Action Comics #1015: Welcome to the Team

Brian Michael Bendis’s run on Action Comics has been a hit or miss with me. While I am absolutely thrilled with Event Leviathan, Bendis’ concurrent Action Comics just seems oddly paced. Other than a reference to Leviathan in this issue, I’m not too sure if the two series are happening at the same time. For one, Batman feels like two completely different characters. This is understandable for multiple series, but it feels strange when they are by the same author. That being said, I really enjoyed Naomi’s welcoming by everyone at the Hall of Justice. Seeing Batman and Superman show the ropes to a young superpowered person felt really lighthearted and wholesome.

To me, this whole issue seemed completely out of place compared to Event Leviathan and Bendis’ work with Action Comics. This leads me to believe that Naomi will play a HUGE part in Action Comics and maybe even Event Leviathan. Having practically an entire dedicated to Naomi being taken under the wing of Superman and batwing of Batman must mean big things to come.

Superman’s fight with the Red Cloud seemed abrupt. Rose and Thorn’s panels in this run have always been a highlight for me, but this issue they were abrasive. It felt like Bendis got carried away with the wholesomeness of Naomi’s plot that he forgot about Red Cloud. I can see the contrast between Naomi and Red Cloud, especially their panels, but I think they were poorly executed in this issue.

I am still up in the air about this issue’s art. Past issues have been pretty decent despite a few strange faces. This issue, in particular, had great facial expressions and action sequences. Kudranski is a great artist but every issue looks like a new Superman. Every issue has a great looking Superman, though. His action sequences have consistently been incredible and place the reader right in the action. Anderson’s colors have always been an issue for me. I am fine with the cell shading style, but sometimes the Archer vibes are too strong (though it is fun to read Superman’s lines with H Jon Benjamin’s voice in your head). Despite this, I think Kudranski and Anderson pair well with Bendis’ writing.