Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Superman Related Action Comics #1 - A Look Inside

I found this website where someone has scanned the inside of Action Comics #1 (the first printing of a Superman comic). The first Superman comic is only 13 pages long, includes Lois and Clark's first (and only) date, and ends on a cliffhanger. My, he's sure come a long way.

Well, it wasn't their only date, just their only date for a very long time. Clark (as Clark, not as Superman) and Lois dated, and eventually married, in the comics in the 1990s. As Superman, they had had occasional dates throughout the Silver Age and more regular dates in the Bronze Age.

What struck me about Action Comics #1 and the other early Superman comics were:

1) That Kal-El definitely did not consider Clark to be anything more than a disguise.
2) That compared to modern-day Superman, the original Superman had very few and limited powers.
3) That he was far more likely to throw a punch (or kill a perp) than the 1990's era Superman
4) That early Lois made early-L&C-Season-1 Lois seem all sweetness and light -- and that takes some doing.

Joy,
Lynn

Joy,
Lynn

The "and only" date was supposed to be sarcastic, Lynn, implying why Lois preferred Superman to Clark (and basically refused to date Clark again for decades)... because he really was a jerk during the date, in order to keep up appearances of being a fop. After Clark's treatment of her during their date, and then getting kidnapped by those men (other jerks who don't take 'no' for an answer), only to be rescued by a fairly sweet Superman (in comparison), I can see quite plainly why she fell for Superman instead of Clark in the comics. Ironic that the unnamed editor who several pages before told Clark to look into reports of "Superman" tells Lois that her experience was drink induced. If those pages of editor telling Clark to look into Superman had come AFTER Lois told him about her rescue, it would've made more sense. An 1930s editor taking away a good story lead from a female reporter and giving it to a male one would hardly have been surprising. (Sadly, being a 1930s editor is not a requirement of that kind of occurrence to be true for the next 60+ years.)

It is a tad strange how nobody from the orphanage who saw the abandoned baby lift up furniture realized that Superman was the same person all grown up.

It's really cool getting to see inside the pages of that comic.