Superman: Action Comics, Vol. 3: Leviathan Hunt

Action Comics (2016)

by Brian Michael Bendis, Szymon Kudranski (Illustrator), Brad Anderson (Colorist)

Superman is joined by the Justice League in an epic battle against the Legion of Doom and the invisible mafia!

In the midst of "Leviathan Rising", the Legion of Doom has reemerged with a new partner, the Invisible Mafia. These two terrifying teams join forces against the Man of Steel. Can the Justice League arrive in time to to assist Superman or will this be the breaking point?

Collects Action Comics issues #1015-1020.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superman, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

128 pages, Hardcover

First published May 12, 2020

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Invisible Mafia are still having clandestine meetings to discuss… nothing… while The Red Cloud still continues to fight Superman for… nothing… Elsewhere, Rose and Thorn punch Leviathan to no effect and Lex is pointlessly doing an Emperor Palpatine impression. Also Naomi cameos to help Superman punch Red Cloud again. Riveting stuff.

Yup, it’s another rote Bendis superhero book full of useless dialogue and next to no story that fails to advance what weak plotting there’s already been up to this point.

My experience of this book is definitely hurt by having read Event Leviathan beforehand and knowing the outcome of that unimpressive storyline, as this book is set before all of that idiotic noise. But Leviathan Hunt is still a crap read regardless.

It’d help if Bendis was better at making the reader understand why things are happening. What do the Invisible Mafia want? What does the Red Cloud want? And why? The Rose and Thorn stuff with Leviathan is a waste of time because nothing happens from their encounter and it’s unclear why Leviathan thinks Rose and Thorn is worth recruiting. And the Naomi cameo was equally useless - it’s just her meeting the League and nothing else. Who’s excited by that? Me neither.

An entirely superfluous and uninteresting addition to an unremarkable run, Superman: Action Comics, Volume 3: Leviathan Hunt is instantly forgettable rubbish.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

"Superman had me totally checked out at the Hall of Justice, and then his colleagues did this whole . . . they have like a whole superhero 'Urgent Care'!" -- teen Naomi MacDuffie, a.k.a. Powerhouse

Perhaps owing to the sentiment that 'good things don't last forever,' Vol. 3: Leviathan Hunt has a noticeable dip in quality compared to the initial two volumes. One of the main reasons is the introduction of the screeching psychotic vigilante Rose Forrest, a.k.a. 'Thorn,' an odd and annoying supporting character who comes off as so eye-rollingly obnoxious that it's a wonder how she ever made it past the proverbial DC drawing board. Helping to salvage this volume, however, was a most pleasantly unexpected left turn late in the narrative where the on-going storyline takes a breather and adolescent Naomi MacDuffie - an alien who fully resembles a human being, and is experiencing newly burgeoning superpowers (sound vaguely familiar, superhero fans?) - unexpectedly arrives to seek out assistance from Superman. Our 'Man of Steel' swings into action with his Justice League co-horts the Wonder Twins, Atom, and Batman (who forms an immediate bond of sorts with young Ms. MacDuffie, as Superman observingly intones "He's very good at getting to the heart of these things. Also, he has the most experience with people your age."). I felt that these scenes were a perfect mix of humor and heart, and reflected well on the contrasting altruistic natures of Superman and Batman.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like Bendis used to do over at Marvel, his main books take a bit of a back seat during his big events, becoming companion pieces. So I suggest reading Event: Leviathan before tackling this. I like the renewed focus on the Invisible Mafia. I think they are Bendis's best addition to the Superman books. This book is a bit herky-jerky with Event: Leviathan, Year of the Villain and Naomi: Season One all taking bites of the Superman apple. But Bendis's attention to snappy dialog keeps this train moving and keeps it interesting.

Szymon Kudranski illustrates this whole arc. While I give kudos to DC for keeping one artist on the book, I'm not a fan. Kudranski's art is always sludgy and dark. Someone needs to teach him how lighting works unless he lives in a hole or something.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 1 out of 5]

What an absolute nonsensical mess. There are so many bad things packed into such a short volume. Let's start with the characters. Red Cloud is an awful villain that spouts unfunny one-liners for no reason as well as a lot of generic bad guy dialogue. Thorn and Naomi are so boring that I'd rather watch paint dry than read their scenes. Don't even get me started on Lex Luthor's Palpatine cosplay which reaches new levels of embarrassing. The art isn't that great either, with Superman looking kind of off in quite a few panels. Perhaps it's a simple case of unfulfilled expectation, but after the awful previous volume that focuses solely on set up, I've wasted my time if this is supposed to be the payoff.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

Creator Brian Michael Bendis is far from done infusing his own surge of creativity into the DC universe. Ever since his debut with DC after jumping ships and letting go of Marvel, he has now implemented key characters, worlds, and stories, that all allow the DC universe to embark on a revitalizing new adventure filled with possibilities but also to escape inevitable status quo that is often noted by readers. With his Event Leviathan now unveiled, he can proceed to further explore various sub-plots that have been planted left and right into a fertile land of story-telling ever since the beginning of his DC career. The real question now is to see if he'll be able to give all these stories the proper resolution to make them all worthwhile in the end.

What is Superman: Action Comics: Leviathan Hunt about? With Leviathan setting off a chain of events across the world by taking down secret intelligence agencies, Superman finds himself quite busy with the Invisible Mafia now resurfacing amidst all the chaos. It doesn't help when their intangible enforcer known as Red Cloud is back at it again and ready more than ever to tussle with the Man of Steel once again. But Metropolis couldn't be any more of a danger zone without the interference of Lex Luthor himself. Collecting Superman: Action Comics issues #1012-1016, this story arc returns back the spotlight onto the Invisible Mafia and the mysterious Red Cloud villain while additional threats enter the scene.

With the issues composing this story arc released during the "Year of the Villain" DC Comics event, it isn't hard to realize a couple of flaws that transpired from this timing. The most notable problem that comes with this story arc is its structure. It's simply all over the place. One second the story brings back Robinson Goode's trials as a rookie journalist at the Daily Planet and Marisol Leone as the Queenpin of Metropolis through her dominion over the Invisible Mafia, and the next second the story teases the arrival of a brand-new devastating designer drug known as Apocalypse, the sudden implication of the split-personality vigilante Rose/Thorn who is somehow connected to the whole Leviathan event, the mysterious resurgence of Lex Luthor and his enigmatic plans, and, of course, the deus ex machina that is Naomi McDuffie. Let's just say that Action Comics is now ACTION Comics.

While the story might be floating around a bit too much in this latest arc, struggling to really get some kind of footing, and making the main plot move forward much more efficiently, writer Brian Michael Bendis continues to display his marvelous grasp on Superman's lore and the characters of his universe. From Lois Lane to Perry White, he delivers some of the most hilarious banters yet, especially when the volume in itself is almost exempt from Superman's omnipresence and looks to focus on the supporting cast a lot more.

It is also interesting to see writer Brian Michael Bendis continue to incorporate his Wonder Comics characters into the DC universe, especially with Naomi this time around, although her role here, as previously mentioned, is a bit out of the blue. While it does wrap things up for what takes place after Naomi: Season One, her arrival really tossed things into the air, allowing no resolution for all the other sub-plots introduced, including the one where the Red Cloud's origin story was supposed to be revealed.

For this story arc, artist Szymon Kudranski was kept from cover to cover, allowing the story to possess a darker, grittier, but much more intimate tone. Although Clark Kent, Superman, and Lois Lane's facial design was disconcerting and not at all to my liking, the overall artistic vision that was prioritized was surprisingly stunning. From blur effects to colour contrasts that allow a certain focus on key characters, the artwork remained authentic and original. Colourist Brad Anderson also continues his phenomenal work as always as well and helps bring to life this story in ways that only images can.

It was also refreshing to indulge certain sequences where the panel structure was unconventional, allowing multiple narratives to take place at the same time (e.g. interviews with random citizens while Superman is in the middle of a devastating battle). Speaking of originality, writer Brian Michael Bendis brings another of his quirky touches to each individual issue by including a full-page pseudo-Twitter feed for the Daily Planet that offers insight on events inside the DC universe (e.g. events taking place in other heroes' worlds) but also outside of it (e.g. brand-new stories released by fellow creative teams).

Superman: Action Comics: Leviathan Hunt is an entertaining yet cursory story-arc zipping through a myriad of sub-plots centered around villains in the heart of Metropolis.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bendis continues to write some very entertaining Superman comics. Still enjoying this run. Love the mystery of who is Leviathan and watching everyone working to figure it out and seeing what he is trying to do. Plus you have another person secretly going around doing his own behind the scenes actions. Kudranksi’s art looks better here than it did in his Punisher run over at Marvel. Naomi popping up makes me want ti read her series from Bendis also. Great stuff.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Superman comic without Superman? That's sort of the premise of Bendis' Action Comics and he really does marvelous things with it, not only giving lots of attention to the normally supporting cast but also taking a really human look at Superman.

The Invisible Mafia are the star of this volume, and Bendis nicely advances their storyline, moving the major characters around and having them increasingly interacting with our stars. One of the missteps, however, is to tantalize us with the origin of the Red Mist and then drop it entirely. (I don't even know what's up with that, if I missed a side-story or what.)

The last two issues are a somewhat unfortunate clean-up of the Naomi: Season One storyline. I mean, it's not bad, but it definitely does feel like an interruption (and that Naomi doesn't really belong in the gritty storyline of the Invisible Mafia).

Still, a nice volume: I hope they have some good collections of Bendis' Action Comics when he's all done.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt this volume was a bit weaker than the past two.

I loved the stuff with Niomi and Batman/Superman and so on. All fun. I also enjoy all the cute moments with Lois and Superman. The Levithan storyline bleeds into here and it's presented a bit confusing and that's coming from someone who read the event. I also think the main threat isn't all that scary or interesting. Saying that the art is still fantastic and I enjoy the voice Bendis has for Superman. A 3.5 out of 5.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was a little frustrating as it seems set during the same time that Event Leviathan was playing out, so having read that already this was a bit redundant and outdated and had the treading water feel. Also, the last bit is just a nothing burger episode that serves only to promote Bendis' Naomi title by introducing her to Superman and Batman. Might as well have thrown some Hostess Fruit Pies in there too.

Hopefully, something actually happens in the next volume.

Despite being unimpressed with the plotting, I still enjoyed Bendis' dialogue and the interaction of the characters, so we'll round up to 3 stars.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half of this volume is a weak tie-in story to Event Leviathan. Like that event, the story here is vague, bland, and feeble, with terrible plotting, featuring something involving new Superman villains like the Red Cloud and the newly rebooted Rose and Thorn and their ties to the Invisible Mafia and the battle with Leviathan over the control of Metropolis. The best thing about all of this is the fascinating Marisol Leone, who secretly controls the Metropolis underworld and her connection to the Daily Planet.

The second half is Bendis's attempt to introduce the larger superhero world to his new character, Naomi. Here she travels to Metropolis and receives some mentorship from both Superman and Batman and gets into a stupid fight. If you were a fan of Naomi: Season One, this will be fun, although nothing major happens here.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having already read "Event Leviathan", this seemed pretty straightforward to me, almost like a backstory I didn't need. The only add on to this Volume was the introduction of Naomi, a new superhero coming into the DC fold from Wonder Comics. I might pick up her first Volume and see what I can learn about her.
Overall, it seemed pretty standard, not particularly standoutish in much of a way, but wasn't bad.
Recommend, for completionists.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collects Action Comics #1012-1016

The first three issues in this collection, focusing on the Invisible Mafia, were pretty good, but the final two issues, featuring Naomi, were great. I really like the new character of Naomi, and am glad that Bendis had a chance to create her at DC.

In some ways, the last two issues in this collection are a direct sequel to the first collection of the "Naomi" series. The first volume of "Naomi" is a must-read before reading this "Action Comics" collection.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bendis...what are you doing?

This volume starts very strong, with the mysteries of Leviathan, Year Of The Villain, and the Invisible Mafia colliding quite nicely. There's a lot of set-up and tantalizing answers held out for us to take, and Lex Luthor literally says he'll tell us what the Red Cloud's deal is.

And then the story forgets what it's doing in order to completely sidetrack into Naomi stuff instead.

Now, I love Naomi. Her origin mini-series was superb. But that's the point. She had an origin mini-series. We don't need two issues of Action to recap everything that's happened to her, just for her to come in and Worf the Red Cloud to save Superman. It's entirely unnecessary, and jettisons the plot that Bendis had set up out of the window.

It's odd that the best parts of Bendis' Action Comics are the bits without Superman in them; the Invisible Mafia, Red Cloud, Leone, and even Rose & Thorn are super interesting here, but again it's all just swept aside instead for Naomi.

At the very least, the book looks lovely. Szymon Kudranski's artwork is top notch; he's come a long way since the first time I saw him over on Green Lantern. His people always used to look a little rubbery, but he's improved a lot, and these five issues are a great illustration of that.

The bait-and-switch storytelling in this volume falls entirely flat; while Bendis has some great ideas, he doesn't seem to want to follow through with them, and that leaves a bad taste in your mouth once this volume ends, and builds up unnecessary animosity towards a character that most people would likely enjoy otherwise. At least it looks pretty, I guess.

[Rolando Marono · Rating 2 out of 5]

El súper plan de Bendis para Superman cada vez parece menos súper. En este volumen no sucede realmente nada importante, el tema del enfrentamiento entre Clark y Lois con Leone aparece en el tomo de Superman. El tema con thorn se me hizo innecesario al final y un relleno y la nube roja era un villano interesante pero no se terminó de explotar aquí.
Lo interesante de este tomo fue la aparición de Naomi y cómo Superman y la Liga la ayudan, pero fue una especie de capricho porque en realidad Bendis quería crear ese personaje y lanzar su propia serie. Leí buenas críticas sobre su serie pero no sé si valía la pena introducirla aquí, se siente forzado.
El tomo es entretenido, por eso no le doy menos calificación y su lectura es ligera y es sencilla. No aborda mucho el tema de Leviathan aunque sea el subtítulo del tomo, eso hace que su lectura sea más accesible.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leviathan Hunt contains Event Leviathan-, Year of the Villain-, and Naomi-adjacent action, with very little of its own story to tell. Leone, head of the Invisible Mafia, makes some moves as her red cloud counterpart is super-powered by Sith Lord Lex. And Thorn, a random Jekyl/Hyde anti-hero, roams into the picture with little to do.

Besides that, it's all other Bendis storylines being shoe-horned into one short volume. That means the dialogue is thick and overly clever as characters explain what's happening off-screen. There's just not much coherent content here and Bendis's writing style makes it all worse. Szymon Kudranski's artwork is like knock-off Sean Phillips. Functional, not great.

[Christian Zamora-Dahmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Have you heard about fill-in issues? Well, this was a fill-in set. 5 issues of nothing, and then Naomi. We’re in some serious trouble when the funniest part of the story is that Batman shows up. Really.
Other than that, Metropolis is now Gotham City, and the tone of the book is that of Detective Comics. How Bendis got green-lighted on this is anyone’s guess.
Highly not recommended.
Read in single issues.

[Mariano · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5.
A little less great at the end than the previous two, but still a cool read. The invisible mafia becomes a little bit more visible and we have Thorn as a guest star. Great moments from Perry and Trish Q.

The story deflates by the second half, when Naomi shows up, because things start to move around her and it felt weird.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story really gets hijacked by DC trying to introduce this "Naomi" character and make her out to be stronger than Superman. This was also the absolute worst drawing of Lois Lane that I have ever seen. Lois has never been Wonder Woman, but the artist made her look like Etta Candy.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this interwoven with Event Leviathan as recommended on Comic Book Herald. Not sure it really mattered in the end as this took more of a focus on the Invisible Mafia/Red Cloud angle, as I would have expected.

Having just blitzed through both books it's hard to remember everything that happened. The Thorn/Rose theme made for a battle or two. We had a Luthor offer to Leone and Red Cloud. Ms. Goode beginning to lose control over her red cloud power. A little more play from Leone as she makes herself known to Mr. White and clark offering to throw around some money for stories. Finally, we end with this new character, Naomi, from some other earth coming on the scene who helps Superman take on Red Cloud. Red Cloud apparently just disappears at the end, but it's only communicated 3rd hand via Trish Q reporting, which I didn't particularly enjoy. Looks like Leone and Strong are about to reveal more about how pervasive the Invisible Mafia really is within Metropolis.

Didn't totally pull me in, but still a pretty good read.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic plot: Superman hunts Leviathan while the Red Cloud hunts him.

There was a lot going on here, and it was a bit hard to keep up with at times. The art reflected the chaos often, keeping the visuals in line with the action. This kept the feeling of the book together, but didn't really help sort out the chaos. It felt intentional, so that's positive. This is a book setting up for whatever comes next. We have new characters being introduced (Naomi), already-introduced characters developing (Rose/Thorn, Ms. Leone, Red Cloud), mysteries developing (S.T.A.R. labs shenanigans), and more. It was just a lot. Good, but a lot.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I've read WAY more books than I've taken time to review, so it's time for... quick, knee-jerk reactions!*
- A solid Superman read that ties in to "Event Leviathan" and "Year of the Villain."
- Some nice Clark Kent moments, particularly in the beginning with him and Lois together in the Fortress of Solitude.
- I'm excited to learn more about Naomi. I love the parallels between her and Superman!

[Emmett Spain · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the underwhelming Event Leviathan we come to the even more underwhelming Leviathan Hunt, which centres around a dual identity character (Rose / Thorn) and the rather dull Red Cloud character, who is a Red Cloud is someone who can beat up Superman because the author created the character and said that is a thing and we all need to be impressed by that. Oh, and there's some Superman stuff in there, too, but just enough that you can still call it a Superman title. Better to put more energy into all those creator-made characters instead, apparently.

This is a low point of Bendis's Superman run, for which I've been an apologist. I've enjoyed parts of the run, and forgiven its flaws as even the good books are likely to have a few, but this is just weak. It's like his trademark snappy dialogue is seriously on the fritz here. Is it just me? I couldn't fine a decent line in the whole volume. Mostly, I found myself bored and tempted to spin through the pages as the action is retold by Metropolis citizens with a whole lot of apparently "everyday" dialogue, where people say things like "And it was, like, whaaaaaaaat?" Which is fine and all, except that everyday dialogue sucks, so it's not fine at all.

The art is pretty decent, even if Superman's face seems to warp into weird shapes every now and again. The artist, whilst talented, has trouble with certain angles of the Big Blue Boy Scout. Similarly, certain characters look like different people when drawn from different sides. I imagine that this will improve with time and further skill development. As it was, I found it distracting from time to time.

On the whole, this was just ... dull. I didn't really care much about what was happening, the villains were generally pretty crap (Leone's not bad, but Leviathan is dull and Red Cloud doesn't generate much interest from me), and it doesn't really feel compelling to read from issue to issue.

Here's hoping the run will bounce back after this. I'm off now to read Superman Vol. 3: The Truth Revealed. Wish me luck.

[Scarred Wizard · Rating 2 out of 5]

THIS IS SUCKS!

can't believe this is written by Brian Michael Bendis. i love all of his Marvel run. All New X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy, even his critically slammed Civil War II are so so good full with actions. now this? this is a f***ing boring espionage & mystery solving story comic that has almost zero action (despite the title being an Action Comics?). Red Cloud is such a cool & bad-ass villain but super wasted potential. I can only imagined her with that power is ruining Superman's life. but that didn't happened. Instead this whole run being a journalist solving mysteries comics, full with dialogue & words. ACTION COMICS with no actions?? how f***ed up is that? what a huge let down by one of my favorite comic writer! extremely disappointed. who the f decided to write this so called Action Comics this way?? i skipped most of the pages but i still can understand what is happening. how bad is that? the only panels that i've enjoyed is where Superman taking down Red Cloud which is just a few pages. that action scene was so good! i'm giving this 2 star for that alone compared to the previous volumes but still.. i'm throwing this book into the bin. no more next volume!

just please don't bother with these Bendis Action Comics run if you're here for the action. no action at all! to those who gave this a high rating, i can't believe you enjoyed this Zero-Action Comics. To Brian Michael Bendis, please! please no more of this boredom-fest of wordy & zero action comics. Don't be an another Jonathan Hickman.

Rating : 2/10.. f*** this! ugh!

[Justin Partridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Hey, Metropolis…why won’t you tell me what you first thought of me when you first met me?”

“Because I was completely wrong.”

/////

“Home?! HOME?! The Daily Planet is our home!”


Lol I read this in one sitting. The Bendis Is Coming! Era of Action Comics rules.

I definitely think this arc could have used maybe a BIT more meat on its bones, plot wise? Like it introduces so many really fun ideas (the continued focus on the Daily Planet reporting, more street level stuff hinged around a very neat deep pull of Rose & Thorn, actually well deployed team-up stuff that also keeps distracting from the lack of real exploration). Like it’s very functional and often times pretty charming.

And MAN does it look goddamn GREAT. Szymon Kudranski pencils on Brad Anderson colors just gives this whole arc a raw, vibrant energy that fully sets it apart from everything that came before. The Paquette stuff was really theatrical and loopy. The Epting stuff was super clean and stagey. But THIS just feels really alive and expressive in the way that I love the title to be. You actually feel like the people on the page are real and breathing and the action just screams from the splash pages. Gah, it’s so good. I wish the book could look like this forever.

Truly? The more I get into #SuperSummer, the more I think I should own a lot more Superman comics. Just sitting with them and pouring over them in widescreen pages has been such a treat thus far. Even when the comics aren’t like crazy good, I’m still having a fun, charging time just spending time with them.

Comics are kinda great sometimes, WHO KNEW?! For Kandor! For #SuperSummer!

[Ronan The Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first 2 installments, but still has some moments. This felt like it was spinning its wheels, what with the Leviathan nonsense (I read/reviewed Event Leviathan before this and spoiler: wasn’t a fan) and the Invisible Mafia stuff progressing somewhat, but not enough. I do like Bendis’ more casual voice for Superman, and his Clark/Lois dynamic. I like Naomi and she pops up too. The thing about all his characters sounding the same happens a bit here, but not too distracting for the most part.

The idea for the invisible mafia is a good one, but seeing as it was the main plot line from the first volume, and now at the end of the third it still isn’t resolved, makes it feel over-extended. If it was a tighter story, had less Leviathan stuff, and better art, it would’ve been more solid. Oh yeah, wasn’t a fan of the art for this one. Kudranski’s art feels...fake somehow? It looks almost like action figures being posed, or like it was traced from magazines, or something. I don’t know. The faces were weird and I wasn’t a fan.

I’d say the first 3 volumes of Bendis’ action comics was, from what if heard prior, a bit of a pleasant surprise. Not great, but very readable and had enjoyable moments. This is probably where that train stops though, as I refuse to suffer through spinning wheels and JRJR. I’d say read the first 2 volumes, and if you like it enough, this one is innocuous.

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I still hate the Superman/Lois dialogue, sadly.
Red Cloud is here, and *yawn* oh sorry, where was I? Right. Bad guys that I have no stake in.
Naomi gets introduced here, and she's cute. I'll try to check out her title next.
LOL that Superman called in Batman though because "He's very good at getting to the heart of these things. Also he has the most experience with people your age." LOL

The "best" (which was only just OK) part of the volume was the interviews with the people on the street in #1016 who saw Superman fighting. That was well done in a worrying voyeuristic way (they all just watched and judged him for failing with the Red Cloud.... How is she still a thing? She's so lame! Anyway...). But back to the less than good parts of this volume: The character writing. Naomi disobeys Batman's orders not to leave and help Superman, and Batman smiles?? Who is this Batman? Smiling at disobeyed orders. I don't like him.
But then again, this was funny:
Naomi: "Oh, here's Batman. This is my Mom."
Batman: "I'm Batman."
Naomi's Mom: "Damn right you are."
LOL

All in all, weak volume. Batman made me laugh twice, but also made me scowl.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 1 out of 5]

Katastrofa, a czytając pierwsze prace Bendisa nic na to nie wskazywało. Jak na tego autora co prawda historie w obu runach o Człowieku ze stali były zwyczajnie przeciętne, ale nie tak słabe, jak to się słyszało w środowisku. Przy trzecim tomie dotarłem jednak do dołu...

Zazwyczaj staram się znaleźć jakieś punkty zaczepienia, które "ratują" tytuł przed tą jedną, felerną gwiazdką. W tym przypadku nawet się nie starałem, bo historia jest przeraźliwie nudna i mało angażująca. I stanowi powtórkę z tego co można zobaczyć w poprzednich tomach.

Trzeci tom jest fillerem i to najgorszej maści. Lepiej spokojnie sięgnąć po event Laviathan, który mimo słabej średniej okazał się dużo lepszy niż ta odsłona przygód Supka. Czy to powrót Niewidzialnej Mafii, czy obecność Naomi, czy ponowne bezsensowne starcie z Czerwoną Chmurą. Miało to mało sensu, już nie mówiąc o tej dziewczynie co miała rozdwojenie jaźni...

Wreszcie zrozumiałem czemu ludzie tak "psioczą" na jakość, jaką prezentuje tu ten utytułowany twórca komiksowy. Bendisowi wyjątkowo nie po drodze z postacią Supermana. Przynajmniej od tego punktu...

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this volume, Brian Michael Bendis does his best to juggle they Year of the Villain stuff, the Invisible Mafia stuff, and the Naomi stuff all at the same time...

... and does it work? Well, for the most part yeah, kinda. But I would be lying if I didn't say this book does feel like a bit of a mess at times. Don't get me wrong, I very much enjoy the title and I think Bendis is doing a good job, however, there is so many things happening at once that I think anyone would've kind of struggled through this patch. However I will say that Bendis' penchant for dialogue and interpersonal conversation really shines through on the book and becomes almost like an anchor point for the reader to hang on to through all the details. His Lois and Clark relationship banter feels natural and is a treat to read.

Overall, this was a fun read but with alot to balance. I think as things move forward, the book will find its footing (hopefully).

[Benjamin Kimble · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bendis sure does love writing books where nothing happens. These issues came out during Event Leviathan and so everything happens around those events, but honestly I don’t know if I could tell you what actually happened. We see the Invisible Mafia talk more but they still do nothing and I’m getting sick of them. Lex Luthor gives out some stuff to tie into year of the villain. Bendis brings in his OC Naomi who seems to be a nothing burger of a character from this. She just pops and crashes into things and gets taken home. Szymon Kudranski is an okay artist. His work doesn’t wow but it’s not bad and he gets the job done here. This book did not impress me and I’m worried about Bendis not giving Action Comics a satisfying ending.

[Will Cooper · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very boring companion(?) to Event Leviathan, but I read the event first and this feels...completely pointless. Red Cloud gets more power (who cares) and Superman has trouble fighting this ambiguously powered bad(?) person and Naomi shows up (hope you read her book!) and has bright comic book powers! And the Invisible Mafia still exists! I think!

Did not care about any of this, but there sure was enough dialogue in it to pretend things could be happening!