Review: Action Comics Vol. 3- Leviathan Hunt

Quick Summary

Pros: The volume continues this comic’s narrative in a way that is interesting and exciting. The volume’s conclusion is great and builds even more excitement for the next volume. The artwork is mostly positive throughout the book.

Cons: The tie-ins to Event Leviathan aren’t that great.

Overall: This book is a satisfying continuation of the storyline running through this series. It continues to explore this comic’s mysteries in a way that is enjoyable while also reserving new mysteries for the future. Not every subplot is a winner but the vast majority of the book is fun to read. Readers who have been enjoying the Action Comics series thus far should keep reading here.

Story

Action Comics Vol. 3: Leviathan Rising, by Brian Michael Bendis, is a worthwhile continuation of the Action Comics series. The narrative here continues to explore the mysteries surrounding the Invisible Mafia, Red Cloud, and the ongoing struggles within Metropolis while also introducing several new mysteries. The exploration into all of this is exciting and simply fun to see play out. The only downside is that the tie-ins to the Event Leviathan event are just alright and, in some places, actually distract from a better storyline. Overall though, this volume hits the mark when it comes to continuing an already enjoyable series.

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The first few chapters in Leviathan Hunt are alright. They do a great job in continuing the positive elements from the previous volume by continuing the Red Cloud’s storyline and entangling the Invisible Mafia in the actions of Leviathan and Rose/Thorn. However, it also feels like this portion of the narrative is attempting to tie things back to the main Event Leviathan event, which doesn’t work out quite as well and actually ends up distracting from an otherwise solid narrative.

Luckily, things improve as the volume progresses and the narrative refocuses. The development of the book’s early chapters leads to a direct showdown between Superman and the Red Cloud. This would be exciting enough on its own but the added presence of Naomi makes it even more interesting. Naomi, despite being very new to the world of DC Comics, is already turning out to be a great character. Together, these factors give the book an exciting conclusion that works well in the context of this series.

Leviathan Hunt‘s conclusion also does a great job in building up excitement for the next book. For the past two volumes, readers have learned more and more about the Invisible Mafia, despite the organization’s efforts to remain out of the spotlight. The conclusion of this volume indicates that the group will finally be stepping out into the open and I can only imagine what this will entail.

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Art

The artwork in Leviathan Hunt is positive throughout this volume. Szymon Kudranski’s work is every bit as bold, detailed, and energetic as the rest of this series has been. It allows the characters to look good and allows the fights to look even better. This is particularly true when it comes to horizontal two-page spreads, which really give the artwork a chance to show what it can do. My only complaint is that there are places where characters’ faces look a little weird and look drastically different from how they have for the duration of this series. However, overall, the visuals here are solid and make for an enjoyable reading experience.

Continuity

Action Comics Vol. 3: Leviathan Hunt continues the story from Action Comics Vol. 2: Leviathan Rising (Review). This volume also ties in to the Event Leviathan (Review) event.

The story here continues in Action Comics Vol. 4: Metropolis Burning. 

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• Each chapter starts with a social media page that references happenings within the world of DC Comics.
  • Almost every chapter contains a reference to the new Lois Lane and Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen comics, collected in Lois Lane: Enemy of the People and Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen: Who Killed Jimmy Olsen?.  Almost every chapter also contains references to what is taking place in the Event Leviathan event.
  • Action Comics #1012 references:
    • “Heroes in Crisis” which refers to the Heroes in Crisis (Review) (Reading Order) event.
    • “Aquaman 2” which refers to the real-world Aquaman movie.
  • Action Comics #1013 references:
    • Mysterious drones being seen in the sky. These drones are part of the Year of the Villain (Review) event.
    • Hashtags on the side of the page reference: the City of Bane (Review) storyline from the Batman series, the emergence of a new hero in the Naomi (Review) series, the Doom War (Review) storyline from the Justice League series, and the “LexCorpFallout”, “TheOffer”, and the “YearOfTheVillain” from the Year of the Villain (Review) event.
  • Action Comics #1014 references:
    • “The world tilting toward doom” which refers to the events of the Doom War (Review) storyline.
    • The existence of the Wonder Twins, which is mostly detailed across their solo series, The Wonder Twins.
    • Several mentions are made to the end of LexCorp and Lex Luthor in general. These refer to what happened in Year of the Villain (Review).
    • Hashtags on the side of the page reference: the City of Bane (Review) storyline from the Batman series and the Dial H series.
  • Action Comics #1015 references:
    • A “United Planets forming” which refers to events taking place at the conclusion of Superman Vol. 2: The Unity Saga: House of El.
    • “An infection” sweeping across the superhero community, which refers to a plotline that starts in Batman/Superman: Who are the Secret Six? (Review) and continues in Year of the Villain: The Infected.
    • Hashtags on the side of the page reference: Tim Drake’s (Reading Order) name change to “The Drake” from Young Justice #9, collected in Young Justice Vol. 2: Lost in the Multiverse; the Naomi series, collected in Naomi: Season One (Review); a “Blood Feud”, from Nightwing: The Gray Son Legacy, the new Adventures of the Super Sons series, the Suicide Squad (Reading Order) reboot from Suicide Squad: Bad Blood, and the return of the Question in The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage.
  • Action Comics #1016 references:
    • Lex Luthor’s actions in Year of the Villain (Review)
    • The new Young Justice series, which began in Young Justice Vol. 1: Gemworld (Review).
    • “Blackstars” which refers actions taking place in The Green Lantern.
    • Superboy’s return at the beginning of Superman Vol. 2: The Unity Saga: House of El.
    • Hashtags on the side of the page reference: “Blackstars” from The Green Lantern, the “Power of Hex” referring to Jinny Hex’s appearances, the infection of Supergirl (Reading Order) from Batman/Superman: Who are the Secret Six? (Review), the existence of a “Ms. Freeze” from Detective Comics Vol. 4: Cold Vengeance, the Suicide Squad (Reading Order) reboot from Suicide Squad: Bad Blood, and the Dial H series.
• Action Comics #1012 mentions that Superman (Reading Order) is going into space with his son for a while. His time in space is detailed across the second half of Superman Vol. 2: The Unity Saga: The House of El.
• Lex Luthor’s (Reading Order) presence in this book is a tie-in to the Year of the Villain (Review) event.
• Action Comics #1014 mentions Star Labs’ recent tampering with the Phantom Zone. This is detailed across Superman Vol. 1: The Unity Saga: Phantom Earth.
• The map of the Multiverse, seen in Action Comics #1015, is from Multiversity.
• Naomi’s past is detailed across Naomi: Season One (Review).