Action Comics 861

I had picked up a few random issues of Action Comics, most notably the “Escape From Bizarro World” storyline. I’d enjoyed what I read and eventually decided I wanted to pick up the title regularly. Action comics 861 is my first comic I received when I started ordering Action Comics. While I found myself jumping into the middle of a storyline, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story. Written by Geoff Johns and art by Gary Frank.

Gary Frank is an artist whose work I had never encountered previously. However, I’ve got to admit that I really really digged his artwork. First of all, if you look at the cover, you’ll notice how much it rocks. While some of the pages of the issue contain figures that look poorly proportioned and a little strange, on the whole all the drawings look very nice. Frank’s style lends an element of weight and realism to the characters. The characters clothing seems as if it sits upon their muscles and bones, which are also clearly defined. There are also folds, shadows, and other details which are either absent from other artists drawings (or even worst misued). There seems to be quite a bit of attention to anatomy.

Geoff Johns’s story also harkens back to old silver age Legion stories in which the Legion of Superheroes send a time sphere back to get Superboy in the past to combat some crisis in the future. Many of the same legion members I’ve read about in my “Showcase Presents Legion of Superheroes” are there, which is a real treat too. Also included are newer characters I’m not familiar with like Wildfire and Dawnstar, who are also very cool. Needless to say, I look forward to more issues and will have to keep my eye on Gary Frank since his artwork is so pleasing to the eye.