Action Comics #1094 Is Yet Another Example of Superman Supremacy (Review)

Action Comics has been on fire since 2021. The book was the epicenter of writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s run, which was the first brick in the wall of Superman supremacy that we’re living in now. Johnson’s run was full of great stories, and then, in 2024, we got “Superman Superstars,” which saw various comic superstars tell Supes’s stories. It ended with Mark Waid on the book with the story “Phantoms,” and since then, Action Comics became the new Superboy book, as Waid told the story of Superman’s past in Smallville as Superboy. We’ve been getting some amazing stories in Waid’s run, and Action Comics #1094 is yet another example of why Superman is the best-written character in comics.

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Action Comics is one of DC’s must-read books in 2026, and this issue shows off why. Waid has always written an amazing Superman, and he’s just as great with Superboy. Waid is basically a doctorate-level expert on old school DC, so giving him a chance to redo the tales of Superboy was honestly the best idea that DC could have. Superboy is one of the most important concepts in comics, and getting a new modernized version of the Teen of Steel is everything a Superfan could want. Waid does an amazing job with young Clark Kent, capturing the goodness of the boy as he tries to navigate a world that has changed completely since putting on the red, blue, and yellow.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Pros	Cons
Exciting action scenes bookended by important plot events
The art is perfect for this story, capturing the excitement of the action scene and the simpler Smallville stuff
Waid is pretty much the best person to write Superboy and it shines through on every page

I loved everything about the issue. Clark made a deal with General Lane to work for the military when they need him, and we get to see his first actual mission, where he realizes that he’s in over his head. His mission is to get Silas Stone, the father of Cyborg, from a country that has taken him prisoner. We get an exciting, well-paced, smart action scene, as Clark has to figure out how to overcome Stone’s sonic weapons’ effects, all while making sure no one gets hurt. It’s peak Superboy action. The story is bookended with Smallville stuff, introducing a plot line with Lana Lang’s father and revealing Pete Ross’s accidental discovery of Clark’s identity. Waid hits every note you could want throughout the issue, giving us action, character, and plot in perfect proportion.

Patricio Delpeche’s Art Feels Classic and Modern at the Same Time

Action Comics has been one of the best-drawn Superman books for the last five years. We’ve gotten some excellent artists doing great work on the book, and issue #1094 is yet another example of that. Patricio Delpeche comes on for regular artist Skylar Patridge, but the quality of the book’s art is still high. Delpeche’s pages are fantastic. The Smallville scenes are able to capture the small-town feel of Smallville, with the coloring (which is also by Delpeche) really setting the mood of the scenes. For example, the book starts out with a happy little scene before Clark goes to see Lana Lang, which gets darker and darker as Clark talks about Lana’s father, a man with a secret. The rest of the books keeps the dark coloring, through the action scene and into the last scene, and it definitely fits the feel of the issue going forward. Lighting in comics is very important to the mood of the piece, and Delpeche definitely cooked with the colors in this issue.

Delpeche’s character acting is sensational. Even if you weren’t reading Waid’s awesome captions, you could still look at the pages and figure out how every character feels. The action scene is exciting and kinetic, pulling readers into the events of the book. I think my favorite panel, though, is the last one, as Pete sees Clark fly into the tent they’re camping in as Superboy. Delpeche’s is able to capture Pete’s shock and fear perfectly, making me excited to see how the whole situation is going to play out in the last issue. This issue looks spectacular from beginning to end, with Delpeche doing a fantastic job of keeping up the art quality that we’ve been used to in Action Comics.

2025 was the year of Superman, and if Action Comics #1094 is any indication of how this next year will go, then it looks like we’re going to get another great year from the Man of Steel’s comics. I’ve loved Waid’s Superboy stories since they began; we often talk about the way comics use old ideas and make them modern, and this issue is yet another example of how well that can work when you have the right creative team onboard. Waid and Delpeche are great together, and I’d like to see them work together more in the future. Action Comics #1094 is flawless, a great way to start the year for Superman fans.

Action Comics #1094 is on sale now.

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