Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Action Comics #1055 Review

   


Written by: Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Dan Jurgens, Dorado Quick
Art by: Rafa Sondoval, Lee Weeks, Yasmin Flores, Montanez
Colors by: Matt Herms, Elizabeth Breitweiser, Brad Anderson
Letters by: Dave Sharpe, Rob Leigh
Cover art by: Sebastian Fiumara
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: May 23, 2023


Action Comics #1055 delivers three tales of Super Adventure when the Super-family faces off with a resurrected Cyborg Superman, Superman battles Doombreaker while young Jon Kent is held hostage by an alien princess, and Conner Kent lends a hand to the Steelworks repairs.
Is It Good?

Well, two out of three ain't bad. As with most anthology comics, you can expect some hits and some misses. Phillip Kenedy Johns and Dan Jurgens deliver the goods, but the Steel story from Dorado Quick is a big miss.

Tech Alive

The Super Family takes unprecedented steps to find Tracy Corben, who's been kidnapped by Hank Henshaw aka Cyborg Superman. When the Family reluctantly teams up with Metallo and...the Eradicator (?), the odds shift in their favor until the rescue takes an unexpected turn.

Yeah, that's the stuff right there. Phillip Kennedy Johnson is doing one thing in this series incredibly well - he's giving you a lot of characters stuffed into a single issue, but every character contributes to the plot and has a moment to shine. Plus, the twists, turns, and Easter Eggs in this issue are sure to make Reign of the Supermen fans very happy.

As a bonus, Rafa Sandoval's artwork, combined with Matt Herms's colors, looks great. This story is the best in the book.

    



Home Again, Part 5

Superman continues his battle with Doombreaker while Lois goes looking for young Jon Kent. During her search, Lois discovers Princess Glyanna's crashed ship continuing a message for Superman - put down the uprising on her world or never see your son again.

In the previous reviews, I predicted something was fishy about Princess Glyanna, and now we get the straight poop on her plans for Superman. Capturing Jon Kent creates relatable layers of dramatic tension for Superman, putting him in a scenario where it seems impossible to solve the problem without hurting someone. That said, the minor down point is the ease with which Lois "helped" Superman defeat Doombreaker, whose presence in this story seems unnecessary.


   




Engineer of Tomorrow, Part 2



John Henry Irons commences a presentation, complete with a live demonstration, to the Metropolis Future Fund Board of Trustees with a proactive plan of protection. John intends to create mechanized forces and power-distributing force fields throughout the city to serve and protect the people. Unfortunately, not everyone is interested in John's plans for the right reasons.


Oh, boy. The first part of this story by Dorado Quick showed potential, but Part 2 is where the flaws become too big to ignore. The dialog, particularly from Nat, who is supposed to be a surprisingly mature tech genius in her own right, is stereotypical almost to the point of being racist. John's plan sounds like a Socialist college student's wet dream. And the tech explanation Quick uses for John's plan would make an Engineer weep.

The art's decent enough, and the conspiracy behind Mercy's plans for John's tech is intriguing, but the rest of this chapter is achingly bad.


About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces:

Well, two out of three ain't bad. Action Comics #1055 delivers an impressive ensemble story that will make Reign of the Supermen fans giddy. Dan Jurgens's chapter about a teenage despot who kidnaps young Jon Kent has solid action and an interesting moral dilemma. But Dorado Quick's Steel story is all kinds of terrible.

8/10



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