Scans: Action Comics, Stormwatch

[mithen]

Action Comics #1:  Written by Grant Morrison;  Art by Rags Morales
Stormwatch #1:  Written by Paul Cornell;  Art by Miguel Sepulveda

Two of the big titles I've been waiting for came out last week.  I'm not one for making quick judgments based on one issue, but there are promising trends in both of them, so we'll see!

A couple of things that are new

Comments

[bluejeans07]

Oh Midnighter, that's one helluva pick-up line XD

[mithen]

IT REALLY IS. As superhero/vigilante romances go, that's a first line for the record books. :) Who could resist him?

[misaki_kaito]

Oh, MIDNIGHTER! The belts! The spikes! *swoon*

Now, if only Apollo grew out his hair...

[mithen]

It's never too late for Apollo to grow out his hair! Come on, Cornell! Give the fangirls what they want! :)

[misaki_kaito]

NO, but seriously, Apollo should grow out his hair, and Midnighter needs a trenchcoat. ASAP.

[mithen]

I miss the trenchcoat very much! Those shoulder spikes make it a little untenable... so much mending. :)

[tabru]

OH MIDNIGHTER. YOU KNOW HOW TO WIN A GUY'S HEART, DONTCHA? Murdering criminals = epic first date. :D

I actually really enjoyed both of these titles. Trying not to make any judgements until a few more issues, but I'm honestly pleased.

The Stormwatch plot is confusing because it directly ties-in with the plot of Superman #1, which obviously hasn't come out yet. Maybe once that is out, Stormwatch will make more sense...? LOL.

But yeah, let's be honest, it was all about the Apollo/Midnighter for me, and Cornell's nod to slash fans made me giddy. :D

Ooo oh oh oh also, have you noticed the Spooky Hooded Lady who shows up in the background of all the new 52 issues?

[mithen]

Murdering criminals = epic first date. :D

I can totally see it in the future, with Jenny being like "Daddy, tell me how you met again?" and Apollo saying "Oh, he knocked out a bunch of people who were harassing me and then we went out for a lovely evening together. We killed three white slavers, four rapists and a bunch of KKK members. *sigh* It was so romantic."

I actually really enjoyed both of these titles. Trying not to make any judgements until a few more issues, but I'm honestly pleased.

I don't feel comfortable saying anything solid until a few more issues have played out, but there's a lot there to be intrigued by! It does seem likely that the plot will make more sense when we find out what happened in Superman #1, but until I know what's going on (and perhaps even if I never do) I will be all about the epic romance

[mithen]

The art is kind of hit-or-miss for me. Like Frank Quitely's art, I admire the dynamism and action he captures (like that shot of Clark stopping the wrecking ball is impressively visceral, somehow), but I don't always like the way he does faces. Clark's age seems to fluctuate between about 18 and about 30 in different shots, for example, which is especially annoying for someone who's fretting about his age relative to Bruce and trying to pin them down a bit! :P

[mithen]

Oh, that does help! Thanks for sharing that, it means a lot to try and get the ages close to correct, somehow (I really wouldn't want Clark and Bruce to have a big age difference...)

[ilovetobefree]

I'm not positive I like it myself, but having read the first few years of Action Comics, I can say this take is a direct update of those stories, in which Superman was a crusader for social justice and the dispossessed, knocking the heads of slumlords, wife abusers, and price gougers preying on the poor.
I’ve read only two or three issues and some scans of the old comics, but I agree with you - AC #1 reminds me them a lot. Though I have to say, I like Morrison’s Clark/Superman and AC #1 story better than the old ones. :)

Ahhhh, the "people stand up for the hero" scene, I always love that.
Yeah, the scene made me soooo happy. :D

and that's what Luthor is testing, of course
Grrrr, I hate Luthor for what he is (and I'm sure he will be) doing to Clark. But he was good in this story, IMO.

”Don’t get in trouble on my account. If you need me... I’ll be around
Loved that. :)

Clark changes and hurries home, where we find out that he's been crusading as a reporter too, of course.
AWWWW Clark as a reporter. *happy smile*

"his three

[mithen]

Though I have to say, I like Morrison’s Clark/Superman and AC #1 story better than the old ones. :)

Ha, I know! When I read those very old ones I just started laughing at what a gigantic jerk Superman was to everyone! It was kind of hilarious, but I wouldn't like him to be like that in canon anymore!

I’m so used to thinking of Lana and Pete as Clark’s best friends, (I was like: “A blond girl? And two boys??”) that I totally forgot about about the members of the Legion! I confess I didn't realize it was probably them until I read it somewhere else

[snake_easing]

The main problem with the Authority was that they were insanely overpowered. Like the Justice League but worse, even.

Midnighter's power was that he could beat anyone, practically. Apollo's power was being off-brand Superman. Jenny's power was that she could do anything. The Doctor's power was that he could do anything (so long as he could think of it poetically).

It was amazing to me how many writers didn't understand the problem of them being overpowered. Ellis ended his run with them fighting and defeating God (God was an alien in this case). He had to know that nobody could follow that with anything good, and no one ever did, really. Then one of the later writers added a character to the team who had the power to raise the dead. (Though, frankly, Jenny and the Doctor could probably do that too.) Just power on top of power. It gets to be too much. They could never face anything real-world without it being ridiculous.

[mithen]

It does almost sound like Ellis deliberately dead-ending any future writers! I'll be curious to see how they get around that in this title...Apollo they can just sort of tone down, and I guess they could just make Midnighter an advanced Cass Cain of sorts, but Jenny is clearly already nearly-unlimited in power, it's going to be hard to rein that in.