Editing Action Comics (section)

===The Bronze Age===
Mort Weisinger retired from DC in 1970 and his final issue of ''Action Comics'' was issue #392 (September 1970).<ref name="GCD-Weisinger" />  Murray Boltinoff became the title's editor until issue #418. [[Metamorpho]] was the backup feature in issues #413–418 after which the character had a brief run as the backup in ''[[World's Finest Comics]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|last = Stroud|first = Bryan|title = Metamorpho in ''Action Comics''|journal = [[Back Issue!]]|issue = 64|pages = 22–27|publisher = TwoMorrows Publishing|date = May 2013|location= Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref> [[Julius Schwartz]] became the editor of the series with issue #419 (December 1972)<ref name="GCD-Schwartz">{{cite web|url= http://www.comics.org/search/advanced/process/?target=issue&method=icontains&logic=True&keywords=&order1=series&order2=date&order3=&start_date=&end_date=&title=&feature=&job_number=&pages=&script=&pencils=&inks=&colors=&letters=&story_editing=Julius+Schwartz&genre=&characters=&synopsis=&reprint_notes=&story_reprinted=None&notes=&pub_name=&pub_notes=&brand=&brand_notes=&indicia_publisher=&is_surrogate=None&ind_pub_notes=&series=Action+Comics&series_notes=&tracking_notes=&issue_count=&issues=&volume=&issue_title=&variant_name=&issue_date=&indicia_frequency=&price=&issue_pages=&format=&issue_editing=Julius+Schwartz&isbn=&barcode=&issue_notes=&issue_reprinted=None&is_indexed=None|title= Julius Schwartz's run on ''Action Comics''|publisher= Grand Comics Database}}</ref> which also introduced the [[Human Target]] by [[Len Wein]] and [[Carmine Infantino]] in the backup feature.<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 153: "Starting as a back-up feature in the pages of ''Action Comics'', scribe Len Wein and artist Carmine Infantino introduced Christopher Chance, a master of disguise who would turn himself into a human target—provided you could meet his price."</ref> The [[Green Arrow]] and the [[Black Canary]] became a backup feature in #421 and ran through #458, initially rotating with the Human Target and the [[Atom (Ray Palmer)|Atom]].<ref>{{cite journal|last = Kingman|first = Jim|title = The Ballad of Ollie and Dinah|journal = Back Issue!|issue = 64|pages = 10–21|publisher = TwoMorrows Publishing|date = May 2013|location= Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref> Between issues #423 (April 1973) and #424 (June 1973), the series jumped ahead by one month due to DC's decision to change the [[cover date]]s of its publishing line.<ref>{{cite book|author-link= Paul Levitz|last=Levitz|first= Paul|title= 75 Years of DC Comics The Art of Modern Mythmaking|publisher= [[Taschen]]|date=2010|location= Cologne, Germany|isbn= 978-3-8365-1981-6|page= 516 |quote= Cover dates on comics didn't match magazine dating norms, and by 1973 Marvel's cover dates made them appear newer than DC's, so DC decided to skip using May 1973 and go straight to June.}}</ref>

A new version of the Toyman was created by [[Cary Bates]] and Curt Swan in issue #432 (February 1974).<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 158: "Writer Cary Bates and artist Curt Swan gave Superman all the 'fun' he could handle with the savvy new Toyman in ''Action Comics'' #432."</ref> Issues #437 (July 1974) and #443 (Jan. 1975) of the series were in the [[DC 100 Page Super Spectacular|100 Page Super Spectacular]] format.<ref>{{cite journal|last= Eury|first= Michael|title= A Look at DC's Super Specs|journal= Back Issue!|issue= 81|page= 22|publisher= TwoMorrows Publishing|date= July 2015|location= Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref> [[Martin Pasko]] wrote issue #500 (October 1979) which featured a history of the Superman canon as it existed at the time<ref>{{cite comic| writer= [[Martin Pasko|Pasko, Martin]]| penciller=[[Curt Swan|Swan, Curt]]| inker=[[Frank Chiaramonte|Chiaramonte, Frank]]| story= The Life Story of Superman| title= Action Comics| issue= 500| date= October 1979}}</ref> and was published in the [[Dollar Comics]] format.<ref>{{cite journal|last = Romero|first = Max|title = I'll Buy That For a Dollar! DC Comics' Dollar Comics|journal = Back Issue!|issue = 57|pages = 39–41|publisher = TwoMorrows Publishing|date = July 2012|location= Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref>

The superheroine [[Vixen (comics)|Vixen]] made her first appearance in ''Action Comics'' #521 (July 1981).<ref>Manning, Matthew K. "1980s" in Dolan, p. 194: "[Superman] encountered the new mystery woman known as Vixen for the first time.  In a story written by Gerry Conway and pencilled by Curt Swan, supermodel activist Mari McCabe leapt into the Man of Steel's life."</ref> To mark the 45th anniversary of the series, [[Lex Luthor]] and [[Brainiac (character)|Brainiac]] were both given an updated appearance in issue #544 (June 1983). Lex Luthor dons his war suit for the first time in the story "Luthor Unleashed!"<ref>{{cite comic| writer= [[Cary Bates|Bates, Cary]]|penciller= Swan, Curt|inker= [[Murphy Anderson|Anderson, Murphy]]|story= Luthor Unleashed!|title= Action Comics|issue= 544|date= June 1983}}</ref> and Brainiac's appearance changes from the familiar green-skinned [[android (robot)|android]] to the metal skeletal-like robot in the story "Rebirth!".<ref>{{cite comic| writer= [[Marv Wolfman|Wolfman, Marv]]|penciller= [[Gil Kane|Kane, Gil]]|inker= Kane, Gil|story= Rebirth!|title= Action Comics|issue= 544|date= June 1983}}</ref> [[Keith Giffen]]'s [[Ambush Bug]] character made appearances in issues #560,<ref>{{cite comic| writer= [[Keith Giffen|Giffen, Keith]], [[Robert Loren Fleming|Fleming, Robert Loren]]| penciller= Giffen, Keith| inker= [[Bob Oksner|Oksner, Bob]]| story= Police Blotter| title= Action Comics| issue= 560| date= October 1984}}</ref> #563,<ref>{{cite comic| writer= Giffen, Keith, Fleming, Robert Loren| penciller= Giffen, Keith| inker= Oksner, Bob| story= Black Beauty| title= Action Comics| issue= 563| date= January 1985}}</ref> and #565.<ref>{{cite comic| writer= Giffen, Keith, Fleming, Robert Loren| penciller= Giffen, Keith| inker= Oksner, Bob| story= $ellout or Manna from Mando| title= Action Comics| issue= 565| date= March 1985}}</ref>  ''Action Comics'' #579, written by [[Jean-Marc Lofficier]] and drawn by Giffen, featured an homage to [[Asterix]] where Superman and Jimmy Olsen are drawn back in time to a small village of indomitable Gauls.<ref>{{cite comic| writer= [[Jean-Marc Lofficier|Lofficier, Jean-Marc]], Lofficier, Randy | penciller= Giffen, Keith| inker= Oksner, Bob| story= Prisoners of Time! (1986 A.D. to CCLIII A.D.)| title= Action Comics| issue= 579| date= May 1986 }}</ref>  Schwartz ended his run as editor of the series with issue #583 (September 1986) which featured the second part of the "[[Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?|Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?]]" story by [[Alan Moore]] and Curt Swan.<ref>Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 220: "In 'Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?', a two-part story written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Curt Swan, the adventures of the Silver Age Superman came to a dramatic close."</ref>