Action Comics #1 Superman Question:

[HonusWagner-migration]

Hello, everybody. I am from the SGC boards and I am not sure if this topic was discussed here before or not, but I just wanted to ask you comic geeks a question:

 

OK, I have always wanted to read the Action Comics #1 issue, so a few days ago I finally managed to find a website. A collector managed to scan the whole issue and put it up for the whole world to view, how thoughtful of him.

 

Here is the link

 

Alright, now click on page 1 and notice the storyline is a little different. This is what it says:

 

When the vehicle landed on earth, a passing motorist discovering the sleeping babe within, turned the child over to an orphanage.

 

I thought the Kents discovered the dish and raised him from there. What's the real story? Did they adopt him from the orphanage? And I know this was back in 1938, so when did they edit the storyline and what other changes were made?

 

Thanks,

Honus

[Ian_Levine]

OK, I have always wanted to read the Action Comics #1 issue, so a few days ago I finally managed to find a website. A collector managed to scan the whole issue and put it up for the whole world to view, how thoughtful of him.

 

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that scanned abomination is not an Action 1.

It's a Famous First Edition of Action 1, from 1976, with the outer cardboard cover removed.

It is NOT the real thing at all.

[shadroch]

In this story,Supes doesn't fly,only leaps in giant bounds.Over the first few years,his powers grow and his origin changes and is fleshed out.Superman doesn't gain the power of flight for almost ten years,I'm not sure when his origin,including the Kents,is fully fleshed out.Hope this helps a little bit.

[rob_react]

OK, I have always wanted to read the Action Comics #1 issue, so a few days ago I finally managed to find a website. A collector managed to scan the whole issue and put it up for the whole world to view, how thoughtful of him.

 

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that scanned abomination is not an Action 1.

It's a Famous First Edition of Action 1, from 1976, with the outer cardboard cover removed.

It is NOT the real thing at all.

 

It's an exact reprint except for the size, isn't it?

[CompleteRunComics]

....but I just wanted to ask you comic geeks a question

 

 

What !?! "comic geeks". Least we don't collect pictures of men!

 

[Zonker]

Honus, someone should write a book about the number of times the Superman origin has be re-re-re-written! I just checked my Millenium reprint editions of Action #1 and Superman #1-- this must be the very first of the retcons! (revisions, or "retroactive continuities")

 

Briefly, in Action #1, a stranger finds the rocket ship and brings the foundling to an orphanage. But in Superman #1, the Kents find the boy, take him to the orphanage and adopt him. From what I remember, the early Superman stories were intended as newspaper strips that Siegel & Shuster were unsuccessful in selling to the newspaper syndicates, so they cut them up and reformatted them for the new comic book format. Superman #1 basically reprints the first few Action Comics stories, but with several additional pages added up front, for example expanding/changing the above story of Superman's early days on Earth.

 

So, now a new question for the board: Was the version printed in Superman #1 the original plan as conceived by S & S? Did they need to cut it down and summarize/change it to fit the constraints of the initial publication in Action #1? Or was the new version a later revision by S & S, perhaps simply to fill some extra pages in Superman #1?

[dgillock]

It's an exact reprint except for the size, isn't it?

 

Not quite- there are some minor differences on the cover. The most obvious is that on the FFE, there is no "glare" on the front fender of the car as there is on the orignal.

 

Most (all?) of the FFE have a tiny difference or two on the cover. I've always wondered if these were intentional of merely over-sights by the person(s) doing the color separation on the FFEs.

[rob_react]

It's an exact reprint except for the size, isn't it?

 

Not quite- there are some minor differences on the cover. The most obvious is that on the FFE, there is no "glare" on the front fender of the car as there is on the orignal.

 

Most (all?) of the FFE have a tiny difference or two on the cover. I've always wondered if these were intentional of merely over-sights by the person(s) doing the color separation on the FFEs.

 

If that's the only difference then reading a FFE on the web would be just like reading an Action #1. Or am I missing something? The way Ian painted it it wasn't the same at all.

[Ian_Levine]

Not quite- there are some minor differences on the cover.

 

In the 1970s, when DC reprinted a couple of their classics, they decided to make some tell-tale differences so that anyone in the know could instantly tell the difference.

The Action 1 reprint has two big boulders removed altogether fron the right hand edge of the cover.

The Detective 27 reprint has the upper story of the building next to the smokestack removed altogether.

 

It's amazing how many times I've seen these reprints on e-bay trying to be passed off as the real thing.

And of course, anyone who knows thier comics can tell INSTANTLY.

[Ian_Levine]

If that's the only difference then reading a FFE on the web would be just like reading an Action #1. Or am I missing something? The way Ian painted it it wasn't the same at all.

 

 

It was being claimed to be a scan of a real Action 1.

I just wanted to point out that it wasn't that at all.

Whether it looks the same or not, the fact remains that it is NOT a scan of the real thing.

[ArAich]

It's the same....just differant....

[goldust40]

If that's the only difference then reading a FFE on the web would be just like reading an Action #1. Or am I missing something? The way Ian painted it it wasn't the same at all.

 

 

It was being claimed to be a scan of a real Action 1.

I just wanted to point out that it wasn't that at all.

Whether it looks the same or not, the fact remains that it is NOT a scan of the real thing.

 

[Rocketeer]

If that's the only difference then reading a FFE on the web would be just like reading an Action #1. Or am I missing something? The way Ian painted it it wasn't the same at all.

 

 

It was being claimed to be a scan of a real Action 1.

I just wanted to point out that it wasn't that at all.

Whether it looks the same or not, the fact remains that it is NOT a scan of the real thing.

 

Lighten up Francis,...for all respective purposes it is an exact interior reproduction of the original,...yes DC was smart enuf to make a few minor omissions on the cover so you could tell the difference (although this was never disclosed at the time) in case someone tried to pass it off as an original,....so stop getting your panties bunched up in a knot just cause you own an original....

[PUNYHUMAN]

[1962]

"Lighten up Francis" Ah yes that timeless classic movie "Stripes".

[PovertyRow]

The way Ian painted it it wasn't the same at all.

 

That confused me as well. The question posted was about the STORYLINE, not the authencity of the book scanned. I just didn't get Ian's post as relates to the question.

[ArAich]

"Lighten up Francis" Ah yes that timeless classic movie "Stripes".

 

 

..."If ya touch me....I'll kill ya."....classic...

[Warlord]

"Lighten up Francis" Ah yes that timeless classic movie "Stripes".

 

Any of you homos touch any of my comics, I'll kill ya!

[shadroch]

Now Ian can claim he posted about something other than his neverending quest.His valued contribution to this thread,and the board is duly noted.

[Ian_Levine]

Now Ian can claim he posted about something other than his neverending quest.His valued contribution to this thread,and the board is duly noted.

 

I've posted about lots of things other than my never ending quest. Anyway, my quest is going nowhere. It's stuck in limbo unmoving. In fact, it's stuck longer than it's ever been since I started.