Review: Action Comics Vol. 4- Hybrid

Quick Summary

Pros: The first story in this book is very fun and feels like pre-Flashpoint Superman. The majority of the collection features some great art.

Cons: The Young Romance story is pretty bad. A good portion of the book is average at best.

Overall: This is an occasionally good, occasionally bad, and mostly mediocre collection of Superman stories. It succeeds in its purpose, which is to help readers transition between the major storylines in the Action Comics series, but fails to do much more than that. Die hard Superman fans may find something to appreciate in this volume but everyone else won’t suffer much by skipping it.

Collection Notes

This collection includes Action Comics #24 which forms part of the “Psi War” storyline, a story arc from the Superman series. It honestly doesn’t make much sense to include this issue in this collection because it has absolutely nothing to do with the other events in this collection. For this reason, we will be reviewing this story in our review of Superman Vol. 4: Psi War (found here) and not in this review.

The solicitation for this volume says that it includes Superman Annual #2, it does not include this issue at all.

Story

While not the best Superman story out there, Action Comics Vol. 4: Hybrid is certainly an improvement on what is currently going on in the Superman series right now. It starts with a pretty good Superman story, moves into an awful Young Romance story, starts an overwhelmingly average Superman story, and then ends with a somewhat weird flashback to Krypton’s past. It’s a real mix of quality here with very distinct beginnings and ends. Part of this is because Hybrid is meant to be a transition collection, something to pad out the time between Morrison’s run in volumes 1-3 and Pak’s run in volumes 5-8. Overall this makes it an average volume that I’m sure most reader will forget about soon after reading.

(spoilers start here)

The first few issues of the book are by Andy Diggle and catalogue one of Superman’s adventures after his start in Action Comics volumes 1-3 but prior to the modern era shown in Superman volumes 1-3. In this way, it provides an interesting look at the Man of Steel before he becomes encumbered by some of the current generation’s continuity. This allows him to have a crazy adventure against a villainous Lex while Lois and Jimmy contribute in the background. It feels a lot like a pre-Flashpoint Superman story, which is a good thing overall.

After that story concludes, readers are subjected to a short Young Romance story. The story features a dinner date between Superman and Wonder Woman, so if you like their relationship you may find this story tolerable. However, it is so short and quick that it becomes hard to care about anything happening in it. Plus the ending, Superman literally blocking Cupid’s arrow, is so corny that it ends up just feeling dumb.

At this point, Scott Lobdell steps in and does a story connecting back to his current work over in the Superman series. Like most of Lobdell’s work, it is highly celebratory of Superman’s strength and tactical maneuvering. It is a generic Superman beats up bad guys story with little else to weigh it down or lift it up. For some this will be fine, however I find Lobell’s dialogue and narration to be a bad fit for the Man of Steel, something about it just makes everything feel inauthentic and forced.

The final portion of this book is a collection of backup issues, together telling the story of a rebellion stopped by Superman’s parents. Once again, this is a story that is average at best and will really only be fun to read for people who loved the prehistoric Krypton setting of books like Krypton Returns (Review). For the rest of the populace, the story is too quick and awkward to be anything of note.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The beginning of this book features artwork by Tony S. Daniel. Like most of Daniel’s work, this collection does not fail to impress. Everything looks nice and is drawn with a quality designed to scream action at every corner. Characters are the real highlight here though as Superman and his supporting cast are all drawn in a detailed and visually striking way.

The Young Romance story is drawn by Robson Rocha. Odd shadows and sunken in facial features make the lead characters look almost ghoulish when they are meant to be on a romantic dinner date. It throws off the work as a whole and simply does not look good.

The modern day story is drawn by Tyler Kirkham, who definitely manages to kick things up a notch. Backgrounds in particular look amazing and his attention to detail is a delight to see. I would place this story just below Tony S. Daniel’s work as the best art in this collection.

The first half of the backup issues are drawn by Philip Tan. The art looks average at best but also greatly suffers in random areas. In particular paneling is erratic and confusing, making the reading experience more of a chore than it needs to be. Also the art just feels pointless at various moments. For example, at one point Jor-El is supposed to be amazed at something, yet the drawing on the page is so underwhelming that readers will be confused as to what he is so impressed by. The second half of the backups, drawn by Tom Derenick are alright but are still average at best.

Continuity

The first half of Action Comics Vol. 4: Hybrid takes place around five years after the first three volumes of Action Comics. The second half of Action Comics Vol. 4: Hybrid takes place roughly around the same time as Superman Vol. 4: Psi War (Review).

• The first three issues, set one year before the modern day, foreshadow a few things that will happen in Superman: H’el on Earth (Review), such as Lex Luthor being in prison.
• Superman and Wonder Woman’s relationship is something that started in Justice League Vol. 2: The Villain’s Journey (Review).
• The Young Romance story has a few mentions to Wonder Woman’s adventures in Wonder Woman Vol. 2: Guts (Review).
• The portion of the story dealing with Hector Hammond is a reference to Superman Vol. 4: Psi War (Review).
• The final story in this book ties into stories from Superman: Krypton Returns (Review)