Best of Action Comics in 1973

A comic review of art, storytelling, and theology.

1973 was a year of interesting villains for Superman to take on. “Interesting” being a word you use when you can’t think of anything nice to say. Besides two issues facing off against Lex Luthor, and one with Flash lower level baddie, Gorilla Grodd, that leaves a bunch of space to fill. Superman’s foes in order were:
(1) Towbee, a minstrel of space, 
(2) Popeye rebranded as Captain Strong,
(3) Monsters spawned from a rare blood disease, 
(4) a super powered extinct ostrich,
(5) Terra-Man, a below D-lister but recurring villain,
(6) a nightmare evoked from a 21st century telepath,
(7) an imaginary plant monster, 
and (8) an anthropomorphic chameleon from the 420th century.
Interesting? I guess so.
Ready for the big screen? Definitely not.
But surprisingly, when I pulled together the best of Action Comics in 1973, I was impressed at how many really good moments there were. Each category had at least one worthy entry, and one category had four stories all vying for the top spot.

Here’s the best of Action Comics in 1973…

BEST COVER: Action Comics 426, Neal Adams
Now that is a poster. As an intro to a story, its bland and boring - stereotypical Superman, but as art it's ready for a frame...My only problem is that Clark's pants are too tight.

HONORABLE MENTION: Action Comics 424, Neal Adams
So once you factor in a basic knowledge of Gorilla Grodd sprinkled with the appropriate proportion of your suspension of disbelief, I actually really like this cover. It's relatively simple, to-the-point action where the details shine through the closer you look at it.

BEST SUPERMAN STORY: "The TV Show that Menaced Metropolis" by Cary Bates (Action Comics 422)
Like a rollercoaster coming to a screeching halt back at the station, the ride is over all too soon. If you would have told me on [the next to last page] that the story would be satisfyingly wrapped up in 4 panels I could never have imagined how. And yet Cary Bates wrote it up to near perfection. And it isn’t just the ending. It was difficult for me to pick which panels to [post for the original] story synopsis because, quite frankly, every panel took the story one neat little step forward. No filler, just good storytelling. In a run where the quality super-villains [had] yet to appear, this story let you enjoy something entirely new.

HONORABLE MENTION: "What Ever Happened to Superman?" Carey Bates (Action Comics 428)
The difference between a good story and a great one, is your response at the end. A good story makes you happy while you’re reading it. You close the book with a smile on your face. A great story adds one additional piece. As you close the book, without the need for direct prompting, questions pop up in your mind about the characters and the events. The questions extend beyond the pages and pictures and make you think about your own life.

BEST ART IN A SUPERMAN STORY: "The Man Who Never Lived" by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson (Action Comics 427)
Let's see. Really detailed futuristic worlds…
Cool flashback paneling…
Mental time travel…
Monsters bursting into flames…
Getting dragged into a volcano...
...only to erupt back out.
[Maybe] the writer put the plot together just to let the artists have some fun.

BEST BACKUP STORY: "The Deadly Dancer Contract" starring the Human Target by Len Wein (Action Comics 423)
The previous issue included part 1 of this story which I gave a C+ grade for a clichéd but entertaining story. After having read this story it’s a lot clearer that it was all a setup for this month’s edition.
A thought provoking ending to a fast-paced action comic.
HONORABLE MENTION: "The Short-Walk-to-Disaster Contract" starring the Human Target by Len Wein (Action Comics 425)
Short and sweet with action, humor, snappy dialog and a surprise ending.

BEST ART IN A BACKUP STORY: "The Short-Walk-to-Disaster Contract" starring the Human Target by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano (Action Comics 425)
Another showcase of beauty in comics. I love the simple details and dynamic action.
HONORABLE MENTION: "The Headline Maker!" starring Green Arrow by Sal Amendola, Dick Giordano (Action Comics 421)
One of the things Sal Amendola did the best was taking clean shortcuts. With the frequency that comics are produced, obviously you can't take hours and hours on every single panel so some of your panels won't be as detailed or refined as they might be in a perfect world… Excellent work done simple!
HONORABLE MENTION: "The Time Thief Strikes But Once" starring the Atom by Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano (Action Comics 427)
The paneling is basic and straightforward, but the action is great and the pictures are fun.
BEST BACKUP STORY CHARACTER: The Human Target
Christopher Chance, a.k.a. the Human Target, is a little like Tom Cruise’s character from the Mission Impossible movies if he instead decided to sell his services to people that are being threatened with murder. There’s no superheroes or supervillains, but there’s lots of action and a bit of mystery to each story. It’s a great change of pace to the often over-the-top Superman stories. It has lots of hints of Batman since the creative team spent a lot of time working on stories for the dark knight throughout their careers. Every story was entertaining and well-drawn. Only one story this year scored below a B in artistic merits. Likewise only one story scored below a B in plot, and that C graded story turned out to be a setup for the best backup story of the year.

BEST THEOLOGY: “For the Good of Others or the Praise of Others?” Action Comics 428
Are we really selfless in anything that we do? Even when we try to be selfless, we still turn it back on ourselves.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
“Clark Kent Outside, Superman Inside” Action Comics 420
The Value of One Human Life Compared to Another” Action Comics 427
“Secret Identify Versus Others Safety” Action Comics 430

CLARK KENT’S BIGGEST GOOF: Catsup on Filet Mignon, Action Comics 420
Really?!? In many cases, Superman intentionally makes goofs as Clark Kent to distance the possibility of the two similar men being one-in-the-same. But there is nothing redeemable about this from a story perspective. Why, oh why, was this even necessary? Or maybe if you have super taste buds, ketchup is the most delicious thing on the planet.

HONORABLE MENTION: Weak Sauce Toss, Action Comics 422

MOST EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE: Glass Wall at the Beach, Action Comics 420
Unlike some of the other instances that took a second to realize that Superman was doing more harm than good, this glass wall was obviously bad right away.

HONORABLE MENTION: Super Moa can do anything you can think of, Action Comics 425

ISSUE OF THE YEAR: Action Comics 427
Issue 427 won Best Art in a Superman Story and had honorable Mentions in both Best Art in a Backup Story and Best Theology. There were only three good Superman stories for the year, and this was one of them. Most surprising was that this issue didn’t include one of the consistently awesome Human Target stories that gave most other issues a grading boost. I wouldn’t consider this issue a “must read” but since the only place you’d ever find Action Comics 427 is in a comic book bargain bin, it definitely stands out in an era where Superman comics weren’t usually considered to be super.