The Invisible Mafia plays their next card in Action Comics #1025, by writer Brian Michael Bendis, artist John Romita Jr, inker Klaus Janson, colorist Brad Anderson, and letterer Dave Sharpe. Bendis keeps upping the stakes in the battle between Superman and the Invisible Mafia, and it’s quite entertaining.

In flashback, two women meet at a diner and talk about leaving. Outside, the Justice League is having a fight with some villains, and one of the women says they need to get off this Earth. In the present, Superman sends Lois a story about the death of Melody Moore and the Invisible Mafia’s hand in it, as he, Superboy, Brainiac, Supergirl, and Conner investigate an abandoned building. At STAR Labs, Red Cloud meets up with Dr. Glory, and they play an ace in the hole- the Parasite of another Earth, one who killed the Superman of its world. Superman gets a bead on it, and he and the rest of the Superman family go after it, with Conner attacking it before it can get to Superman. At the Daily Planet, Lois asks the FBI if they can publish the story Clark sent over as Marisol Leone comes in and accuses Lois of being from another Earth. Just then, Superboy busts in and tells his mom to evacuate the building.

Bendis is taking this story in some interesting places. The flashback, the introduction of a Parasite from another Earth, and Leone accusing Lois of being from another Earth in the multiverse all seem to be leading to somewhere readers probably haven’t expected. One of the women in the beginning flashback could be Leone, but the question is, who is the other woman? She’s blonde, so she could be Dr. Glory from STAR Labs, who is offering to take Leone somewhere, possibly another Earth. However, the question comes in what Earth are these women from? Did they come to this Earth from another? This is all super intriguing.

Of course, this is a Bendis comic, so there isn’t a lot of action. There’s a little bit against the Parasite, but it’s not really anything to write home about. However, unlike some other Bendis comics, this one doesn’t feel bogged down by all of the dialogue. The story is well-paced, which isn’t something one can always say with a Bendis comic. It feels like he’s wrapping everything up into a little bow as his run on the book comes to an end, and it works very well.

John Romita Jr is having another one of his off issues. It’s a problem with latter-day Romita Jr- some issues, he’s knocking out of the park, and the next one usually suffers a bit. This is that. It’s mostly his figure work, especially ones in the background. Most of the foreground characters look good, with some faces being an exception, but those in the background suffer a bit.

Action Comics #1025 is one of those times when it being a cliche Bendis comic works out very well. It’s full of dialogue, but it’s well-paced. There could be more action, but overall it doesn’t hurt the book that there isn’t any, and seeing as how this is one of Romita Jr’s off issues artistically, it’s good that there isn’t any big action scene. All in all, this is an entertaining comic that will leave readers waiting to see how it all shakes out.

Grade: B