The Good
It's these early days of Superman that has made this series stand out. He's not exactly Superboy but with all his power and a lack of experience, seeing what Superman will do has been fun. Continuing from an earlier back up, we see Clark before getting his make-shift Superman outfit. Once he puts on the costume, things don't go quite the way he thought they would. His cape being stolen as well adds another problem.
It's amazing that by giving us a lack of actual history in the New 52, seeing the characters like Lois and Jimmy before is great. It was always my hope that this series would stay firmly in the past while SUPERMAN could focus on the present day. There is a lot that could be done and explored in this time period without overlapping or contradicting too much what might happen in the modern day.
The art by Ben Oliver will feel completely different if you read this along ACTION COMICS #1 but it does capture an older/classic feel, even if it's just over five years ago. There's also a nice scene with Superman that really stands out in the issue. There's also a scene with Clark and his landlady that will make your ears perk up.
The back up tells us more on the "Blake Farm Ghost" or "Forgotten Superman." I didn't really care for that part in the recent issues but it's a nice visit to see how those events played out.
The Bad
The downside to having pre-Superman/pre-New 52 stories is you can't have Superman facing any of his major villains. This is something that could have been dealt with. There's no reason that all of the major villains have to surface after the world knows who Superman is. Even Smallville had Clark deal with some bigger threats way before he even thought of wearing a suit. And did we really need to see the t-shirt bit we just saw a couple issues ago?
I also mentioned the back up. It wasn't something I necessarily cared about. It's a plus for those that dug the character. Maybe he'll continue to play a role in the series. I'd rather see more Superman story than see this guy.
The Verdict
ACTION COMICS started out strongly in the beginning. We had the chance to see the early days of an inexperienced Superman. This zero issue touches on that. Unfortunately while this was a nice story, it didn't blow me away as some of the earlier issues. There's so much potential in this younger Superman but it felt as if there were some limitations in what sort of threat he could go up against. But we do get to see some firsts in this issue. There are little tidbits to check out. The interesting part will be to see if anything in future issues will touch on any of the events here. I simply want more from my Superman comics. Let's hope that the second year of the New 52 will make me a happy Superman fan.
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