Action Comics #1
Action Comics #1 (Panini Brasil, April 2017) is a landmark in Brazilian comics publishing: it marks the first time the title 'Action Comics' — the very series that launched the superhero genre in the United States in June 1938 — ever appeared on newsstands in Brazil, without even a Portuguese translation of the name. The issue arrived as part of DC's Rebirth initiative, which Panini brought to Brazil under the label 'Renascimento,' and it opened an era in which Brazilian readers, for the first time, could follow two simultaneous monthly Superman titles and two monthly Batman titles in Portuguese. Beyond its publishing-history significance, the issue planted the narrative seeds for one of the Rebirth era's most discussed ongoing mysteries: the appearance of a powerless, unexplained Clark Kent walking the streets of Metropolis while the 'real' Superman is publicly active.
In "Estrada para o Apocalipse: Parte um," Lex Luthor’s bold claim to inherit Superman’s legacy ignites a clash that transcends worlds, drawing out a Superman from another universe to challenge him. As the battle escalates, unexpected arrivals—Clark Kent and Doomsday—upend the confrontation, setting the stage for a collision of identities and destinies.
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Panini Brasil had held DC Comics publishing rights in Brazil for over fifteen years when, in early 2017, it launched the full Rebirth/Renascimento line, overhauling its entire DC catalogue by restarting all series at #1 and upgrading the interior paper stock to LWC for improved color reproduction. Action Comics was one of ten new monthly titles in this wave; because the American series shipped bi-weekly during Rebirth, each Brazilian edition bundled two consecutive U.S. issues to maintain a monthly cadence without falling behind. The debut issue reprints U.S. Action Comics #957 and #958, both written by Dan Jurgens with art by Patrick Zircher — Jurgens being a deliberate editorial choice, given his deep history with the character as one of the architects of 'The Death of Superman' storyline in the 1990s. To mark the occasion, Panini released the issue with two distinct covers: a regular edition with art by Brazilian artist Ivan Reis and a variant with art by Mike Janin, echoing the publisher's dual-cover strategy it had used when it launched the New 52 line in Brazil in 2012.
Trivia · 8 facts
- FIRST-EVER Brazilian edition of 'Action Comics': the title had never been published in Brazil under any name before this April 2017 issue.
- Part of DC's 'Rebirth' initiative, marketed in Brazil as 'Renascimento DC,' which Panini launched in April 2017 with ten new monthly titles.
- Reprints U.S. Action Comics #957 and #958 (both June 2016), written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by Patrick Zircher — bundled together to match a monthly Brazilian schedule from a bi-weekly American source.
- Writer Dan Jurgens was a key creative force behind 'The Death of Superman' (1992); his return to Action Comics for Rebirth carried deliberate continuity resonance, as Doomsday reappears as the opening-arc antagonist.
- The issue introduces the central Rebirth-era mystery of a mysterious powerless Clark Kent appearing publicly in Metropolis while Superman is also present — a subplot that runs through the entire Jurgens run.
- Published with two covers: a standard edition featuring cover art by Brazilian artist Ivan Reis and a variant cover by Mike Janin, repeating a dual-cover tradition Panini had established at the start of the New 52 era in Brazil.
- Interior pages printed on LWC paper — a production upgrade Panini applied across the entire Renascimento line, representing a notable improvement in color fidelity over the newsprint previously used for DC monthlies.
- The issue functioned as the companion series to a simultaneous Brazilian Superman monthly, making it the first time two dedicated Superman titles ran concurrently in Portuguese.
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Reprints
↩ Reprints Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Four #4 (2015), DC Universe: Rebirth #1 (2016), Action Comics #957 (2016), Action Comics #958 (2016), Action Comics #957 (2016), Action Comics #958 (2016), Supergirl #1 (2016)
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