By Adam of @TalkingSuperman — Fans of Superman comics are some of the most fortunate fans in pop culture. For eight decades the character has been a coveted gig for some of the greatest talents in the comics industry. This has resulted in abundance of meaningful stories, interesting analysis of the character, and gorgeous pieces of pop art…so much that can be difficult to sort through it all at times. The goal of this list of the 100 Superman comics is to promote Superman Day (June 12th), but it is also to showcase some of the character’s greatest hits for new readers as well as hidden gems that even the more hardcore fans may have missed. It’s not a ranking or by any means a comprehensive list of every best story…it’s simply 100 stories that I personally would recommend to anybody.

100 Best Superman Comics

50. Action Comics #8. This is my personal favorite Golden Age issue. A kind of story that would not be allowed post Comics Code. It’s a story acknowledging the circumstances around a young kid would turning to a life to crime.

49. DC Comics Presents #27-29. This is the debut story of Mongul. Len Wein’s issues of Presents are some of the best overlooked stories. His work is very emotional growth focused but with the backdrop of some of the most absurd feats of power.

48. Hitman #34. From what I’ve heard, Garth Ennis’ opinion of superheroes is that they’re all boring except Superman. If the angle that Superman can’t save everybody is something that interests you, this is the issue that discusses it best.

47. Adventure of Superman #625-648. This is part of Greg Rucka’s run on the character, and it contains both one of the strongest Mxyzptlk moments and strongest Lois Lane moments. All in a pretty intriguing mystery around a great new villain.

46. First Thunder. This is probably the strongest, most well-rounded team up story outside of Batman, and it’s full of thoughtful and fun action.

45. Superman: Man of Steel #118. I love when Superman is at the center of a large cosmic ordeal, but not in the context of a big brawl, but rather to discuss the matters of the universe. This takes place in the aftermath of Our Worlds at War, and Superman is summoned in front of the Quintessence.

44. New Adventures of Superboy #38. This is my favorite Clark as Superboy story. Very charming, and a good look at Clark’s general approach to things at that point at his life.

43. The Earth Stealers. I’ve heard this was John Bryne’s pitch for the next movie, and it’s some of Curt Swan’s best work. I usually prefer earthbound stories, but this I beileve is space-heavy Superman story done right.

42. How Superman would Win The War. This is a two-page story. Despite or maybe because it’s not a traditional issue, I think it best encapsulates what Joe and Jerry’s idea was. I believe they were two kids frustrated with the world, and that they made an outlet in the form of a guy who would change things.

41. Action Comics 544. It’s a 45th anniversary issue! And with that milestone came a dramatic shake up to the threat level and character depth of Supe’s two biggest villains: the death of Luthor and the deleting of Brainiac’s physical form.

40. Action Comics #722. After all the aliens and supervillains, sometimes it’s just nice to see Superman go up against a natural disaster. Smallville just happens to be in tornado country.

39. Action Comics #36. This issue features some of the strongest Golden Age Lois Lane content, and there’s nothing like good Golden Age Lois Lane content.

38. Peace on Earth. Part of the prestige format Ross/Dini books, this story features larger pages and no white speech bubbles. It’s designed to allow that Ross art to shine. It’s also Paul Dini’s answer to “Why doesn’t Superman just solve world hunger?”

37. The Power Within. A collection of Superman’s stories from the period of time Action Comics was a weekly series. Two main great stories here: one is about Superman discovering a cult that worships him and the other about Davood Nassur, who is an interesting character in comic history.

36. Action Comics #62. Golden Age Superman largely stayed out of WWII, but if you’re really just hankering for some retro nazi fighting, this is the issue.

35. Superman #676. Superman team’s up with Alan Scot to fight Solomon Grundy. It’s not often we see Clark teaming up with a hero more experienced than himself.

34. It’s a Bird. This is an autobiographical tale about writer Steven T. Seagle struggling to come up with his pitch for Superman. He’s the classic type of guy who finds Superman unrelatable, given the character’s perceived invulnerability, which contrasts with Steven’s life full of cracks.

33. Action Comics #810. The greatest New Year’s celebration issue in comics sees Clark visiting multiple time zones as the clock strikes midnight. This story has a lot of small human moments that we see are of great importance to Superman.

32. Superman #2. Classic Luthor story. I’m just a sucker for stories that delve into the psychology of Lex.

31. Jack Kirby’s run on Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen. Most known for introducing Darkseid in a single panel, Kirby’s Olsen run brought many fantastic concepts to the table, including D.N.Aliens, the wild parts of Metropolis, a miniature planet of movie monsters. It was just full of imagination and great adventures, start to finish.

30. Secret Identity. A kid in the “real world” named Clark Kent wakes up one day and discovers he has the powers of the comic book character. Busiek and Immonen’s most famous story about the character. A concept that grabs people and doesn’t disappoint in execution.

29. Superman Strength. Out of everything in this list, this story is probably the hardest to find. It’s a 3-part story never collected and never digitalized. It’s the definition of a hidden gem, and the best example of a blue collar Superman.

28. Grant Morrison’s Action Comics. There’s really so much I could say about these comics, which prove you can do “Champion of the oppressed” without going retro. They also take full advantage of what the 5th dimension could be, and it had a full issue of arguably the best Superman in the Multiverse story. It’s all gold.

27. Krytonite. Nevermore getting rid of kryptonite at a time when it was overused was a bold move. With that discussion came cutting Superman’s power level in half, creating the mysterious Sand Superman, and showing Clark the repercussions of great power without restraint.

26. Superman: Up in the Sky. Tom King and Andy Kubert’s series of 10-page one shots that show a different fantastic challenge of body and mind with one overarching story that illustrates how far Superman is willing to go to save a single life.

25. Action Comics #865. One thing comic fans need to learn is just because a villain didn’t stand a chance against Superman physically. doesn’t mean they can’t provide a fantastic story. It’s not about the fights. This is also the definitive story of one of the most underrated rouges, Toyman.

24. Brave and the Bold #10-#11. Mark Waid with all star talents Jerry Ordway and George Perez. Similar spirit of the best DC Comics Presents stories with the most unpredictable clever team ups and a through line between issues.

23. The Hercules Trilogy. Many of the most interesting Silver and Bronze Age stories are centered around the fear of being replaced. Who better to compete with the Man of Steel than Hercules? It’s always cool when Superman is compared to the other strongmen of legend.

22. Ending Battle. Good Superman stories shouldn’t be about the fights, but also Superman stories can have the most exciting fights. Ending Battle is simply a giant gauntlet of a variety of enemies you wouldn’t normally see (including Marvel villains?).

21. Adventures of Superman #507 & Action #702. The best Superman villains are manifestations of our world problems. Bloodsport seems relevant to this moment, being about both gun violence and white supremacy. Plus, Ron Troupe is on of the more interesting Planet staffers, and he gets to shine here.

20. World of Krypton. In all of science fiction, I don’t think there are many planets with as much rich history explored over so many years as Krypton. We’re all nerds here, and we eat that kind of stuff up.

19. Action Comics #60. Lois Lane dreams of herself as Superwoman!

18. Kryptonite. Set at a time when Superman doesn’t really know what can or cannot hurt him. The ultimate story for people who think Superman is boring for being too invincible. A story about vulnerability on every level.

17. Superman At Earth’s End. No really. The cover alone is often shown as a joke on ‘90’s extremes, but the story is a little more thoughtful conversation about guns than you’d think it would be.

16. Son of Superman. A very underrated take on the DCU’s future. A young Jon Kent starts out having no idea idea who his father is until the advent of a solar flare. Gorgeous art and design work for many different characters by J.H. Williams III.

15. Metropolis Mailbag. The ultimate superhero Christmas special. Turns out Superman gets more mail than Santa. The difference is Clark is a guy who listens to absolutely everybody who needs him. It’s just a matter of sorting.

14. A Nation Divided. Elseworlds stories are just always fun to read…especially ones that put the characters at a major point on history.

13. Steel #34. Preist’s Steel run overall is great. The issue guest staring Superman in particular highlights a unique thing about Superman in that he doesn’t view anybody who wears the “S” after him as a sidekick.

12. Action Comics #900. This one includes Lex and Clark’s most interesting interaction. A historic story of Superman choosing to be a citizen of the world over just America. Within all of that, there are a good amount of under appreciated smaller stories.

11. Superman #400. Keeping up with the strong milestone issues. A series of stories centered around the future when Superman has reached legend status. Absolutely unbelievable line up of artists involved in this issue.

10. Superman #15. Children disappearing around Metropolis. It can be a case almost too much for even Superman, and from that, we get the definitive story for Maggie Sawyer.

9. Red Son. The essential Superman Elseworld story. To me the special thing about this story is that it could have easily been a story about an evil Russian with superpowers, but it’s not. It’s really Superman with Superman’s core personality in a drastically different setting.

#8. Adventures of Superman #500. I’m not the first to say Death of Superman was just a slug fest. The meat of the story, however, is Funeral for a Friend and Reign of Supermen. Pa visiting Clark in death feels like an important forgotten chapter of the entire saga to me.

#7. What’s so Funny About Truth Justice and the American Way? Written at the time when it was edgy for Superheroes to kill and be as dark as possible, Joe Kelly forever answers the question why “hope” will always be more important than angst.

#6. Must There Be a Superman. Pitched as, “What if Superman helping humanity was like a child trying to help a butterfly out of its cocoon, killing it in the process?”

#5. Superman And The Legion of Superheroes. Set in a 30th Century where humans are taught in schools that Superman was born on earth and alien immigrants are demonized. Great look at acceptance, inclusion, and the fact that Superman is for everyone.

#4. Return to Krypton. There are many stories where Superman visits Krypton, but this one really is something special. Lois and Clark get meaningful time with Jor and Lara. Rejecting the white mechanical emotionless take on the planet and fulling exploring the colorful alien scenery.

3. Superman #18. We’ve seen Superman outed as Clark many times, but as this issue shows there’s a world of difference between being outed and opening up. We live in a time where being open and yourself is more valued than ever. I think it’s brilliant to work on a truthful Superman.

2. The Last Days of Superman. A 50+ year old issue that truly I think still has some of the greatest pages in the history of the character. Curt Swan nails it on the art again. The message on the moon is a personal motto of mine.

1. All Star Superman. What can I say that hasn’t already been said about this masterpiece? This story is number one for the grace in the as well as the way that it demonstrates this character is the ultimate version of ourselves. To those who’ve already read it, reread it. You get something new every time.

Click here for picks #100 - #51!

Adam runs the Talking Superman Twitter feed, which features daily discussions, great moments, and general fun things about Superman and DC Comics. You can find him on Twitter here.