" The Lightning Saga " is a comic book crossover story arc that took place in DC Comics ' two flagship team books: Justice League of America and Justice Society of America . It was written by Brad Meltzer and Geoff Johns , and illustrated by Ed Benes , Dale Eaglesham , and Shane Davis . It is notable for re-introducing the Legion of Super-Heroes in the post- Infinite Crisis era.
79-582: This crossover would also be the beginning of DC's three year reinvention of the Legion, with the next part occurring in the Action Comics story " Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes " and culminating in Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds . A captured villain, Trident , is under the control of a Starro drone. Batman performs a DNA scan and discovers that he is Karate Kid of
158-770: A 1987 graduate of Broad Run High School in Ashburn , Virginia. He later attended the College of William & Mary where he majored in English and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1991, and was initiated into the Alpha Theta chapter of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity. In May 2023, Oswalt was made an honorary Doctor of Arts by William & Mary. He lived in San Francisco in the 1990s where he said "It
237-517: A Half Men in 2012. From September 2013 to May 2023, Oswalt narrated all 10 seasons of the TV series The Goldbergs . He also had a recurring role as Constable Bob Sweeney in the fourth season of the FX series Justified . Patton played the role of Agent Koenig on the TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He later appeared in separate episodes as brothers Eric and Billy Koenig . He continued to appear in
316-530: A brief video to Instagram , saying: "I think you got him, Michelle." He also posted on Twitter that same day, saying that he hoped to visit the suspect if he was indeed the Golden State Killer, "not to gloat or gawk - to ask him the questions that [McNamara] wanted answered in her 'Letter to an Old Man'" at the end of her book. Oswalt is a longtime comic book fan, particularly a DC Comics fan, which he has discussed in his stand-up. He has written
395-521: A copy of Action Comics #1 (June 1938) sold at auction for $ 3 million, besting the $ 317,000 record for a comic book set by a different copy, in lesser condition, the previous year. The sale, by an anonymous seller to an anonymous buyer, was through the Manhattan-based auction company ComicConnect.com. Although DC had initially announced Marc Guggenheim as writer of the title following the War of
474-488: A crossover arc with the Superman series, entitled " Up, Up and Away! " which told of Clark Kent attempting to protect Metropolis without his powers until eventually regaining them. The " Last Son " storyline was written by Geoff Johns and Richard Donner , the director of the 1978 film Superman: The Movie , and was pencilled by Adam Kubert . This story introduces the original character, Christopher Kent , and adapts
553-645: A few issues for comics. He is also a cinephile , having watched 4,000 films, including 720 films from 1995 to 1999 at the New Beverly Cinema . Oswalt has been diagnosed with clinical depression , which he has dealt with throughout his adult life. He has incorporated these experiences into his comedy routines. In July 2017, he and actress Meredith Salenger confirmed their engagement. They were married in November 2017. In 2013, he teamed up with PETA , spoke out against chaining pet dogs, and sent
632-429: A gorilla and his strip was renamed Congorilla . The introduction of Supergirl by Otto Binder and Al Plastino occurred in issue #252 (May 1959). Following this debut appearance, Supergirl adopted the secret identity of an orphan "Linda Lee" and made Midvale Orphanage her base of operations. In Action Comics #261 (February 1960), her pet cat Streaky was introduced by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney . Supergirl joined
711-637: A history of the Superman canon as it existed at the time and was published in the Dollar Comics format. The superheroine Vixen made her first appearance in Action Comics #521 (July 1981). To mark the 45th anniversary of the series, Lex Luthor and 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!" and Brainiac's appearance changes from
790-510: A letter to the mayor and members of the city council of Newport News, Virginia , urging them to ban the practice. Oswalt is an outspoken atheist and has referred to his atheism in his comedy specials: No Reason to Complain , Feelin' Kinda Patton , My Weakness Is Strong , and Finest Hour . Oswalt's influences include Jonathan Winters , Richard Pryor , Emo Philips , Blaine Capatch , Jim Goad , Bill Hicks , Bobcat Goldthwait , Sam Kinison , Steve Martin , and Louis C.K. Oswalt
869-573: A major artist on Superman. Under editor Mort Weisinger , the Action Comics title saw a further expansion of the Superman mythology. Writer Jerry Coleman and Wayne Boring created the Fortress of Solitude in issue #241 (June 1958) and Otto Binder and Al Plastino debuted the villain Brainiac and the Bottle City of Kandor in the next issue the following month. Gradually, the size of
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#1732801539364948-498: A policeman who talked in rhyme. The series saw the introduction of several characters and themes that would become longstanding elements of the Superman mythos. Lois Lane made her debut in the first issue with Superman. An unnamed "office boy" with a bow tie makes a brief appearance in the story "Superman's Phony Manager" published in Action Comics #6 (November 1938), which is claimed to be Jimmy Olsen 's first appearance by several reference sources. New superpowers depicted for
1027-615: A reunion panel of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 cast at San Diego Comic-Con in 2008. Oswalt played Paul Aufiero, the leading role in Robert D. Siegel 's 2009 directorial debut, Big Fan . He was set to star in a 2010 Broadway revival of Lips Together, Teeth Apart . The show was postponed, then eventually canceled, when Megan Mullally left the production after the director denied her request to replace Oswalt due to his lack of stage experience. He starred in
1106-439: A three-month hiatus on two separate occasions. The first of these occurred during the summer of 1986, with issue #583 bearing a cover date of September, and issue #584 listing January 1987. The regular Superman titles were suspended during this period to allow for the publication of John Byrne's six-issue The Man of Steel limited series. Publication was again suspended between issues #686 and #687 (February and June 1993) following
1185-665: Is considering Oswalt to portray Anto Đapić in an upcoming biopic about the former mayor of Osijek , set to be released 2026. In November 2024, Deadline announced that Oswalt was boarding the Oscar-contending short Sardinia as Executive Producer alongside his wife, actress Meredith Salenger . Oswalt called the film, which stars Philip Ettinger , Emmy-winner Martha Plimpton , Olek Krupa and Breeda Wool , "an effortlessly original piece of work" and "beyond timely”. Oswalt married true crime writer and journalist Michelle McNamara on September 24, 2005. Their daughter
1264-539: Is not yet trusted by Metropolis citizens and wears a basic costume consisting of a caped T-shirt, jeans and work boots. The first issue has had five printings as of March 2012. The first story arc of the relaunched series, entitled Superman and the Men of Steel for the collected edition, begins very early in Superman's career as he starts making a name for himself as a champion of the oppressed in Metropolis. He captures
1343-608: The Atom . 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 dates of its publishing line. A new version of the Toyman was created by Cary Bates and Curt Swan in issue #432 (February 1974). Issues #437 (July 1974) and #443 (Jan. 1975) of the series were in the 100 Page Super Spectacular format. Martin Pasko wrote issue #500 (October 1979) which featured
1422-517: The Golden Age of Comic Books . Siegel and Shuster had tried for years to find a publisher for their Superman character—conceived initially as a newspaper strip . Superman was originally a bald madman created by Siegel and Shuster who used his telepathic abilities to wreak havoc on humanity. He appeared in Siegel and Shuster's fanzine Science Fiction . Siegel then commented, "What if this Superman
1501-601: The Golden State Killer . In September 2017, Oswalt announced that the book, titled I'll Be Gone in the Dark , was scheduled for release on February 27, 2018, and was subsequently available for preorders. Less than two months after the book's release, on April 25, 2018, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department announced they had made an arrest in the Golden State Killer case. Oswalt posted
1580-461: The Legion of Super-Heroes in issue #276. She acted for three years as Superman's "secret weapon", until her existence was revealed in Action Comics #285 (January 1962). In the view of comics historian Les Daniels , artist Curt Swan became the definitive artist of Superman in the early 1960s with a "new look" to the character that replaced Wayne Boring's version. Bizarro World first appeared in
1659-544: The Legion of Super-Heroes . Karate Kid awakens and fights Batman until Black Lightning steps in. Meanwhile, Starman reveals to the JSA that he is also from the future. Batman, Sandman , and Geo-Force visit Arkham Asylum , where Doctor Destiny is manipulating Dream Girl into creating horrific illusions. Starman frees her by saying " Lightning Lad " in Interlac. Dream Girl then reveals that there are other Legionnaires in
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#17328015393641738-949: The New Teen Titans . Other costars during this period included the Phantom Stranger , the New Gods , the Demon , Hawkman and Hawkwoman , the Green Lantern Corps , the Metal Men , Superboy , Big Barda , Mister Miracle , Booster Gold , the Martian Manhunter , the Spectre , Lois Lane and Lana Lang , Checkmate , Wonder Woman , and the Man-Bat . The first Action Comics Annual
1817-809: The WGA's stand against the ATA and the practice of packaging . Oswalt's stand-up comedy covers topics ranging from pop culture frivolity, such as comic book supervillains and 1980s glam metal , to deeper social issues like American excess , materialism , foreign policy , and religion . He also discusses his atheism in his stand-up. He recorded his third comedy album at the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. , on February 28, 2009. It premiered on Comedy Central as Patton Oswalt: My Weakness Is Strong on August 23, 2009, and
1896-406: The " Reign of Doomsday " storyline. The final issue of the original series was Action Comics #904. The title was relaunched from issue #1, as part of 2011's The New 52 by the creative team of writer Grant Morrison and artist Rags Morales . As with all of the books associated with the relaunch, Clark Kent appears younger than the previous incarnation of the character. Action Comics focus on
1975-637: The "Death of Superman" and "Funeral for a Friend" storylines, before Action Comics returned in June 1993 with the "Reign of the Supermen" arc. The series was published weekly from May 24, 1988, to March 14, 1989. (See detail in The Modern Age section above.) The temporarily increased frequency of issues allowed Action Comics to further surpass the older Detective Comics in the number of individual issues published. It surpassed Detective Comics in
2054-527: The 1970s when that series was bimonthly for a number of years. This change lasted from issue #601 to issue #642. During this time, Superman appeared only in a two-page story per issue; he was still the only character to appear in every issue of the series. An issue #0 (October 1994) was published between issues #703 and #704 as part of the Zero Month after the "Zero Hour: Crisis in Time" crossover event. There
2133-476: The 1991 story wherein Clark Kent finally revealed his identity as Superman to Lois Lane . Several major Superman storylines crossed over with Action Comics including "Emperor Joker" in 2000 and " Our Worlds at War " in 2001. John Byrne returned to Action Comics for issues #827–835 working with writer Gail Simone in 2005–2006. After the " One Year Later " company-wide storyline, Action Comics had
2212-542: The 21st century. A close-up of Karate Kid's lightning rod shows it to have someone trapped inside. The Lightning Saga contains a subplot in which the Ultra-Humanite 's brain is transferred to a second albino ape body. These events are continued in The All-New Booster Gold (vol. 2), where Ultra-Humanite, Despero , and Per Degaton plot to erase the heroes of the present by tampering with
2291-615: The Blackhawks (in flashback), Deadman, and the Phantom Stranger. The story ran counter to DC editorial policy at the time as it portrayed Hal Jordan and Clark Kent as old friends who knew each other's secret identities. This was not considered canon in 1989 and Gaiman was unwilling to change this aspect of the story (as each serial in ACW was edited by different editors, continuity was not being maintained by DC editorial). The story
2370-462: The FOX game show The 1% Club . In July 2024, it was announced that Netflix was in early development on a television series based on Minor Threats , the comic series created by Oswalt, Jordan Blum, and Scott Hepburn and published by Dark Horse Comics . Oswalt and Blum are set to serve as writers, showrunners and executive producers, with Hepburn also executive producing. Jakov Sedlar announced he
2449-713: The Moon (1999), Zoolander (2001), Blade: Trinity (2004), All Roads Lead Home (2008), Big Fan (2009), A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011), 22 Jump Street (2014), and The Circle (2017). In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) multimedia franchise , Oswalt guest starred as the Koenigs on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2014–2020) and voiced Pip the Troll in Eternals (2021). He
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2528-502: The Raven in the TV series The Sandman (2022–present). Oswalt has voiced Remy in the animated film Ratatouille (2007), various characters in the animated series BoJack Horseman (2014–2020), Max in the animated film The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) where he replaced Louis C.K. , Jesse (male) in the game Minecraft: Story Mode , and M.O.D.O.K in the 2021 animated series of the same name . Other film credits include Man on
2607-599: The Showtime drama United States of Tara as Neil, an employee of Four Winds Landscaping. He also provided the voice of Thrasher, a robot protagonist from the Cartoon Network show Robotomy . Oswalt emceed the 2010 BookExpo America , promoting his then-upcoming book Zombie Spaceship Wasteland and introducing the evening's panelists: Christopher Hitchens , William Gibson , and Sara Gruen . Oswalt released Zombie Spaceship Wasteland in 2011. Oswalt played
2686-541: The Superman stories from the given issues. Action Comics #684 was part of " The Death of Superman " storyline which won the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for "Favorite Comic Book Story" for 1992. Action Comics #687–691 were part of "The Reign of the Supermen" storyline, which won the same award for 1993. Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His acting roles include Spence Olchin in
2765-410: The Supermen limited series, he was replaced by Paul Cornell . Cornell featured Lex Luthor as the main character in Action Comics from issues #890–900 and Death appeared in issue #894, with the agreement of the character's creator, Neil Gaiman . In April 2011, the 900th issue of Action Comics was released. It served as a conclusion for Luthor's "Black Ring" storyline and a continuation for
2844-788: The Working Week", a backup story in Batman #600; a story for Dwight T. Albatross's The Goon Noir #01 and a story for Masks: Too Hot for TV . Expanding his voice artist repertoire, he began voicing the villainous character Tobey on PBS Kids GO! series WordGirl in 2007. He also appeared on the Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner . He appeared on the Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav in August 2007. That same year, he appeared on an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants , " The Original Fry Cook ", as Jim. Oswalt moderated
2923-416: The attention of the military and scientist Lex Luthor, who are both interested in testing his capabilities as well as discovering what kind of threat he represents. Following the completion of Morrison's storyline, writer Andy Diggle and artist Tony Daniel became the new creative team on the title with issue #19. Unlike the previous issues, the setting for the Action Comics series would now take place in
3002-631: The character had a brief run as the backup in World's Finest Comics . Julius Schwartz became the editor of the series with issue #419 (December 1972) which also introduced the Human Target by Len Wein and Carmine Infantino in the backup feature. The Green Arrow and the Black Canary became a backup feature in #421 and ran through #458, initially rotating with the Human Target and
3081-541: The classic Superman film villains, General Zod , Ursa and Non into the regular DC Universe continuity. Issue #851 (August 2007) was presented in 3-D . Starting with issue #875 (May 2009), written by Greg Rucka and drawn by Eddy Barrows , Thara Ak-Var and Chris Kent, took Superman's place as the main protagonists of the comic, while Superman left Earth to live on New Krypton. A Captain Atom backup feature began in issue #879 (September 2009). On February 22, 2010,
3160-451: The cover feature of their new magazine. After seeing the published first issue, publisher Harry Donenfeld dismissed the featured strip as ridiculous. He ordered it never to be on the cover of the series. Subsequent reports of the first issue's strong sales and follow up investigations revealed that Superman was the reason. Thus, the character returned to the covers, becoming a permanent presence in issue 19 onward. Initially, Action Comics
3239-464: The early days of Superman's career, while the Superman series focus on Superman's present. Superheroes at large have appeared only in the past five years, and are viewed with at best, suspicion, and at worst, outright hostility. The storyline in Action Comics takes place about a year before the events of Justice League #1, and was referred to by DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio as "DC Universe Year Zero" while JL operates as "Year One." The Man of Steel
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3318-522: The end of its initial run, Action Comics was no exception, and the first issue of the new series was released on September 7, 2011. In February 2016, it was announced that as part of the DC Rebirth relaunch, Action Comics would resume its original numbering system, starting with issue #957 (Aug. 2016) and ship on a twice-monthly schedule. The Action Comics series is included in many trade paperbacks and hardcovers. These generally reprint only
3397-429: The familiar green-skinned android to the metal skeletal-like robot in the story "Rebirth!". Keith Giffen 's Ambush Bug character made appearances in issues #560, #563, and #565. 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. Schwartz ended his run as editor of
3476-760: The first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc. , which later merged into National Comics Publications (later National Periodical Publications), before taking on its current name of DC Comics . Its original incarnation ran from 1938 to 2011 and stands as one of the longest-running comic books with consecutively numbered issues. The second volume of Action Comics beginning with issue #1 ran from 2011 to 2016. Action Comics returned to its original numbering beginning with issue #957 (Aug. 2016). Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster saw their creation, Superman (also known as Kal-El, originally Kal-L), launched in Action Comics #1 on April 18, 1938 ( cover dated June), an event which began
3555-492: The first time for the character included X-ray vision and super-hearing in issue #11 (April 1939) and telescopic vision and super-breath in issue #20 (January 1940). Luthor , a villain who would later become Superman's arch-enemy , was introduced in issue #23 (April 1940). The original Toyman was created by writer Don Cameron and artist Ed Dobrotka in issue #64 (September 1943). By 1942, artist Wayne Boring , who had previously been one of Shuster's assistants, had become
3634-428: The issues was decreased. The publisher was reluctant to raise the cover price from the original 10 cents and reduced the number of stories. For a while, Congo Bill and Tommy Tomorrow were the two features in addition to Superman. Writer Robert Bernstein and artist Howard Sherman revamped the "Congo Bill" backup feature in issue #248 (January 1959) in a story wherein the character gained the ability to swap bodies with
3713-484: The lead writer on the series, as well as its companion series Superman . Action Comics is the longest-running DC Comics series by number of issues, followed by Detective Comics . A departure from a strict monthly schedule was four giant-size Supergirl reprint issues published as a 13th issue annually: issues #334 (March 1966), #347 (March–April 1967), #360 (March–April 1968), and #373 (March–April 1969). Action Comics has not had an uninterrupted run, having been on
3792-408: The new creative team on the series with issue #25 (Jan. 2014). This series concluded with issue #52 (July 2016), which was part of the "Final Days of Superman" storyline which depicted the death of the "New 52" version of Superman. As part of DC Comics' DC Rebirth relaunch in June 2016, Action Comics reverted to its original numbering beginning with Action Comics #957. Written by Dan Jurgens ,
3871-617: The old Secret Society of Super Villains base in Slaughter Swamp to find the final Legionnaire and are attacked by Computo . Despite the Society and League's efforts, the Legion enacts their plan, retrieving Wally West , Linda Park , and their two children from the Speed Force . Karate Kid is chosen to be sacrificed, but survives. The Legionnaires return to the future, with Starman, Karate Kid, and Triplicate Girl remaining in
3950-652: The past. The All-Flash one-shot reveals that the Rogues killed Bart Allen during The Lightning Saga . He is later resurrected in Final Crisis . Karate Kid and Triplicate Girl's exploits in the 21st century are detailed in Countdown to Final Crisis . The Lightning Saga and three issues of Justice League of America (#0, 11–12) were collected in the hardcover volume Justice League of America Volume 2: The Lightning Saga ( ISBN 1-4012-1652-8 ), which
4029-949: The present, and the JSA and JLA decide to work together to find them. Superman , Stargirl , Cyclone , and Red Tornado go to the Fortress of Solitude and free Wildfire , who has been frozen among statues of various Legion members. At the Batcave , Batman, Starman, and Black Lightning talk to Karate Kid, who insists that he is a member of the Trident Guild until Starman restores his memory. Jay Garrick , Vixen , Hal Jordan , Ted Grant , and Tomcat enter Gorilla City, where they find Timber Wolf . Meanwhile, Red Arrow , Power Girl , Hawkman , and Hawkgirl head to Thanagar to find Dawnstar , but find that she has already left for Earth. The Legionnaires retrieve miniature lightning rods from Batman's utility belt and plan for one member to die to resurrect someone. The JSA and JLA converge at
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#17328015393644108-475: The present. Diggle announced his resignation as the writer of the series shortly before his first issue went on sale. Diggle left the title with only one issue completed (he would be co-writer for #20 and co-plot issue #21), with Daniel taking on full scripting and art duties for the two following issues completing the three-part story arc "Hybrid". Scott Lobdell wrote the series after Diggle and Daniel's departure. Writer Greg Pak and artist Aaron Kuder became
4187-451: The recording of the hike. It is currently airing on Netflix and was nominated for another Primetime Emmy Award. He was featured in an ad campaign for Caesars Sportsbook in 2021, playing a character named Carl. He was featured on the celebrity version of Jeopardy! on January 26, 2023. On March 24, 2023, it was confirmed that Oswalt had joined the cast of the upcoming Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire . In May 2024, Oswalt began hosting
4266-580: The regular cover, blank variant cover, eight covers spanning eight decades from the 1930s-2000s, nineteen other variant covers from variant artists, and a hardcover Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman Deluxe Edition . Brian Michael Bendis became the new writer for the Action Comics series starting with issue #1001. Starting with issue #1029, the title became a part of the Infinite Frontier relaunch in March 2021. Phillip Kennedy Johnson became
4345-479: The role of Hurlan Heartshe in the 2011 surrealist comedy miniseries The Heart, She Holler on Cartoon Network 's late-night programming block, Adult Swim . Oswalt appeared in the 2011 film A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas . Oswalt played Matt Freehauf in Jason Reitman 's 2011 black comedy Young Adult . He played Billy Stanhope, ex-best friend of Ashton Kutcher 's Walden Schmidt on Two and
4424-653: The run included the Black Canary , Blackhawk , Captain Marvel , Catwoman , Deadman , Nightwing , the Phantom Lady , the Phantom Stranger , the Secret Six , Speedy , and Wild Dog . Titles spun off from Action Comics at this time included a Catwoman miniseries and a Blackhawk ongoing, in both cases by the same creative teams that worked on the weekly serials. During and after Action Comics Weekly' s run, two Green Lantern Special s were published in late 1988 and
4503-749: The second in spring 1989, the latter special wrapping up the storylines from the Green Lantern serials in Action Comics Weekly . Each issue featured a two-page Superman serial, a feature that, according to an editorial in the first weekly issue, was intended as a homage to the Superman newspaper strips of the past. The final issue of the weekly was originally intended to feature a book-length encounter between Clark Kent and Hal Jordan by writer Neil Gaiman . While Gaiman's story primarily teamed up Green Lantern and Superman, it also featured other characters from Action Comics Weekly , including
4582-561: The second season as Billy and a third brother named Sam . In season four, he also played a fourth brother, Thurston . Oswalt's memoir Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film was published by Simon & Schuster in 2015. He also voiced the male version of Jesse in Minecraft: Story Mode , which was released in October 2015. Oswalt played Max in the reboot of Mystery Science Theater 3000 , as
4661-441: The series ships twice-monthly and serves as a continuation of the comic book series Superman: Lois and Clark , which featured the pre- Flashpoint Superman alongside his wife, Lois Lane, and their son, Jon Kent . For the series' 1000th issue —released on April 18, 2018, the 80th anniversary of the premiere issue—DC returned Superman to his traditional costume with the red trunks and yellow belt. Action Comics #1000 collects
4740-428: The series with issue #583 (September 1986) which featured the second part of the " Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? " story by Alan Moore and Curt Swan. Following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths , writer/artist John Byrne relaunched the Superman franchise in The Man of Steel limited series in 1986. Action Comics became a team-up title with issue #584 (January 1987) featuring Superman and
4819-591: The sitcom The King of Queens (1998–2007) and narrating the sitcom The Goldbergs (2013–2023) as adult Adam F. Goldberg . After making his acting debut in the Seinfeld episode " The Couch ", he has appeared in a variety of television series, such as Parks and Recreation , Community , Two and a Half Men , Drunk History , Reno 911! , Mystery Science Theater 3000 , Archer , Veep , Justified , Kim Possible , Modern Family , Brooklyn Nine-Nine and We Bare Bears . He portrayed Principal Ralph Durbin in A.P. Bio (2018–2021) and Matthew
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#17328015393644898-418: The son of Frank Conniff 's character TV's Frank . The program premiered on Netflix in 2017. Also in 2017, lifelong film fan Oswalt provided the voice of horror icon Boris Karloff in several episodes of film critic Karina Longworth 's podcast You Must Remember This, for the season entitled "Bela and Boris". Oswalt had a voice-over role in science fiction comedy film Sorry to Bother You , which
4977-401: The son of Carla and Larry J. Oswalt, a career United States Marine Corps officer. He was named after General George S. Patton . He has one younger brother, Matt Oswalt, a comedy writer best known for writing and starring in the YouTube web series Puddin' . While he was a military brat , his family lived in Ohio and in Tustin, California , before settling in Sterling , Virginia. He is
5056-401: The story "The World of Bizarros!" in issue #262 (April 1960). Writer Jim Shooter created the villain the Parasite in Action Comics #340 (Aug. 1966). Mort Weisinger retired from DC in 1970 and his final issue of Action Comics was issue #392 (September 1970). Murray Boltinoff became the title's editor until issue #418. Metamorpho was the backup feature in issues #413–418 after which
5135-496: The title and was joined by scripter Roger Stern the following month. As writer of the series, Stern contributed to such storylines as "Panic in the Sky" and " The Death of Superman ". He created the Eradicator in Action Comics Annual #2 and later incorporated the character into the "Reign of the Supermen" story arc beginning in The Adventures of Superman #500. The Eradicator then took over Action Comics as "the Last Son of Krypton" in issue #687 (June 1993). Stern wrote
5214-431: Was a force for good instead of evil?" The writer and artist had worked on several features for National Allied Publications' other titles such as Slam Bradley in Detective Comics . They were asked to contribute a feature for National's newest publication. They submitted Superman for consideration. After re-pasting the sample newspaper strips they had prepared into comic book page format, National decided to make Superman
5293-401: Was also in the web series Best of the Worst in 2019. As a stand-up comedian, Oswalt has appeared in six stand-up specials and won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special and a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for the album of his Netflix special Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping (2016). Oswalt was born on January 27, 1969, in Portsmouth, Virginia ,
5372-429: Was an anthology title featuring several other stories in addition to the Superman story. Zatara , a magician, was one of the other characters who had his own stories in early issues. There was the hero Tex Thompson , who eventually became Mr. America and later the Americommando . Vigilante enjoyed a lengthy run in this series. Sometimes stories of a more humorous nature were included, such as those of Hayfoot Henry ,
5451-436: Was an issue #1,000,000 (November 1998) during the " DC One Million " crossover event in October 1998 between issues #748 and #749. On June 1, 2011, it was announced that all series taking place within the shared DC Universe would be either canceled or relaunched with new #1 issues, after a new continuity was created in the wake of the Flashpoint event. Although being DC's longest running series, having reached issue #904 at
5530-479: Was born in April 2009. McNamara died in her sleep in the family's Los Angeles home on April 21, 2016. Her death was attributed to a combination of a previously undiagnosed heart condition and complications from ingested medications, including Adderall , Xanax , and fentanyl . The season-three finale of The Goldbergs was dedicated to her memory. On August 1, 2016, Oswalt announced that he had been working to complete McNamara's unfinished nonfiction book about
5609-402: Was cheap, so, so cheap, and I was a young, hopeful comedian." Oswalt began performing stand-up comedy on July 18, 1988. After writing for MADtv and starring in his own 1996 comedy special for HBO , he went on to garner notable roles in films and television shows with his film debut coming in the 1996 military comedy film Down Periscope alongside Kelsey Grammer . His television debut
5688-483: Was on the Seinfeld episode " The Couch ". His most prominent and longest running role was as Spence Olchin on The King of Queens . His first starring film role was as the voice of Remy, the lead character in the 2007 Academy Award -winning Pixar film Ratatouille . He has also appeared in smaller roles in such films as Magnolia and 22 Jump Street . Oswalt wrote the comic book story "JLA: Welcome to
5767-713: Was published in 1987 and featured Superman teaming with Batman in a story written by Byrne and drawn by Arthur Adams . A DC Comics Bonus Book was included in issue #599 (April 1988). From May 24, 1988 – March 14, 1989, the publication frequency was changed to weekly, the title changed to Action Comics Weekly , and the series became an anthology. Prior to its launch, DC cancelled its ongoing Green Lantern Corps title and made Green Lantern and his adventures exclusive to Action Comics Weekly . The rest of these issues featured rotating serialized stories of other DC heroes, sometimes as try-outs that led to their own limited or ongoing series. Characters with featured stories in
5846-565: Was pulled and a different story, written by Elliot S. Maggin , was run. Gaiman's story was finally published as a one-shot in Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame in November 2000. The Action Comics Weekly experiment lasted only until the beginning of March 1989 and after a short break, issue #643 (July 1989) brought the title back onto a monthly schedule. Writer/artist George Pérez took over
5925-530: Was released in 2008. The collection features a written introduction by actor and comedian Patton Oswalt . The story has since been republished in a deluxe edition hardcover collecting all of Meltzer's run on Justice League of America, as well as the third volume of the JSA Omnibus , which collects all of Johns' JSA issues through 2009. Action Comics Action Comics is an American comic book / magazine series that introduced Superman , one of
6004-528: Was released in April 2012, a few days after its television premiere on Comedy Central. Oswalt's comedy special Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time was to be released on January 16, 2014, via online streaming website Epix , but was pushed back by the company for unknown reasons. However, it did premiere on Comedy Central on April 6, 2014, and became available for purchase on April 8, 2014, in both DVD and CD format. Oswalt's comedy special Talking for Clapping
6083-533: Was released in theaters on July 6, 2018. Oswalt replaced Louis C.K. in the 2019 animated film The Secret Life of Pets 2 , as the voice of main character Max. In addition, he reprised his role as Professor Dementor in the Disney Channel Original Movie Kim Possible , a live-action adaptation of the 2002-2007 animated series . On April 15, 2019, Oswalt joined a host of other writers in firing their agents as part of
6162-496: Was released on Netflix on April 22, 2016. For the album, he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special and a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album . Oswalt's comedy special Annihilation was released on Netflix on October 17, 2017. In an episode of Hiking with Kevin Nealon on YouTube , posted November 14, 2019, Oswalt confirmed a new special, I Love Everything , recorded three weeks prior to
6241-406: Was released on DVD August 25, 2009. An animated video of Patton's take on New Song 's Christmas Shoes was posted on YouTube in November 2009. The track does not appear on any albums. The audio is claimed to be recorded at Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. . Oswalt's album Patton Oswalt: Finest Hour was released on September 19, 2011. The extended and uncensored DVD of this special
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