Action Comics #1000 Review

On Wednesday this week, the landmark comic that is Action Comics #1000 dropped in stores. As I’ve mentioned before, I knew it was going to be an expensive week! Of course, I had to pick up the standard cover, plus all of the variants. There are still more that I need to get, but I am so happy to have picked these up so far!

There is just so much to talk about with this issue, so I’ve broken it down into sections! I will go over what this issue means for Superman, the MANY covers, the artwork and the stories. I will also be highlighting my favourites out of those topics!

What does issue #1000 mean for Superman?

Some people have been referring to this landmark issue as Superman’s 80th birthday… which it isn’t. But it IS the 80th anniversary since Action Comics Issue #1 was released. 1,000 issues of Action Comics makes it one of the oldest and most successful comic series of all time. It shows that although the character was created in 1938, he is still popular now – 80 years on. This just proves how iconic and influential Superman is and that people are still able to relate and look up to him. I have loved reading and seeing all of the coverage on social media on him and the release of this issue. It really has been a great week for Superman fans worldwide!

The Covers

So many incredible artists took to the podium to give us their take on the Man of Steel for this celebration of Action Comics. Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair took on the standard cover, which in itself is ICONIC. We then had the decade themed covers from; Rude, Cho, Gibbons, Allred, Steranko, Middleton, Jurgens and Bermejo. And to top that off, we also had the limited edition store releases which included even more incredible covers. You can see a list of them here.

Every cover that has been released is just incredible, and I love them all! They perfectly capture the different looks of Superman that we have seen throughout the years. I will say though, out of the variant covers my favourite is the 1940’s variant cover by Michael Cho. It sums up Superman and his influence on war within the early issues of Action Comics. The colours and the boldness is fantastic, it really pops and draws you in.

Although I haven’t yet received any of the limited edition store releases just yet, I do have a clear favourite. For me, it’s the Gabrielle Dell’Otto cover. The detail and the realism in the artwork really get me. We don’t see the Fortress of Solitude enough and it’s nice to see it on a cover of such an iconic issue. The cover is the perfect homage to the first Superman that many fans saw – Christopher Reeve and I can’t wait to receive mine.

The Artwork

Like the covers, the artwork is the perfect homage to all of the different styles, looks and artists of Superman. It truly is a great book and it’s full of great art. DC Comics have really outdone themselves with the names that they have gotten involved to create this legendary issue and it has paid off.

The stand out artwork for me, is that of “DC Comics Presents: Of Tomorrow”. The artist – Clay Mann and the colour arist –  Jordie Bellaire is truly stuning. It’s simple, but so visually effective and it just draws you in. I’m in awe of it. One of the images of Superman in particular looks exactly like Christopher Reeve and the way that he is drawn and coloured, almost seems angelic. It’s just so lovely to see.

The Stories

I’ll be honest, it is a little hard to read. But only because there are SO many stories, and you get sucked into one and then it starts onto the next one. The first story  is my favourite “From The City That Has Everything” by Dan Jurgens is great! Like the book itself, it shows what Superman means to the people, and that is everything. It honors and celebrates the many times that he has helped the city of Metropolis and highlights that hope that Superman provides, even for its criminals. It also acts as a flashback or almost like the highlights of the best Superman stories to date – including Kingdom Come.

There are so many tones to all of the stories, so it’s hard to understand sometimes – I won’t go through them all as we will be here forever. But one minute I thought a story was starting and on the next page a new story starts. Don’t get me wrong all of the stories are great and really capture Superman, but it can be sometimes a little off putting.

But on the tones, it nice to read such different stories in one book. It captures the appreciation for Superman and displays all of the MANY great things about the Man of Steel. It lists and features the some of his most famous villains – Luthor, Vandal Savage, Doomsday, Bizarro, Zod, Braniac, Parasite and one of my favourites – Mr Mxyzptlk.

It ends with an advert for Brian Bendis’s new weekly 6-issue series entitled “The Man of Steel”. What a great introduction! I can’t wait to see what he does with my favourite character. The first issue of the series is out on 30th May 2018 – keep your eyes peeled for a review!

Overall, its a great book and homage to Supes, thank you Action Comics for bringing my hero to life. Here’s to another 1,000 issues!