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I first purchased my original copy of the above comic sometime back in 1973 (when I was yet a schoolboy), and though I've always remembered the interior story, I'd forgotten the cover and whether it was an issue of Superman or Action Comics, and also precisely which number it was. Then I saw it on fellow blogger McScotty's 'That Was Then' blog and promptly bought a replacement via eBay. (Incidentally, DC's July '72 cover-dated issues marked a return to standard comics size after their 25 cents 52-page line introduced the year before.)
Gregory Reed, an actor who plays Superman in movies and TV, was introduced in this issue and appeared again in several others. I seem to recall seeing him in the follow-up to this tale in Action Comics #445, wherein Reed has now had plastic surgery and is a dead ringer for Superman. (I wonder if anyone would notice his resemblance to Clark Kent should the actor ever don a pair of spectacles?) I no longer remember if I saw any of Reed's subsequent appearances before his cameo in Superman #297, but that's the last time I recollect seeing him in a Superman mag.
So, another one returned to the fold, allowing me to step 49 years back into the past for a brief but welcome moment, and enjoy again the sublime art of Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson. If you're around the same age as myself, see if any of the following pages ring any bells in memory's belfry - and if so, feel free to share them with your fellow Crivvies.
(And as a bonus, I've included a couple of pages from the Metamorpho back-up tale.)
11 comments:
Glad you now have this wee gem back in your collection.
So am ur (as we say in Glasgow), McS. (Translation for others: So am I.) I think I'll have to devote myself to obtaining some more back issues from around this period, as they're generally more entertaining than most modern comics.
This is my era of Action but I've never chanced upon this issue. Thanks for the glimpse.
Rip Off
Straight to ebay with you, RJ - your life won't be anywhere near complete until you buy a copy.
I really only buy back issues now Kid. I do pick up the odd new comic full price but in most cases any new comics I pick up are in those 3 for £2 bags ( and there are loads of these). I'm rarely impressed by new comics ( ok they're not written for me) as the ones I picked up today are a very different animal to those I enjoyed as a kid and teenager ( and yes an adult,....of sorts). Some new comics are very good so I'm not slagging them all off but so many are dull and have no fun or imagination to them. I know I'm just a grumpy old man harking on about how things were better in my day, but for comics they really were.
Isn't it strange that as superhero movies have improved (except for DC ones, generally), superhero comics have declined, McS? Like yourself, I mainly buy back issues these days - or reprints of back issues, either in individual format or collected editions. And we may be grumpy old men, but we've earned our stripes, eh?
My Superman! First the magnificent Swan art . Second the ability to tell a story in one issue instead of a twelve issue run. This is one of the major bugaboos which turn me off modern comics . You used to be able to go and look at the covers and think hey that looks like a god story I’ll get that issue.
Now you have to think why bother? It’s the middle of a twelve issue run. If I don’t like it it’s a waste of $5. Might as well wait for the trade reprint then skim the book see if I like it .
Exactly, PS. Wouldn't it be great to pick up a comic and get a complete tale in one issue? Even the Metamorpho strip is only a two-parter because they had to split it when they switched from the 52 page issues. As far as I know, it was originally prepared as one complete strip.
Hold on, that doesn't quite work. If part one was in a 52 page issue, they wouldn't need to cut it in two. However, there's something about the second part that seems strange - it doesn't have any credits for a start. I'll work it out someday.
You can still sometimes get a complete tale in one issue - Savage Sword of Conan #6 and #12 in 2019 were two such issues. And SSoC #7-9 and #10-11 were three-issue and two-issue tales which was perfectly normal in days of yore.
Well, days of yore weren't always consistent, CJ. Marvel used to do single stories as far as the main tale was concerned, but with a sub-plot which could run for several issues. Then you'd get occasional 4 part stories every so often. And although DC were usually single ish stories (with exceptions obviously), they'd occasionally do 2, 3, or 4 parters. I generally preferred when both companies had runs of single ish stories.
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