Action Comics issue 1000 came out today, marking eighty years since Superman essentially founded the superhero comics genre. There had been some recognisable prototypes like the Phantom, but Action Comics was the defining moment.
He’s always been around for me, even before Superman: The Movie came out when I was four - at the halfway point in that eighty-year run, so he’s had that John Williams theme half the time he’s been around. (That comic is a mockup, the Daily Planet wasn’t the Daily Planet then, but I always wondered why they didn’t use the original Action Comics cover.)
And all those stories over all those years, all the inspiration and hope creators have brought to him, it’s all worthwhile.
This one page alone would make it all worthwhile. You know the one, from All-Star Superman.
Or consider how Superman broke the Ku Klux Klan. A true force for good.
All-Star Superman would be my recommendation if you want one comic collection.
Superman: The Animated Series is my suggestion for other media. Like Batman: The Animated Series from the same crew, it adapts decades of material into a cohesive and fun series. It includes the only version of the destruction of Krypton that ever made me cry, as well as the theme by Shirley Walker being for me the best non-Williams theme he’s ever had.
And the current Supergirl TV series is absolutely worth a look too.
Up, up, and away!
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