Action Comics #993
DC Comics
Written By: Dan Jurgens
Art by: Dan Jurgens (Pencils), Joe Prado & Cam Smith (Finished Inks)
Colors by: Hi-Fi
Letters by: Rob Leigh
Spiraling out of the shocking events of Action Comic’s previous arc “The Oz Effect”, Superman has commandeered the Cosmic Treadmill in order to return to the exact point of Krypton’s destruction in order to find out the truth of his recent revelations, with perpetual screw-up, Booster Gold, once again, screwing up and arriving just a moment too soon to stop Superman from going back in time, and now must time travel himself in an attempt to stop Superman from accidentally screwing up the timeline.
Time Travel stories are always a dicey subject, with many of them falling flat or creating way more problems than they solve just by their mere existence, but this one so far seems promising. The comics medium is a premium place for stories like this because there are so many explanations that they can throw at the reader that they’ll accept (I mean, Jason Todd came back to life because Superboy Prime punched reality so hard it shattered. There’s not much we won’t take their word for.) While retreading old ground, this issue manages to make even things like explaining the problems with time travel for the umpteenth time in fiction fun just by delivering it through the Booster Gold character, who is absolutely great here. Funny, without being relegated to a complete comic relief role, Booster Gold manages to carry most of this issue without a problem, making me yearn for some sort of solo series.
With the amount of writing Jurgens does with other people’s art, sometimes I forget Dan Jurgens is actually a pretty great artist, and he is definitely no slouch here. Once again picking up a pencil, he manages to keep his classic art style, while keeping it modern as well, especially thanks to Hi-Fi’s colors, invoking feelings of classic Neal Adams art. All of the characters and settings look great, with an especially great splash page around the mid-point of the issue.
This issue also introduces a subplot about Lois and the disappearance of her estranged father, something that I don’t believe has been focused on since the beginning of the New 52, and I can’t wait to see Jon & Lois’ adventure while Superman and Booster Gold go through their own trials and tribulations.
Action Comics continues to be the fun companion to Tomasi & Gleason’s phenomenal Superman run, and this is an overall good issue that ends in a gripping cliffhanger that I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.