Action Comics #643 (July, 1989)
"Superman on Earth"
Story & Breakdown - George Perez
Finished Art - Brett Breeding
Letterer - Bill Oakley
Colorist - Glenn Whitmore
Assistant Editor - Jonathan Peterson
Editor - Mike Carlin
Cover Price: $0.75
Wow, has it really been 100 days since our six-hundred sixty-sixth post?! Where does the time go?
Anyhoo, welcome to the 766th post... where, as part of #Action100, we'll be discussing a very special issue of Action Comics. It's one I've blown passed in the long box many times over... each time pausing to admire the cover homage (before such a thing was played out)... but, for the life of me... I couldn't tell ya a whole heckuva lot about what goes on inside. Pardon my projecting, but I have a sneaking suspicion I'm not alone in that.
The short of it is... this issue marks the return of Superman to both Action Comics... and Earth!
The long of it is... to follow!
--
We open with Superman returning to Earth from his time In Exile. Upon arrival in Metropolis, we get the whole "it's a bird, it's a plane..." before he safely and triumphantly lands atop the Daily Planet Building.
He admires his Earthly surroundings, pollution and all before the Daily Planet staff arrive to welcome him "home". Superman notices that Lois and Clark aren't around and asks Jimmy about their whereabouts. Lois is at Hamilton's... Clark is, well... out. Remember, while Superman was In Exile, Matrix took over for him as Clark Kent to keep up the ruse.
Superman takes off to catch up on what he might've missed during his months "away". Just then, Clark Kent and Cat Grant arrive... with the former a little surprised to hear that (s)he just missed Superman. We follow Superman, who flies passed LexCorp Tower. Inside, Lex smugly smirks.
Back to Superman, he arrives at his apartment. His first order of business is to place the Kryptonian Artifact, the Eradicator on his mantle for safe-keeping.
Back at the Planet, "Clark" is acting a bit wonky... and so, Perry White sends him home for a few days rest. Jimmy walks him out... but overhears Cat Grant in the middle of a very urgent call. Turns out Lois and Gangbuster are trapped under the pier... which was destroyed by an Intergang Robot!
Jimmy uses his signal watch to call Superman... interrupting his shower-time. At the pier, Lois attempts to tend to the fallen Delgado.
Nearby, the Intergang robot is causing more and more havoc. We can see that it's being controlled... or at least monitored by Morgan Edge... who appears to have made a deal... with Darkseid?!
Just then, Superman appears... and smashes into the bot with a left!
And the crowd goes wild!
 |
| See? |
The robot returns fire, literally... in the form of a pair of missiles. Superman shields the crowd with his massive chest, saving the day yet again!
As he pulls himself up, he gives the 'bot the ol' x-ray look-see... and deduces that it's in no part human... which makes his job from here a whole heckuva lot easier. Superman proceeds to beat the devil out of the robot, before encasing it in his cape.
With the threat neutralized, Superman sets his sights on saving Lois and Jose. Lois informs him that Morgan Edge was behind the robot attack... and so, Superman's next stop is Mr. Edge's office. Upon confrontation, poor ol' Morgan suffers a heart attack!
When the dust settles, we meet up with Desaad, who is watching the events unfold. He is summoned by Darkseid... and fears he might know about a "ruse" he attempted with a certain "Terran fool".
We close out with Superman returning back to his apartment... just in time to see it blown to bits! Inside, he finds... Clark Kent, with a handful of Eradicator!
--
Well, I think I can safely say the story didn't quite live up to the cover... least not to me. This wasn't the first time I read this... but the story is forgettable enough where it felt like it was.
It's Superman's return... which is cool. It's good seeing him back as the starring feature of Action Comics after the nearly year-long Action Comics Weekly experiment. Speaking of which, man... I've tried synopsizing some Weeklies... that's a heckuva endeavor right there! Also, this marks his return to Earth. Another cool thing... but at the end of the day, we get a bunch of pages of Superman fighting a robot.
I've said it before (and I'll likely say it again), the thing that kept me wary of DC Comics when I was a kid was... some lame-o threats/villains. I just can't get excited about Superman fighting a robot. Seems like such a non-threat. It ought to go like... Superman scans the thing, realizes there are no human "parts" (and no bystanders in the "line of fire"... then flies right through it. End of story. I'm oversimplifying, I guess... but really... I just feel like most robots are kinda boring.
I suppose the real threats here are Morgan Edge and Darkseid, which works. I guess with this "big return" issue I kinda expected more... which isn't really the fault of the book.
The art here... ehh... I'd never want to besmirch George Perez, but some of the characters here looked a bit "off". I'm talkin' Jimmy and Lois, mainly... but even Superman's face looked "off model" (if that's even a thing) a few times here. Everything else looked great... but I'll admit that I lingered on a few of the wonkier panels longer than I should've.
Overall... I mean, the cover alone makes the issue worth a pull. The action-centric parts of the story is kinda boilerplate, and the few "soapier" elements we get really do the heavy-lifting.
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Action Comics (vol.2) #52 (July, 2016)
"The Final Days of Superman, Part 6: The Great Pretender"
Writer - Peter J. Tomasi
Pencillers - Dale Eaglesham & Scot Eaton
Inkers - Dale Eaglesham & Wayne Faucher
Colors - Tomeu Morey
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor - Andrew Merino
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $3.99
Here's a sorta-kinda important issue of Action Comics, from the tail end of its days as a "Volume 2". Today we're going to usher out the New-52! and revisit how they tied this one off.
Spoiler Alert: It ends on a... to be continued to an issue of Superman/Wonder Woman. Which... eh, I dunno... feels like a cheap way to go out.
Anyhoo... before I convince everyone to stop reading here, let's get into it!
--
We open with Superman (52) in a pretty bad way. He and Wonder Woman join with Batman so that they might track down this weird "double". Suddenly, his ability to fly sorta gives out... and he splats onto the window of the batwing. They load him inside, and continue their search.
Speaking of that weird double... we shift scenes to Metropolis, where it is chatting up Lois Lane (52). I think the last time we discussed "The Final Days of Superman" on the blog (all them years back) I assumed that this solar-powered double was going to tie in, in some way with Kenan Kong/New Super-Man. I guess that's why I don't make many predictions! Anyhoo, the dupe (Denny Swan) tells Lois that he has something secret he'd like to show her.
This takes us to Salinas, California... where Clark and Jonathan White are making some good ol' Breakfast-for-Dinner. I used to love having that every now and again... until I'd go to lay down a few hours later and be hit with some of the worst heartburn ever. Anyhoo, before they/we know it, they have been joined by Lois and Denny.
There's a pretty uncomfortable scene where Clark invites Denny to have some pancakes with them. They sit across the table from one another, while Denny prods at Clark about thinking he's really Superman. Lois immediately runs to Jon to keep him safe.
Then, Denny loses his mind... and attacks! Well, Clark doesn't take kindly to anyone coming into his home and putting the lives of the ones he loves at risk... so, it's fight time!
Back in the batwing, Batman informs Superman and Wonder Woman that their next stop is Gotham City... so they might use some bat-tech to get a better bead on the phony Superman. Just then, there's an energy signal on the batwing's radar that syncs up to Superman's new Solar Flare dealie... and it's coming from Salinas, California. Batman agrees to land.
Back on the ground, Lois-52 rushes Jon away from the house and to safety. Clark and Denny continue their fight... just as the Trinity lands nearby. Then we have the long-awaited... and pretty underwhelming meeting of the New-52! Superman... and the real one.
Lois (the real one) returns home to find the place... well, destroyed. Clark then rushes over and pulls Lois, Jon and their pets far away from the battleground.
We wrap up with Denny trying to make nice with the Trinity... and even going so far as to suggest they team up to get rid of "that imposter".
--
Not a bad issue... though a bit disappointing for the "big meeting" between Superman and... the uh, other Superman.
When I see this cover, I see so many possibilities... especially considering they were originally going to use it a few months earlier... very likely to tell a very different story. I kept remembering this as being the cover for Action Comics (vol.2) #50... which is incorrect. A check of a handy-dandy Previews catalog (pack-ratting *sometimes* has its perks) shows that this was actually supposed to be the cover to Superman (vol.3) #50. In a story by Gene Luen Yang and Howard Porter, the pre-Flashpoint and the New-52! Supermen were to meet.
Why this was scrapped? Well, probably Rebirth... even though DC will tell ya they had that "in the works" forever. Hell, they said the same thing in 2011 about The New-52!, when I think hindsight shows us they were fulluvit. This is just more evidence that the "current year" comics industry is a rudderless ship. They can stop on a dime and change direction at a moments notice. Which is why I think so many of us have a difficult time getting "comfortable" these days. Though, maybe I'm just projecting.
I know I have a problem getting comfortable... because I know we're only one batch of solicits away from yet another reboot/relaunch/rewhatever. I mean, just look at Marvel! Their "cycle" is almost to the point of self-parody. Big new #1... then 2-3 months of stories... then, an announcement of next big "event"/relaunch... followed by 6 months of "lame duck" stories to get us there... then we start the cycle all over again, only with diminishing returns!
Anyhoo... back to this issue of Action Comics. First, it looks pretty great. In my grand DC reread over the past few years, Dale Eaglesham has worked his way toward the top on my list of "best artists". Was happy to see his name in the credits.
The story? It's a means to an end. Really not much more to say. They need the new Superman "out of the way" so they can replace him with the original. It's an event that needs a story, rather than the other way around. Instead of this happening organically... it's being rushed to get us to Rebirth. Now, I think Rebirth was a great idea... especially when compared to the cosmic toilet flush of 2011, but I still feel like it deserved to go out on less of a rushed "throwaway-ish" story.
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Action Comics #801 (May, 2003)
"Seeds"
Writer - Joe Kelly
Guest Penciller - Tom Raney
Inker - Walden Wong
Colorist - Gina Going
Letters - Comicraft
Associate Editor - Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.25
Man, we're just truckin' along to April 18th, ain't we?
When I first decided to try this #Action100 thing, it felt like I had all the time in the world to get it done. Now I look at the calendar (which I seem to have a hard time understanding at the best of times) and see just how close we are getting to Action Comics #1000.
Looks like we need to kick it into high gear... and so, random issue of Action Comics, ahoy!
--
We open in Little Falls, Colorado where a child is excitingly telling their mother about their day at school. The chat is interrupted by the arrival of... well, neither bird nor plane... but also not... well, you know. Meanwhile in Metropolis, Lois is exhausted after a long night's work... but is still up for some "action" with her (currently unemployed) husband.
Elsewhere, young sorceress... ninja... lizard-wrangler, Traci Thirteen is being treated in a hospital. She is awakened from a nightmare.
Back to Little Falls, where a ski salesman and his daughter are having a contentious little back and forth about some lousy customers they just dealt with. Their chat is also interrupted by... neither bird nor plane, but also not... well, you know.
Back in Metropolis, Lois and Clark are stopped on the street by one of those "The End is Nigh" kooks. This really seems to bug Clark... leaving Lois to wonder aloud, "how long have you lived in a city?"... and, she's totally got a point.
In Bialya, a shadowy man in a shadowy room watches a bank of monitors... and waits. I hate scenes like this... I mean, this dude must've dropped out after only taking Super-Villainry 101.
Back to Little Falls... where inside a car, a young boy plays with the World's Finest action figures. Meanwhile outside, an unhappy couple (probably the tot's parents) argue about his upcoming birthday party. Their argument is interrupted by neither bird nor plane, but also not... well, you know. This time, however, it's clear whatever it is... it's deadly.
Then, we're off to Pokolistan where Avruiskin (Zod) hovers... and waits. He must've gone as far as Super Villainry 202.
Back in Metropolis, Clark makes Lois coffee... before, I dunno, hearing something weird coming out of Colorado? I mean, he bursts through their window, shattering it, without even a word! At the same time, back in Little Falls... a glowing man hovers in the fetal position above a massacre.
Superman arrives on the scene immediately and tries to stop the glowing fella. This whole thing is being watched by some kids from a classroom window. They turn to address their teacher, who has undergone a rather horrifying metamorphosis herself!
Superman rushes into the classroom to try and get control over the situation. Seems as though the teacher is conflicted... she still seems to know who she really is, and wants not to give in to her new baser insectoid instincts. They are then joined by... the daughter of the ski salesman... and, there's definitely something not right about her! She sneezes... causing a very green explosion.
Next stop, Washington D.C.... where (hell yeah) President Lex Luthor is being given intel from DEO Agent Cameron Chase. She advises him that there has been a sudden boom in Metagene triggering... registering between a four and an eight on the "P.M. Scale". Between a four and an eight? That's a pretty wide margin.
Back in Little Falls, it's revealed that Superman was able to save all the tots, however not the Sara the Sickly Sneezing Ski Salesgirl. No word on the teacher either. One of the kids goes into Aerobic Arrest... and Superman goes to rush him off to the hospital. He is stopped, however, by an officer "pulling rank" (yeah, right). They are then approached by some goofy slacker kid... who just sprouted wings! He tells Superman that he'd like to take the boy to the hospital for him... and so, he does.
That evening, after all the dust has settled, this group of new-Metas is corralled into a place for safe-keeping. They're all freaked out (duh), and wonder if there might be a cure for their new "conditions". Superman has no answers at this point.
Back in Washington, Agent Chase (and Secretary of Metahuman Affairs, Amanda Waller) continue to fill President Lex in on the day's events. He learns of the Little Falls incident, and dismissively compliments Superman for his work their.
We wrap up with Chase directing Lex's attention to the latest... the Metagene "boom" has exploded, leaving 1:1000 Americans with strange powers beyond those of mortal men!
--
Seems to be a trend these days... so much of what I'm reading, old or new, can be described as "Not bad... but boring". That, unfortunately leaves a goofball like me with precious little to say about it. Maybe that was their plan all along?!
In revisiting this issue, I can recall that this was where I started to fall off a bit with Superman. I kept buying it for a couple more years (I think I finally "tapped out" when Chuck Austen was writing it under a pen-name (do I have that right? That was the popular opinion back in the day))... but at this point, I kinda stopped caring.
I guess it's natural to have a bit of a malaise after a "big" issue (Action Comics #800)... but, I'd assume they'd want to come out of the gate with a bang... if only to hold on to some of the "looky-loos" who might've picked up #800 on a whim, and came back for more. Though, to be fair... this was during comics self-loathing period where "milestone" issues weren't really hyped up anymore. Another example of over-correcting.
What we get instead is... a whole lot of table-setting, and a fairly uninteresting/uninspired story... complete with shadowy man in a shadowy room watching a bank of monitors. Was this already played out by 2003? I can't remember. Bendis hadn't yet foisted Maria Hill on us by this point, right? Because that's when every single Marvel comic started having a scene of a darkened room and a bank of monitors in it (because she seemed to "guest-star" in every single Marvel comic). Man, what a horrible time.
Back to this issue. It's good... not great. The cover is pretty cool... but has nothing to do with what's going on inside. Tom Raney's "guest" art is really good... and I enjoyed the scenes with President Lex (as I always do!). Worth tracking down? Well, that's a toughie. You won't get any sort of resolution here... and since the story hasn't been collected, you'll have to buy a few issues to get the full story. It is available digitally though... at $1.99, which in my mind, is a bit steep.
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Anyhoo, welcome to the 766th post... where, as part of #Action100, we'll be discussing a very special issue of Action Comics. It's one I've blown passed in the long box many times over... each time pausing to admire the cover homage (before such a thing was played out)... but, for the life of me... I couldn't tell ya a whole heckuva lot about what goes on inside. Pardon my projecting, but I have a sneaking suspicion I'm not alone in that.
