After a battle with the Invisible Mafia, Superman and his family reflect on the present and the future as Brian Michael Bendis ends his run with the Man of Steel.
Action Comics 1028
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils by John Romita Jr.
Inks by Klaus Janson
Colors by Brad Anderson
When Bendis took over the reins of the Superman books, I was a little hesitant, because I had really enjoyed Action Comics under Dan Jurgens. But while I wasn’t keen on some of his decisions – I’m still not sure I like the idea of aging son Jon Kent to 18 – but overall, it’s been a great ride. In the main Superman book, Bendis focused on large-scale stories bringing Superman into space.
But it was in Action Comics that the hero really shined, I thought. It was in Action Comics that Bendis put a big focus on the supporting cast at the Daily Planet. His final arc, where a mob boss purchased the storied newspaper and Perry White, Lois Lane and Clark Kent needed to find a way to bring her down.
Of course, our heroes came out on top after the authorities came down on the Planet and tried to seize everything while trying to build a case. The feds might not have let the Daily Planet staff off so easily if not for the timely intervention of photographer JIMMY OLSEN. At the end of his own series, the bumbling red head discovered he was filthy rich and used the money to buy the Planet.
The revelation didn’t exactly sit well with my favorite editor, but thankfully Olsen has a healthy respect for his former boss.
I’m going to miss Bendis’ run mainly for how he prioritized the Daily Planet staff and made them an important part of Superman’s every day stories, even after Superman REVEALED he was really Clark Kent.
The parts of Bendis’ final issue that took place outside of the newsroom were taken up by the Super-family spending some quality time helping people around the world and each other. They even stop to have some tacos with Batman and Robin! Batman stood in the middle of the street eating a taco in the middle of the day! Man, I would have loved to have seen more of that.
Maybe someday…
We also got some big news about his clone, the recently-returned Conner Kent. Mr. Terrific and Ray Palmer reveal that it’s possible that Conner may lose his powers, but maybe not. He’s a clone, of course, so there’s no way of knowing. Hopefully, somebody picks up that thread of my favorite Superboy in the new DC Universe to come.
To wrap things up, the book’s creative team gave readers one of their standard looks at a newsroom cubicle. Usually, the cubicle is covered with messages and post-it notes that clue to other things going on in the world of DC Comics, but this time, Bendis and friends use it to say thanks and goodbye to readers.
I like to think the message that says, “Thank all the fans! Especially superfans with themed websites” was a direct shout out to the Geekery. You’re welcome, Brian! And thank you!