Happy 80th Birthday to Superman (and 18th birthday to my beautiful daughter, Helen [who likely will never read this]!!! In celebration I plan on doing two review posts this week on recent publications honoring this historic event. First up, is the
ACTION COMICS: 80 YEARS OF SUPERMAN - THE DELUXE EDITION HC.
Is it wrong to judge a book by MY expectations? How about judging it by its solicitation? Read it for yourself below:
(CA) Jim Lee Join us for the 80th anniversary celebration of the most important comic book in American history: ACTION COMICS #1, featuring the first appearance of Superman! It's an extraordinary party as we revisit stories from across the decades, featuring the debuts of not just the Man of Tomorrow, but also Supergirl, Brainiac, the Fortress of Solitude and more! See the work of generations of top writers and artists on the original superhero! Enjoy sparkling essays from literary wizards who have won Pulitzer Prizes and hit the bestseller lists, including Jules Feiffer, who relives his memories of when ACTION COMICS #1 first hit newsstands. Plus, a historical essay by guest editor Paul Levitz, and all one thousand ACTION COMICS covers presented on a special 30' x by 39.75' poster! And as a bonus, don't miss a previously unpublished 1940s Superman tale believed to be written by Jerry Siegel with art by the Joe Shuster studio, salvaged fifty years ago and hidden away until now! This new hardcover serves as a companion to the ACTION COMICS #1000 comic book coming in March!
My first complaint: no poster. I mean, that was one of the things I really wanted to get this book for in the first place. Although, I should have been suspicious when the dimensions were listed in feet, not inches!
Now, I don't blame my go-to hardcover online store,
InStockTrades. Every week the new Marvel and DC books are 50% off and if you spend at least $50, shipping is free and there is an additional 2% loyalty discount when buying consecutive weeks. Since I was already getting the latest Avengers Marvel Masterworks (MMW), volume 18, featuring the awesome John Byrne issues with the secret origin of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (#185-187), I was going to pay the normal $4 shipping. So, I bought this for $10.99 ($14.99-$4), instead of the listed $29.99. At that price, I got my money's worth (and something else to write about), but there are still issues, including issues with the issues included. More after the break.
Action Comics #1000 -- So good I had to buy two copies! Actually, I spent a great deal of time deliberating on the cover I wanted most, knowing I could only afford two. And these were just the "regular" decade variants, not the premium offerings. I first gravitated towards the 1930's Steve Rude cover and the 1960's Mike Allred cover, but eventually chose the Joshua Middleton 1980's cover and the Dan Jurgen's 1990's cover. There were minor imperfections along the edges of the Rude copies and the Allred one seemed too busy after closer inspection. The background of the Middleton cover is gorgeous and it also shows my favorite version of Brainiac and Luthor again. I think it is important that the "1000" number be extra bold. In my opinion they used the wrong logo though. It's the Byrne-era one (1987), but the image is strictly pre-Crisis early 80's. The Jurgen's one represents my favorite version of Superman, focused on Lois and Clark, and it contains the Superman logo. Which one did you select?
