Modern Comics Review: Action Comics #891

Remember in my review of Action Comics #890 when I said “I’ll put my in Paul Cornell for another month?” Well I can say that after reading issue #891, I‘m glad I did stick around. This was just a really fun issue in so many ways. Cornell continues to explore Luthor as a character and really gets him just right and makes him unbelievably entertaining to read. It’s evident right from the cover that the focus here is squarely one Luthor from the moment you see the “Lex Luthor’s Action Comics” title stamped on it.

This issue actually utilizes one of my least favorite comic book plots: the happy subconscious world construction. This plot device involves a character having something create a perfect world for them in their mind with the idea that they would never want to leave and never realize they’re even trapped in a dream. Most often in the DCU, this happens when the Black Mercy plants are involved (a la, For the Man Who Has Everything). Here, however, it happens through the machinations of the telepathic Mr. Mind. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed this issue despite this tired plot, largely due to how fun of a character Luthor is. It’s a lot of fun seeing Luthor almost instantly realize what’s happening and how he overcomes it; and trust me when I say he does it all with a very Luthor method. The scenarios that Luthor’s mind creates are a fun to see even if we don’t spend much time in each. Mr. Mind was a very entertaining villain for the issue and he is used to setup another villain that’s to be revealed another issue. Cornell has a delightfully silly take on Mr. Mind and, as promised, the interplay of Luthor against other DC villains is already proving to be great fun.

I have to say, I even enjoyed Pete Woods art here more than in last issue. Maybe it’s because he’s given much more variety to draw this here than last month, but it was just a much more visually interesting issue. I especially loved his interpretation of Mr. Mind; I never thought I’d say this but he is one adorable little evil multi-dimensional worm. With panels that contain things such as Mr. Mind in a cowboy hat holding a gun to 1800’s Lois Lane’s head, you can’t help but smile and that’s high praise. I do still wish that Woods would add some more detail at times and he could have made each dream a little more visually distinctive, but overall it was a huge improvement from last month.

I’m really beginning to enjoy this book a lot. Two issues in and I don’t miss Superman in the slightest and I’m officially enjoying this story more than the “Grounded” storyline in Superman, though that story is only one full issue in. If Cornell can keep this pace up and keep Luthor consistently interesting to read without getting repetitive, this book will remain near the top of my pull list at least long as the Luthor arc continues. If you were hesitant to pick up yet another Superman book without the Big Blue in it, then pick up Action Comics: it just might change your mind.

Overall: 8.4/10

Modern Comics Review: Action Comics #890

The various Superman comics are, in my opinion, some of the most inconsistent on the market and, as such, I only follow them when there is a specific new plot that sounds interesting to me. With the introduction of Paul Cornell, an author whose works I have consistently enjoyed, and a new plot that focuses on Lex Luthor of all people, I decided this might just be one of the plots that might interest me enough to check out. The whole New Krypton plot just didn’t appeal to me nearly as much as I’d hoped and War of the Supermen wasn’t quite the ending to that I wanted it to be either, so I was hoping the fresh approach Cornell was bringing would be enough to reignite interest. It’s not quite the draw I had hoped, but it’s certainly not a bad start.

Cornell’s Luthor is an interesting one. It’s sort of like he mixed a little bit of all of Luthor’s personas over the years as he comes across a little bit mad scientist, a little bit business man, and a little bit of sly-tongued politician. This Luthor seems to be trying to control his life a bit more, but having a little difficultly with this, especially as he goes about his quest to regain the power of the various power rings in the DCU, though maybe not the one you expect. Enter Lois Lane to the story; she is here primarily to ground Luthor and try and call him on his various shortcomings so he can try and adjust his personality. Anyone that has ever read Lois Lane in a story will immediately wonder not only why she is shadowing Luthor like this but also why her personality seems just a little…off. At first, I was a little annoyed by the way Lois was handled here, but Cornell takes the smart approach and, instead of dragging out the mystery of this, satisfactorily reveals the reason before the issue ends.

The plot itself is quite a fun one and one that makes sense for Lex Luthor’s character based on his experiences in Blackest Night. His plan gets derailed partway through the issue by a group of villains that are either new or I don’t recognize, but we discover by the end of the issue and it is a familiar, and unexpected, reveal. Easily the most interesting part of the issue was watching Luthor’s interplay with the villains in this issue and his casual method of determining what they want even while being held off the side of a building. Even more so than the hunt for power rings, I’m most excited to see just how Luthor’s quest forces him to play off of other villains. This issue is mostly setup and little action, but that is only to be expected. The biggest shortcoming of the story was Luthor’s imagining of what the world will be like once he gets his power rings. It felt a little over-wrought, even for Lex Luthor, but it’s not a huge problem and it is even lampshaded a bit.

The weakest link of the issue was easily the art of Pete Woods for me. From what I’ve read, there are a lot of people out there that enjoy his artwork, but I’m just not one of them. His artwork just feels simple and a little blocky to me, sometimes bordering on ugly, but it actually wasn’t too big of an issue here. It wasn’t anything special either, but it didn’t distract from the book. Easily his best work in the book is the last page reveal, but it is serviceable throughout.

Ultimately, this was an entertaining read and Luthor’s characterization is strong enough to bring me back for next month’s issue, but the pace needs to be picked up some. It’s not my favorite book by Paul Cornell, but I’ll put my faith in him for another month. I want to be interested in Action Comics again and I’m hoping that this story will become the one to do that.

Overall: 7.4/10