SUPERMAN IN ACTION COMICS introduction by...

SUPERMAN IN ACTION COMICS introduction by Mark Waid (Abbeville: $10.95; 320pp.). The Man of Steel may officially be dead, but he lives on in this collection of 25 years of comic book covers. The 300 illustrations trace the development of the popular fantasy hero, from his early battles with weird villains to his search for identity during the early ‘60s. The WWII-era images of Superman attacking Nazi tanks and Japanese ships offer intriguing examples of wartime propaganda. With “Treasures of the Louvre” and “Wild Flowers of America,” “Superman in Action Comics” introduces Abbeville’s mini-folio series: The easy-to-carry 4-by-4 1/2-inch format makes it hard to discern details in the artwork.