Review: Action Comics #1014

Bendis has been dividing readers between his work here on Action Comics and his work on Superman proper, I know that may sound crazy, but indulge me kind reader. First off let me state that I am a long time Bendis reader and a fan of much of his voluminous body of work, of course there are those arcs, even events that I thought could have been done better, or left undone for that matter. Having said that, I count myself among the fans of both Bendis Super Books, moreover I have enjoyed his work on the character in toto. His Event Leviathan has certainly made up the lion’s share of that work thus far, however there have been some very intriguing additions to Superman’s larger world including the addition of characters like the fan favorite Naomi, the sinister supervillain Rogol Zaar and the long awaited, greatly anticipated upcoming re-introduction of the Legion of Superheroes. Bendis is prolific if nothing else, he writes, very often he writes well. So when I say his current work on Action Comics and Superman has been somewhat divisive, It comes down to his differing approaches to each title and personal taste. Action Comics has been the more character driven of the two titles. For instance Superman can more often be found dealing with events of a cosmic nature in the eponymous titled series while the narratives in Action often concern the inter-office events of the Daily Planet. Bendis masterfully weaves these smaller, more personal elements into the much larger Kryptonian events while telling the overarching, espionage themed story of Leviathan. This is decidedly complex stuffÂ and as such Bendis could easily get overly pedantic and needlessly confusing, which he has done in the past, however he has kept all the plates successfully spinning this time out.

This issue introduces the nebulous Marisol Leone as the new owner of the Daily Planet. This is certainly a new role for the former Suicide Slum crime lord, however her obvious preoccupation with Lois and her intrusive line of questioning when talking to Clark have not gone unnoticed, least of by Clark. Bendis has continually brought the sensibilities of a crime drama to Action Comics while leaving the superheroics to the more aptly titled Superman. Here he does some fantastic character work giving Leone some strong dialog including several of the issue’s most memorable lines. You get the feeling she chooses her every word with precision for ultimate effect, especially when dealing with Perry White. By the time she is through with Perry and Clark it is apparent that she is in charge, at least from her perspective. She is bound and determined to find out the identity of Leviathan, however Superman seems to have one upped her. In the midst of battle with a huge rock-like creature Superman realizes that S.T.A.R. Labs has remained untouched throughout Leviathan’s attacks. This leads to an expose written by Clark Kent, of course, on the illegal super-science experiments going on within the walls of S.T.A.R. Labs.

This issue is indicative of the one element I find problematic with Bendis’ Superman work overall, subplots. There are already enough plot threads here to knit a heavy cable-knit sweater, but that doesn’t stop Bendis from following every one of them. Enter Robinson Goode, another of the arc’s big bads, however this time around we see the Lex Luthor improved version of Goode’s alter-ego, Red Cloud. The upgraded villain handles Thorn without breaking a sweat, but what I love about Red Cloud is her costume design and Szymon Kudranski does a tremendous job rendering her in a full page that calls to mind the iconic covers of Avengers #57 and Silver Surfer #3. In fact Kudranski raises the bar visually with this issue. His emotionally charged approach to page design works so well even with the more subtle, nuanced character moments. While the entire issue is full of examples of Kudranski’s stunning visuals, the final page reveal hits like Cap swinging Mjolnir! It comes from out of nowhere and lands with such emotional and contextual impact it makes the wait for the next issue almost intolerable. Brad Anderson’s precise use of muted tones alongside more vivid highlights work to gorgeous effect lending an almost ethereal look to the entire work.

While this certainly isn’t the strongest entry in Bendis’ Superman saga, it’s not bad comic booking. Kudranski’s artwork takes center stage this time out which is fine with me, especially since Bendis does give us a solid chapter of narrative and plot progression. The chief drawback to this issue is the overuse of subplots, I’d rather see time spent on advancing the main Leviathan plot than delving into a secondary character that may or may not end up contributing to the overall plot in any meaningful way. With that being said, this is still a an issue you are going to want to read, particularly if you are invested in the bigger story Bendis is telling. 3.75/5

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Writer-Brian Michael Bendis
Artist- Szymon Kudranski
Colorist- Brad Anderson
Letterer- Rob Leigh