Action Comics #44

By Greg Pak, Aaron Kuder, Howard Porter and Tomeu Morey

First arc’s begin to wrap up in the new DC You initiative and this has been something that has been met with some criticism from fans and consumers alike. While some books have still been pretty good, other have fallen a bit flat. Fear not though, Action Comics has been consistently good, and the creative team is a big reason why.

Greg Pak has been around the industry for a while and he has put out some very good work. That being said, since the New 52 launched, Pak is pretty much the best writer Superman has had yet. One of the things that make his run great is that he grounds Supes in reality. Everyone knows who Clark is now and he has to try to win people over. When you are looked at as a God, people will love you, but when they find out you’re just a normal schmuck, it’s a little harder to win them over. Pak also makes great use of the people in the city. We honestly care how Lee and Dante are, because Pak took the time to develop them. Another cool thing that Pak does here is that he doesn’t always make Superman the hero. Sometimes the “Man of Steel” can’t save everyone. These are all things that make Superman a more relatable character, which is something he’s struggled with in the past. Greg Pak has really been doing some wonders on this book and has made it the must-read Superman title.

The pencils this issue are handled by both Aaron Kuder and Howard Porter with colors by Tomeu Morey. Usually dual pencils are problematic for a book, but this one is not really effected by that since Porter mostly come on near the end of the book. Aaron Kuder is an artist who has progressed nicely from his early days. His lines are incredibly smooth now and his characters look great. The first page of this book should hook you right away as Clark battles Wrath and the shadow monsters. The panel is engaging and is slightly off kilter, but Kuder has always been pretty good with his panels. Much of this issue is a battle, but Kuder makes it interesting. His pencils allow you to just glide from panel to panel in one smooth motion. He really did an excellent job on this issue. The colors by Tomeu Morey are great as well. His deep blues and bright reds allow the colors to jump off the page at you. This is a tandem that should stick together because they really rock this issue.

Without a doubt, this current run on Action Comics is the best it’s been in a while. Greg Pak understands Superman and writes him as well as anybody has in years. The art from Aaron Kuder and Tomeu Morey is some of the best out in a book this week. These guys love what they do and it shows in every panel. Any die-hard Superman fan should be reading this book.