Dan Jurgens and Co finally wrap up the Revenge arc in Action Comics #982.
After Zod’s betrayal towards Cyborg Superman and Eradicator, and casting Superman and his friends into the Phantom Zone, Zod proceeds with his plans. Meanwhile, Lois and Krypto are in search of Job aka Superboy, who is now lost within the Fortress. How will Superman and his allies make it out of the Phantom Zone? What is Zod’s plan? Can Lois and Krypto find Jon before Zod finds him?
Dan Jurgens wraps up this arc neatly and conveniently. He even finds a way to clear up any dangling plot threads such as Superman’s blindness in a convincing way that makes sense to the story. That was something that I had a concern with in regards to prior issues after Superman was blinded a few issues prior in his last encounter with Cyborg Superman and his crew. But, luckily, Jurgens manages to tie up some.loose ends in an acceptable fashion. The Superman crew (Lex Luthor, Steel, Kenan Kong aka New Superman, Superwoman aka Lana Lang, and Supergirl) don’t get too much shine other than to serve the plot of the story. That was something that I wish would have been explored a bit more. For example, it would have been cool to see New Superman (Kong) react to Zod and some of the other villains in a way that made him scared or maybe even fanboy over. But given the amount of time that the issue has and the concern of wrapping up dangling plot threads, I was satisfied with the sacrifice of minor character interactions for the sake of story. Jurgens manages to keep the story and pacing as tight as possible and making it click in all the right ways that make this conclusion appropriate for this arc.
Patch Zircher’s art work is most definitely the best choice to conclude the arc. It managed to give the arc a bombastic feel that felt as cinematic as the narrative could provide. Visually his artwork along with his inks are all strong and gives the narrative visual strength, solidifying the visual front as much as Jurgens solidifies the narrative front. Hi Fi’s colors match beautifully with Zircher’s art, especially when displaying the barren vastness of the Phantom Zone. Rob Leigh does a good job at balancing out the dialogue bubbles and lettering placement, allowing for both the visuals and the narrative to breathe and unite perfectly.
This was a good arc for Action Comics that leaves readers with promise for the next set of arcs. Jurgens has planted some seeds of story-lines that’ll come to fruition in the long haul. The story provides a good explanation and a nice twist. The art is great, the story is fun, it’s worth picking up for this week. Especially for fans of Jurgens, Action Comics, and Superman.
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