Action Comics #17 Review

Action Comics #17 is what would have been the final chapter of Grant Morrison's run if it hadn't recently been expanded by another issue. And my first thought after finishing this issue was that expanding the story was a very good idea. Morrison juggles a great many plot threads in these pages, resolving various loose ends and building towards the big finale. The thought of him doing all that and then actually having to include said finale in there too is not pretty.

Morrison's narrative becomes even more fractured and nonlinear in this penultimate chapter. Nonlinear scripts aren't exactly a rarity in this industry, but Morrison still handles them better than most writers. And this approach is justified given that the main villain of the series is an imp from another dimension who has been manipulating Superman's entire history. The focus continuously shifts from the epic battle between Superman and Super-Doom to various key points in Clark's past to the efforts by the Legion of Super-Heroes to undo the damage to the timestream. These frequent visits to the past serve to establish and reinforce various story connections and generally put Morrison's run into its full, proper context. I enjoyed how even seemingly innocuous stories like the #0 issue are revealed to have their crucial place in the larger puzzle.

Even in its weaker moments, this run has been bolstered by Morrison's rock solid portrayal of Superman. That certainly doesn't change here. These pages really hammer home the idea that Superman always does the right thing, even on the brink of death, because that's just what Superman does. However, I wasn't entirely sold on Morrison's portrayal of the death of Jonathan and Martha Kent. Jonathan's parting words were a little too on-the-nose, and the whole sequence was a bit too melodramatic.

This issue once again sees Brad Walker and Rags Morales divide pages, with an emphasis on Walker. The best that can be said is that the constantly shifting narrative leaves plenty of room for visual shifts. Walker's pages are generally fine, aside from the sometimes odd anatomy and facial structure. But Morales delivers the same loose, rushed worked that we've seen for most of the run. I really hope Morales' next DC book isn't a monthly project, but rather something that will allow him the time to deliver his best work.

The backup feature this month ranks among the better efforts from Sholly Fisch. Part of this is thanks to artist Chris Sprouse, who takes to Superman like a fish to water. But the script is heartfelt in its own right as it explores the last meeting between Clark and his father. The time travel aspect makes it a bit redundant in light of Morrison's All-Star Superman #6, but it works well nonetheless. The only problem? An editor's caption explains that the backup is meant to take place after Action Comics #18. Clearly the last-minute addition of that final chapter messed up the flow of the series, but couldn't this strip have been saved until then?

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com