Action Comics #887

I love when comics take a step back from the title hero and flesh out some of the secondary characters that populate their universe. When done correctly we see that these are more than cardboard cutouts or devices to move the plot forward but fully formed characters each with their own motivations and goals.

This issue pulls back the curtain and gives us a look at why Lois Lane is such a good reporter and why she's far from the "damsel in distress" archetype she started out as and is now a woman strong and confident enough to be the wife of Superman. With Kal off-planet for what seems like forever (probably not in comic book time) she has thrown herself into exposing the plot by her father to paint every Kryptonian as evil and spark a war between Earth and New Krypton. We get to look over her shoulder as her investigation puts her in harm's way and watch as she writes her article exposing her father and his machinations.

As she follows her son NightWing and his girlfriend FlameBird as they fight against the creation of a corrupted Kryptonian god Rao we see a woman very much concerned with how Kryptonians are perceived by the public. She wants to expose the truth knowing that whatever the public sentiment is against Kryptonians it will eventually be applied to her husband.

I love the effort put into making sure not just Superman but the world around is well defined and full of characters that have a realistic feel to them. I look forward to what Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann will bring us next.