“Truth” has begun in the pages of Action Comics. Superman has been depowered and his secret identity has been revealed. Quite frankly, this has all the makings of being a boring retread. Heck, some parts of “Truth” may end up as just that. However, Greg Pak appears to be taking an intimate and character-driven angle by sending Clark back home of all places. Here we get to see not how the revelation of his identity is affecting him, but how it changed those who lived near him.
Quite frankly, going from an opening of a hurt, lost, and confused Superman to a Superman who kids are jumping on out of excitement is a fun and uplifting experience. Superman’s road trip home and the actual interaction with the locals are all a setup for a monster attack and a planned police raid on Superman’s former home.
Positives
Greg Pak is quite good at injecting nice bits of hope into his Superman stories. Even with this down-on-his-luck Superman, he still manages a good amount of feel-good into the tale. Even though nearly half the book is just setting up the status quo and getting Superman back to Metropolis, the pacing here feels great. Things keep moving forward and there is surprisingly little action present in this issue of Action Comics. But it works out well as Pak wonderfully makes this issue all about character. Aaron Kuder continues to put out excellent pencils here, but the colorists’ (Morey and Hi-Fi) work on the block party makes the art really shine.
Negatives
“Truth” seems like it is sup
posed to be a mystery. I think. This issue has you wondering why Lois outed Superman, but the details are quite annoyingly absent. In fact, the book basically makes a point to tell you that that aspect of the story will not be found here in Action Comics. Hopefully, future issues feel like they are standing more on this character story, rather than some mysterious events that happened in issues that aren’t out now or won’t be out for several weeks.
The Verdict
Pak delivers a solid opening to “Truth” in Action Comics. But it is still uncertain if this Superman story will be able to stand alone like promised.
