“Action Comics” #40, written by yours truly with art by Aaron Kuder, is a big, crazy one-shot Bizarro story that we had an insane amount of fun working on. And it’s been ridiculously gratifying to see how well the book’s been received. According to ComicBookRoundup, it’s nabbed seven (!) perfect scores, and is almost certainly the best reviewed book of my comics career.
Just a few excerpts:
“The best part of all this foolishness is Greg Pak’s palpable exuberance, and Aaron Kuder’s astonishing artwork. Everything in this book is a testament to Kuder’s commitment to the comics artform, a soppy valentine dreamily espousing his passion for the craft with every breathless splash page, one after the other. If I enjoy another comic book this year as much as I enjoyed Action Comics #40, I will be happily surprised. Essential reading.” — Jarrod Jones, DoomRocket
“Action Comics #40 is an inspired bit of lunacy and the perfect coda on which to take the two month Convergence break. It will make you laugh, cry tears of joy, and be glad for stories like this. It’s also a good invitation for the upcoming Bizarro series, which I hope will match this comic in side splitting hilarity.” — Daniel Kalban, Word of the Nerd
“And that’s what Action Comics #40 is destined to be, that comic that you just can’t put down. It’s the one you give your kid so that she’ll secretly stay up hours past bedtime with a flashlight under the covers, imagining what it would be like to live in a world where up is down, and the moon really is made of cheese. Pak and Kuder have captured something incredible here, that blends what was so great about this concept in the first place, without losing sight of their own accomplishments with Superman over the past two years.” — Matt Santori-Griffith, Comicosity
I’m hugely grateful for all the kind words, and of course give huge credit to artist Aaron Kuder, who came up with most of the inspired visual gags in the book; colorist Wil Quintana, who delivered a gorgeous palette; and editor Eddie Berganza, who supported us every step of the way and totally got the crazy vibe we were going for.
The whole thing also makes me feel warm and fuzzy about this new golden age of comics I think we’re stepping into. Readers are ready for anything these days, and publishers are coming through with a fantastic variety of books. Keep buying the books you love, folks, and we’ll keep making ’em!
Also, I’d like to plug Heath Corson’s and Gustavo Duarte’s “Bizarro” series that launches in June. If you dig the character and want to see more fun books like this, preorder it today with your local comics shop!
Concept art for the new BIZARRO series coming in June!
