Action Comics Annual 2023: Thanks for the Memories…

It’s the big finale to the final Superman story by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, and his two year long run on Action Comics. It’s a bittersweet goodbye to PKJ, but to all good things, there must be an end. In one corner we have Superman, the Superfamily, Etrigan AND!!!! BLOODWYND! Does this team have what it takes to bring down Blue Earth operatives on both Prime Earth, as well as those on Earth Ghul. Will they be enough to save Metropolis from the Blue Earth agents? Will they arrive in time to save Otho Ra from Sister Shadow, and her magicks that’s hell bent on bringing her over onto their side. Is this the end? 

So it’s a very, very bittersweet ending to one of the best runs on the modern day Superman title that I’ve read since the beginning of the Rebirth and New 52 eras. Johnson has tapped into that zeitgeist of what it means to be Superman. Putting him into situations that are built to break someone, stripping him of some of his powers, making him easier to break, but he just won’t. That’s one of those intrinsic qualities that a writer who understands who Superman is at his core, and crafts stories that will tap into those elements to tell a story that plays into them. Johnson understands this, and he’s crafted a place that’s both familiar and brand new during his time on the book. The fact that he brought in not only Etrigan, the rhyming demon from Hell, but also Bloodwynd, a rather obscure character that hasn’t been seen in a very long while. For the newer fans, Bloodwynd has a pretty tumultuous, and confusing origin, but hey! It was the ’90s. If your origin story isn’t a big mess, then they were probably doing it wrong. It’s just fun to see this z-lister to be shown some love. 

He’s brought Superman into the role of the head of his family. The Superfamily has existed for decades, but since the Dawn of DC they’re more cohesive as a family than ever before. It’s almost like they’ve become an actual superhero unit, like the Batfamily has over the last few decades. All of the characters working out of Metropolis, building their presence as the threats increase. Whether it’s up against Metallo, and his sister turned cyborg, or up against Sister Shadow, and her corrupting forces, he will always find a way to win, and to still remain the hero that the DC universe, hell the multiverse has come to know him. He’s a force for good, and inspires those to be as good as the man they have allied themselves with. Johnson’s had an inspiring run on the book, and the fandom has just lost one of the better shepherds that we’ve seen in a very long while. A new year, a new creative team starts up, and I wish Jason Aaron, Joshua Williamson, and the rest a very good luck, and hope to be as entertained with what they bring as I was with Johnson.