Action Comics (1938-2011) #4

Action Comics (1938-2011) #4

by Fred Guardineer, Jerry Siegel

Dressed as a collegiate football player, Superman uncovers a dirty plot his rivals are using to cheat. This is a Superman-only issue.

Genres: Comics, Superman, Dc Comics, Comic Book

70 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

American illustrator and comic book pioneer known for creating the wizard Zatara, who debuted alongside Superman. Guardineer was found to still be alive, though of an advanced age, in 1998 and was presented with Comic-Con International's Inkpot Award. Although he was very prolific and his reputation as an artist has improved with time, very little of his work has been reprinted in books.

Reviews

[D.S. Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superman drugs an innocent college football player (with a hypodermic needle) and takes his place o the field.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superman commits kidnapping and identity theft to bring down corruption in football.

[Devin Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Superman is the "champion of the weak and helpless". Don't forget it.

This story kind of maybe seems to forget it. The stakes just feel weirdly flimsy as a result. I think you can only chalk this up so much to it being early times in comics: I think Siegel has serious problems with storytelling that a decent editor in 1938 could have ironed out (or a better writer wouldn't need to have ironed out). Four stories in, there's just routinely a lack of clarity and characterization, which isn't true of other Golden Age stories I've read from not super long after.

Overall, I don't think Superman kidnapping this bad football player is awesome? And all of the deception of the girlfriend character? Not great.

Also, weird anticlimax early on with the "hit-skip" (new term, to me).

It's generally just pretty nonsensical. I liked #3 a lot, but I don't know how much longer I'm going to want to read Golden Age Superman. I've disliked three of the first four issues, and the problems I have with it (including with the art) just don't leave a lot of room for optimism.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Action Comics #4
"Superman, Gridiron Hero"

This was a funny issue, Superman discovers a plot by a coach of a collage football team to hire gangsters to be on his team in order to take out the top three players of the rival team.



So his solution is to infiltrate the opposite team and disguise himself as one of their players...by DRUGGING him with a hypodermic needle!



But the only problem is that the original player sucks, and of course Superman is...well hes Superman. This was dumb and silly but I enjoyed it, on to the next!

[Max Solis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superman, en un intento de altruismo, sustituye a Tommy Burke en su puesto como jugador de fútbol americano, tratando de que Burke sea la estrella del equipo y su vida mejore. Las habilidades sobrehumanas del Hombre del Mañana son muy útiles para dicha tarea, logrando que rápidamente Burke se convierta en la estrella de su equipo e, incluso, mejorar su vida amorosa.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once again, another issue that feels very vanilla.

[Nafi Riddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly 19s Superman is something else :,D

[Barb]

this reminded me of clark wanting to play football in smallvile

[Matt Elliott · Rating 1 out of 5]

So you arrange a kidnapping and someone to get a knifing and all you have to do is resign your job?
P.s. superman also kidnaps an innocent civilain and drugs them, not very heroic

[Fen · Rating 4 out of 5]

superman steals a football players identity, lets him get kidnapped because “they mean him no harm” and then lets him get dogpiled so hard he loses consciousness

[O · Rating 3 out of 5]

6,8/10