Bendis is hooking me again

Action Comics No. 1010
DC Comics
Creators: Brian Michael Bendis, Steve Epting, and Brad Anderson
Release date: April 2019

I wasn’t sure what to expect with Brian Michael Bendis taking over the Superman titles at DC, but I’ve enjoyed his writing in the past, be it in Avengers titles, Ultimate Spider-man, Powers or Daredevil. So I opted to give his runs a chance.

I very much like the dynamic stories he’s presenting in Superman, first taking us back to the Phantom Zone, then recounting Jon Kent’s adventures with his grandfather, Jor-El. The Ivan Reis and Joe Prado art certainly doesn’t hurt that title, either. I fell in love with these guys’ art when they helped relaunch the New 52 Aquaman title, and they are still at the top of their game.

But if I had to pick a current favorite Bendis Superman title, it would be the story arc going on in the pages of Action Comics, “Leviathan Rising.” Superman and his wife, Lois Lane, are both embroiled in an espionage tale that also involves all the clandestine groups from DC lore — A.R.G.U.S., the D.E.O., Checkmate, Spyral, Amanda Waller, Sam Lane, Mr. Bones. It’s all here, and I’m loving how Bendis is weaving it all together.

I’ve said before, here and in other forums, that Superman should be a light character. Superman represents the very best of what humanity can be. He is the shining light for which we strive. I believe Bendis gets that. And he’s wisely using the bright, shiny Superman sparingly in this story. Rather, he’s focusing on Clark Kent and Lois Lane, two investigative journalists who sometimes have to root around in the shadows to properly do their jobs and bring things to light. Take it another step darker, and even Lois and Clark are having to utilize assumed identities to go undercover. (That's them in the image above, if you didn't know.) Bendis' storytelling simply adds more and more layers to a mystery that desperately needs to be unraveled.

Getting Steve Epting for the art on this story was a great move, too. I have loved a lot of Epting’s past work, but he thrives illustrating this type of story, with shadows and subtle shifts, all the cloak and dagger stuff. He’s a brilliant choice for this arc.

It doesn’t hurt that this story is promising to explode out of Action Comics into other titles soon, either. Rather than feeling overwhelmed by that prospect, I’m looking forward to new titles like Event Leviathan and Lois’ solo title. That’s how good this story feels, and how excited I am to read each new piece of the puzzle.

I’m hooked, Mr. Bendis; please, don’t stop.