Monday 8 April 2019

LOOKING GOOD FOR AN 80 YEAR OLD - THE DELUXE EDITION OF ACTION COMICS #1000...

Copyright DC COMICS

I have to be honest and say that I don't consider the drawing of SUPERMAN on the above cover to be particularly flattering.  His face is too fat, his legs are too thick, and he looks a bit on the short side.  That said, however, if you're a Supes fan, this is a book you'll want.  It's a hardcover, deluxe edition of ACTION COMICS #1000, with loads of extras, including all the variant covers, a bonus story by PAUL LEVITZ and NEAL ADAMS, scripts, cover sketches and the very first Superman story from Action Comics #1 (along with its cover).  Not that I needed to type any of that, as you can read it on the back of the dustjacket at the foot of this post.  (Gotta fill space some way though, eh?)  If you missed the 1000th ish when it came out last year, console yourself with this volume.  Dithering?  Then check out the illustrations below and see what you're missing.

(Pssst!  I got my copy for £14.99 from WATERSTONES.  Considering the actual comic cost me £7, the book is well worth it!)



4 comments:

Phil S said...

I have not bought this but should since it's selling for about half its cover price these days. Yes, I too don't understand Jim Lee's art. I don't think it's very good but I'm old. I like Curt Swan on Superman.

Kid said...

Actually, PS, I at first typed 'not very good', but changed it to 'not very flattering', in case it was, technically, a 'good drawing', but just a 'bad rendition' of Superman (if you catch the subtle difference). Swanderson were supreme.

Dave S said...

I always thought Murphy Anderson's inks overwhelmed Swan's style, although I think the combo of the two of them sums up the whole look of Superman in the 60s and 70s.

There was a spell in the early 80s where Curt Swan was inked on Superman by Al Williamson, and it is every bit as gorgeous as you'd expect!

Kid said...

I'll have to check through my comics one day and make sure I've got some of those Swan/Williamson issues you speak of, DS. It's funny about the 'overwhelming' thing though, as some folk say the same about Wood inking Kirby or... I had another example there, but it's just gone for a walk. However, I think Sinnott 'overwhelmed' Kirby in the same way (and he was instructed by Stan to 'fix' whenever and wherever he saw fit), but because his own style wasn't so well-known, he doesn't come in for the same criticism. With Anderson and Wood, I never saw either of them 'overwhelming' JK so much as 'polishing' him (same with Sinnott), and the result was, to use an old saying, greater than the sum of its parts.



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