Review: Action Comics #1088
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoi…oh, darn, it ABSOLUTELY contains spoilers]
Writer: Mark Waid
Art: Skylar Patridge
Colors: Ivan Plascencia
Letters: Steve Wands
Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
Clarks attends his first day at Smallville High School and Superboy appears in Smallville for the first time. They couldn’t be related, could they?
Positives
Well, it’s hard to know where to begin, but I’ll give it a shot. It’s pretty simple really; Mark Waid focuses Action Comics #1088 on CHARACTER and CHARACTER drives the story. So well in fact, that he’s able to win over this old Superboy reader who will have a few things to say below in “negatives” section. This is the secret to reinventing the wheel. It’s never necessary to reinvent the wheel, but when you do it has to come through the character and still embody the core of the character. Waid does this wonderfully in this issue.
Waid maintains Ma and Pa Kent’s role in Clark’s life and introduces Pete Ross and Lana Lang into this version of Clark’s boyhood very well. With Lana, this contemporary interpretation is able to bring out more in Clark’s awareness of Lana’s burgeoning womanhood. Lana’s not a little girl and it’s incredibly fun to see Clark’s reaction. I wonder how strong Clark’s Super-hormones are?
Positives Cont’d
Waid balances Action Comics #1088 with a classic disaster that requires Superboy to save his high school, and there’s also a great use of the classic “Superboy” logo. As Clark explores his powers, Waid never lets the reader forget what it’s like for Clark. From not quite having fully developed powers to the issues of navigation for long distance flying, Waid makes it interesting and makes it make sense. It’s just some small details, but they are small details that MATTER and really bring the moments to life for the reader. These moments connect the extraordinary with the ordinary
Skylar Patridge turns in a really nice job on the art and storytelling. Patridge evokes all the motions from excitement to anger that again connect the extraordinary with the ordinary. How can the average person relate to Superboy? Like this…with this recognizable emotion!
At the end of the issue Waid throws the reader a surprise and a reveal for readers who will recognize Clark’s teacher by his last name- Blake. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb, but I feel pretty certain that this teacher who has figured out that Clark is Superboy after his first appearance in Smallville is none other than Adam Blake- Captain Comet, an infrequently used space hero who first appeared in the 1950’s. Maybe this will bring about a collection in the DC Finest line of his earliest adventures!
Negatives
As I pointed out last issue, for a longtime reader, it’s difficult to see Ma and Pa so young…and attractive? Instead of finding Clark when they were an older couple, it appears that Jonathan and Martha found him when they were in … high school?!?!?!?! I mean they are YOUNG. It’s a different visual vocabulary for Ma and Pa and it’s startling. A large part of me would like to see more of the classic visual representation incorporated into the stories, but I completely understand WHY; it’s a new interpretation of classic elements.
Verdict
Action Comics #1088 isn’t just a great comic, it’s FUN. I mean REALLY FUN. It’s also entertaining and a perfect form of escapist entertainment. Despite a few details that wrankle this old reader, this issue by Waid and Patridge is top notch! Grinning ear to ear and gasping with fun and excitement, everything is done right for what it is and it also transcends the differences as it is a shining example of how to update without losing what’s important. Let’s hope this runs for a longtime in either Action Comics or maybe that relaunch of Adventure Comics with issue #530? Wish I had an extra 1/4 icon to make this 9.5/10!
