Superman: 3-2-1 Action

by Kurt Busiek and Mark Evanier

Book Overview

Written by Kurt Busiek and Mark Evanier Art by Steve Rude, Rick Leonardi and Brad Walker Cover by Rick Leonardi & John Livesay Will Jimmy Olsen become Superman's new partner in the battle for justice?... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401216803
• ISBN13: 9781401216801
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: DC Comics
• Length: 158 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.6" x 10.1"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Complex, and potentially overlooked in its significance...

This is a five-star offering from DC Comics and two of comic's finer writers. At a time when the world is divided over spiritual issues, and religious ideologies have been paradoxically linked with both great human generosity and violence around the world, these stories attempt to make sense of it. Busiek and Nicieza merge the fictional world of Superman - a seemingly omnipotent and benevolent force - with some real world issues and ideologies. The result is a fun read, the sort you remember reading as a child with a great imagination focused on the man with a cape and huge S on his chest, but coupled with the realities of being an adult in a not-so fantastical world. Imagine saying a prayer and believing God would answer it, only to have Superman swoop in and rescue you from harm. The lines between God and Superman are explored in the "Angel" storyline, with Superman questioning his own theological underpinnings and trying to accept that he cannot be a divine instrument to anyone, nor should he be. This story grips you in places the traditional comic "bad guy vs. good guy" story doesn't. The questions Superman asks of himself in this story cause the lines to blur between comic story-telling and theological thought. This particular story deserves more consideration than it might traditionally receive among comic fans. Likewise, Fabian's offering in the story "Redemption" is a very complex look at the issue from almost the exact opposite side of the debate. A self-proclaimed hero, powered by the faith of his congregation becomes a self-justified "hand of God," and begins to exact revenge upon the people of another faith. This story begins very strong, and the questions it asks of us are worth noting. To what extent do people attempt to act as though they have divine authority? How many lives are taken as people take theological sides and exact war upon each other? And if Superman is to be a morally free agent, how can he take sides between two opposing theologies? While I might not quite agree with how Fabian answers these questions at the end of the arc, I deeply appreciate him for asking them. As you can see, this volume from DC Comics is pretty complex reading for a comic book. There is a degree of moral ambiguity here that weaves it way through real world issues. I do agree with a previous reviewer that some of the panels can feel a bit "preachy" at times. But I'm not convinced that this isn't maybe a good thing, and I also don't feel like it detracts from the overall complexity of the work. This is my opinion, a five-star read for the reasons I outlined. It is possible I suppose for those very reasons to be the sort of thing that turns off other readers, so hopefully you have enough here to weigh your options before purchasing.

Interesting

Superman: Redemption takes on some heady issues in the graphic novel's compilation of three stories, kind of making for an anthology of the power of belief. This is one of those graphic novels that you can hurry through or take your times and read a story every now and again. I liked Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco's story, "Angel," which is where the cover comes from. Although the idea of supermen rising to near godhood among the rest of us is an old one, Busiek makes it personal through his character, Barbara Johnson. This story was touted as being the first Superman had to deal with regarding someone that thought they could just call him whenever they needed him (which makes me think of him constantly listening for Lois's voice or Jimmy Olsen's signal watch). Although Superman struggles with Barbara Johnson's needs and how to handle it, the story does become a little preachy. The saccharine sweet ending especially lends to this, even though the tale probably couldn't be resolved happily any other way. The art is really good and Superman looks good in action, but the back and forth with the action development slows things down a little. Fabian Nicieza strikes a different chord for belief in "Redemption." This story is longer than the first, but probably could have been resolved just as quickly. The author throws in a crisis in Africa and Superman's own religious upbringing and choice about church attendance. I enjoyed the scenes with Superman talking to Lois and Ma Kent, but it delayed the inevitable because the reader knows how the tale has to end. Allan Goldman's art is striking and I liked his panels a lot. Everything has a finished look to it and I got the sense of a complete world rather than stripped down images you can sometimes get. "The Beast From Krypton" is just a fun-filled romp in a way. Superman becomes possessed by a demon and it takes Zatanna and the Phantom Stranger to pull him from the brink. There are a lot of scenes in this issue that you really wouldn't expect to see in the regular comic. Superman spitballing Luthor to death was a hoot and made me laugh out loud. I've been reading about Superman for years and I never once thought what an incredible weapon a super-powered spitball would be. I'll never forget it now, though. Walter Simonson's art was kind of edgy and different, and reminded me of the heavy inks on a Jack Kirby story. All in all, this anthology was easy to read and leaves the reader with a little to think about and a big chuckle at the end.

Do you believe in superheroes?

Superman: Redemption collects four issues from Superman and Action Comics centering on the theme of religion. In one story a woman in Suicide Slum (the bad part of Metropolis) is convinced that Superman is an Angel from Heaven. In a two-part story Superman fights a metahuman who believes his powers come from the prayers of the church in which he is a member. And in Superman #666, Superman faces a demon from Krypton. The stories are written by Kurt Busiek (Astro City, Marvels) and/or Fabian Nicieza (Cable and Deadpool, Thunderbolts). They are illustrated by Walt Simonson, Allan Goldman and Ron Randall, Peter Vale and Jesus Merino, and Carlos Pacheco. Religion is always a tough topic to handle in any entertainment medium, especially if you don't want to be preachy, but the writers handle it very well. Superman is, as always, humble, desiring only to help people. He worries about what his influence will do to people's faith, but, like a real-life cop or doctor, at the end of the day, all he can do is save lives, do what he believes is right, and let others deal with their beliefs themselves. This isn't the most action packed of trades, though there is plenty of fighting and superheroic feats. But what's really of value here is there character development. A lot of writers just fall back on the "super" part of Superman, but the stories that always stand the test of time are the ones that show the "man", such as Superman for all Seasons or All-Star Superman. This trade probably won't be as definitive as some, mainly because it's a collection of stories rather than one single piece. But it's a strong point amidst Kurt Busiek's post Infinite Crisis Superman run.