Director Donner's 'Action' tale wraps at last - Reviews for 5-8-08

Action Comics Annual #11 (DC, $4.99) wraps up the long-delayed "Last Son of Krypton" story co-written by "Superman: The Movie" director Richard Donner. Despite the delay, this was a very satisfying ending with some truly epic art by Adam Kubert marred only by what seem like some coloring glitches. ... DC Universe #0 (DC, 50 cents) is a low-cost primer for fans old and new in advance of Final Crisis, and as such is more of a recap than an actual story. The big thing with this issue is the return of a long-missing fan-favorite character, though the execution of it is implied to the point where it's not clear how many people would have really understood that was the point without all the surrounding hype.

Invincible Iron Man #1 (Marvel, $2.99) kicks off the Golden Avenger's second ongoing series with a smart script from Matt Fraction and fantastic looking art from Salvador Larocca. This is the sort of book that might have a real chance at convincing moviegoers to pick up a comic and stick with it. ... Logan #3 (Marvel, $3.99) is a disappointing conclusion to the Brian K. Vaughan-Eduardo Risso collaboration. The Hiroshima idea that seemed so cool in the first issue has degenerated into a strange and sadly routine fight in which Logan's nemesis rips out his heart and eats it — an attack that merely slows down the mutant and points up how invincible and unable to be put in serious jeopardy the character has become.

Glamourpuss #1 (Aardvark-Vanaheim, $3), Dave Sim's follow-up to 300 issues of Cerebus, isn't really a story as much as a parody of fashion magazines and discussion of the photorealistic comics artwork of Alex Raymond, John Prentice, Al Williamson and Neal Adams. Sim's recreations of specific panels in this style and his own fashionplate illustrations are stunning, making this a book that really is all about the art. ... Local #11 (Oni Press, $2.99) is the best issue to date of the series, with a Toronto art student forcing wandering protagonist Megan to face the artifacts of her life. Ryan Kelly really outdoes himself on the art, which is expessive, detailed and distinct.

From the graphic novel pile, comes X-O Manowar: Birth (Valiant Entertainment, $24.95), which includes the first six issues of the classic series as well as issue #0 and a new short story. The story mixes Conan and Iron Man to produce a satisfyingly cool hero. The art ranges from serviceable to fantastic, with #0 featuring one of the early bravura efforts from Marvel editor in chief Joe Quesada and his frequent collaborator, Jimmy Palmiotti. The recoloring job is good, though it's always a shame when such a nice package shows at times the ragged line reproduction common to not having original art or film to work from.