Ah, a stroll down memory lane. I remember thinking at the time that, of the four Superman titles then being published, Action had the best writing but the worst art. It's funny, because I've seen other things that Guice has drawn since then that I thought were fine, but I did not, and do not, like his work on this title, although my reaction isn't as visceral looking at it now. But like I said, I thought Stern was doing the best writing of the four.

Which was a shame, because I also thought that the Eradicator-Superman, a.k.a. the Last Son of Krypton, had the best design of the four. In fact, if it were up to me to modernize Superman's costume, this would be the direction I'd go (definitely not those idiotic-looking armored booties).

This era of Superman comics also had by far my favorite version of Supergirl. I really miss the Matrix-Supergirl. She had a great origin story, a pretty unique power set (shape-shifting and psychokinesis), and she was simultaneously Clark's little sister and Lex' lover. Her having a foot in both camps made it possible to tell some really interesting and unique stories about her, and I have always thought that DC never fully realized the character's potential.

For that matter, they also more or less got rid of the Eradicator after this story-line. He basically died at the end, but then his body came back with an entirely new personality, which kind of missed the point of the character. He/it was a fascinating character as well. Of course, he really had a second life, so to speak, as Brainiac, because the versions of Brainiac used in Superman: The Animated Series and in Smallville were really much more closely based on the Eradicator than on any version of Brainiac that had ever appeared in the comics to that point.

Anyway, sorry for the long and rambling comment. What can I say? (Too much, I know.) You really triggered my nostalgia. Thanks for posting this.