Action Comics #23.3: Lex Luthor #1 3-D Lenticular Motion Cover 2013 NM

Action Comics #23.3: Lex Luthor #1 (often referred to as Superman #23.3) is a single-issue comic book published by DC Comics in September 2013. Released as a core part of DC's company-wide "Villains Month" initiative during the Forever Evil event, the issue features a highly collectible 3-D lenticular motion cover.

Key Creative Team

• Writer: Charles Soule
• Artist: Raymund Bermudez
• Cover Artist: Aaron Kuder

Issue Plot Summary: "Up Up & Away!"

• The Release: Having spent nearly a year in a maximum-security prison of his own design, Lex Luthor is legally released using a team of high-priced lawyers rather than an escape.
• A Conspicuous Absence: Upon stepping outside, Luthor is instantly unsettled by the realization that Superman is completely missing from the public eye.
• Project Ghost Town: To test his theory and lure the Man of Steel out, Luthor secretly orchestrates a major space shuttle "malfunction," leaving four astronauts stranded in low Earth orbit pleading for Superman's help. When Superman fails to appear, Luthor ruthlessly allows the shuttle to burn up, executing his personal assistant, Casey, when she reacts in horror to his true nature.
• Reclaiming the Empire: Between the lines of his space experiment, Luthor spends his day casually ruining a business rival who attempted to aggressively take over a LexCorp subsidiary, forcing the man to beg Lex to take his company.

Continuity Significance

This "day-in-the-life" story serves as a direct prelude to Forever Evil #1. The final pages show Lex Luthor heading directly to his fateful helicopter meeting with Thomas Kord