Review: Action Comics #1087
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Mark Waid
Art: Skylar Patridge
Colors: Ivan Plascencia
Letters: Steve Wands
Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
It’s Clark Kent’s 15th Birthday and he visits Metropolis with his parents and Superboy must make his debut as a terrorist attack strikes the Expo of Tomorrow!
Positives
It’s been a very long time since Clark Kent’s career as Superboy has been canon. All the way back to before the Crisis on Infinite Earths. While Geoff Johns did return his career as Superboy in the Legion of Super-Heroes and a mysterious red and blue streak around Smallville, it’s been 40 years almost since Superman was Superboy publicly in continuity. For an old reader like me, Action Comics #1087 is a huge thing…a hugely wonderful thing.
For better or for worse, Mark Waid doesn’t try to retrofit all the stories from the past, some which have been reprinted recently in DC Finest: Superboy- The Super-Dog from Krypton. It is a fine collection of stories from the mid-1950’s, a period that doesn’t often get the reprint treatment. While certainly Krypto will play a role in this new set of Superboy stories, Waid is setting this new series in a more modern context (and so far) isn’t referencing anything specific. However, it is interesting that Smallville seems to be close enough to Metropolis for a day trip! Smallville may not be in Kansas anymore, and it certainly wasn’t before Superman: The Movie. In the comics Metropolis was the big city NEAR Smallville, but it wasn’t in Kansas.
Positives Cont’d
One thing Waid does in this new telling of Superboy’s history is weave in how the Golden Age “mystery men” of the All-Star Squadron, Justice Society and Law’s Legionnaires (aka Seven Soldiers of Victory) are viewed. Clark is no longer the first super-hero of his world and in this continuity he can be inspired by those heroes of the past. Interestingly, the set up puts Clark as the first of a New Age of heroes, and the older ones are mostly forgotten with no interim characters bridging the gap. There is a gap, much like the real gap between Silver and Golden Ages of Comics. Waid seems to be purposely developing a new continuity. Since he will be writing the upcoming New History of the DC Universe, it not only makes sense, but makes changes more palatable as he isn’t writing over something, but sort of starting from the beginning of Superboy’s/ Superman’s history. Young Ma and Pa Kent are as disarming as Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May. If anything, this feels like the beginning of a “Dawn of DC” or “All In” initiative more than anything else DC has done in recent years.
Skylar Patridge brings the fun and exciting moments from Waid’s script to life effectively. There’s a Silver Age flair to things, but not overwhelmingly. Patridge seems to have adjusted her style slightly. However, there’s lots of great facial expressions that communicate Clark’s wide range of emotions in Action Comics #1087. The action is depicted well in addition to there being an intriguing mystery on the final page. Waid sets up some upcoming conflict at the end as well as seeding the issue with the obvious challenges that will come with Clark revealing Superboy to the world. And, with all the talk of the world of Tomorrow, it’s hard not to feel the Legion of Super-Heroes waiting to appear.
Negatives
If anything stands out, it’s the difference in Patridge’s art style. It’s looser and has a different finish. Despite there being no credited inker, it has the look that someone besides Patridge finished the story or that Patridge just did breakdowns instead of fully penciling and inking the issue. It’s not really a negative, it’s just not what was expected. Patridge’s work on the recent Supergirl back ups in Action Comics have a tighter look.
Verdict
Waid and artist Skylar Patridge combine for a fun story with lots of excitement in Action Comics #1087. There’s a new beginning here, and while that could’ve been a big turnoff, the fun and Silver Age feel to Superman’s beginnings as Superboy are executed effectively executed. It’s ok to have a continuity shift, an updating, and Waid and Patridge are doing it the right way here. But, shouldn’t this really have been in Adventure Comics #530?
