Action Comics #1060 has a monster team behind it: Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Nicole Maines, Steve Orlando, and Joe Casey on writing; Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Fico Ossio, and Dan McDaid on art. And you, on reading. Good job, you.
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 #1060 Review:
In the front story, Superman recruits John Constantine to get his daughter back from the Dark Multiverse — but first he’s going to need to go through literal Hell. Then, Dreamer deals with a dangerous mission from Amanda Waller. And in the third story, Zod has a plan.
“What I love about this front story is how desperate Superman is to save his daughter,” host Alex Zalben said. “And that emotional place that we never see him in… It’s really unsettling.”
Zalben further speculated that whether this comes to the forefront or not, something that might be powering this story is that Superman missed all of Jon Kent’s childhood when he was taken by one of Superman’s enemies. “So here he is freaking out because potentially, the same thing is going to happen again,” Zalben said. “And that’s terrifying… I don’t know if they’re going to get to that place, but that’s certainly what I read into it, and that makes it more palpable and more real.”
Continuing on that bent, Zalben added, “There’s been a lot of discussion lately about superheroes relating to us. And Superman is never a character that I need to relate to, but giving him real emotions where he needs to feel at a place where he’s panicked, where he might lose… That’s an incredible place of push him to, particularly here, where it feels earned.”
On another angle, Pete LePage lauded the “fantastic cover,” and was a big fan of Constantine’s appearance in this issue — from his drunk beginning to asking Superman to light his cigarette with his heat vision. “Really impressive work,” LePage added.
And briefly on the other stories, Zalben lauded Maines and Orlando for their work on Dreamer, between last week’s Titans: Beast World one-shot, and this issue, calling it an “interesting read.” For the Zod story, he expressed a little confusion over the direction of the plot, but enjoyed the art, comparing it to Phil Hester’s work.
“Overall, Action Comics continues to be one of the best magazine-style comics on the stands,” Zalben said. “It always feels like a very complete meal when I read it.”
Action Comics #1060 Official Synopsis:
GUEST-STARRING CONSTANTINE, ETRIGAN, AND BLOODWYND! A mistake from Superman’s past has returned, and Metropolis hangs in the balance! As the super-family is betrayed from within and stripped of their powers one by one, Superman sets out on a suicide mission into the Multiverse alongside the unlikeliest of allies: Constantine, the demon Etrigan, and—making his return to Action Comics—Bloodwynd! Plus: During “Beast World” in Metropolis, Dreamer has a run-in with life-changing consequences, and Zod’s son begins to suspect New Kandor isn’t as peaceful as it seems in the prelude to Kneel Before Zod #1!
