A must have for any superman collector and also a great introduction someone new to the spectacular history of of this iconic superhero.

Eighty years of Action Comics is a long time. This book is full of reprints from Action's 80 year run. Most of the book consists of Superman reprints and essays about Superman but there is some spotlight of on some of the other features that appeared over the years including Zatara the Magician, The Vigilante, and The Human Target. Throughout the book you get a snapshot of superhero comics throughout the history of the medium. Yeah a lot of the stories have been reprinted ad nauseam (Superman's first appearance, The Key to Fort Superman, etc.), yet you cannot deny the importance of the stories of this collection. If your someone who is already well versed in Superman comics history you could skip this, for anyone else who wants to look at why Superman and Action Comics have endured for 80 years then check this collection out.

In celebration of Action Comics #1000, DC Comics has released Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman, a deluxe commemorative hardcover collecting key issues of Action along with essays. It is an interesting and affecting book, worth reading before Action #1000 to contextualize and put one in the right mindset for that volume. A number of the essays, including by former DC executive Paul Levitz and writer Larry Tye, try to convey the enormity of a Superman comic having been published continuously every month for the past eighty years; the logistics are almost too much to fully comprehend, but reading multiple perspectives on the feat brings it home ahead of the issue itself.

This is a book that should get five stars – it's not just a thing worthy of a flippant paragraph or two, it's a cultural event, something that should be marked with approval and sheer happiness at being around to see it. 1000 issues of Action Comics, who'd've thunk it? Except, too much of the contents here are more than a bit naff. You take the rough with the smooth as ever, with DC – and the very first story is indicative of that. Yes, the first episode ever seemed a perfectly readable introduction to Superman, even if it's half of a woolly two-parter taking us from the shocking sight of him duffing up a car he's picked up, to mangling an airplane's propellers, midflight. It's all in the aid of pointing out the pointless, inane and meaningless nature of two sides duffing each other up (and how different the history of DC would have been if they had risen above using just that as a sole plot point about 60,000 times over the last 80 years). The naffness continues through other characters from Action Comics being introduced, the Toymaker featuring for the first time, and a pathetically exposition-heavy, but very of-its-time, welcome to the Fortress of Solitude. But it goes on – Supergirl is meh to a modern sensitivity, doing some super-housekeeping and sending an SOS in a bottle to a bloke with the hots for her; and jumbo issue #800 is distinctly ropey, acting as it does as a moping Eurorailer's journal, interspersed with fictionalised memories of his existence.

Highlights here in the book are slight on the ground, including the inked artwork of a saved-from-the-furnace short story, not ever finished nor seen in this form, and some commentary from key players in the DC world (of which there deserved to be more – and of which there deserved to be a female representative). The "dang it, Lois, I've a secret to tell you" episode wins, not because of how notable and momentous it is, but because of the everydayness of it – a bland, forgettable baddie, helped by a very minor character, and copious editorial notes to stories passim to prove it's nothing special. It's when the creators sought the entertaining, as opposed to the Officially Memorable and Commemorative, that the pages come to life. Only recently, it seems, have people (even Grant Morrison) realised that we have seen it all before, so don't try for the flash-bang epic, just keep the ball rolling another couple weeks til the next issue. That way you don't hinder yourself seeking the superlative, you maintain something that could, with a prevailing wind, last 80 years. Sure it's unlikely, but the results are better.

Still, it was a privilege to read this, alongside the actual, echt, #1000. This jumbo-sized issue brings us many different little tales, and benefits from it. No, the buyer of this celebratory book at hand needn't worry, as the sample from #1000 compiled in it is by far the worst DC could have chosen, but what the purchaser of both gets is a multitude of snapshots of an iconic entity, that doesn't try to be too iconic. (It also acts as a major plug for the Next. Big. Iconic. Event., which kind of deflates my argument, but there you go.) I love Superman, and always have as far as I'm aware, but I also reserve the right to dismiss the grandiose in the way he's published; others may find exactly the opposite their taste, but it all goes to prove in a nutshell that we all can find our own appealing Supes, thanks to generations of creatives.

But that Superbrat – boy, he really does test my resolve...

80 Years of Superman celebrates the anniversary of the superhero’s first appearance in Action Comics #1. This book collects twenty-one of the Superman’s comics running over each of the character’s six ‘ages,’ from the Golden Age to the Dark Age to now. Also included are seven excellent commentaries on his origins, his effects on the history of comic books, and his influence on individual artists. This omnibus crosses the genres of comic books, history, memoir, and criticism.

Taking a walk through the evolution of the character is an incredible journey. I was struck by the varying art styles, plot lines, and character development, especially in dialogue. From Brainiac to SuperGirl to Earth 2, the selections cover a great variety of Superman’s mythos. It couldn’t have been easy to pick the selections, but the editors really did right by Misters Siegel and Shuster.

The book really shines in the commentary and a few certainly stuck out. Laura Siegal Larson’s homage to her father in the introduction was a touching and heartfelt dedication to the determination and focus of the artist. Marv Wolfman’s story of visiting the DC office in Manhattan in the 60s touched on the passion of the fan and the joy of discovering a new story. And Larry Tye’s piece ‘Endurance’ speaks of Superman’s staying power in an ever-changing market. He so poignantly notes, ‘Each generation got the Superman it needed and deserved.’

Overall, 80 Years of Superman is a superb chronological anthology of Superman’s exploits throughout the years. It’s evident that a lot of time and care went into celebrating this great milestone for Superman.

Thank you to NetGalley, DC Comics, and all the authors and artists who worked on this book.