Superman guides us through the New 52 - Action Comics

I've often wondered what it must have been like to pick up a copy of Action Comics #1 off the newsstand and read it back in the day.

After today, I have just the slightest glimmer of that experience.

Grant Morrison and Rags Morales' reboot of Superman was everything that I hoped it would be. It was wonderfully golden age in its themes and visuals, yet decidedly modern age in its storytelling and execution.

This was a Superman unencumbered by years of pre-existing stories, freeing him up to do what Superman was originally intended to do...fight for the people who couldn't fight for themselves, or were powerless before the rich and corrupt. That's not to say that the planet and universe didn't need saving many times over in the intervening decades, but by taking Superman back to the roots of his roots, we're getting our freshest take since All-Star Superman.

And while Morrison is sure to receive the lion's share of credit for this issue, you'd be foolish to overlook the contribution of Rags Morales, Rick Bryant, and Brad Anderson. Together, the three of them have put together one of the most fluid comic books I've read in some time. Each page flowed into the next one, never leaving me with any question about what was going on. Damn, if this wasn't one fine looking book.

Both of the central creators have had the occasion where the "confusing" Morrison or "rushed" Morales has shown up, thankfully this was not one of those times. If the New 52 had done nothing other than give us this Superman, you'd be hard pressed to call it anything other than a smashing success.

And my favorite part?


That right there is a Superman I want to read for the next few decades.

Script by Jerry Siegel
Artwork by Joe Shuster

Action Comics #1
Superman, Champion Of The Oppressed!
June 1938
Copyright (c) DC Comics

and

Script by Grant Morrison
Pencils by Rags Morales
Inks by Rick Bryant
Colors by Brad Anderson
Letters by Patrick Brosseau

Action Comics (Volume 2) #1
Superman Versus The City Of Tomorrow
November 2011
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Carefree Justice of the Golden Age

Script by Jerry Siegel
Pencils by Joe Shuster

Action Comics #12
May 1939
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Sunday versus #22

Clark Kent and Lois Lane vs. Pterodactyl

So that's two weeks in a row with a shot of Clark and Lois being torn from a plane by a Pterodactyl.

I'm sensing a sub-theme within a theme. The challenge is on for next week to find a third.

Script by Jerry Siegel
Pencils by Joe Shuster
Inks by Paul Cassidy

Superman #4
Luthor's Undersea City
Spring 1940
Copyright (c) DC Comics

The >sob< Lois Lane >gasp< Emotional Trainwreck >choke< Week #2

Poor Lois...so distraught is she about the machinations of that scheming female, that she's crying in her sleep and in her dreams!

Script by Jerry Siegel
Pencils by Kurt Schaffenberger
Inks by Kurt Schaffenberger

Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #56
Lois Lane's Super Gamble
April 1965
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Delegating Justice of the Golden Age

There's a fine line between knowing when to do something yourself and knowing when to delegate.

Script by Jerry Siegel
Artwork by Joe Shuster

Action Comics #13
Superman vs. The Cab Protective League
June 1939
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Ultimate Spidey R.I.P.

So if you believe everything that the polybags tell you, today's the day that Peter Parker, a.k.a. The Ultimate Spider-Man, dies.


I'm of two minds on this one, as Ultimate Spider-Man is pretty much the end-all, be-all of comic book perfection for the first decade of this millennium. But then again, the four dollar price point killed my reading of this book two years ago, so I've long since made my peace with his demise.

Still, it'll definitely put a nice cap on Peter's story and provide me with a finite number of books I need to go back and find on ebay (for hopefully less than $4 a book).

Script by Jerry Siegel
Artwork by Joe Shuster

Superman Sunday Newspaper Strip #81
May 18, 1941
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Corporal Punishment of the Golden Age

If he's worried about the lad slipping, giving him a spanking hardly seems the appropriate response.

Script by Jerry Siegel
Pencils by Joe Sikela
Inks by George Roussos

Superman #46
High Man On A Flagpole!
May/June 1947
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Sunday versus #10

Superman vs. Purple Plesiosaur

They could have been purple, you never know.

Script by Jerry Siegel
Artwork by John Sikela

Superman #3
September/October 1941
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Hate, Hate, Hate

It's good to see that Luthor had a spare tape installed as a backup, just in case his robot ran into someone other than Superboy or the Legion of Super-Heroes that it needed to hate.

HATE
HATE
HATE

Script by Jerry Siegel
Pencils by John Forte
Inks by John Forte

Action Comics #377
The Face Behind The Lead Mask!
June 1969
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Accomodating Justice of the Golden Age

Be careful what you wish for, boys!

Script by Jerry Siegel
Pencils by Leo Nowak

Superman #12
September/October 1941
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Loss of a good thing

And people say we're better off without word balloons in comics anymore...

Look at all of that heartfelt emotion and back-stabbing drama we're missing out on!

Script by Jerry Siegel
Pencils by Kurt Schaffenberger

Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #65
The Musical Murder Of Superman!
May 1966
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Sunday versus #7

Superman vs. Generic Prehistoric Beast

Swing your partner 'round and 'round
With a pocket full of kryptonite to hold you down.

Script by Jerry Siegel
Artwork by John Sikela

Superman #13
November/December 1941
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Nothing exciting happened today --

--Will blog Superman 101, as usual, tomorrow.

Script by Jerry Siegel
Pencils by Curt Swan
Inks by Shelly Moldoff

Superman #145
The Night Of March 31st!
May 1961
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Short Tempered Justice Of The Golden Age

I guess even Superman is allowed to wake up on the wrong side of the Fortress of Solitude every now and again.

Script by Jerry Siegel
Artwork by Joe Shuster

Superman #4
Luthor's Undersea City
Spring 1940
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Sunday versus #1

It's time for the debut of another regular feature here at the 101. This one coming into existence for no other reason than it's an excuse for me to post some awesome visuals (not to mention getting to use a killer pun in the title), it's...

Superman vs. Dinosaurs

Come back every Sunday and we'll have a new pic of Superman fighting dinosaurs until I run out of stories. I'm thinking I'm probably set until the end of the year, but we shall see.

Script by Jerry Siegel
Artwork by Joe Shuster

Superman #4
Luthor's Undersea City
Spring 1940
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Harsh Justice of the Golden Age

That's pretty ballsy considering that it was you, Superman, who put him on that flying plane in the first place!

Of course, this was after he threatened to drop him into the spinning propellers, so I guess this punk should just consider himself lucky that he's only going to fall to his death instead of getting sliced to pieces.

Script by Jerry Siegel
Pencils by Leo Nowak
Inks by Paul Cassidy

World's Finest Comics #2
The Unknown X
Summer 1941
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Characters Continuity Forgot #1

Professor Whiffensniff

Here's a shot of Professor Whiffensniff in his first (and last) appearance from 1946.

It just goes to show you that you're not going to get very far in the world of imaginary characters by pointing out the obvious.

Script by Jerry Siegel
Pencils by Ira Yarbrough
Inks by Stan Kaye

Superman #40
There Is No Superman!
May/June 1946
Copyright (c) DC Comics

Because you demanded it...

...Superman vs. Lex Luthor in 3-D!!!


Actually no one demanded it, but it made me chuckle.

It sorta loses something without the red and blue glasses, eh? If you do happen to have a pair of 3-D glasses handy, put 'em on now and witness the majesty of old-school 3-D.

That and eye strain.

Script by Jerry Siegel
Pencils by John Sikela
Inks by George Roussos

Three Dimension Adventures
The Man Who Stole The Sun
1953
Originally printed in Superman #48, Sep/Oct 1947
Copyright (c) DC Comics