ACW #621 – Superman

Action Comics Weekly #621 (Superman)
“Let the Punishment Fit the Crime”
Writer – Roger Stern
Pencils – Curt Swan
Inks – Murphy Anderson
Letters – Bill Oakley
Colors – Tom Ziuko
Editor – Mike Carlin

It’s Superman Day!  Judging from our recent polling endeavors, this two-pager has become a fan-favorite… or, just a way to really mess with our numbers.  While on the subject, it’s been brought to my attention that I may be judging this one a bit unfairly.


Well… I’ll concede that this feature isn’t delivering the kind of story (or format) that I wanted.  Is that skewing the way I discuss it?  Perhaps.  I understand that this is a take on the “Sunday Strip”, and isn’t the same kind of animal as our other features.  I’ve been reading comic strips my whole life… and, while they’re never quite as satisfying than an actual long-form “novel length epic”, I gotta imagine they’re more satisfying than this Superman feature has been.


As such, because I want you all to know that I take criticism seriously, I went back and reread the past twenty weeks’ worth of Superman strips.  I gotta say, I maintain my stance that this just hasn’t been very good (in my opinion).  Way I look at it, there are better (and more entertaining) ways this could have been done.  That said, if it rocks your socks, I’ll respect that.  If you wanna tell me how wrongheaded I am, or just thumb your nose at me because you’re skewing the polls, my comments section is always open.  The only reasons I’ll delete your message are if you use racist language… or try and sell the readers discount Viagra.


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Bob Galt is kayoed by the gangbangers, and Superman arrives on the scene.  He makes short work of the baddies, and manages to change back into his Clark Kent duds before Galt comes around.


That’s it!


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I’m going to try and be positive about this one.


First: We actually get some action… and Superman!  That’s a good thing.


Second: Bob Galt didn’t get to see Superman… and might now believe that Clark Kent was his savior.  This calls back to Superman’s “message” to Galt to “Trust Kent”.  It’s a callback, and I like that.  So, two good things!


Really and truly, there isn’t much to dislike here… the story is advanced, and we got to see Superman flex his muscle a bit.  This is probably as close to the way I wanted these strips to go from the start.


Is this something I’d recommend?  Probably not… but, having “assigned” myself this entire run, I will admit that this chapter was far more enjoyable than most have been.


Tomorrow: Twin Nellie Olesons command the undead!