Superman: The Silver Age Dailies, Volume 1

Superman : Silver Age Dailies #1

by Jerry Siegel, Curt Swan (Illustrator), Wayne Boring (Illustrator)

The Man of Steel comes to the Library of American Comics! In partnership with DC Entertainment, the Eisner Award-winning imprint will produce deluxe archival editions of the Superman newspaper strip that ran from 1939-1966. The Dailies will be released in three sub-sets, starting with The Silver Age, then The Atomic Age, and finally, The Golden Age. (Sundays will be released in a separate, concurrent series.) These Silver Age classics have never been reprinted. The first volume boasts art by Curt Swan and Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye, as Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel scripts stories by Otto Binder, Robert Bender, Jerry Coleman, and a new version of his own classic "Superman Returns to Krypton!" The book includes almost 800 strips, the complete episodes from December 15, 1958 - July 1, 1961. This is the series Superman fans have been waiting for!

Genres: Comics, Superman

288 pages, Hardcover

First published July 23, 2013

About the author

Jerome "Jerry" Siegel, who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S. Fine, was the American co-creator of Superman (along with Joe Shuster), the first of the great comic book superheroes and one of the most recognizable icons of the 20th century.
He and Shuster were inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1993.

Reviews

[tony dillard jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

A part of the Library of American Comics series, this volume collects the complete 1959-61 run of Superman stories that appeared in newspapers nationwide. Most of the Superman stories that ran in the funny pages were recycled from comics that were published months earlier. For those who may collect the DC editions that reprint the stories from Action Comics and Superman, it's more than likely that you already have almost all of these tales in your collection.
Only the first story- Earth's Super-Idiot is an original adventure. Although some elements of the yarn were borrowed from a story printed in Superman #135 (The Trio of Steel.) I know for sure that I've read a couple of these adventures before such as the 'Superman of the Future' and 'The Mad Woman of Metropolis' in their original form.
In order to build interest and assist readers who may have forgotten what happened the day prior, the last panel of one strip is often repeated in the first panel of the next. This repetition gets a little old but it's not the worst thing in the world. It still makes for a fun read of silver age fables starring the Man of Steel.
One thing that is a little confusing is the numbering of the stories. This is volume one of Superman: The Silver Age Dailies. Yet, the first epic is numbered at Episode 107. The publisher, IDW, is also reissuing the older tales from the Golden Age. But that numbering is starting at Episode 1. As there's only that first volume available, it may be a little while before IDW gets to Episode 106.
The Silver Age Dailies, Volume 1 features artwork from some of the most legendary Superman artists of the era. Wayne Boring, Stan Kaye, and Curt Swan all craft some amazing images of the Man of Tomorrow along with Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, and Lois Lane. (In my opinion, the Curt Swan stories are the best drawn.) Every episode is written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel and some are quite good. But the allure and wonder of these Superman tales are all thanks in very large part to editor Mort Weisinger.
Weisinger would bring mock-ups of ideas to the kids in his neighborhood and let them decide the next adventure of the Man of Steel. The idea was a huge, if not a tad far-fetched success. However, it's one reason why the Silver Age sagas of the Last Son of Krypton are still popular with fans today.
An enjoyable chronicle of Silver Age Superman in which I hope to obtain further volumes in the series. Being an oblong book and very heavy, it's a little unwieldy- especially when trying to read it in bed. I recommend a desk or recliner when reading.

[Adam Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reprints more than two years of Daily Superman Comic book strips from 1959-61.

All but one story in this book has been reprinted elsewhere in its comic book form, but this book invites us to read different cuts of these stories. Many of them were far more complete. One great example is the Ugly Superman Story where Lois' motives for falling in love with the homely wrestler and going by the nickname of the Ugly Superman are better explained and it's actually a much better story.

I've read several of these before and all that I recognized were the same or better than the comic book versions. These are stories when Superman was a lot more fun and fantastic. A few strip series used comic book tales from Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane, so there are a few Lois Lane stories in here. (But no Jimmy Olsen based ones for some reason.)

The first story in this book, "Earth's Super Idiot" was not from the comic books and was a fun tale of Superman having to humiliate himself for galactic film makers and find some way to turn the table. "Superman's Return to Krypton" is a classic story of the Man of Steel travelling back through time to pre-Destroyed Krypton and meeting his parents and falling in love, joyful to find a woman who loves him for himself and not his powers. The story has a very poignant ending.

I also loved "The Super Servant of Crime." Another big favorite was, "Superman's Billion Dollar Debt" where an IRS man tries to collect back taxes from Superman. I give credit to Superman Creator and strip writer Jerry Siegel for having this strip published not only during tax time but directly AFTER Superman saved the word from being conquered. And it turns out that the reason the agent's going after Superman is that he hasn't reviewed tax law carefully enough. That's the IRS for you.

Of course, the silver age wasn't without its problems. There was a little repetition. Perry White put himself in mysterious disguises not once but twice in this book. The last two stories featuring Lois Lane also had issues. "The Perfect Husband" has a really stupid and "convenient" ending. And "The Mad Woman of Metropolis" seemed to go too dark for DC's Silver Age with Lois Lane typing up a suicide note. If it was supposed to funny, the comedy didn't age well.

Still, these issues are overridden by the pure awesomeness of most of this book and this is a great new story for fans of the Man of Steel.

[Michael P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a privilege to read these newspaper strips reprinted here for the first time. Unfortunately, while the first 2/3 of the book reprints strips drawn by the great Curt Swan, the latter third reprints strips drawn by the awful Wayne Boring. The result is a book that builds you up, then lets you down like a bad eighties pop song.

[John Hefner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this book expecting, at most, an obscure comics curiosity with some fun moments. What I got instead was a full-powered blast of pure glorious Silver Age comic book fun with a healthy dose of crack. Whether you're a true-big-blue Superman fan or just someone who loves Superdickery (and you can be both, like me!), this book comes highly, highly recommended. Well, if you can afford the hefty price, that is.

IDW and the Library of American Comics have performed an amazing service by publishing this long-forgotten bit of comics history, and now I can't wait to read their upcoming volumes of Batman and Wonder Woman newspaper dailies!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly nice reproduction despite the lack of original artwork. The stories are ... not the best Superman tales around, but I'm not necessarily a fan of the sillier, more misogynist Silver Age elements. "Superman's Return to Krypton" is a highlight.

[Laine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cold War laced themes, Superman talking to you and making cheesy jokes or pointing out the absurdities of his own comic, priceless!