Action Comics #1065: Full House

The House of Brainiac event continues in Action Comics #1065 (written by Joshua Williamson with art by Rafa Sandoval, colors by Alejandro Sanchez, and letters by Dave Sharpe) as Superman and Lobo continue looking for Brainiac’s ship, but run into trouble themselves. Meanwhile, Supergirl and Superboy are taking their rescue into their own hands as they escape the tubes Brainiac trapped them in, but they’re still shrunk down in size. What is Brainiac planning? Is Lobo to be trusted? All of this and more in this explosive issue.

The issue opens with Superman and Lobo fighting off the Czarnians in space as they look for Brainiac’s ship. The action in this sequence is amazing, with Superman using his brain over brawn to use the Czarnian’s weaknesses against them. They get little information from the Czarnians but definitely kick ass. Meanwhile, on Brainiac’s ship Supergirl and Superboy need help and they find it in unlikely allies. Their plan works until Brainiac captures Supergirl and shows her his master plan. This is a fun issue with a lot of fighting. There’s not much dialogue or character progression but the action sequences are written well. With the amount of shouting from all the characters, you can feel how desperate these characters are to save the day. I think it’s really exciting to see the House of El together on the page trying to escape and I’m eager to see the whole family fight in a future issue. I was also really pleased to see Superboy get his time to shine, as he has been cast aside for some time since the creation of Jon Kent. I hope even more of the Superfamily get their time to shine in this event.

The real star of this issue is the art. Rafa Sandoval and Alejandro Sanchez are creating works of art within these comic pages, with fight scenes and explosions that look so real. The dynamic panels in this issue progress the story and fight scenes in creative ways that build tensions for the characters. Superman also gets an awesome space suit that looks futuristic yet classic with his signature color palette. One of the most impressive aspects is the way Sandoval is able to illustrate three Houses (House of El, House of Brainiac, and House of Lobo) that looks cohesive but feel like distinct characters. This is especially impressive for the Czarnians, whose basic color scheme makes them hard to make distinctive, but Sandoval and Sanchez manage to make characters that are their own.

This issue is a great addition to the House of Brainiac event with explosive action, stunning art, and lots of Superfamily.