Doom reigns in the universe. Even in Metropolis. From all sides, Superman is being attacked and threatened with no way to stop it. Minor spoilers for Action Comics #1017 follow.
After focusing so much on the Invisible Mafia and Leviathan during the first year and a half, Action Comics seems to be taking a turn into more traditional Superman territory. That doesn’t mean that what has been building so far is thrown away. In fact, things get even more intertwined in this issue. This is the biggest strength of this issue, but also its biggest weakness.
This issue feels like it’s the most action-packed issue of Action Comics since Brian Michael Bendis took over. This may seem like an odd thing to say given the name of the series, but it’s true. A good portion of this issue is dedicated to action. However, it’s also balanced with the journalistic side, which the series has been excelling at. Finding the balance that this issue does is rare and it pulls it off incredibly well, leaving neither aspect wanting.
The problem of this issue lies in the way that the story is told. There’s a lot going on and at time the issue can jump around with no true transition to the next scene. For one transition, this works well as it puts the reader into Superman’s shoes. However, the rest of the issue can lead to confusion once a scene changes. It doesn’t help that there are a couple of jumps in time as well.
When it comes to the art in this issue though, it’s generally the best part. For me, John Romita Jr. is very hit or miss and thankfully, I very much liked his art in this issue. He’s someone who’s a veteran of the comic book industry so really, you know what you’re getting from him. Clean linework that’s very stylized. What it comes down to is whether his style works for the book that he’s working on and it does in this in issue. There are little things throughout the issue that effectively build the world and bring a cinematic feeling to the story.