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Drunken Review Of Action Comics Annual #13

Published Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:40:05 -0600

4 pints. 2 vodka and cokes (thank you Andy Diggle). And something very nasty and short. And that's me nicely sozzled. So, I take to the tube, train and bus on my long journey home in minus four degrees centigrade. Not bad, getting in took me two hours, getting out takes me one. And on the route I read Action Comics Annual #13.

I should point out, and if I wasn't drunk, I would have earlier, that Paul Cornell, the author of the comic, was at the pub too. It was one of those comicky pub night things, along with the likes of Bryan Talbot, Emma Vieceli, Kieron Gillen, Tony Lee, Dan Boultwood, Mark Stafford, Simon Furman, Jamie McKelvie, Al Ewing, David Hine and more.

Where was I? Yes, Action Comics Annual.

We get two stories of Lex Luthor's youth. Both are relatively hard to get through without some knowledge of Superman continuity. First, with artist Marco Rudy, we have Lex's first encounter with Perry White and Bruno Mannheim in Metropolis, and through this, Darkseid and the world Apokolips.

It follows heavily on the reintroduction of Metropolis crime boss Mannheim in 52 and shows us a Lex Luthor with the same arrogance of his present day, albeit with less care, less process and less thought. While he seeks a position of dominance, he cannot see the puppet strings that play him – not yet at least – and he misunderstands the significance of the events in his life, even now. It's a fascinating character study across the decades. However the storytelling panel-to-panel progression is a bit tricky, especially when you've been on the beer. I found myself reading panels out of order, confusing myself, backtracking and generally fighting with the comic rather than letting myself be drawn along.

The second piece, with artist Ed Benes, is more straightforward n terms of art, though the poetic narrative tripped me up in places. That I think was definitely alcohol based and I look forward to revisiting in the morning. This is the story of Lex's instruction under Ra's Al Ghul, and repurposes the story of the Garden Of Eden to serve Darkseid's purpose. I was expecting this to be a how-did-Lex-lose-his-hair based on aspects of the first story, and the lead up of the second, but it was more how did Lex find his focus.

We're being shown glimpses of a Luthor blind to aspects of his life he chooses not to see, or simply cannot from his perspective. It is both his fatal flaw, but also what drives him and makes him a fascinating character.

At least that's what I've thought on my way back. I was interrupted by two young ladies asking me what I was reading. I didn't say anything of the above, I told them it was a Superman book without Superman in it.

They were as disinterested as it seems certain long time DC readers may have been with this run on Action Comics for that reason. Well they are wrong and, once I've sobered up, I reckon I can prove it with graphs.

Superman will, obviously, return to Action Comics, but frankly I don't know if I want him. I like reading about Luthor without his ever present super boy scout, that puts a lie to Luthor's myth that without Superman, he'd be curing cancer, solving world hunger and the like. He's stull just as self serving, cold, disconnected and blind to the truth around him.

Talking of truths it's half two in the morning. I do hope I still like this comic through the hangover.

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