Dissecting the Man of Steel

Dissecting the Man of Steel
Review of Action Comics #2
By: Andrew Hines


     The question of Superman's limits has long been pondered by fans around the world.  What sorts of punishment can the Last Son of Krypton take?  We know, at this point what his physical capabilities are and what he can dish out.  Can he stand up to thousands of of volts of electricity at this point or will the Man of Steel end up as crispy as Colonel Sanders' original recipe?  In this issue, that's mostly what we'll be facing as we see the birth of one villain and the engineer of Superman's current predicament.

Grant Morrison is again a writer to be reckoned with in this follow-up to the new Action Comics.  Morrison even includes some familiar faces key to the Superman mythos.  As we begin to go deeper into the story, we find out more about various characters, including: Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, John Henry Irons,  and John Corben.  While most already know Luthor and Lois, it's nice to see an old acquaintances like the men who will become Steel and the villain Metallo.  While we get mere glimpses of them, Morrison shows his skill at foreshadowing events to come.  We also get to see more of Luthor's ego than we ever have before.

Rags Morales shows more of his artistic talent in the details of this issue.  From the cuts and bruises on Superman to the crackling electricity, we see every bit of what is going on in the panels.  While Morrison spins his yarns on the Man of Steel, Morales keeps pace every step of the way in the panels he illustrates.  Few have ever been able to keep up with Morrison and render visuals equivalent to the stories being told. Morales delivers in spades at every turn of the page.

For both the wordsmith and the artist, this issue receives a 9.0 out of 10.

Action Comics #2 cover:
http://www.comicartcommunity.com/gallery/details.php?image_id=42652