Previously in Superman Smashes the Klan, The Klan of the Fiery Cross had set the top of the Daily Planet building on fire and kidnapped Lois Lane, Perry White, and Inspector Henderson with the intent to kill them. Naturally, Superman saves the day, but it is the arc of his character in this book that allows him to be the hero he needs to win in the end.
When last we left Superman and Roberta Lee, they were on their way to rescue her brother from certain doom at the hands of the Klan of the Fiery Cross. While that is the hook that starts this book off, the focus lands squarely on the issue of duality and what it means to be torn in different directions. We see Superman struggle with the very notion that he is an alien and, at this moment in his career, his unknown heritage. Roberta Lee is trying to fit in with other kids to make friends, at the cost of being her more authentic self.
When Frank Miller misses, he misses by light-years. I don’t even know if editorial was really involved on this project at all. Surprising if not, since Mark Doyle is a strong editor with a great track record. I suspect this may have been a case of, “Hey, it’s a legend. Let him tell the story that he wants to tell.” That story is a meandering hot train wreck.
Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru bring to life in comics form the radio play from 1946 where Superman takes on the Klu Klux Klan analog, the Klan of the Fiery Cross. A Chinese family moves from the Chinatown section of Metropolis to a more suburban area. Here they are confronted with themes all too familiar today, that they are trying to “replace” whites in myriad situations: getting a promotion at work, owning a home in the ‘burbs, becoming the lead pitcher on the baseball team.
Let's cut to the hot takes right away: Frank Miller doesn't know what he is doing with Superman. DC doesn't know what it's doing calling this a “Year One” book. The team of John Romita Jr (JR Jr), Danny Mikki, and Alex Sinclair are putting out some great work that is getting bogged down by poor script execution. That out of the way, let's dive a little bit more into it.
Perhaps it is my perception that oftentimes when we see Clark Kent in action as reporter, he usually feels very milquetoast. Not the case in Action Comics #1006. It’s refreshing to see a Clark who is much more assertive in his role of ace reporter, asking pointed questions of a crooked public official that we learned about in the prior issue.
Action Comics opens up with a storytelling device that has so far remained consistent with Bendis’s run on the title: a shot of a reporter’s desk at the Daily Planet. I greatly appreciate this as carryover from issue to issue. In some ways, it is reminiscent of a “Previously on” recapping device from other mediums and clearly a Marvel flair that Bendis has brought to DC. It’s a great way to get any reader pulled into the current arc without having to go into super detail on everything that has preceded it.
