24 Hour Comics Reviewing Day, Hour One: Action Comics #843

I'm back home in Brooklyn from my Seattle trip (among the highlights: deep-fried olive poppers! Taking advantage of the autumn sale at the REI Flagship Store! Getting an advance glimpse of Fantagraphics's so-gorgeous it'll make you plotz Popeye Vol. 1!) just in time for 24 Hour Comics Day, where hundreds of talented and swift comics creators work to turn out a complete comics piece in the same amount of time it takes Jack Bauer to save the world.

I'm not gonna create a 24-hour comic. A) Marshall took some of my crayons (give me back my burnt sienna now!) and B) I have no art talent whatsoever. But what I am is behind on my comics reviewing, so let's take advantage of the fact that I've got a big stack o' comics, an open keyboard, and big steaming-hot cup of Starbucks coffee beside me. I will review one comic each hour, until this stack is finished or I am issued a cease-and-desist by Scott McCloud for twisting the original intent of 24 Hour Comics Day. Also, after I finish each review, I will eat an entire thing of candy beans.

So, as Miss Fergie told me before she headed off to London, let's get it started in here!

ACTION COMICS #843: This comic is fun. The conclusion to Kurt Busiek’s Auctioneer trilogy is a little less adrenaline-packed than the very fun #842, but this is still one of the more entertaining Superman stories I’ve read in a while: Superman leads an ersatz Justice League in escaping the electronic captivity of the Auctioneer’s ship, throwing some dandy highlights on guest stars like Live Wire, Nightwing and the new Aquaman and Firestorm. What I like best about this issue is the solid mix of action (that’s apt for this comic!) and characterization: Nightwing, for example, comes off more competent and distinctive than he’s been written in his own book for quite some time (proving there’s nothing wrong with the character, so put down that guillotine with Dick Greyson’s name on it, huh, Dan Didio?) Supes proves he’s not only the Real Deal of Steel but also a natural, inspirational leader in this storyline, which is exactly where I like seeing DC’s leading hero: at the forefront of his peers but fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with them. Kurt Busiek has a solid handle on Superman’s humanity and smarts, and the dangling plotlines (who’s the third Kryptonian? What’s that approaching ship after?) show an almost Stan Lee-level skill in keeping me interested in what’s happening in the next issue. So not only is this a Superman I can look up to, it’s a Superman I wanna look back in on. Hooray! And now, a thing of candy beans! Mmmmm, candy beans.