Why you must read Action Comics Issue 26 : Pop Culture Leftovers

Why you must read Action Comics Issue 26

December 18, 2013 9:13 pm | Leave your thoughts

(Brian always tells me that I need to write more reviews without any spoilers, so here we are. My best attempt at getting you to read this comic without giving you a single spoiler)

All right, DC Comics, I forgive you. Your New 52 was so upsetting that we needed to take a break. Now, my buddy Craig insists that I have to read Action Comics issue 26; and, oh wonderful DC, you remind me why we fell in love in the first place.

My buddy Craig has always loved Superman, but I never really understood why. Craig is undeveloped. This is the word he prefers to describe himself. I have never known Craig to be violent in any way so I never understood why he liked the guy who solves his problems by punching them and throwing them into the sun. I spent most of my early years being a pacifist. In junior high, I would run my mouth kinda like I do now, but then I was pudgy enough and wimpy enough that I got my ass kicked a lot. Once I got to high school, I quickly took up listening to freedom rock, growing my hair, and joining the soccer team. I still mouthed off, but now I did it while running up and down a soccer field. Craig did not play sports, but he loved going to the games. I remember Craig screaming in the silence after I scored my only goal ever “OH MY GOD, Dave scored!” like it was yesterday. Writer Greg Pak provides in this issue the best superman story that I have read since All Star Superman. Aaron Kuder’s art and June Chung’s colors definitely remind me of Frank Quitely’s comforting style. Part of this is Pak’s strong grasp of the characters, specifically our two leads. Clark and Lana boast contemporary voices, but their values, personalities, and chemistry are classically homespun. With Clark’s parents out of the picture, Lana is the only remaining person who knew Superman before he put on the cape, even before he put on the T-shirt. Others may marvel at his stature, but she sees him as “my high school prom date,” the boy who still goes out of his way to impress her, sometimes to her exasperation and his own embarrassment. “Hey!” she yells as Clark readies an ill-chosen projectile at the monster, “That’s my truck!” I could go into more detail, but I want you to go out and read this comic. Why? Because Craig said it was a Tupperware, and I would agree.

As to why you should care what Craig thinks, let me tell you why. By senior year, I’d cut my hair to get a job, got kicked off the soccer team for smoking weed, and took up shaking my ass to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction which is probably not what led me to do what I did for the first time ever. I got in a fight with a football player. There was blood.

See, it all started because he was in my gym class, and the junior and senior gym classes were sharing the locker room with a freshman gym class that included Craig. The freshmen took a liking to picking on him which wasn’t cool, but there was that unwritten law that they could pick on their own and we could pick on our own. Each group had jurisdiction. Sporto was a classmate of mine who crossed that boundary. He took Craig’s candy bar and dunked it in a toilet. A dirty toilet. Dirty as in not flushed. He then gave Craig his candy bar back which he then ate. Then Sporto had the nerve to brag about it which is where this story takes off. See, my friends and I did not find this as amusing so we told him so, over and over and over. Until one day, he decided to settle this by attacking the weakest among us. Which wasn’t me. It was Craig. He attacked Craig after gym class, coming out of the shower naked. Now Craig might have stood a chance but not nude. So, stupid me, I step in and challenge him to fight after school to protect our new freshmen buddy Craig. Sporto accepts. I panic.

I got to the park three minutes after school let out. I was maybe the fiftieth person there already. Sporto wasn’t even there yet. There ended up being more seniors there than I had seen at any other activity all year. Then, Sporto showed up, and the fight began. Somebody should have brought a choreographer. It was awkward and ridiculous; but, when the crying was calmed down and the blood was wiped up, I let him leave with the promise he’d not pick on people again. I’d won the fight, lawdy fucking da. But school was suddenly crazy. The cool people suddenly wanted me to hang out with them. I was like “Thanks, but no, I didn’t like you before, so let’s keep our animosity and go on.” But the worst were the losers. Seems people thought I was the hero now, and I was their friend. Wrong. I’d gotten into a fight to protect a naked, special needs freshman who had become my friend, but just because I defend someone doesn’t mean that I suddenly like everyone else. This scenario continued. I stick up for the dregs and the stepped on and they think it’s because I want to be their friend too. Rather, I just identify more with them or maybe I dislike them less than their oppressors. But, whatever it is, just because I champion the damned doesn’t mean I want to talk to each one of them. But I would still fight Sporto anytime.

Also I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Steve and Alil on attaining Leftover status. You two sound great on the show. Now, if you can just convince Brian to cover the Doctor Who Christmas Special, I will love you forever.

Yours Truly,

domesticateddave@gmail.com

SPECIAL THANKS TO MATT ANDREWS FOR HIS SUPPORT AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS ARTICLE

Why you must read Action Comics Issue 26

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