Written by: Paul Cornell
Art by: Axel Gimenez and Ronan Cliquet
Colours by: Brad Anderson
Letters by: Rob Leigh
Published by: DC
It’s strange to be reading the final issue (of the first volume) of a comic that has been going for so long, but here it is, the last Action Comics issue before the new #1 and the new creative team.
Since Cornell’s run switched focus from Lex Luthor back to Superman with the milestone #900, the comic simply hasn’t been as good. Doomsday isn’t a particularly interesting character (mainly because he’s only good at punching things) and just having more than one Doomsday makes no difference.
I also don’t think Cornell writes Superman as well as, dare I say, more complex characters, though this may be because the stories have been more action focused for the Reign of the Doomsdays arc; there’s too much battle dialogue to do anything interesting.
However, this comic is worth buying, not just because it is the final issue of Action Comics volume 1, but for the final four pages. A simple scene where Lois and Clark have dinner together, a scene where everything great about Superman and Clark is summed up by Lois, actually making me a little sad to see the marriage of Lois and Clark go, but at least giving the couple a most welcome sentimental ending before the changes for the re-launch arrive.
The two artists do a good job; there is something about Superman, his costume, his virtuousness, that is right and he always looks heroic. Gimenez handles the action packed majority, while Cliquet takes the quiet end, with much better cohesion and higher quality than other recent issues that have had to use multiple artists.
Even if the last four pages are considerably more enjoyable than the preceding sixteen, Cornell has given Action Comics historic first volume an excellent goodbye and that’s really all we could have wanted.
8/10
