Action Comics #1080: Look Up

With the worst of the Phantom Zone prisoners still on the loose, it’s up to the House of El to capture them. Action Comics #1079 is the eleventh part of the “Phantoms” storyline by the superstar creative team of Mark Waid, Clayton Henry, and Matt Herms. In order to save the Earth and the Phantom Zone, Superman decided to release the Zone’s prisoners on a red-sun planet. But when his plan goes awry, the prisoners end up fully powered under Earth’s yellow sun. While Superman and the Justice League were able to capture the prisoners still on Earth, the most dangerous criminals made their way off world to different planets. Can the House of El find all the Zoners before they kill more innocent people? Find out in this issue full of Kryptonian lore, action, and Justice League members.

This weekly arc has felt like it switches between being substantial and feeling like filler. These past two issues have been a little more action-packed and have progressed the storyline further, but the comic overall feels inconsequential. I think a lot of the ideas that Waid presents in this arc are really interesting, but they never go anywhere or are only lightly explored. For example, the first issue had incredible creature designs of Phantom Zoner prisons mashed together, but they were never seen again. Aethyr was another plot point that was interesting but was killed off in one page. Most of the plots in this arc have gone nowhere exciting and it has left me wanting more. This issue was slightly more interesting than the rest because we got to learn a little about the Kryptonian prisoners that are the most dangerous and see why they were put away. We also get some exciting team-ups in this issue including Jon Kent and Aquaman. That being said, this issue suffers from the same pacing the whole arc has had. We spend little time with all of these characters with this break-neck speed of an issue. It’s strange that the comic is simultaneously moving too fast but also dragging along. Major plot points and conflicts are resolved in just a few panels and yet the plot has barely progressed from week to week. It feels like side-quest after side-quest. This was the most action-heavy issue but the main villains seem to have been defeated in a single page. And with this rushed feeling the reveal of the main villain at the end felt anticlimactic (and I honestly forgot he existed since we spent such little time with him). Overall, this arc has had great concepts but they have all fallen short, making this storyline confusing and uninteresting.

This weekly arc has had two artists sharing the page, but for the past couple of issues, they have been switching off. I prefer Clayton Henry’s art slightly more as it has a less cartoony feel to it. Henry’s art was a standout for this issue and it improved the overall reading experience. With an action-packed issue with seriously deadly foes, I’m happy that Henry’s stern art was used. The poses are dynamic, the facial expressions are emotive, and the aliens Henry thinks up fit the bill for this story. The colors in this issue by Matt Herms are incredibly vibrant and make this feel like a Superman story. Together Henry and Herms are making a fantastic book to look at.