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Issue: Superman: Back in Action #[nn]
Publication Date: March 2007
 
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Title:
Variant: unnamed
Rating:
Publisher: FlagDC
Brand: DC [swirl]View Brand Images2
Indicia Publisher: DC Comics
On Sale Date: 01/31/2007
Volume:
Pages: 148
ISBN: 14012126389781401212636
UPC/EAN: 978140121263651499
Price: $19.99 CAD
$14.99 USD
Indicia Frequency:
Content Items: 25 (6 stories, 1 cover)
Editor(s): Bob Harras (collected edition)
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Publication Type: Trade Paperback
Color: color
Dimensions: standard Modern Age US
Paper Stock:  
Binding: squarebound; trade paperback
Publishing Format: one-shot
Format Notes:  
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There is currently no data for this Issue being reprinted anywhere.
Disclose Images1
Cover, Front
Original Artwork
Digital Edition
Adult Image
Title Page
Indicia on this Page
 
 
Assets0
 
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He's Back, But Is He a Fraud?

Illustration  on  Cover, Front
Credits
Kurt Busiek
Dave Gibbons (signed)
Dave Gibbons (signed)
Moose Baumann (signed)
typeset
Subject Matter
superhero
Superman
Superman; Firestorm [Jason Rusch]; Nightwing; Wonder Girl [Cassie Sandsmark]; Cyborg; Ravager
Reprinting
FlagAction Comics #841 [Direct Sales] published September 2006
was He's Back, But Is He a Fraud? [Illustration on Cover, Front]minus the issue number, date, CCA stamp, and the UPC
 
Miscellaneous
1
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Back In Action

Foreword, Introduction, Preface, Afterword  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
typeset
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Title page. Includes art from panel of Superman flying from Action 842 pages 2-3 (flipped), reprinted elsewhere in this book.
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Table of Contents and Credits

Credits  on  Interior Page(s)
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
3
Includes art from panels from Action 841 pages 2-3 and 19 and Action 842 page 7, reprinted elsewhere in this book.
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Transmitter

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Pete Woods (signed)
Pete Woods (signed)
?
Pete Woods
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Design page for the transmitter spider. The background in very light gray contains panels from the DC Comics Presents reprints later in this book.
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He's Back, But Is He a Fraud?

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Kurt Busiek
Dave Gibbons (signed)
Dave Gibbons (signed)
Moose Baumann (signed)
typeset
Matt Idelson; Nachie Castro (associate)
Subject Matter
superhero
Superman
Superman; Firestorm [Jason Rusch]; Nightwing; Wonder Girl [Cassie Sandsmark]; Cyborg; Ravager
Reprinting
FlagAction Comics #841 [Direct Sales] published September 2006
was He's Back, But Is He a Fraud? [Illustration on Cover, Front]minus the issue number, date, CCA stamp, and the UPC, with the art extended to fill where the UPC was
 
Miscellaneous
1
Kurt Busiek confirmed to me at the Baltimore Comic-Con on 2006-09-10 that he wrote the cover copy for this cover.
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Back In Action

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Kurt Busiek (script, plot); Fabian Nicieza (plot)
Pete Woods
Pete Woods
Brad Anderson
Rob Leigh
Matt Idelson; Nachie Castro (associate)
Subject Matter
superhero
Superman
Superman; Carapax; Firestorm [Jason Rusch]; Lorraine Reilly; Echnis-Tao; Lois Lane; Jimmy Olsen; Perry White; Nightwing; Major Andrews; General Hastings; Kid Devil; Robin [Tim Drake]; Wonder Girl [Cassie Sandsmark]; Cyborg; Ravager; a pacifier robot; an aquisitioner robot; The Auctioneer (intro)
A trading ship in space tracks another ship heading for Earth. In Baltimore, Superman is fighting Carapax when Firestorm arrives to help, and they defeat him, but Firestorm is unsure if it is really Superman. The trading ship sends appraisers to Earth to see what might be of interest to them, and they start taking structures like places of worship. Nightwing witnesses one theft in Manhattan, and tries to stop it with Superman's help. The Joint Chiefs at the White House try to coordinate actions with the National Guard. Superman overhears them, as they also have doubts about who he is. Meanwhile, Alcatraz is being taken, and the Teen Titans try to intervene. Superman zooms to their aid, and takes out the robot stealing the prison. The trading ship retaliates, and the leader of the ship (the Auctioneer) transports down to investigate.
Reprinting
FlagAction Comics #841 [Direct Sales] published September 2006
was Back in Action [Story on Interior Page(s)]minus the credits and next issue blurb
 
Miscellaneous
22
Story continues in the next story sequence.
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Appraiser Rev. 1

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Pete Woods (signed)
Pete Woods (signed)
?
Pete Woods
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Design page for the appraiser robot. The background in very light gray contains panels from the DC Comics Presents reprints later in this book.
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Aliens Are Stealing Our Stuff

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Kurt Busiek
Dave Gibbons (signed)
Dave Gibbons (signed)
Moose Baumann (signed)
typeset
Matt Idelson; Nachie Castro (associate)
Subject Matter
superhero
Superman
Superman; The Auctioneer; Killer Frost; Parasite; Catman; Livewire
Reprinting
FlagAction Comics #842 [Direct Sales] published October 2006
was Aliens Are Stealing Our Stuff [Illustration on Cover, Front]minus the issue number, date, CCA stamp, and the UPC
 
Miscellaneous
1
Kurt Busiek confirmed to me at the Baltimore Comic-Con on 2006-09-10 that he wrote the cover copy for this cover.
Disclose
Back In Action Part 2 Action & Reaction

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Kurt Busiek (script, plot); Fabian Nicieza (plot)
Pete Woods
Pete Woods
Brad Anderson
Nick J. Napolitano
Matt Idelson; Nachie Castro (associate)
Subject Matter
superhero
Superman
Superman; The Auctioneer; Kid Devil; Robin [Tim Drake]; Wonder Girl [Cassie Sandsmark]; Cyborg; Ravager; Flash [Bart Allen]; Wonder Woman; Batman (cameo); Mr. Terrific [Michael Holt]; Catwoman (cameo); Blue Beetle [Jaime Reyes] (cameo); Knockout (cameo); Catman (cameo); Hourman [Rick Tyler] (cameo); Stargirl (cameo); Nightwing; Firestorm [Jason Rusch]; Blue Jay; Skyrocket; Veteran; Livewire; Aquaman [Arthur Curry]; Packaging Unit Tau-Tau 7; Meg Tempest (cameo); Lois Lane (cameo); Jimmy Olsen (cameo); General Hastings; Sabrina McCaffey
Superman confronts the Auctioneer, who finds it interesting that there is a Kryptonian on the Earth. He scans for others, finds Supergirl too, but then also finds a mysterious third Kryptonian. With that discovery, he decides to cease stealing houses of worship, and instead start taking all metahumans (good and evil), starting with Superman. The Joint Chiefs continue to monitor the situation, and discuss whether the disappearance of the metahumans is a good thing or not. Mister Terrific notes the disappearance, and sends out a general alert. Nightwing picks it up, and decides to hitch a ride on one of the robots with Firestorm to find out what happened. Superman finds himself trapped with hundreds of other metahumans. Nightwing and Firestorm arrive, and Firestorm loses his powers, but they search for the missing people. Superman, Skyrocket, and Livewire are able to talk to each other, and manage to break out, just as Nightwing and Firestorm find them. They team with the others who were in the same "cell"; Veteran, Blue Jay, and Aquaman; all have lost their (non-mechanical) powers except Livewire. The robots sense the escape, and try to stop it, but the team defeats them. Arguments are made over who should be leader, but Superman and Nightwing are busy trying to get information from a data terminal. Nightwing hacks in, and Superman goads Livewire into setting up a link with the outside world to Mr. Terrific; she achieves not only that, but also to the whole world. Mr. Terrific figures out the schematics to the space ship, and directs them to the power bay. He determines that the power damping equipment is on the other side of the power core below them, but the only way to get to it is through the core, which is unsafe. The core can be disrupted, but only for 7 seconds before the backup kicks in. While the "leaders" argue about what to do, Superman tells them he will jump in, and to disrupt the core 13 seconds after he jumps, so he can destroy the damping equipment.
Reprinting
FlagAction Comics #842 [Direct Sales] published October 2006
was Back in Action Part 2 Action & Reaction [Story on Interior Page(s)]minus the credits and next issue blurb
 
Miscellaneous
22
Story continued from previous story sequence and continues in next story sequence.
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Devastator

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Pete Woods (signed)
Pete Woods (signed)
Pete Woods
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Design page for the devastator robot. The background in very light gray contains panels from the DC Comics Presents reprints later in this book.
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We'll Smack You Up!

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Kurt Busiek
Dave Gibbons (signed)
Dave Gibbons (signed)
Moose Baumann (signed)
typeset
Matt Idelson; Nachie Castro (associate)
Subject Matter
superhero
Superman
Superman; Firestorm [Jason Rusch]; Nightwing; Skyrocket; Livewire; Aquaman [Arthur Curry]; Blue Jay; Veteran
Reprinting
FlagAction Comics #843 [Direct Sales] published November 2006
was We'll Smack You Up! [Illustration on Cover, Front]minus the issue number, date, CCA stamp, and the UPC
 
Miscellaneous
1
Kurt Busiek confirmed to me at the Baltimore Comic-Con on 2006-09-10 that he wrote the cover copy for this cover.
Disclose
Back In Action Part 3 All-Out Action

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Kurt Busiek (script, plot); Fabian Nicieza (plot)
Pete Woods
Pete Woods
Brad Anderson
Rob Leigh
Matt Idelson; Nachie Castro (associate)
Subject Matter
superhero
Superman
Superman. Characters: Superman; Nightwing; Firestorm [Jason Rusch]; Blue Jay; Skyrocket; Veteran; Livewire; Aquaman [Arthur Curry]; the Auctioneer; Mr. Terrific [Michael Holt]; Amalak (into; cameo); Green Lantern [Hal Jordan] (cameo); Halo (cameo); Striker Z (cameo); Plastic Man (cameo); Robin [Tim Drake] (cameo); Vixen (cameo); Phantom Lady [Stormy Knight] (cameo); Crimson Avenger II (cameo); Ops; Lois Lane (cameo)
A powerless Superman jumps into the power core area of the trading ship, counting on his teammates to disrupt it in time for him to get by the core and destroy the power damping equipment, with the world watching. They have a seven second window to do that, but fail to completely shut it down. But Superman has survived; it turns out the damping field was only psychological, not physical, which allowed him to survive through the core before shutting down the damping field. The heroes are attacked, but fight back. They find an area of the ship being guarded, and break in, and hold a being named Ops, disrupting all transactions. They start to shut down the operations center, but the Auctioneer returns to the ship. Livewire frees all the other metahumans, who start wreaking havoc. Superman uses this to "negotiate" with the Auctioneer, threatening to disperse his database galaxy-wide, unless the Auctioneer returns everything and leaves Earth alone. The Auctioneer agrees to do this for a time, but promises that they will do business again. The world cheers as Superman reappears over Metropolis, and even the Joint Chiefs and the President now believe that he is the real deal. Meanwhile, the ship the traders were tracking arrives at Earth.
Reprinting
FlagAction Comics #843 [Direct Sales] published November 2006
was Back in Action Part 3 All-Out Action [Story on Interior Page(s)]minus the credits and with the next issue blurb replaced with a "THE END...?"
 
Miscellaneous
22
Story continued from the previous story sequence.
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Action-Plus Or, "What Is All This Stuff in the Back of the Book, Anyway?"

Text Article  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Kurt Busiek
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Kurt explains why reprints from 1978 and 1980 were included in this collection. Includes art from panel of Nightwing and Firestorm from Action 842 page 9. The background in very light gray contains panels from the DC Comics Presents reprints.
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Action-Plus with the Metal Men

Text Article  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Kurt Busiek
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Kurt introduces the reprint from DC Comics Presents #4, commenting on Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez's art and Len Wein's story. Includes art from panel of Superman flying from that issue page 9. The background in very light gray contains panels from the DC Comics Presents reprints.
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Cover Reprint

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (signed)
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (signed)
?
?
Julius Schwartz
Subject Matter
superhero
Superman
Metal Men [Gold; Tin; Mercury; Iron; Platinum; Lead]; Superman; Chemo
Reprinting
FlagDC Comics Presents #4 [DC] published December 1978
was [untitled] [Illustration on Cover, Front]
 
Miscellaneous
1
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Sun-Stroke!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Len Wein
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
Glynis Oliver [as Glynis Wein] (original); Dave Tanguay (recoloring)
Ben Oda
Julius Schwartz
Subject Matter
superhero
Superman; Metal Men
Metal Men [Gold; Tin; Platinum; Lead; Mercury; Iron]; Superman; Chemo (villain); S.T.A.R. Labs; Dr. Jenet Klyburn; Hawkman [Katar Hol] (flashback); Hawkwoman [Shayera Thal] (as Hawkgirl, flashback); I.Q. (villain)
Reprinting
FlagDC Comics Presents #4 [DC] published December 1978
was Sun-Stroke! [Story on Interior Page(s)]
 
Miscellaneous
23
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Action-Plus with Firestorm

Text Article  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Kurt Busiek
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Kurt introduces the reprint from DC Comics Presents #17, commenting on Firestorm's history. Includes art from panel of Firestorm from that issue page 8. The background in very light gray contains panels from the DC Comics Presents reprints.
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Cover Reprint

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
?
?
Julius Schwartz
Subject Matter
superhero
Superman and Firestorm
Superman; Firestorm [Ronnie Raymond]; Killer Frost
Reprinting
FlagDC Comics Presents #17 [U.S. Cover Price] published January 1980
was [untitled] [Illustration on Cover, Front]
 
Miscellaneous
1
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The Ice Slaves of Killer Frost!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Gerry Conway
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
Steve Mitchell
Jerry Serpe (original); Dave Tanguay (recolored)
Ben Oda
Julius Schwartz
Subject Matter
superhero
Superman and Firestorm
Superman; Firestorm [Ronnie Raymond]; Killer Frost (villain); S.T.A.R. Labs; Professor Knudson; Martin Stein; Cliff Carmichael (cameo); Doreen Day (cameo)
Reprinting
FlagDC Comics Presents #17 [U.S. Cover Price] published January 1980
was The Ice Slaves of Killer Frost! [Story on Interior Page(s)]
 
Miscellaneous
17
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Action-Plus with Deadman

Text Article  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Kurt Busiek
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Kurt introduces the reprint from DC Comics Presents #24, commenting on Deadman's history. Includes art from panel of Deadman from that issue page 1. The background in very light gray contains panels from the DC Comics Presents reprints.
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DC Comics Presents #24

Cover Reprint (on Interior Page)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
José Luis García-López (signed)
José Luis García-López (signed)
Tatjana Wood
?
Joe Orlando (managing editor); Julius Schwartz (editor); E. Nelson Bridwell (associate editor)
Subject Matter
superhero
Superman and Deadman
Superman; Deadman
I thought becoming Superman would be fun!
Reprinting
FlagDC Comics Presents #24 [U.S. Cover Price] published August 1980
was [untitled] [Illustration on Cover, Front]
 
Miscellaneous
1
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The Man Who Was the World!

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Len Wein
José Luis García-López [as Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez]
José Luis García-López [as Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez]
Glynis Oliver [as Glynis Wein] (original); Dave Tanguay (recoloring)
Ben Oda
Joe Orlando (managing editor); Julius Schwartz (editor); E. Nelson Bridwell (associate editor)
Subject Matter
superhero
Superman; Deadman
Superman; Deadman; Rama Kushna; Abraham Gold (flashback); Jack Gold (flashback); Caprice (flashback); S.T.A.R. Labs; Dr. Jenet Klyburn; Alex Atley; Carol Atley; Dennis; Mr. Genarian (villain); Lois Lane (cameo)
On a lonely storm-swept mountain peak, the star-crossed spirit of a man who had once been the world's greatest circus aerialist vents his frustrated rage to the howling wind...
Reprinting
FlagDC Comics Presents #24 [U.S. Cover Price] published August 1980
was The Man Who Was the World! [Story on Interior Page(s)]
 
Miscellaneous
17
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House Advertisement

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
House ad for Superman collections (Superman: For Tomorrow vol. 1, Superman: The Man of Steel vol. 1, Superman for All Seasons, and The Death of Superman). Appears on page 146 in this issue.
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Extra! Extra!

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
?
?
?
?
?
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
1
Summarizes the content of this trade paperback. The artwork is from the covers of Action 842 and 843. On back cover.
Disclose
[untitled]

Blank Page(s)  on  Interior Page(s)
Reprinting
 
Miscellaneous
5
Blank pages used as filler. Some have a background in very light gray containing panels from the DC Comics Presents reprints. Appear in various places in this book.

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