I just read the new Action Comics #3 and Superman #3.
Let's start with Action with the preface that I'm not a fan of Grant Morrison. Surprisingly, though, the writing in this issue was decent and easy enough to follow. (I guess Morrison took a break from the crackpipe to write this issue.) I'm disappointed, though, that neither Superman nor Clark Kent isn't liked. Superman for being new, different, and a bit scary to the public; reporter Clark Kent for trying to right the wrongs of the city by uncovering corruption. Neither of these characters are the characters that I've known my entire life, so it's really difficult to accept this as the "new normal." Lastly, why is DC charging $3.99 for Action Comics when we don't get any more story than a $2.99 comic? "Filler" that is basically marketing for other Superman-related comics in the New 52 doesn't constitute an additional $1 upcharge to me.
I liked Superman #3 better than the first two issues of the latest Man of Steel reboot. The story seemed to flow and move along quicker. While I appreciate that writer George Perez gave us more story for our $2.99 in issues #1 and #2, thanks to his throwback to the 80s with his tiny panels with lots of dialogue, it also made for stories that dragged on longer than they should have. It was also fantastic to see Nicola Scott's return to a monthly comic! I love her detailed, realistic, beautiful artwork and I think she's among the Top 5 current comic book artists. (And Superman's ass looks fantastic on the cover.) But Ma and Pa Kent both dead already? What reason does Clark have to return to Smallville in the future? His visits to Smallville were always comforting. Now it just seems he'll be a brooding superhero a la Batman.
All in all, the enthusiasm of "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" seems lost on Superman in the New 52. He's no longer exciting to people, he's just plain alien.
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