Action Comics #1023
DC Comics
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by John Romita Jr
Inks by Klaus Janson
Colors by Brad Anderson
Letters by Dave Sharpe
The Rundown: Red Cloud makes a move against the Kent family and Superman decides to go to war.
Lois and Jimmy have discovered the location of Leone’s dead seconds in command as Red Cloud springs her trap. After telling Lois how she plans to send a message to the Man of Steel, the reporter sends a message to her husband and not only does he arrive, but he brings backup in the form of Jon and Conner Kent.
After confronting Red Cloud, the villain leaves and returns to her boss. As Superman and family try to come up with a plan to confront the Invisible Mafia, Conner explains that they need to change their tactics when confronting the mafia and the Kent’s decide to go to war.
The Story: After two previous far reaching arc, Bendis is having the Kent family finally tackle the Invisible Mafia he created and their first move is an interesting one. The story is well done and Red Cloud continues to be an enigmatic foe that has the potential to be a real threat to Superman and family. Having Conner convince Clark to change tactics is a good move and opens up the story to some real stakes that I want to see explored.
The Art: John Romita Jr. makes some interesting choices with the composition of the art and there are some panels that showcase the true menace of the character of Red Cloud. While a lot of the action works visually, the characters lack depth and there are some close ups that are confusing when trying to differentiate between Clark, Jon and Conner.