Bizarro Am Not Back: ‘Action Comics’ #1061 Reviewed

A new era of Action Comics is here, and with it is one of Superman’s most iconic enemies. I, Bizzaro begins in Action Comics #1061, and it comes with all the highs and lows you might expect.

Jason Aaron, John Timms, and Rex Lokus kick off the Superman All-Stars (no letterer was credited but Dave Sharpe letters most Superman series).

Bizarro has discovered one of the most unexpected side effects of his opposite abilities from Superman- magic makes him stronger. Now he’s going to use this new ability to find his way home. With Htrae missing though, that might mean using sorcery to bring Htrae to Earth…

There’s a lot to like here, but the strong elements are a bit overshadowed for me by the fact this story is built on a nonsensical leap in logic. Aaron writes Clark and Lois well. The action is interesting. But the idea that Bizarro will shift from doofus (whether he’s a scary doofus or silly, but that’s beside the point) to master sorcerer is a huge leap in logic that doesn’t make any sense. 

It’s one thing to look at the backwards logic of Bizarro and think “Magic is Superman’s weakness, it could empower Bizarro!” That works. It’s another thing though when the entire story is based on a misunderstanding of how that weakness works- Superman isn’t weakened by magic like Kryptonite. He’s vulnerable to it. So turning Bizarro into a skilled magic user and then making that the entire source of conflict for this story just doesn’t make sense.

Timms and Lokus do some great things, making the art far and away the highlight of the issue. Timms’s Superman is dominating on the page, drawing the eye in while capturing the pure essence of the character. His take on Bizarro is scary, while still maintaining his goofy quality. Lokus does a great job making it all come to life with the colors, making the magic seem supernatural and selling the awe of Superman’s world that Timms put in the panel.

Action Comics #1061 is available now from DC Comics.