Review: Action Comics #1093
[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
Threats of forclusure hit Smallville, but the Boy of Steel thinks there’s something rotten in Denmark…er, the Smallville Bank and Trust. Is he right?
Positives
Mark Waid knows how to craft a single issue story while still contributing to the overall forward movement of subplots. Action Comics #1093 is a great example of Waid’s ability to tell a Bronze Age style single issue story and also have it impact the larger scope of the series. I’m definitely drawn to this style of storytelling. It’s classic and effective. Comics need more of this. It allows a new reader to get a complete story as well as an introduction to the cast and larger scope of things without feeling like they’ve been dropped into the middle of an epic. However, don’t mistake it…Waid is also playing the long game as he and artist Skylar Patridge are exploring the development of young Clark Kent as Superboy. Clark’s abilit to use his brains instead of his brawn is a clever and significant moment.
Some of the exceptional details in Action Comics #1093 are the role of Pete Ross in this story, both for his outward actions, but also the sense that he may have just saved Clark from revealing his secret identity. It’s a subtle moment, and possibly misinterpreted, but also something that would echo the original Superboy stories of the Silver Age.
Skylar Patridge continues to show she’s the right artist for this series. There’s an emotional range in the characters that she communicates effectively, but also a range of tone throughout that she evokes effectively. It’s a comforting thing to see her art when opening to page one. Her contributions are equally important to Waid’s script as she makes the reader feel Clark’s cognition, contemplation and … appetite.
Finally, the last couple pages promise an even bigger moral dilemma for Superboy as General Lane is revealed to be working on his own “use” of Clark’s powers.
Negatives
This is one of DC’s best books right now, so it’s hard to find a negative.
Verdict
Action Comics #1093 is another excellent single issue story, something we don’t get enough of these days. It not only features great art from Patridge, but Waid continues to explore Clark’s moral development. He’s not afraid to show the inner struggle and temptation and Clark’s mistakes. You really shouldn’t be missing this.
