Action Comics Annual #5

Sep 1993 · DC · 2.50 USD; 3.25 CAD; 1.50 GBP

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“Loose Cannon”

★ 1st appearance — Loose Cannon

About this Issue

Action Comics Annual #5 (Sept. 1993) is the first appearance and origin of Loose Cannon (Eddie Walker), a new DC hero created specifically for the publisher's sprawling Bloodlines crossover — a line-wide initiative that ran through all 23 of DC's 1993 annuals with the explicit goal of debuting fresh metahuman characters for the decade ahead. The issue is also a quiet snapshot of the 'Reign of the Supermen!' era: because Superman was still dead in the aftermath of his battle with Doomsday, the Eradicator serves as the Superman-title stand-in, making this a Bloodlines chapter in which no version of Clark Kent appears at all. The Loose Cannon character — a disabled ex-cop transformed into a size-shifting, mood-color-changing bruiser with clear Hulk DNA — went on to headline his own short-lived ongoing series, one of seven spin-off titles the Bloodlines event generated. Though most Bloodlines 'New Blood' characters faded quickly, this issue's strong creative team and its placement at the intersection of two major 1993 Superman storylines give it a durable place in DC continuity reference.

"Loose Cannon" delivers a raw, character-driven tale in Action Comics Annual #5 (1993), spotlighting a troubled police officer whose life takes a violent turn after a reckless decision leaves him critically injured. Months later, after being attacked by the Bloodlines aliens, he awakens transformed—now a mood-reactive, super-strong beast whose very appearance shifts with his emotions. As he clashes with the Last Son of Krypton over trust and purpose, the two are forced into an uneasy alliance to face the alien threat. Written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Lee Moder, with inks by Joe Rubinstein, José Marzán Jr., and Terry Beatty, and colors by Tom Ziuko, the issue features a striking cover by Mike Zeck and Karl Kesel.

writer Jeph Loeb · artist Lee Moder · inker Joe Rubinstein · inker José Marzán Jr. · inker Terry Beatty · colorist Tom Ziuko · letterer Albert DeGuzman · cover Mike Zeck, Karl Kesel

ComicBooks.com Value

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CGC 8.5 · 1 in census $20*

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History

The Bloodlines crossover was conceived by DC editorial in 1992–1993 as a strategy to populate their universe with a new generation of heroes by attaching a first-appearance 'New Blood' to every annual in a single summer publishing cycle — a direct response to the speculative-collector frenzy of the early 1990s, when first appearances commanded intense reader attention. Action Comics Annual #5's chapter, 'Loose Cannon,' was written by Jeph Loeb with pencils by Lee Moder and inks by Josef Rubinstein and José Marzan Jr.; the cover was supplied by veteran artist Mike Zeck with inks by Karl Kesel. The issue falls within the 'Earthplague' phase of the Bloodlines saga, which ran through the July–August 1993 annuals, and its Superman-line slot was shaped by the simultaneous 'Reign of the Supermen!' storyline — meaning editor Mike Carlin's office had to thread Bloodlines storytelling through a Superman line that had no Superman in it.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance and origin of Loose Cannon (Lt. Eddie Walker), a former Metropolis Special Crimes Unit detective crippled in a line-of-duty accident whose metagene is activated when he is bitten by the Bloodlines parasite Glonth, transforming him into a seven-foot, blue, superhumanly strong figure whose power level shifts with his emotional state.
Created by writer Jeph Loeb and penciller Lee Moder; interior inks by Josef Rubinstein and José Marzan Jr.; cover pencils by Mike Zeck, cover inks by Karl Kesel.
Superman does not appear anywhere in the issue — he was still dead following 'The Death of Superman.' The Eradicator, one of the four 'Reign of the Supermen!' replacement figures, serves as the Superman-title hero for this chapter.
Part of the 'Earthplague' phase of DC's 1993 Bloodlines crossover, a line-wide event that spanned 23 annuals and concluded in the two-part Bloodbath miniseries; this issue continues from Robin Annual #2 and feeds into Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #4.
Three Bloodlines alien parasites appear: Lissik, Glonth, and Pritor — each of whom also appears in adjacent Bloodlines chapters, threading together the crossover's alien-invasion continuity.
Loose Cannon is explicitly designed as a Hulk homage: he grows in size and strength proportionally to his anger, and his skin color changes to reflect his mood.
Loose Cannon later starred in his own six-issue ongoing series (1995), one of seven ongoing or limited series DC launched from Bloodlines 'New Blood' characters, alongside titles for Hitman, Anima, Argus, Gunfire, Razorsharp and the Psyba-Rats, and Blood Pack.
The story 'Loose Cannon' was reprinted in DC's 2016 trade paperback The Return of Superman, the fourth volume of the 2016 'Death and Return of Superman' collected edition series.