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Superman/Action Comics Rebirth Reading Order (by Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason & Dan Jurgens)

Superman is Back! In the aftermath of the Final Days of Superman and the conclusion of New 52, start a new era for the Man of Tomorrow. Presented as a celebration of the past and the present, the Rebirth era focused in part on returning the characters to an earlier status quo while updating the premises for new audiences.

The Man of Steel from the pre-Flashpoint era officially returned to the main continuity when he was reintroduced at the end of the New 52 era. Married to Lois Lane, he is also the father of ten-year-old Jon Kent. Fans welcomed it, seeing it as a welcome return to form after the controversial New 52 era. This era is now regarded as one of the most popular and critically acclaimed modern runs for the character.

The Superman Rebirth Saga was penned by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason on the primary Superman title and Dan Jurgens on Action Comics and you can right now discover it with our updated reading guide! 

Superman/Action Comics Rebirth: The Omnibus Collection

You can read and collect the Superman Rebirth Saga in three Omnibus Volumes: 

★ For more Superman stories in this format, check out our Superman Omnibus Guide.

Superman Rebirth: The Deluxe Edition – If you prefer smaller books but still have a hardcover, DC Comics has released at some point the Tomasi, Gleason, and Jurgens’ Superman saga in the past, although those volumes are maybe a little more difficult to find these days: 

And don’t forget Action Comics #1000: The Deluxe Edition, collecting the landmark issue Action Comics #1000, plus a host of extras, including a bonus story by comics legends Paul Levitz and Neal Adams, variant covers, scripts, cover sketches and the comic that started it all… the Superman story from Action Comics #1.

Superman/Action Comics Rebirth Saga Reading Order

The Return of Superman Pre-Flashpoint. Before the conclusion of New 52, DC Comics brought back the previous version of Superman, and the following stories are also included in our Superman New 52 guide. They reveal what happened to the Man of Steel and Lois Lane, as well as the birth of their son, Jon Kent, and how the family found their way to the DC mainline. Those stories, more optional, are a prelude to the Rebirth era.

Superman Rebirth starts here! A new chapter begins for the Man of Steel, alongside Lois Lane and their young son Jon. Superman returns as Earth’s protector, while trying to balance the life of a superhero with his role as a husband and father.

Optional Reading: Justice League and Trinity

Superman joined Bryan Hitch’s Justice League team during The Extinction Machine, their first mission in the Rebirth era. Similar to New 52, the character is only a supporting player in the team, and those adventures have no impact on his own story. The Justice League Rebirth comics can be read on their own, although be aware that Hitch’s run is quite unpopular. Collected in 5 trade paperbacks.

Superman also team-up with Batman and Wonder Woman in Trinity, a companion series launched by Francis Manapul that explores the dynamic between DC’s three greatest heroes during the Rebirth era. While the series takes place alongside Superman’s main story, including a tie-in to the Superman Reborn event, Trinity can mostly be read on its own. Collected in 4 trade paperbacks.

Superman: Reborn! This crossover between Action Comics and Superman brings everything to a head and unifies Superman’s New 52 and Pre-Flashpoint history.

Superman Reborn Issue-by-Issue Reading Order: You’ll find a few optional tie-ins to this Superman Event, mostly dealing with the aftermath of the story. Here’s a reading order including those issues: Action Comics #973-974 ★ Adventures of Superman #436 ★ Superman #18 ★ Action Comics #975 ★ Superwoman (2016) #8 ★ Superman #19 ★ Action Comics #976 ★ The Aftermath: Supergirl (2016) #8 ★ New Super-Man #10 ★ Trinity (Volume 2) #8 ★ Superwoman (2016) #9

Recommended Reading! Superboy and Robin, the sons of Superman and Batman, take center stage as a super-team in the Super Sons, an all-new series written by Peter J. Tomasi and illustrated by Jorge Jimenez. The stories take place in parallel to those of Superman, and their first adventure actually contains minor spoilers for Superman Vol. 4. Check out our Super Duper Super Sons Reading Order for more information.

Optional Reading: Doomsday Clock by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. The world of Watchmen collides with the DC Universe in a story that ties everything back to Superman. You’re more likely to enjoy it as a Superman fan than as a Watchmen fan, as the story ultimately works more as a Superman story featuring the Watchmen characters.

The Story continues in Superman/Action Comics: The Brian Michael Bendis era.

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4 thoughts on “Superman/Action Comics Rebirth Reading Order (by Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason & Dan Jurgens)”

    1. Carole
      Reply

      Before Rebirth, there have been 3 other Superman ongoing series (or three volumes, as it is called). It goes like that, mostly:
      – Superman (Volume 1) was the first ongoing Superman title and ran from 1939 to 1986
      – Superman (Volume 2) was the first Superman title following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. It was published between 1987 and 2006.
      – Following the cancellation of Volume 2, DC relaunched the first volume with its legacy numbering. It lasted until October 2011.
      – With the New 52 relaunch came Superman (Volume 3), published from November 2011 to July, 2016.
      – And then, we arrive at Rebirth and Superman Volume 4.

      I hope it helps!

  3. Sean
    Reply

    This is a rather long comment so feel free to stop at any point, but to begin thank you ever so much for this, you have really helped me figure out how to organize my comics following New52 past Rebirth to Action Comics 1000. (Here’s where it gets long if you want to stop) I started collecting the Superman family since New52 back in 2011. I found it was a love/hate continuum and I loved it. Only thing I didn’t like was the first half of Batman/Superman, the Superman/Wonder Woman relationship, and the Supergirl outfit. After New52 this was a tremendous help beginning with rebirth up to Action Comics 1000. I didn’t include any Justice League New52 save JL 52. Unfortunately with New52 I had to include many Teen Titans for Superboy plus a few from Legion Lost and Ravagers. Supergirl had some Red Lanterns but she was simple enough. Fortunately Action Comics 52 and Superman 52 were consistent enough. Once Rebirth hit I once again mixed in Supergirl and Superwoman into the main AC Superman and the next volume of Superman. I only included the first 6 New Superman to introduce his character but that’s all. Didn’t bother with JL again or Supersons and Teen Titans unless it was necessary but I included Trinity. Mostly tried to mix all of them in between each of the breaks you have set with the Superman stories. I think I did okay on my part thanks to you. Now I have to figure out how to proceed after Man of Steel 6. I’m considering writing an article about reading the Superman family from New52 to at least Action Comics 1000 including the following Man of Steel story and hopefully a bit past that. Supergirl, Superman, and Action Comics seem to get pretty mixed up after that. I’m considering stopping once I get to at least when Conner Kent rejoins the family but that seems like quite a while. If you read this far thanks for doing so and again also for having made this list down.

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