly shaky ground here. That said, everything else, from subplots to the luscious art, still sizzles. Read Full Review

Action Comics #1004 is the worst issue of Bendis' run so far, and it doesn't bode well that it's come so soon. The issue kills all of the momentum of the Invisible Mafia storyline, chopping it up to foster cheap drama and make readers buy another issue to see what happened between Lois and Clark. Read Full Review

This is the redefining moment for Lois and Clark's relationship and it's flat out terrible. Bendis seems to have written an excuse in order to claim that technically, Lois and Clark are not broken up. But, how can this be true when they are living in different cities and Lois doesn't seem to want any type of life together? Nothing really seems right about it, from Lois's immature and selfish actions, to Superman's willingness to accept what she says when she does nothing but hurt him emotionally from start to finish. What happened to their love? Read Full Review

Simon DelMonte

Oct 24, 2018

Wow. Wow. Wow. Someone at Paste, IIRC, said that this one would make you cry. And it did. Well done, Brian!!

superstan52

Oct 24, 2018

What a fun issue! Great characterization and dialogue between Clark and Lois. Little moments like Perry's 'diagnosis' and Supe's counseling the accosted reporter show what makes him 'him' when he's not fighting bad guys.Plus "super sex." Twice!

Dorival

Oct 24, 2018

I Loved this edition!

Full Spread

Oct 28, 2018

Enchanting. Lois and Clark haven't been this great together in a long time.

egonnn244

Oct 25, 2018

"The good old days" Man, I like Bendis' take on Superman. Especially in Action Comics. This book has this feeling of levity and hopefulness to it. It's great to see Man of Steel saving people with a big ol' smile on his face. And we finally learn what's the deal with Lois and why she was hiding. She's doing something that is really important to her but she still has her husband's back. The scenes between her and Clark were sweet and fun to read. As for little Jon. He's safe and that's practically all we learn. Well, that and the fact that he supposedly blossomed when he has no need to hide his powers. The art is on point. Ryan Sook and the rest deliver some great visuals. The panel where Clark and Lois are kissing is breathtaking . Great stuff. more

waltgator93

Oct 23, 2018

While the story does nothing to progress the story arc, we get Clark and Lois reconnecting to only have Lois tell Clark that they need space to do their own thing but aren’t broken up. This issue feels like I missed an issue or two. Bendis still does not have the voice of Lois right.

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RBL - Oct 24, 2018

He doesn't have the "voice" of anyone right, he is taking a veritable crap on every single character here and the Superman legacy all at once. This is utter garbage.

PeteRick - Oct 25, 2018

RBL i coundn't have said it better myself!!

READ RUMBLE - Oct 25, 2018

I concur!! Dropped this when I saw where it was headed. What’s wrong with portraying a healthy, happy family like Tomasi and Jurgens did?? It grounded Superman. Made him more human and relatable.

PeteRick - Oct 25, 2018

Exactly, but i think bendis is not allowed to destroy the family, cause in doomsday clock, they're still together and fine as always, so it's like a relief to me, what i'm really afraid is what he has prepared after doomsday clock gets concluded

waltgator93 - Oct 25, 2018

He has prepared because in a tweet he said about issue 1 or 2 of Superman, he said after doomsday clock it will make sense

waltgator93 - Oct 25, 2018

And his messing up Jons voice and Lois has already destroyed the family. His man of steel issue was only good at issue 6

PeteRick - Oct 25, 2018

Yeah but i think all the events that are happening right now are placed before doomsday clock, i think what you're talking about was barry's hair turning red, right?!

waltgator93 - Oct 25, 2018

Yea

PeteRick - Oct 26, 2018

Yeah i read an interview where he said it will all be explained in the upcoming events of doomsday clock, or it could be an ink problem

PeteRick - Oct 26, 2018

Well.. i'm only going to read after dr.Manhattan reestablishes the fabric of space

RBL - Oct 26, 2018

Honestly whether Doomsday Clock plays a part or not, bendis’ bread and butter as far as storytelling goes is hamfisting a story regardless of how is goes against all characterization and breaking any consistency with continuity. Since Supes is the most storied hero in comics, it just exacerbates this “practice”. It won’t improve, it’s gonna remain crap until a new creative team takes over and they will have their work cut out fixing all his “work”.

PeteRick - Oct 26, 2018

Yeah,you're absolutely right, guess we'll have to wait two years to read another decent story, i'm not purchasing this crap!

PeteRick - Oct 26, 2018

Or wait until the sales fall

Superheroes for Hire

Oct 29, 2018

5/5 for Ryan Sook's art. 0.5 stars for Brian Bendis' excellent writing of the Daily Planet bullpen and Perry White. I don't even care that Bendis wants to write a more independent Lois Lane, but I think it's the laziest type of comic book writing to throw out all the recent character development for this tentpole character. Everything Rebirth was built on was the hope, optimism, legacy, and love of its characters. Congratulations Brian Michael Bendis. You have managed to get me to drop Action Comics 4 issues after its landmark #1000. Learn how to play with the toys you've been given for once.

ohhaimark

Oct 27, 2018

THE GOOD: -The art. Ryan Sook is a great artist who deserves your attention. -I think I would genuinely enjoy a Perry White spinoff series from Bendis more than his Superman stories. -Bendis is pretty good at capturing the chemistry between Lois and Clark. Now I have more problems with how that relationship was handled, but he does do a good job of capturing strictly the relationship only. THE BAD: -I cannot stand the way that Bendis writes Lois. Clark is at least decently well-written in this issue. He's a bit one sided but still he doesn't seem to veer as far from where his character should be as Lois. Lois strikes me as kind of selfish, and annoys me for other reasons which will be stated below. -It annoys me how Jon i s just left with Jor-El like that. It seems like a crappy excuse to not have to explain where Jon is now that Lois and Clark are reconnecting. Now, I'm not opposed to Jor-El being redeemed, however the lack of that redemption being mentioned or addressed makes it seem like poor parenting, since the last we saw Jor-El and Lois/Clark in the same room, it was not a positive confrontation. -The excuse for Lois and Clark not being together (but still being together, because why not?) is unfortunately crappy. "I have a book to write, and my son and husband don't need me anymore." What?! Then Lois goes on about not being a normal family. Bendis fails to understand that what made the Tomasi/Gleason series one of the best Superman runs in recent memory is that it was a family story made unique and interesting BY it's abnormalities. -The meeting between Lois and Clark was unfortunately underwhelming. Sook's art was beautiful in that crowded street scene, but Bendis' writing was so weak not to mention he makes it seem like Lois and Clark are meeting after Lois just got back from the freaking grocery store, not a huge, long trip to space without Clark. more

RBL

Oct 24, 2018

I have to admit, the story in this issue improved. It's gone from abhorrently bad to just dull and uninteresting. Progress was made! The plot-holes present in this story that remains lackluster have never been more jarring than with a Lois Lane who would leave her son without second thoughts with an individual, who I reiterate for what feels like the nth time, WAS AN ENEMY of theirs the last time they encountered him. Jor-El never had a moment of redemption or contrition as Mr. X or did anything to even remotely position him as anything other than an antagonist towards his son, so having both of Jon's parents accept him as his guardian is ridiculous. If the premise behind the only plot development an issue actually had is so dumb it makes said development unbelievable, is there any point to the issue? If you ask me, I'd say there is not. Rather than showing the reunion of Lois Lane and Superman as a momentous occassion it felt like an unremarkable event without any impact. A missed opportunity seeing as it did nothing with what was something fans demanded. In fact stating Lois needed to be away from her family does not even deliver what fans clamored, it's the exact opposite. The Superman Family as built up in the previous volume was great and allowed for growth on each of its members, this decision is a regression in every sense of the word. I'll end this by saying that just how Superman appeared to reminisce about the good old days looking at the framed article Lois wrote about "The Death of Superman", I also miss the days when the writing for such a storied character was not garbage. Even if that story is the moment when death lost all power in comics, it is markedly better than any of the crap bendis is crapping out for Superman. The art was good, only worthwhile thing in the issue. Not enough to merit buying this. more

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PeteRick - Oct 25, 2018

Man, can i ask you somethin, is doomsday clock canon?!

RBL - Oct 25, 2018

Not sure where it fits in current continuity but as far as I know it might be, there are stories that at least tie-in to Dr Manhattan’s prescence in the DCU

PeteRick - Oct 25, 2018

All i know is that is set one year in the future!

MKW69

Oct 24, 2018

Fight me.

Ollie44

Oct 24, 2018

I was enjoying Action over Superman but after this issue... wow.... all the points are for the art. Lois was completely off for me.

Psycamorean

Oct 25, 2018

I think this is horrible and completely antithetical to the previous run.

Spacey Medicine

Jun 02, 2019

No thank you.

PeteRick

Oct 24, 2018

I don't get why anyone would like this, bendis was the worst thing that ever happened to superman fans!

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RBL - Oct 24, 2018

You've concisely said exactly what my reviews want to express. He is the most ill-suited wirter for this character.

RBL - Oct 25, 2018

*writer

egonnn244 - Oct 25, 2018

I do get why anyone would like this. What I don't get is how there can be three other users in this review section having the same exact reviews as you with identical scores and dates. And all of them were created in the span of the last three days. Surely, nothing wrong is going here.

RBL - Oct 25, 2018

I’ve been calling bendis’ run crap from the start of the Man of Steel mini, so speaking for myself, I wouldn’t bother making other accounts when I consider the reviews I write to be enough.

PeteRick - Oct 25, 2018

Hahaha are you sure this guy is not from FBI, man who would've bother to create other accounts, what for.. To atack bendis, i'm just giving my opinion here, and i don't need different accounts to prove my point, that he sucks as a writer; and don't be ridiculous, i wouldn't waste my time since he doesn't even know that i exist, and i don't hate him, he's a good and kind man, but he writes shit, and i'm speaking on my behalf!!

FloralPJs

Oct 24, 2018

Sook's art is breathtaking, but even that can't save this dumpster fire. There are far too many plot holes. Lois' written completely out of character and her reasons for not telling Clark she's back are flimsy at best and ignores two years of continuity. Clark goes along with this barely questions anything. He doesn't really seem to care that his son is with a genocidal maniac. Neither of them come out of this book looking good.

daddyT

Oct 25, 2018

incredibly stupid. so.. your wife and son left in a hurry one night to go into outer space against your wishes... you lost contact with them.. they've been gone for months and now the wife is back without the kid and doesn't even tell you... because she just wants to write? oh, but hey, she got super-laid and so she definitely wants him to come back again.. utterly devoid of value. maybe 1-2 panels weren't bad, if only the story didn't drag them down to the pits from a base of 6, this gets a rating of: 1. -2 because: the stupidest storyline ever? -2 because: Lois and Jon were great.. before Bendis.... -1 because: can't even imagine how Bendis thought this would be cool

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PeteRick - Oct 25, 2018

He just doesn't know what to do, and i personally think that he never read the rebirth material, that's his problem, i think bendis is trying to give what fans want, but tomasi gave fans what we needed

PeteRick - Oct 25, 2018

*they