Action Comics #862

My sole complaint against Gary Frank's art has been the mannequinesque look of some of the characters. Frank continues to improve and he looks to be hitting his stride this issue. While we get some Superman-bug-eye looks, he has toned it down quite a bit. Geoff Johns continues the "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" this issue and we get to see the Legion Subs in action. As my son stated, that Stone Boy has one lame power. It was cool to see this crew in action again. Johns gets the story and action moving in this issue providing a climax that looks to lead to the freeing of the trapped Legionnaires and, maybe, restoring Superman's powers.

Johns has me guessing a bit on where this is all going. In the short term I think we will see the tide turn and the Legion triumphant but I'm not sure what this all has do with the multiple Legions in the DCU. For now, I'm not worried about continuity and I'm just enjoying a good story.

Action Comics #861

We have reached part four of the "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" arc and the paces slows down a bit for some exposition. The pacing over the first four issues has run hot and cold with the feeling that Geoff Johns may be stretching this into six issues. As a stand alone issue, this issue provides more background and catching up than action. The cover is a bit misleading and doesn't really match what is happening inside the book. Johns really has Superman's voice down and the Legion's reaction when Superman steps into an argument is quite good. Of all of them, I like Johns' Polar Boy the best. Artist Gary Frank continues to do some good work here. The "dead eye" critique mentioned in my last review is somewhat addressed here. It is interesting that Frank's Braniac-5's eyes are full of life while his Superman sometimes get that dead/crack head stare going.

If you've been wondering what is going on with Braniac-5 and what the plan is, this issue begins to answer those questions. It looks like next issue may go into the background of the JLE with part six providing the action-packed climax.

Action Comics #860

Part Three of the "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" story arc has writer Geoff Johns moving the plot forward at a fast pace. While last issue was a bit of a setup issue, this issue propels forward with lots of action and twists and turns. We are half way through this six part story and I am completely engrossed. This LOSH stands in stark contrast to the current monthly version and I'm hoping that Johns can clear this up.

I like Gary Frank's Superman a great deal, but there are times when his character's facial expressions border on mannequinesque. I believe it is in the eyes. There are a few panels where the characters look like they are looking directly at the "camera" and not where they should be. This gives them an almost dead/inanimate look.

Given that little nitpick, this story continues to be an very good read.

Action Comics #859

The return of the Legion of Superheroes continues as Superman, trapped in the 31st century finds that his legacy has not held over time. With exception the short fight between the original three Legion members and Justice League Earth, writer Geoff Johns spends most of this issue setting up the new world order and Superman's place in it. I like his use of the rejected Legionnaires and the school scene where Earth children are shown being indoctrinated in the new world order. Penciller Gary Frank has another excellent outing. However, some of his shocked, open-eyed poses looked a bit mannequin-esque. I do like Frank's realistic depiction of the costumes that the heroes wear - wrinkles and all. He has very good layouts and keeps the story moving forward.

All in all, this issue serves the story well and sets the ground work for what I hope is an action packed climax to this story line. Both Kurt Busiek over in "Superman" and Geoff Johns here in "Action Comics" keep turning out what will be classic Superman stories. Both writers have a love for the Silver Age Superman and it shows in their work.

Action Comics #858

Spinning out of the "Justice League of America" and "Justice Society of America" crossover event "The Lightening Saga", "Action Comics" 858 begins the reintroduction of the Legions of Superheroes into the Superman mythos. I grew up reading "Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes" in the 70s and really enjoyed those adventures. During the 80s I read everything DC put out that had the Legion in it. However, after the excellent "Crisis on Infinite Earths" John Byrne was brought on to restart Superman. One of the big mistakes that he made was the elimination of Superboy from Superman's past. This totally negated any adventures that Superboy had with the Legion. Since then there have been many attempts at jump starting the Legion with varying degrees of success. With "Action Comics" #858, Geoff Johns begins his attempt to clear up this mess. I'm very excited to see both Johns' retcon of Superman's first introduction to the Legion and Jim Shooter's run on the current "Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes" monthly.

Johns has brought a couple of other changes to book as well. John Byrne set Clark Kent up as a football playing "with it" guy and Johns takes Clark back to his origins here as a somewhat goofy "mild mannered" reporter. You can see Donner's influence as Clark comes across much like the Christopher Reeve take on Superman in "Superman: the Movie". It will be interesting to see if Johns' take on Clark migrates to its sister comic "Superman".

I wasn't really impressed with penciller Gary Frank's cover and promotional art for this comic. However, after reading the book I'm excited about his run on the book. Frank captures emotion fairly well and you can see the giddiness in the Legion trio that come back to meet a young Clark. By the end, I was loving Frank's take on the icons of DC presented within.