

It hasn't been announced yet. But I understand that DC Comics has sold out of Action Comics #900. And they're going back to print.

The fuss around the nine-page story by David Goyer in which Superman tells the American government that he's going to renounce his citizenship so that his actions arent mistaken as an extension of US government foreign policy has rather gripped the press. This comic was solicited as being about Lex Luthor fighting Superman and the emergence of the Doomsday clan, but it was the nine pages in the back that has caused the media sensation.

A statement was released by DC to the NY Post and others to try and put the story in that context, pointing out that the story doesn't show whether or not Superman would go through with his promise to renounce US citizenship to the UN and that the next issue is focussed on the Doomsday battles.

It didn't work, obviously.

But if this really was some big evil liberal plot to de-Americanise Superman by said comics publisher, as some have speculated, they would be including that scene in the non-existent Superman Gets Chummy At The United Nations eighty page special published next week. And, as you can probably tell, that's not the case.

DC promoted other aspects of the book far above David Goyer's contribution, including the fifty page Paul Cornell story lead and contributions by Lost co-creator Damon Lindelhof and Superman director Richard Donner. Dark Knight movie screenwriter Goyer's contribution was welcome but DC didn't promote its contents one bit.

But while the old DC may have made this book returnable or pulped every copy, as they did when there was the vague suggestion that Clark Kent enjoyed a beer with his father (a root beer at that), the new DC is at least going for a second print…

As it stands, lots of copies of Action Comics #900 are being sold on eBay for cover price, with some of the variant copies getting slightly more premium prices. Once they are gone however, they are gone, and as media interest continues to grow through the weekend, it looks like, despite the massive print run, we may be about to have a speculator hit on our hands. This book is getting more publicity than, anything else this year.

And as evil anti-American propoganda goes, plenty of Americans seem to want to buy a copy.

Which is interesting. Because those who actually read the comic, seem less likely to be offended. Could this be counter productive in keeping the rage going? Or will it depend upon people actually finding a local comic shop…?