Superman, created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, was introduced on April 18, 1938, in Action Comics No. 1. The Man of Steel struck a chord with readers and, faster than a speeding bullet, he became a multimedia sensation, with his adventures chronicled on radio, stage, film and television, and his image on a kaleidoscope of merchandise and collectibles.
“If everybody doesn’t know by now who Clark Kent and who Lois Lane is, you’re not paying attention,” said Maggie Thompson, a senior editor of the Comic Buyer’s Guide, which covered the industry from 1971 to 2013.
On April 18, Superman turned 80 years old and — great Caesar’s ghost! — DC Entertainment published Action Comics No. 1,000. Here are some memorable issues on his journey to that milestone.
Action Comics No. 1 (April 1938)
Superman did not grace another cover of Action until issue No. 7, and he took over cover duties consistently with No. 19. (Four issues later, the name of the newspaper Clark Kent works for is changed to The Daily Planet from The Daily Star.) Uslan said sales of Action jumped to 555,000 copies for issue No. 15 — from 130,000 copies of No. 1.
Action Comics No. 68 (November 1943)
“Captain Marvel was the only character who surpassed Superman in sales in the Golden Age,” or first era, of comics publishing, Uslan said. This goofier approach led to things like Lois dropping a hot pan on Superman’s foot and his hopping around in pain. A lawsuit claiming that Captain Marvel was a Superman copycat eventually put the Man of Steel back on top.
Action Comics No. 241 (April 1958)
Just ahead are the first appearances of Brainiac, a revamped Lex Luthor, Supergirl, Bizarro and some super-pets (Krypto, Streaky and Comet among them). Brainiac, whose hobbies include shrinking alien cities for his private collection, also brings an unexpected gift: a part of Superman’s home world, Krypton. “Superman is the story of an immigrant writ large,” said Peter Sanderson, a comics historian. “Krypton was a lost paradise, a wonderland of vast science, firefalls and jewel mountains. Superman was always longing to return to his home world.”
Action Comics No. 270 (September 1960)
The issue struck a chord with Sanderson then, and it still does today. “It was disturbing when I was growing up to read about a character I cared about being reduced to physical frailty, being forgotten and abandoned, living in isolation, loneliness and apparent poverty,” he said. “Now that I’m in my 60s and looking back on that story about how awful old age can be, it seems even more disturbing.” (Spoiler alert: The bitter future turns out to be a bad dream.)
Action Comics No. 583 (June 1986)
“If he feels he has violated his code, he cannot continue,” Sanderson explained. One of the soul-crushing moments? Lana Lang overhears Superman confessing his love for Lois, her rival. Undeterred, she gears up — along with Jimmy Olsen, Superman’s pal and a photographer at The Daily Planet — to help during an onslaught at the Fortress of Solitude. She declares: “Nobody loved him better than us. Nobody!” Despite the calamity, the story ends on a hopeful note.
Action Comics No. 584 (October 1986)
Byrne also made clear that Clark was born on Earth. “It was no longer the story of the immigrant who comes to America and who is longing for the old country,” Sanderson said. “This is the immigrant who doesn’t care for the old country.” With this issue, Action becomes a team-up series, showing Superman’s adventures with other DC heroes. This format ends with No. 600, which includes a date with Wonder Woman.
Action Comics No. 601 (April 1988)
Action Comics No. 662 (January 1991)
“When you go, don’t forget to lock the door — or, um, the window,” she tells him, still reeling from the news. After breaking off the engagement, she eventually came around and married Clark in October 1996. The marriage coincided with the wedding episode of the TV show Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
Action Comics No. 1 (September 2011)
Action No. 1,000 (April 2018)
1 issues, but Action and Detective Comics, where Batman made his debut, returned to their historical numbering, which added the issues of the reboot to the overall total, allowing Action to inch closer to 1,000. The marriage of Lois and Clark has been restored and they have a son. But one of the biggest returns was saved for this issue. DC proudly promoted “The Red Trunks Return” in its news release. The issue, which has multiple covers and midnight release parties, topped 500,000 in pre-orders.