Action Comics #1053
Metallo’s attacks intensify, Doombreaker finds a bone shard as Jon and the princess get into even more trouble, and Power Girl finally sees who’s been after her, Clark and Lois confront Doombreaker, and Power Girl and Jon Kent learn the secret of who’s after Power Girl in Action Comics #1053, by writers Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Dan Jurgens, and Leah Williams, artists Rafa Sandoval, Lee Weeks, and Marguerite Sauvage, colorists Matt Herms and Elizabeth Breitweiser, and letterers Dave Sharpe, Rob Leigh, and Becca Carey. All three stories give readers more than their money’s worth.
In the main, Steel is attacked by Metallo’s drones at Steelworks. The Superman family comes to the rescue, but Supergirl is injured in the battle, forcing Superboy to take her to Kelex. Later at the Kent apartment, Clark and Lois leave Jon in charge of Osul and Otho. Jon and Otho have a great conversation, but they miss Osul leaving. The next time they see her is on TV, having killed a Blue Earth protestor. In the second story, Superman and Lois deal with Doombreaker, who eventually gets his hands on Doomsday’s bone shard, as Jon and the princess try to escape from captivity. Unfortunately, Jon makes things worse, causing the ship to start to crash. In the third story, Power Girl and Jon take a trip through his brain. As they follow the clues to who’s been trying to get in touch with PG, Jon tries to clue PG in that she’s a part of the Superman family, something she denies. Eventually, with the help of Omen, they find out who was trying to get to PG: Johnny Sorrow.
As usual, the book goes in exactly the way every issue so far has: the Power Girl story is the best, the main story is second best, and the middle story is okay. In fact, if anything, the middle chapter is at its weakest. It’s not bad, per se, but it definitely feels like it’s the most meaningless story. Compared to the other two stories, it doesn’t really stand with their quality.
The first story is the action blockbuster of the bunch, but Johnson still manages to show some heart, from Superboy’s concern for Supergirl to Kenan asking Superman why he fights so hard to save his enemies. The conversation between Jon and Otho is nice as well, digging into Jon in a way that readers haven’t gotten in a while. Jon is the primary mover of all three stories, each one focusing on another facet of him. The last story sees the idealistic Jon breaking like the waves against the shore of Power Girl. Williams gets how to use all three characters in this story, and the final reveal is a wonderful surprise for longtime DC fans.
While the writing in the middle story isn’t as good as the other two, the art is better than the first, at least. Weeks and Breitweiser are doing a classic DC, Joe Kubert style thing that works so well for the story, all with Weeks’s unique style anchoring the whole thing. Sandoval’s art is the weakest in the book, which is a shame because he’s usually such a strong artist. Sauvage is the MVP, but that’s become normal. Her page layouts are to die for, and the way she sets the scenes inside of Jon’s mind is amazing. She has the goods, and the work never flags at all.
Action Comics #1053 is yet another Superman spectacular. The middle story is weaker than usual, but the other two are still great. Williams and Sauvage are the highlight, with their story ending in the upcoming Power Girl special. However, no matter how it breaks down, this comic is a treat.