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    Volume 2 (New 52)

    Action Comics #27

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    inferiorego

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    Edited By inferiorego  Staff

    The Good

    Superman and his new pal Baka head to Venezuela to see what type of trouble Lana Lang has gotten herself into. They find Ukur and his army of beasts.

    Normally, I'd be not on board at all if a superhero had a little animal buddy. It reminds me a lot of a campy 80s cartoon. However, the Superman/Baka relationship here really works out. Superman shows compassion for the creature, who recently was much larger and "smashier," by keeping him at the Fortress of Solitude and then taking him along to Venezuela. Baka is cute and comes in handy during the fight.

    The opening of this issue is fantastic. Here, a seven year old Clark climbs a tree and wants to fly. He can start hearing the world around him much better than any other human. Writer Greg Pak does a fantastic job at getting the reader into Clark's head. In these opening pages, R.B. Silva does the pencils, along with Eva De La Cruz on colors. The art is beautiful here and fits the scene extremely well.

    The Bad

    There's three different artists on this book. The opening pages, with Silva, a five page chunk by Mike Hawthorne, and the rest of the book by Aaron Kuder. Silva's opening pages work well with the rest of the issue. It makes sense, too, because it deals with Superman's younger years. There's no real reason for the Hawthorne and Kuder split though and their styles clash. On their own, both artists are extremely talented, but together, it doesn't work.

    The story here isn't really grabbing me. I enjoyed it for what it was, but I'm not on board yet. Sure, it's well written, but the mixture of Superman and these subterranean creatures isn't that interesting of an opening. I'm a bit down the middle of the story. I find it weird that Superman will be battling a villain one moment, then having a casual chat with him the next.

    The Verdict

    It's an interesting start to this new story line, but it's down the middle of the road story. The opening pages are brilliant, and I really enjoyed Baka, but the rest of the book was a tad troublesome. The changes in art between Hawnthorne and Kuder simply did not work, but Silva's art in the opening was great. It's a bit of a mish mash of an issue, so overall, I'll give it a mild recommendation.

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    AllStarSuperman

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    I dont get action comics, but i love RB silvas art,

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    timelord

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    Baka is the Japaneses word for idiot/fool. I found it pretty funny Superman kept on calling new friend an idiot.

    But otherwise good issue they just need to keep the art consistent.

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    SanoHibiki

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    In the beginning people were complaining that New-52 Superman too trigger-happy and constantly using his fists, now some would complain that he should have been continued fighting… Sigh.

    I like how Pak handles nuances of Superman’s personality in this issue (as well as in BM/SM #7), place of action were relocated from space and Metropolis into underground – why not?

    My only complain about art – too many artists and I am in general not Kuder’s fan.

    4/5 for me.

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    anandak47

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    Really good issue. Like where the plot is headed. 3 stars is definitely an unfair estimation of how awesome this issue was.

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    SandMan_

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    Should have been 4.

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    Krissyjump

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    This was without a doubt a 4 star issue. It was a blast and Superman actually felt like Superman, unlike every other book outside of Superman Unchained.

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    spinningbirdcake

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    #7  Edited By spinningbirdcake

    Still the friendliest incarnation of Superman in the New 52. I can totally buy him fighting a villain one minute and talking with him the next. Superman is the first person I would expect to do something like that. Guy's one of the most powerful heroes in DC and is written best when he's reluctant to even throw a punch.

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    lifeboy

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    @allstarsuperman: ewww... he is drawing Worlds Finest. What a disappointment the art is on that. We went from mr Perez and mr Maguire beautiful huntress and powergirl to rb silva who should not be drawing women. Yuck! I hate it.

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    TheMantisShrimp

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    Thats a bummer Kuder does not do all of the art from the current time frame in the issue. I hope thats not a regular occurrence, flash backs and or backups be the exceptions. I have not this issue but I think I will still enjoy it.

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    AllStarSuperman

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    @lifeboy said:

    @allstarsuperman: ewww... he is drawing Worlds Finest. What a disappointment the art is on that. We went from mr Perez and mr Maguire beautiful huntress and powergirl to rb silva who should not be drawing women. Yuck! I hate it.

    I love is "cartoony" artwork

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    longbowhunter

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    I'm enjoying the big sci-fi, monster fun we're getting from Pak and Kuder. I was really confused at the start of the story. I knew that wasn't Kuder but the cover never boasted three artists.

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    UltimateSMfan

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    In the beginning people were complaining that New-52 Superman too trigger-happy and constantly using his fists, now some would complain that he should have been continued fighting… Sigh.

    I like how Pak handles nuances of Superman’s personality in this issue (as well as in BM/SM #7), place of action were relocated from space and Metropolis into underground – why not?

    My only complain about art – too many artists and I am in general not Kuder’s fan.

    4/5 for me.

    This.

    Still the friendliest incarnation of Superman in the New 52. I can totally buy him fighting a villain one minute and talking with him the next. Superman is the first person I would expect to do something like that. Guy's one of the most powerful heroes in DC and is written best when he's reluctant to even throw a punch.

    QFT

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    iceslick

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    #17  Edited By iceslick

    @inferiorego: I did like this issue a lot. But Baka looks exactly like Beast Boy and has the same similar abilities don't you agree? I wonder if he can eventually be the Beast Boy replacement since the real one disappeared to comic book limbo in Teen Titans.

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    Squalleon

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    #18  Edited By Squalleon

    I did like this issue a lot. I agree that the mix of artists took something from the overall enjoyment but I don't see the problem with Superman trying to talk his way out of a fight, especially with someone who is revealed to not be the enemy. In Action Comics 26 he tried to do it with Ghost Soldier.
    Plus Baka became an instant favorite.
    4/5 for me.

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    kidchipotle

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    @inferiorego gave this issue THREE stars? He hates it! He hates Greg Pak! He hates Superhero comics! (please note the sarcasm)

    I very respectfully disagree with "the bad" in this review so I may make my own review when I have time tomorrow, as G-Man always encourages us users to do.

    Nonetheless, great issue and good review!

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