Action Comics Weekly #611
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAction Comics Weekly #611 (on sale June 16, 1988) carries outsized historical weight as the debut chapter of 'The Tin Roof Club,' the first solo Catwoman serial in DC's post-Crisis continuity and, notably, the first Catwoman story written by a woman — Mindy Newell. That four-part tryout performed well enough to greenlight the 1989 Catwoman limited series by the same creative team, making #611 the direct ancestor of every subsequent Catwoman solo title. The issue also sits at the mid-run heart of DC's ambitious experiment in weekly anthology publishing, a format the company had deliberately revived to return Action Comics to its 1938 roots, pitting it in a very public rivalry against Marvel's concurrent anthology launch, Marvel Comics Presents.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Action Comics pivoted to a weekly anthology format beginning with issue #601 (May 24, 1988) after writer-artist John Byrne departed the Superman titles; DC chose the landmark issue #600 as the natural break point and elected to restore the book's original multi-feature structure rather than simply rotate in a new creative team. Supervising editor Mike Gold, with associate editors Brian Augustyn and Robert Greenberger, coordinated a rotating roster of story editors and creative teams — each serial had its own editor — which meant continuity was managed feature-by-feature rather than at the book level. By issue #611, the lineup had already begun rotating: the Catwoman strip replaced the concluding Phantom Stranger arc, while Deadman and Secret Six were in their penultimate week before exiting the anthology with #612. Peter David wrote the Green Lantern installments for this stretch, with Tod Smith on pencils; Mindy Newell and Barry Kitson launched Catwoman; Sharon Wright and Randy DuBurke continued Black Canary's 'Bitter Fruit' arc; Mike Baron and Dan Jurgens handled Deadman; Martin Pasko and Dan Spiegle carried the Secret Six; and Roger Stern with Curt Swan supplied the two-page Superman strip.
Trivia · 9 facts
- Cover date: August 1988; on-sale date: June 16, 1988 (Grand Comics Database).
- 'The Tin Roof Club, Part 1' — written by Mindy Newell, drawn by Barry Kitson — debuts in this issue as the first post-Crisis solo Catwoman serial and the first Catwoman story written by a woman; Newell herself confirmed this distinction in a ComicMix interview.
- The Catwoman strip introduces Holly Robinson (Selina Kyle's old friend from the East End) and the Tin Roof Club nightclub as recurring elements of Selina's civilian life — both carried forward into the 1989 Catwoman limited series.
- The Deadman chapter, 'Will the Real Devil Please Stand Up?' (Mike Baron / Dan Jurgens), depicts Satan and Deadman's confrontation while the Aztec deity Talaoc arrives to retrieve both Satan and Yakin; this is one of the final Deadman installments before that feature concluded with #612.
- Peter David's Green Lantern chapter 'Room Service' advances the Mind Games arc: Hal Jordan is struck by Mind Games' rage ray and turns violent, setting up the psychological 'head trip' story resolved in #613.
- The Secret Six chapter 'Bringing Home the Bacon' (Martin Pasko / Dan Spiegle) features the new team — Mitch Hoberman, Ladonna Jameal, Tony Mantegna, Luke McKendrick, Vic Sommers, and Dr. Maria Verdugo — assembled by Mockingbird (revealed to be August Durant); this is near the close of the team's first arc before they exit at #612.
- Black Canary's 'Bitter Fruit, Part 3' (Sharon Wright / Randy DuBurke) continues Dinah Lance's investigation into the Librado family's troubles with immigration-related violence.
- 'The Tin Roof Club, Part 1' has been reprinted in DC Finest: Catwoman: Life Lines; the Superman chapter 'Beyond Mortal Men!' was reprinted in Superman: The Power Within.
- The issue's letter column reprinted historically notable fan letters to DC — including early letters by future industry figures Martin Pasko, Mark Gruenwald, Mark Evanier, and Cary Bates — as part of a two-part retrospective feature running across #610–611.
Cast · 30 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Green Arrow #3 (1989), Green Arrow #12 (1991), Super-Homem #84 (1991), Superman in the Eighties #[nn] (2006), Superman: The Power Within #[nn] (2015), DC Finest: Catwoman: Life Lines #[nn] (2025)
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