Scan barcode
gr4b0's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
jamesreadsgenre's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
tawfek's review
Since goodreads doesn't consider comics as "books" and only volumes will be considered as what you actually read i will start adding Volumes to my challenge from now on.
draackje's review
4.0
Great origin story for Superman. All the well-known elements are there, lots of little hints and references to possible future events, and most importantly; it's fun to read! I'm no comic expert, but if you'd ever want to get into Superman stories, this is a great starting place.
unladylike's review
4.0
Other than Batgirl by Gail Simone, I haven't been actively reading any of DC's New 52 titles that started in 2011. I've been collecting every issue of the titles I hear good things about and now that multiple trade paperbacks are out there, it's time to start catching up, starting with my favorite comic writer, Grant Morrison.
I've never been much of a Superman fan, although the only time I ever bought, read, and followed a comic storyline before my post-college years was back in '92 during the Death and Resurrection of Superman. I'm really glad that of all the Superman substitutes that were introduced during that time, John "Steel" Henry is still being written as such an admirable character. Morrison does a great job keeping the motion and action going without defaulting to fight scene fluff. As Morrison and artist Rags Morales mention in the end notes, dialing down Supes' invulnerability was key to making him a relevant superhero again. Every time he shows signs of physical agony, from things like stopping a speeding train or being tortured with electrocution, rather than just Kryptonite or mega-punches from a similarly sized monstor, I had to let go of all the things I thought I knew about him, and was glad for it. One of the best and most expected things about this volume is Morrison's use of Superman's rocketship/baby cradle as an intelligent character and narrator who helps us understand some of the mechanics of the plot while simultaneously emerging as a crucial component in Earth's survival.
I look forward to reading volume 2 of Action Comics, and reading through Morrison's Batman, Inc. as well, but I'm glad he decided to step back from mainstream comics again after finishing the first dozen or so of each of these titles. As much as I'm glad that a queer magician conspiracy theorist alien abductee such as Grant Morrison has become one of the most well-known, influential, and best-selling mainstream comics writers, I prefer to see him untethered by the relatively narrow-minded editorial board of the Big Two and able to focus on more underground, independent, and/or creator-owned works.
I've never been much of a Superman fan, although the only time I ever bought, read, and followed a comic storyline before my post-college years was back in '92 during the Death and Resurrection of Superman. I'm really glad that of all the Superman substitutes that were introduced during that time, John "Steel" Henry is still being written as such an admirable character. Morrison does a great job keeping the motion and action going without defaulting to fight scene fluff. As Morrison and artist Rags Morales mention in the end notes, dialing down Supes' invulnerability was key to making him a relevant superhero again. Every time he shows signs of physical agony, from things like stopping a speeding train or being tortured with electrocution, rather than just Kryptonite or mega-punches from a similarly sized monstor, I had to let go of all the things I thought I knew about him, and was glad for it. One of the best and most expected things about this volume is Morrison's use of Superman's rocketship/baby cradle as an intelligent character and narrator who helps us understand some of the mechanics of the plot while simultaneously emerging as a crucial component in Earth's survival.
I look forward to reading volume 2 of Action Comics, and reading through Morrison's Batman, Inc. as well, but I'm glad he decided to step back from mainstream comics again after finishing the first dozen or so of each of these titles. As much as I'm glad that a queer magician conspiracy theorist alien abductee such as Grant Morrison has become one of the most well-known, influential, and best-selling mainstream comics writers, I prefer to see him untethered by the relatively narrow-minded editorial board of the Big Two and able to focus on more underground, independent, and/or creator-owned works.
stormblessed4's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
crzyarrow's review
4.0
I liked this and I enjoyed the plot, but I found parts of it confusing and hard to follow. It just seemed to jump around a lot. I don't know if I'm the only one who thought this, and I'm still fairly new to comics so maybe I'm just not used to it, but I had to reread panels a few times in some places to get what was going on. But I liked the plot, it was an interesting read.
christajls's review
2.0
This review originally posted at More Than Just Magic
Background
How to give a brief background on Action Comics…. Hmmmm….
Basically it’s one of DC Comic’s flagship titles. It started in 1938 and it is the comic that introduced to the world to Superman. This along with Detective Comics are often considered the beginning of the “Golden Age of Comics” (imagine impressive music playing in the background as you read that). Obviously over the span of so many decades it has changed and evolved under many different writers including, Alan Moore, John Byrne, Neil Gaiman, Gail Simone and Geoff Johns – to name a few. Superman has teamed up with others in the DC Universe, he meets Lois Lane, characters have come and gone and he’s even died! But at it’s heart Action Comics is Superman story throughout the ages.
Hope that sums everything up for you
Story
I’ll be honest with you. I’ve never been a big Superman fan. I watched a lot of Lois & Clark after school growing up and I always thought he was kind of…well..lame. I mean they figured out a way to beat him EVERY EPISODE. How superhero are you? But I understand that Lois & Clark is not a good representation of Superman as a whole and with the new movie coming out this year I thought I should give the New 52 relaunch a try in order to get into the spirit of things.
Now I’ve had a pretty decent experience with the New 52 titles so far. I really enjoyed Aquaman and Batgirl. And since Action Comics has such a sweeping/grand history I thought it would be a great place for a newbie like me to dip her toes in.
Nope.
The story starts out with a younger (I think) Superman holding a man off the edge of the building and informing everyone that he’s here to take care of Metropolis now. We also see some glimpses of young, journalist Lois Lane and Lex Luthor is there scheming something. Scheming what? I have no idea. The story jumps around so quickly and is just all over the place. I found myself re-reading panels to try and figure out what I missed and how we got to this new location/event but was still totally lost. I sort of understood what was happening at the end of the first plot arc, but then the second one kicks in and starts bouncing you like a ball at a tennis match – back and forth between Clark Kent’s childhood and his time on a spaceship with three other superhumans who are never properly introduced. Honestly. I don’t even know the name of the third one. Or what exactly they were trying to do – something about people being in Superman’s brain? I closed the book and my first thought was “What on Earth did I just read?”
Characterization
This was slightly better. Superman is edgier than I ever remember him being – although perhaps a little too extreme at times. I liked the contrast between him and Clark Kent. It was more than just the glasses that set them apart. It was their whole appearance. Kent was a lot nerdier and slouchier. I also appreciated that we got to see some of his childhood and his escape from Krypton, although I would have liked a little more.
We also get quite a bit of Lois Lane and I liked her. She was strong willed and determined (good qualities in a journalist) and didn’t let other people get in her way. We didn’t really see her interact with Superman though so that was kind of a shame.
Beyond that all the other characters were pretty one dimensional. Jimmy Olsen is there but only for a couple of confusing phone calls. All we really know is that he’s friends with Kent. And Luthor is simply presented as your static, greedy, heartless man. There’s got to be more to him than that right?
Artwork
Like a lot of things in this book the artwork was pretty hit or miss. There were some great panels. But then other times people’s facial expressions were really off putting. Or to put it frankly – badly drawn
Final Thoughts
I was really disappointed by my first experience with Action Comics. The story was poorly strung together and though I liked this version of Superman he felt far away, rather than a character directly in front of me. I may pick up Volume 2 to see if some of these issues get resolved. But overall I am still looking for a good Superman comic to win me over.
Background
How to give a brief background on Action Comics…. Hmmmm….
Basically it’s one of DC Comic’s flagship titles. It started in 1938 and it is the comic that introduced to the world to Superman. This along with Detective Comics are often considered the beginning of the “Golden Age of Comics” (imagine impressive music playing in the background as you read that). Obviously over the span of so many decades it has changed and evolved under many different writers including, Alan Moore, John Byrne, Neil Gaiman, Gail Simone and Geoff Johns – to name a few. Superman has teamed up with others in the DC Universe, he meets Lois Lane, characters have come and gone and he’s even died! But at it’s heart Action Comics is Superman story throughout the ages.
Hope that sums everything up for you
Story
I’ll be honest with you. I’ve never been a big Superman fan. I watched a lot of Lois & Clark after school growing up and I always thought he was kind of…well..lame. I mean they figured out a way to beat him EVERY EPISODE. How superhero are you? But I understand that Lois & Clark is not a good representation of Superman as a whole and with the new movie coming out this year I thought I should give the New 52 relaunch a try in order to get into the spirit of things.
Now I’ve had a pretty decent experience with the New 52 titles so far. I really enjoyed Aquaman and Batgirl. And since Action Comics has such a sweeping/grand history I thought it would be a great place for a newbie like me to dip her toes in.
Nope.
The story starts out with a younger (I think) Superman holding a man off the edge of the building and informing everyone that he’s here to take care of Metropolis now. We also see some glimpses of young, journalist Lois Lane and Lex Luthor is there scheming something. Scheming what? I have no idea. The story jumps around so quickly and is just all over the place. I found myself re-reading panels to try and figure out what I missed and how we got to this new location/event but was still totally lost. I sort of understood what was happening at the end of the first plot arc, but then the second one kicks in and starts bouncing you like a ball at a tennis match – back and forth between Clark Kent’s childhood and his time on a spaceship with three other superhumans who are never properly introduced. Honestly. I don’t even know the name of the third one. Or what exactly they were trying to do – something about people being in Superman’s brain? I closed the book and my first thought was “What on Earth did I just read?”
Characterization
This was slightly better. Superman is edgier than I ever remember him being – although perhaps a little too extreme at times. I liked the contrast between him and Clark Kent. It was more than just the glasses that set them apart. It was their whole appearance. Kent was a lot nerdier and slouchier. I also appreciated that we got to see some of his childhood and his escape from Krypton, although I would have liked a little more.
We also get quite a bit of Lois Lane and I liked her. She was strong willed and determined (good qualities in a journalist) and didn’t let other people get in her way. We didn’t really see her interact with Superman though so that was kind of a shame.
Beyond that all the other characters were pretty one dimensional. Jimmy Olsen is there but only for a couple of confusing phone calls. All we really know is that he’s friends with Kent. And Luthor is simply presented as your static, greedy, heartless man. There’s got to be more to him than that right?
Artwork
Like a lot of things in this book the artwork was pretty hit or miss. There were some great panels. But then other times people’s facial expressions were really off putting. Or to put it frankly – badly drawn
Final Thoughts
I was really disappointed by my first experience with Action Comics. The story was poorly strung together and though I liked this version of Superman he felt far away, rather than a character directly in front of me. I may pick up Volume 2 to see if some of these issues get resolved. But overall I am still looking for a good Superman comic to win me over.