Comic Book Review: Action Comics #892

Literary & Artistic Credits

Writer: Paul Cornell

Artists: Pete Woods & Pere Perez

Colorist: Brad Anderson

Letterer: Rob Leigh

Cover Art: David Finch, Joe Weems, Peter Steigerwald

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

Again I say, it’s the bad guy comics that are making a huge statement in the comic book world.  Cornell’s Lex Luthor within the pages of Action Comics is the best characterization of the brilliant billionaire tyrant since Superman: Birthright.  Cornell is bringing us a redefined Lex Luthor, one that has a strange sense of insecurity and a lack of self control.  The events of Blackest Night have seem to really put things into perspective for Luthor and now he hopes to achieve all of his selfish goals without loosing himself again.

Cornell is doing a fantastic job with this new string of Action Comics, and being on the verge of hitting that proverbial 900^th issue, this is exactly the type of new direction this title needs.  As Luthor tries with all his might to use his noggin’ before jumping into a situation seems to be a rather difficult thing for him to accomplish.  It’s interesting to see how Lex deals with these character changes and how humbling it seems to be for him.  I even saw Lex as a good guy in certain moments of this issue.  That is, until Slade Wilson lost his marbles and went rushing after Luthor with murderous intentions, then the familiar Luthor came out with a smiling vengeance.  It was fun to see Luthor bounce back and forth from utter confidence to uncertainty.  DC seems to be going on a redefining shopping spree; Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, now Lex Luthor, they all are being recast and reformatted for a new generation, and it looks as if Cornell is right on track in giving us a new Lex Luthor.

Great storytelling and new literary direction can’t be the only thing that makes a comic great as you all know.  The layout of the book could have certainly used more planning and thought as the bulk of the panel transitions left me wondering what the hell was happening.  If it wasn’t for the dialogue, I would have been unsure as to what was transpiring.  I didn’t realize Slade Wilson had gone off the deep end until a few panels after his charge towards Lex Luthor.  This type of formatting continues through 50% of this book and is less than appealing. 

The art itself is very good; Pete Woods has always been a terrific character and scenic artist, and every action sequence can be described as top notch.  And that cover is an incredible piece of work.  Points to the artist team who worked on that!

My Majestically Climactic Conclusion

I needn’t say it again, but this version of Lex Luthor is a wonderful new direction that Cornell is bringing to the table.  Action Comics is becoming a force to be reckoned with amongst DC Comics.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Writing: 10

Art: 9

Themes: 5