In 1938, DC Comics published Action Comics #1, featuring a new hero called “Superman.” 80 years later, in 2018, they released Action Comics #1000, which included several short stories and tributes to the original comic. Superman has grown and evolved as a character over this near-century, but the one thing that has remained true is this: He is a hero who does good because it is the right thing to do. Action Comics #1000 shows this, as it shares several short stories that document Superman’s heroism. This “80-Page Giant” issue features Superman saving a hostage in the nick of time, helping a criminal turn his life around, and trying to save people instead of receiving an award. It also features citizens telling stories of what Superman has done for them. The extensive list of writers, artists, letterers, etc. who worked on the separate stories in this issue shows just how important it was. Few comic book series have ever gotten this far (as Action Comics has been going for much longer than others), so big talents such as Brian Michael Bendis, Scott Snyder, Geoff Johns, Paul Levitz, Paul Dini, and many more show out with their work in this collective issue.
The titles and themes of some of these issues are tributes to the original comic book, and one even directly gives recognition to Christopher Reeve, the Superman actor who showed the character as a friend and even worked as an activist before he was tragically paralyzed in a horseback accident. One story, titled “The Car,” features the iconic green 1937 DeSoto Sedan from the cover of Action Comics #1 (as well as a reference to the classic “It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman!” quote). In addition, we see another story titled “Faster Than a Speeding Bullet” (another Superman tagline) which shows Superman flying all the way across the world to make it to a hostage situation before a gun is fired. In the story, Superman is flying at ludicrous speeds and using time measurements like “attoseconds” and “nanoseconds” to describe his speed. In the end, the gun is fired, and Superman just barely makes it to catch the bullet right before it hits the hostage, once again being the hero.
These tributes and references to the original comics and the ideas surrounding them is exactly what comic readers hope to see from a landmark issue as significant as #1000, and that is exactly what DC delivered with this. Over the last 87 years, Superman has stood not only as the inarguable face of superheroes in general, but also as a symbol of hope, and doing what is right and good, not only in the eyes of justice, but in the eyes and for the sake of the average person. Superman started as the hero who looked out for the little guy, and even now, he is still doing that same thing. When Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel created Superman in 1938, they couldn’t have possibly imagined that he would become the popular and impactful hero that he is today.
Action Comics has taken different forms throughout the years, via different volumes, crossovers, etc. Now, it has reached #1088 (of the primary series), and DC does not plan on stopping any time soon. As it continues, comic readers know that Superman and accompanying characters will continue to persevere through their trials and save the day every time. Since this particular series is so large, it has been broken up into different volumes. I highly recommend reading not only those, but also stories like All-Star Superman and Kingdom Come for any new or old comic fans. Superman comics (and other media, as seen in this year’s Superman movie) have a way of making the reader feel a certain positivity. If that’s what you need right now, Superman’s got it.