Action Comics #1021 Review

Rinse and Repeat

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: John Romita and Klaus Janson
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 25, 2020

I have not been a fan of this book since Brian Michael Bendis took over, and while I was hoping The Truth might make it better, the tangled mess it has become makes it hard even to know what the hell is going on half the time.  We finally do catch up to the reveal this issue, but I still have trouble getting a straight timeline of events in my head, and even then, there isn't much of interest here anyway.  Do things change for the better this month?  Let's find out...



The issue starts with a quick "before" that does nothing at all except remind the reader who has been involved for months, before going to the "now" to show a beaten Superman.  Lex talks a little trash, and then Red Cloud steps in to almost kill Superman.  Conner gets involved, but it's Superman's pleading with Red Cloud to do the right thing that turns the tide and RC...for now.

Watch our Action Comics #1021 Video Review

Of course, we aren't going to get away without Leviathan showing up, and when he does, it's to push that he isn't so bad as he saves the heroes, but little else more.  After he says his same old, same old, he fades away to leave our heroes to clean up the mess in Metropolis.

The issue ends with Robinson Good finding out that Superman is about to reveal his identity to the world and a 180 degree, rinse and repeat cliffhanger that takes away the one bit of story progression we got in this issue.

This book is a mess, and I don't just mean the horrendously bad art by John Romita Jr, which is just awful, by the way!  Bendis wants to sit around and give readers nothing each month, and that's why this book isn't selling at all!  He ties things into Scott Snyder's Justice League story, yet it takes him almost two months after Snyder left that book before getting close to giving us anything!  And what he offers is just ho-hum nonsense that nobody seems to want anyway.  When he took over both Super books, the debate was which was better, but that turned to which is worse, and right now, it's a dead heat!

Bits and Pieces:

Bendis continues to give readers nothing of interest as he slowly catches up to a story that is now months over.  The art by John Romita Jr. is awful, and overall, there is no reason at all to buy this book in single issues, and it's debatable if the trade would be any better.  Bendis promised something new for Superman and his fans, and I can only hope that this isn't it.

3.0/10