Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Action Comics Annual #11
DC Comics
Johns, Donner & Kubert
The long overdue finale of the Last Son arc finally hit stands. Sure, the easy thing to do would be to drone on and on about how late it was and how DC added insult to injury by upping the price by two thirds. I could easily talk about how all of this detracts from the story and maybe even the industry as a whole. Nope. I’m not going to do it. This issue was fantastic from start to finish.
The story is pretty simple. It’s Luthor and his misfits teamed with Superman to chase away the Kryptonians who have captured the Justice League and are running amuck in Metropolis. There are many highlights in this issue.
The interaction between Zod and Superman is excellent. It is right out of Superman II only with the twist that Zod actually admired Jor-El, he was just mad Jor-El wouldn’t resort to war to save Krypton. Zod also calls out how he ended the Doomsday threat and how he chased away Brainiac after he destroyed the city of Kandor. Using Superman’s history is such a great idea and it’s perfectly executed here. Of course Zod reminds Superman how he will answer for his father’s sins.
Luthor explaining himself and his hatred for aliens to Superman and then reaffirming his status as a world class villain to Lois is a perfectly lined up juxtaposition. The artwork and page layout of Superman talking to Luthor is among the most eye grabbing I’ve seen in a while. The double page spread with fifteen equal panels allows you to really see visually the worm turning as Luthor gives his diatribe to Superman.
The battles give a good mix of Metallo and Parasite as opposed to the Krypton jailbirds. The only gripe would be that there could have been a classic battle between Non and Bizarro. Instead, this scene plays up with some great humor. It’s good, but I still would have liked to see them have the fight. The highlight with Metallo was him using his various colors of Kryptonite on the enemy. It’s interesting that he doesn’t turn on Superman in the end.
The issue contains some good character moments for Lois and Chris Kent. Of course, the problem with Chris Kent is what happens to him in the end and how it fits into current continuity. You would think this would change things going forward. This could be a real complaint expect the delay for the issue trumps all other problems with the issue. I’m sorry. I said I would mention the delay.
The artwork is really good. Generally speaking the characters look really good. However, I have one gripe with the jailbirds. They all look the same. They all have the same face it seems. When you show 20-some Kryptonians in an issue I think it’s kind of important to have them distinguishable. There were some eye popping visuals, such as the double page sideways view of a battered building with the reflection of the Daily Planet shining in the windows. Superman turning the tide against Zod and the freeing of the Justice League are also excellent pieces of art. Did I mention how cool the cover is? Well, it’s written in Kryptonian as well as English and it looks excellent.
What else can I possibly say about this issue? It’s great. This is the kind of issue I would want to see when Superman mixes it up with a super-powered villain. We get to see action, we get to see Superman use his mind and his brawn. We get to see Superman’s weaknesses and his strengths. The arc will likely go down as a classic once collected in trade and people forget how long it took to finally wrap up.
When Zod gets vanquished he mentions how the next time breaks out of the Phantom Zone he will unleash the demon that lives there. I can’t wait. In some ways, no other DC arc on the plate would come close to matching the curiosity I would have for a sequel to this one. All that this issue is missing is the line, “Kneel! Kneel before Zod!”
5 out of 5 geek goggles
 Action Comics Annual #11 |
