Next week brings something good and interesting into the story of American comic books.  For the first time ever, an American comic hits quadruple digits.  Action Comics starring Superman debuted 80 years ago next week.  The character has been through a lot: golden age, silver age, modern age, trunks and no trunks, a dozen kinds of kryptonite, a death, a marriage, multiple “reboots,” and now a quality two-year run with a family (effectively proving that you can only tell good stories with unmarried heroes).  In honor of the events, a number of variant covers are being released.  Here’s one by Patrick Gleason, current and future Superman artist.  It’s a great shot of the 21st century “Superfamily.”

The folks at DC Comics have been kind enough to post 10 pages-worth of the 80-page giant to their main website.  Those ten pages include 2 short stories by the modern team of Tom King and Clay Mann and then a classic-from-the-90s team of Louise Simonson and Jerry Ordway.  You can check out those stories here.

Action Comics #1000 drops next Wednesday at comic shops across the country.