‘Action Comics #1004’ (review)

Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by Ryan Sook
Published by DC Comics

Brian Michael Bendis continues his era writing Superman here. He has been working with some of the most amazing artists in the field on his run thus far. This month is no different.

Here, he works with artist Ryan Sook and the results are extraordinarily awesome. They make a great team and this book is full of life because of it.

The opening scene is Perry White and Clark arguing. The argument is them trying to determine if something is a red cloud or actually the Red Tornado. The scene is funny and full of witty dialogue.

Bendis is the closest thing we have in comics to a playwright like David Mamet or even Aaron Sorkin. The dialogue is crisp and lively always. In this scene he just struts his stuff for our enjoyment.

From there, Trish sideswipes Clark with a picture of Lois Lane and Lex Luthor being really close with each other. Sook conveys the emotion Clark is feeling with his art. He does it beautifully as well.

It’s simple and yet very powerful.

Then Clark makes his escape. The scene switches to the night before. Superman and Lois kiss. They talk about why Lois is back. And they talk about where Jonathan is and why Clark’s father is such a piece of work.

It’s a great scene and Bendis and Sook work beautifully together here. The colors are gorgeous as well. The colorist Brad Anderson deserves a raise.

Lois and Clark sleep together. Then, they talk more about Jonathan hitting puberty and why Lois didn’t come home. All of it makes sense and Bendis nails the scene perfectly. It’s really a smooth, well written piece.

Nothing too major happens after that. And that’s fine by me.

At the end, you realize that Bendis wrote a very character based issue. And I love that. It was a nice break and it was good to catch up on Lois and Clark’s relationship. He made a choice. And, working with Sook, it was a very smart one indeed.

RATING: A