Action Comics #24 Review

Written By: Mike Johnson
Art By: Tyler Kirkham and Jesus Merino
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: October 2, 2013

 

Pycho Pirate, Qu'est-ce que c'est

Action Comics #24 is part two of the Psi War and picks up right after Superman #23.  Louis Lane is in a coma and Psycho Pirate has Superman in his clutches.  He tells Superman about the "Twenty" and tells him he wants to stop Brainiac from winning the upcoming War.  Unfortunately to do that, he has to sap Superman's psychic power by feeding off his emotions.  What better way to do that than to control Superman's mind to relive emotional memories and even change them to be more upsetting this time around.  Just when all hope seems to be lost, a surprise heroine of the Twenty arrives to save Superman.

I really liked Superman #23 and  hoped that Mike Johnson and Jesus Merino would get to do more Superman stories.  Well, my wish came true and I'm torn if it was a good thing.  I really liked the narration of Psycho pirate in Superman, but getting him in the flesh just wasn't as good.  He didn't have the condescending snarkiness that set him apart.

I'm not a fan of the plot devise either.  The whole control your memories to feed off the emotions was just done in the Green Lantern First Lantern story arc.  I know one book shouldn't effect my review of another but I didn't like the device in Green Lantern and I like it even less here.  That being said, I like the idea of the Twenty and the twist at the end could prove very interesting.

The art in the book was pretty average.  Nothing really jumped out which is sad because Psycho Pirate looked awesome in Superman #23, but here is pretty boring looking.  What a wasted opportunity.

Bits and Pieces:

Action Comics #23 is a pretty average read.  The story is cliché and there was nothing special about the art.  The end reveal may prove interesting in the upcoming Psi War books, but I cannot recommend this book on it's own.

5.0/10