Due to various shenanigans at DC over the years when the big two decided they didn’t like big numbers for some reason, we almost didn’t get Action Comics #1000. Luckily someone gained an IQ and realized big numbers means the comic and character has longevity and hopefully for a reason. Plus it’s Superman, and they’ve already rebooted continuity so many times, both hard and soft, that big numbers aren’t what’s chasing away potential readers. It’s not caring about your history so why should we get invested?
Also, we get the return of the red trunks. While I still say writing it off as a red part of the pants because they ran out of blue fabric is the better way to go, no other suit has looked right. It just looks so bland with nothing but a belt offsetting the blue. Plus it hides the super-bulge, which is why the circus strongmen and other athletes his outfit is based on had that feature. Nice to see them back. The cool kids hate you, but they don’t read Superman anyway, so why should we care? Not everything has to play to the “everything for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee” crowd, no matter what they think.
No, I didn’t get the cover that’s been in all the press (you can click on to see it full-size). I chose the Steve Rude 50s inspired cover from the five they had because it looked like a cover that teases the story inside. It actually doesn’t, but I’m particular about my covers, as longtime readers know.
But I had to pick up something for Free Comic Book Day since the store pays out-of-pocket for all those comics you don’t pay for, and they lose money. I also got bags and borders for those comics since they do sell them individually and I couldn’t afford a full back of both separately. And since Superman is my favorite superhero my choice was obvious. The comic contains 10 stories and a pinup by John Romita Jr. (with Danny Miki inking and Peter Steigerwald coloring, plus another by Walter Simonson colored by Brennan Wagner, and a third by Jorge Jimenez. The assistant editor for all but the Brian Michael Bendis preview is Andrea Shea and Paul Kaminski as regular editor for all but the preview. So let’s check out the individual stories and see if they’re any good.
