Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Rafa Sandoval kick Action Comics #1057 into the next arc, introducing the xenophobic organization Blue Earth. How will Superman deal with a new enemy using only his journalistic skills?
We reviewed the book on the Stack podcast. But in the interest of highlighting more about the title, here’s a summary of the conversation with our thoughts. And if you prefer the longer audio version, that’s below as well!
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Action Comics #1057 Review:
Though the focus in this issue is on Blue Earth, which host Alex Zalben noted had “shades of seasons of Supergirl,” the discussion kicked off with the first few pages, which find Superman just talking to a construction worker.
“Man, I love this,” said Pete LePage, saying that the scene of the Man of Steel relating to an everyday worker, “just really gets you in the feels.” He also lauded the battle scenes, the art style, and the backup stories. Overall, LePage though this issue “is a great package.”
Justin Tyler agreed and called the first few pages of, “Superman being everyday super… Such a signature Phillip Kennedy Johnson story.” He also liked that the rest of the book focused on being a Clark Kent story, as the reporter interviews the head of the Blue Earth organization on TV. Tyler also shouted out the backup story by Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks as a “great” Jon Kent story.
On the Connor Kent backup by Magdalene Visaggio and Matthew Clark, Tyler felt that this “Superboy struggling to find his place” tale “did a better job of crystallizing” the same sort of ideas that are being presented in the currently running Superboy miniseries. Said Tyler, he’s, “a kid who is not feeling comfortable, feels like he’s always filling in other people’s much larger boots, trying to have a relationship. It’s not working, just [having] difficulty finding an identity, and I thought it was really well done.”
Alex Zalben meanwhile, loved the visuals Rafa Sandoval brought to the interview portion of the first story. “I really love artistically how Rafa Sandoval depicted almost the Daredevil-style human lie detector test that Clark was doing, to get this cross-section of the person’s skeleton… That was a very neat visual.” And he also loved bringing Clark back to his TV anchor days, something we haven’t seen in decades.
Action Comics #1057 Official Synopsis:
NEW STORY ARC! THE SUPER-FAMILY…REPLACED?! As the Super-Family and Steelworks rebuild their city, a new Golden Age of Metropolis has begun…and not everyone is happy about it! As the charismatic but volatile young terrorist leader Norah Stone reveals herself and her vision for a city without Kryptonians, members of the Super-Family inexplicably start losing their powers…and a new team of metahumans emerges to take their place. Who is Norah Stone? And what’s her strange obsession with Clark Kent? The newest arc of Action Comics begins here!
