The following review is excerpted from Comic Book Revolution (click here to read CBR’s full review)

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Pete Woods

Art : 8/10
Story : 8/10
Overall : 8/10

This is a fast read that moves with a purpose, but at no point does it feel rushed.

Johns and Robinson have clearly done their homework in preparing the New Krypton story, an ever-changing matrix that constantly shifts and readjusts as Johns and Robinson slide the various chess pieces around the board. The story is seamless as it shifts to different titles with each installment of this story. This is amazing considering that most large stories that are delivered by more than one writer tend to get a bit clunky and often have a poor flow to them.

The themes of Superman’s true heritage and what role the Kandorians will have on Earth are well handled and reflected as Johns presents the reader several different viewpoints of those two main themes. Kal-El may love his Kryptonian heritage, but the fact remains that he has no connection to or memories of Krypton. Johns does a fine job using this scene to get the reader to understand and sympathize with Gor and Mur and their disdain for Superman’s diplomatic approach over exacting payback on Brainiac for the death of Krypton.

I enjoyed how Johns points out the similarities between these two characters even thought there are also start contrasts present as well. General Lane clearly sees himself as a patriot and a hero while Lex is nothing more than an egotistical sadist. However, both men view the threat of Superman and the threat of a city full of Kryptonians the same. Surprisingly, the Zod loyalists in Gor and Mur view Superman roughly the same as how Lane and Lex view Superman.

Johns also does a fine job fleshing out the tension that exists on a personal level between General Lane, Superman and Lois. General Lane has sacrificed everything including his relationship with his daughter in his quest to protect Earth from Superman. The reader is able to get a good sense of why Lane views Superman and the Kandorians as such a threat. And General Lane’s personal loss in terms of his fractured relationship with Lois serves to make Lane a bit more vulnerable and sympathetic to the reader.

Of course, Action Comics #871 was not all about fine dialogue and interesting character work. This issue was also about some serious bone-jarring action. Johns delivers a fantastic brawl between the Kryptonians and Doomsday. I enjoyed watching the Kryptonians squash Doomsday. This scene served notice on just how powerful a fighting force even a handful of Kryptonians can be.

What was also so impressive about this fight scene is how Johns seamlessly filled the reader in on Doomsday’s back-story without employing a boring flashback scene or breaking the flow of the story. This was a smart move to help bring newer readers up to speed on Doomsday so that they could fully enjoy this issue.

Action Comics #871 ends with a fantastic hook ending as Johns unveils the new Nightwing and Flamebird. I dig how they were assigned to guard the Phantom Zone Projector in order to prevent any Zod loyalists from freeing him from the Phantom Zone. This shows that Superman may be an idealist but he is not stupid.

I am certainly curious to learn more about Nightwing and Flamebird. These two codenames have been used many times in Superman’s continuity. Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths, Nightwing and Flamebird were secret identities assumed by Clark and Jimmy Olsen while in the bottled City of Kandor and the Nightwing codename was used later by Superman’s cousin Van-Zee. However, Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths, these names were ascribed to two historic Kryptonian super heroes.

Now, at first I figured that this current version of Nightwing and Flamebird are from Kandor as well. However, Kryptonians certainly do not have flame powers. At least not that we know of. What was particularly intriguing was that Johns makes a point of having Nightwing state that he has natural tactile-telekinesis. That is a power that Conner possessed when he first became Superboy.

Overall, Action Comics #871 was another entertaining installment of the New Krypton story. Johns does a fine job keeping the ball rolling and helping to make the New Krypton story one of the more exciting events in the DCU.

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