Superman #400 - Steranko, Miller, Wrightson, Kirby, Williamson, Ditko, Simonson, Rogers, Byrne art + Milestone issue

Superman #400

Superman v1 #400, 1984 - This four hundredth issue boasts many of comicdom's best writers and artists. A select handful drew story pages while most did single page pin-ups. Some unique contributors include Moebius, Will Eisner, Wendy Pini, Jerry Robinson and Leonard Starr of Little Orphan Annie fame. Nine of my favorite artists are included in this celebratory issue. Frank Miller's four pages, though conceptually interesting, is the visually weakest with the exception of his back cover. Al Williamson's sequence has both his pencils and inks, a rarity in his 1980s DC comics. Art by Jack Kirby, Walt Simonson, Marshall Rogers and John Byrne are equally splendid. Both Bernie Wrightson and Steve Ditko submit the finest pin-ups in the book. The most stunning pages are five double page spreads by Jim Steranko. Large imposing figures are placed upon a sequence of mostly vertical panels. Told in a narrative format, the layouts bear a similarity to the artist's Outland movie adaptation. Photographic and op art textures are Steranko hallmarks and he uses them generously here. Oddly enough, none of these artists are credited in comic book price guides except Miller, Wrightson and Steranko. Other aritsts in this issue include Joe Orlando, Brian Bolland, Mike Kaluta, Jack Davis, Mike Grell, Klaus Janson and Bill Sienkiewicz. Cover by Howard Chaykin. This is 1 of 9 Superman issues by Williamson and 2 of 2 Superman issues by Wrightson. This is also the only Superman issue by Byrne (v1), Ditko, Kirby, Miller, Rogers, Simonson or Steranko. /// key Milestone issue

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Byrne pencils and inks 1 page pin-up = ***
Ditko pencils and inks 1 page pin-up = ****
Kirby pencils (Terry Austin inks) 1 page pin-up = ***
Miller story pencils and inks 4 pages = **
Miller back cover pencils and inks = ***
Simonson pencils and inks 1 page pin-up = ***
Steranko story pencils and inks 10 pages = ****
Rogers story pencils (Terry Austin inks) 7 pages = ***
Williamson story pencils and inks 8 pages = ***
Wrightson pencils and inks 1 page pin-up = ****

Jim Steranko

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