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Superman: Action Comics Vol. 1: Superman and the Men of Steel (The New 52) by Grant Morrison book Ebook Superman: Action Comics Vol. 1: Superman and the Men of Steel (The New 52) currently available for review only, if you need complete ebook Superman: Action Comics Vol. 1: Superman and the Men of Steel (The New 52) please fill out registration form to access in our databases Download here >> Series:::: Superman: Action Comics (Book 1)+++Hardcover:::: 256 pages+++Publisher:::: DC Comics; 1st Edition edition (August 7, 2012)+++Language:::: English+++ISBN-10:::: 1401235468+++ISBN-13:::: 978-1401235468+++Product Dimensions::::6.9 x 0.6 x 10.5 inches++++++ ISBN10 1401235468 ISBN13 978-1401235 Download here >> Description: A New York Times Best Seller!DC Comics took a bold step and renumbered the longest-running monthly comic, Action Comics, to #1 for the first time since 1938 as part of the DC Comics—The New 52 event.With this renumbering comes a new creative team featuring comics legend Grant Morrison and fan-favorite artist Rag Morales. While Morrison is no stranger to writing the Superman character, having won three Eisner Awards for his work on All-Star Superman, Action Comics will be something new for both old and new readers and present humanitys first encounters with Superman, before he became one of the Worlds Greatest Super Heroes. Set a few years in the past, its a bold new take on a classic hero.Superman: Action Comics Vol. 1: Superman and the Men of Steel includes issues 1-8 of the monthly series After having stayed away from comic books for over a decade, DCs New 52 version of Action Comics seemed like the perfect place to jump back into the mix. I mean, a new (collectible) Superman series being written by none other than Grant Morrison? Grant Morrison--i.e., the author of The Invisibles? The guy who has been mentioned throughout the years in articles and whatnot by novelists and filmmakers that I admire? How many comic books writers can say the same? Unfortunately, not very many. So I couldnt wait to try out what THEE comic book writer was going to do with THEE superhero.As most people have already mentioned about this new series, matters DO start off with a bang and with lots of flair. For instance, right off the bat, Morrison blesses his motor-mouthed characters with the ability to speak in dialogue that is not only flavored with spicy wit but also with casual brilliance; Lex Luthers take on Superman as an invasive species, for instance, is a great throwaway concept that, if developed further, could carry an entire book on its own. Even more thrilling, however, is the sense of true heat and urgency that these initial socially-minded chapters generate, defining what Superman is all about--good ol fashioned action and heroism--but with contemporary bite. Right? For someone who was never keen on Superman, it was exciting to see that this new Superman would not be coming across as a distant godlike goodie-goodie. Nope, no Super-powered boy scout operating on a higher but inaccessible moral plane here. On the contrary, though clearly an alien (just ask Lex Luthor), Morrisons new Superman would not so much function as an earthly incarnation of a god as much as a heaven-sent avatar for the Everyman. More importantly, for the reader.A super-powered Everyman as an avatar for the reader is a solid approach to Superman and a no-brainer of a concept. Indeed, wearing that now iconic S t-shirt, initially, Clark Kent/Superman simply comes across as a smart, generally good-mannered, well-meaning guy acting out from a justified sense of moral indignation and social outrage. This Superman is just like us if we could actually DO something about societys evils. (Superman himself knows this as hes not above taunting his enemies with his superpowers or lecturing them on our behalf. Hehe.) And yet, come issue #3, *** SPOILER*** when The People selfishly turn on their new hero, Morrison displays the kind of depth, complexity, and integrity as a writer that has made him an artist worth following. Morrison reminds us that Superman IS indeed an alien to us mortals who are sometimes too eager to impose earthly limits on ourselves. That is, we CAN do something about our outrage if only we were more like Clark Kent the man, and less like the convenient super-powered revenge fantasy that Superman tends to be in most peoples minds (after all). Solid. *** SPOILER OVER ***At this point I was giddy reading this stuff, thinking that I had clearly made the right choice in deciding to once again invest time, energy, and MONEY into the comic book medium. Heck, I was even enjoying Rags Morales artwork, which, though intentionally shabby at times, it seems, also resonates with a quaint yet subtle Norman Rockwell-esque quality that underscores this more contemporary Superman with retro appeal. (Just take a gander at those cuffed blue jeans and scuffed worker boots on Supes there.)But then... something odd and baffling starts to happen at about the midpoint of this volume. At around issue #4, for example, *** SPOILER *** when a nightarish army of factory robots comes to life, sheer chaos overtakes the proceedings and never quite lets go. So be it. *** SPOILER OVER *** The problem with this sudden development, however, is that the chaos never emerges organically from pertinent character and story issues to which we have been exposed so far. At least, not on any recognizable emotional or psychological level. Indeed, as characters that we have been eagerly following suddenly disappear, new characters, events, and concepts are introduced so joltingly and out of the blue that as a Superman newbie I began to feel as if I had missed some vital info and backstory about the character afterall, New 52 or no New 52. But it turns out that Morrison is cutting a lot of this stuff out from new cloth. Huh?Purposeful or not, this lack of organic emotional depth and conflict to events devastates any intuitive understanding that the reader might derive from this otherwise complex story. Indeed, you WILL have to re-read many of these later issues simply to discover any kind of sense and clarity to the proceedings. But even then the payoff is merely intellectual. This isnt a story. What you have here is a series of intriguing concepts, promising story fragments, and interesting character moments wrapped around one big subversive idea after another, all of which begins to feel incredibly forced and labored.What I find to be truly stunning about this unfortunate turn of events, however, is just how little regard Morrison shows beyond this point for the basic mechanics of storytelling. It truly feels as if the restless idealist in Morrison simply could not refuse the opportunity to impart some very urgent messages and important ideas about society, superheroes, the comic book medium, etc., to the enfeebled comic book reader at the expense of narrative cohesiveness and basic character development.(*** SPOILER *** Note that Morrisons Brainiac is essentially the universes most anal and neurotic memorabilia collector/aficionado EVER. Got that? HaHa. *** END SPOILER ***)Who does Morrison think he is, anyway? The Coen Bros? I suppose that proves just how serious Morrison is here, people! So listen up. Thing is, all chuckling aside, after a certain point, beyond frustration and flashes of genuine anger, you simply stop caring. Indeed, the lack of empathy for the poor reader on Morrisons part starts to feel increasingly quarrelsome and driven by bitterness when the storytelling becomes so purposely incoherent and painful to read that it clearly feels like, well, like the reader is being force-fed an agenda--albeit an agenda teeming with genuinely subversive concepts and big whopping ideas. (I dunno. With all the news coming out about the rampant editorial interference and indecision happening at DC these days you have to at least wonder if Morrisons storylines for Action Comics werent tampered with or altered in some indirect way, no? Right?)To make matters worse, a series of semi-irrelevant back-up stories not only adds to the overall chaos and confusion but finally forces you to give up as you realize that the-powers-that-be at DC originally included these stories solely to boost up the cover price on original issues. Seriously... Were in a recession.Baffled as to how this volume of stories could have gone so horribly wrong, I went off and did some more research, learning that Morrison has indeed written wild-eyed, incoherent idea- driven comics before (see: Seaguy and some of his Batman Inc. stuff, for starters); in fact, a large portion of his output reads like a mosaic of mind- boggling ideas strung together only by raw unfiltered dream logic and sheer force of creative will. Admirable. Subversive, I suppose. But not exactly the stuff of classic storytelling. This kind of stuff sticks with you like fragments from a disturbing dream, but not as actual stories that you really care about.As smart and creative as Morrison cleary is and as important as his messages might be, no storyteller is above the basic requirements of telling a good story. None. This new Action Comics doesnt work. Yet you get the feeling that some readers will be a little too quick and eager to say nice things if only to justify their enthusiasm for the material and/or for the author. Speaking of which, my final advice? If you havent already, hunt down Morrisons All-Star Superman instead; with those stories, Morrison taps into the soul that makes the Superman mythos tick, in the process inspiring you to dream dreams of your own.

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