Action Comics #2 Reviewed

Heed my words, children, for here lies wisdom.

In the dark days before the Great Reboot great uncertainly lay over the legions of fandom and there was upon them much wailing and gnashing of teeth.  To them in these days the prophet did speak, and spake he thus: "...Grant Morrison will be writing Action Comics and that's going to kick ass."  And lo, did it come to pass that in the first week of the second month of the Great Reboot were the words of the prophet fulfilled, for, verily, the second issue of Action doth ROCK!  And throughout the land of the fanboy there was much rejoicing.

Can I get an AMEN, brothers and sisters?!

Ahem...Sorry.  I really don't know what came over me.  

You might get the idea from that outburst above that I kind of liked Action Comics #2 just a little bit.   You would, of course, not be wrong.  With this issue, Action begins to live up to the awesome potential inherent in the combination of the names "Grant Morrison" and "Superman," and the end of the issue indicates that it's only going to get better in the months ahead. 

Truly, the best parts of the issue, at least for veteran Superman readers, are the hints dropped about future plot developments.  Storywise, "Superman In Chains" is pretty simple and straightforward.  At the end of last issue, you may recall, a trap set by Luthor and General Lane had succeeded in capturing Superman.  As #2 begins, he is being held in a top secret military facility and "interrogated" (a polite way of saying "tortured") by Luthor.  It really isn't such a spoiler to say that he escapes.  He may not be as powerful as he's been depicted in the past, but he IS Superman after all.  Along the way we encounter a couple of "new" characters whose names will be familiar to those versed in the old continuity, a Dr. Irons--John Henry, I presume--and Sgt. John Corben.  Though we know, or think we know, what's going to happen to them, the fun will be in seeing how Grant gets them there.   When we last see Corben, he looks about ready to don a high tech battlesuit and take on Superman in an attempt to impress Lois Lane.  On top of all that, the issue ends with a shot of a menacing looking spaceship that I'm assuming--'cause Grant isn't telling just yet--belongs to none other than Brainiac.
Action #2 is a fast paced and exciting story in its own right, and promises even more excitement to come.  It's pretty much every thing a good super-hero comic should be.