DC Comics reviews 8/24/21 – Robin #5, Checkmate #3

Action Comics #1034

Part Five of Warworld Rising finally felt like the breaking point for this arc. It’s no slight on the quality work from writer Philip Kennedy Johnson so much as the Superman titles are in a weird state of flux now. Jonathan Kent has his own title with Clark Kent seemingly gone and in Superman and The Authority, an older Superman is assembling a new team to face some unrevealed threat.

That places Action Comics in a position of feeling too irrelevant. There’s no real space for this arc to matter now. Kennedy does craft some solid moments like the face off between the Atlanteans and the US Navy with Superman, Jon and Supergirl caught in the middle. And Mongul’s goons invade the Fortress of Solitude. It’s just hard to shake the sense that this story won’t mean much even a few months from now.

Christian Duce’s art was very solid this issue wonderfully capturing the tension during the standoff and the uneasiness in the Fortress. Adriano Lucas’ vibrant colors help provide an extra oomph to the visuals.

Action Comics is in a bad holding pattern while the Superman titles reset once again, which doesn’t feel fair to the creative team, who’ve set up an intriguing conflict. It’s too bad it feels like it will be forgotten shortly.

Rating: 8 out of 10