Bendis Superman is incredible.
Aside from some decompression-- much more prevalent on Superman than Action Comics, which is clicking along nicely-- and one or two characters/story decisions*, Bendis has been a dream on this line and the best thing to happen to it since... I don't even know when.
He's got a genuine vision for not just Superman as a person, but his whole corner of the DCU and clearly loves him rather than thinking he needs to be stupidly reinvented in some way.
His voice for both Superman and Clark is so spot on, and the story of AC is ideal monthly work for him. That shouldn't be understated given just how rare that really is. He's got a fullness to him that rarely happens these days-- he's either too damn mopey and angry, or over-corrected to sappy and empty platitudes about hope. Whereas Bendis makes him incredibly positive, kind yet with a don't tug-on-my-cape attitude, and hint of lingering sadness in the back of his mind. It honestly feels like Bronze Age Superman successfully modernised (makes sense that Bendis cited some of that stuff early last year) without feeling like a deliberate, out-of-place throwback.
Not to mention building out the supporting cast and the city itself, while making sure they stay in true supporting roles, instead of bogging us down in it (the triangle era). Everything gets a personality and a fun and/or meaningful role, and it all revolves around the big guy, as it should. Hell, just the way he utilises his powers in this run so far, in big and small ways-- and they way the Invisible Mafia has developed ways to skirt him-- is unique in and of itself.
While Superman is too decompressed-- Superman #2 and to a lesser extent #6 were almost insulting in that regard-- for me, it's made up for just to get to listen/read Superman's inner thoughts, which don't appear in action.
Zaar is thus far, still pretty nothing. But that's made up for on the Action side of things with Goode/Red Cloud/the Invisible Mafia putting together something really fun.
And all this without acknowledging the best art talent Superman's had in year and years!
*The character/story stuff I mentioned-- Flash's voice is off sometimes (hardly a big deal considering how little he's in it. Lois's voice is off, particularly in #1004. That's a much bigger deal. I support the shaking up of the marriage-- I like the marriage and would protest them being broken up, but them being portrayed as so AVERAGE so often doesn't quite sit right with me. Superman, Lois and now Jon are each unique and special people with busy, strange lives. They all love each other, but I'm fascinated to see them go about their dynamic in a way more befitting of them (in spite of Clark's deepest wishes to replicate the RELATIVE normalcy of his childhood with Ma and Pa, that creates a nice bit of in-character tension). The problem with #1004 lay in the execution-- we were promised all would be revealed by then, but Lois was far too vague and acted too unilaterally, not to mention Clark was a bit of a pushover. We'll see how all that shakes out.
Soak it up, guys and girls, because this is the best we've had it in years.
As for the Tomasi/Gleason stuff--- Eh... It was a nice breath of fresh air because we were coming out of the messy end of the terrible New 52 era, and back into something that just FELT much more right by comparison. While the plots themselves were good for that first half of that run,the dialogue and overly perfect apple pie, we've always got the answers Brady Bunch dynamic and the "we're not from this reality" stuff really made that a bit of a chore. I was only inspired to read sporadically then, and dropped it entirely after Reborn, when the quality just went straight down the tubes (those July 4th road trip issues were painful, man). Tomasi has since said the double-shipping was straining him, and boy did it show. I'd hoped he might be rejuvenated for Detective Comics in the lead-up to the big #1000 issue, but so far the dialogue has been amateurish and cringe-worthy, and the plot itself is... okay, but trying a bit too hard (which I feel has been a bit of a running theme since way back on Court of the Owls).
