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Superman: The Golden Age #1
Superman: The Golden Age, Vol. 1
Historic first appearances from Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s legendary Man of Steel!
Faster than a speeding bullet, Superman burst onto the comic book scene in 1938, just as America was on the terrifying precipice of a world war. In a desperate time, legendary creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster brought to life the world’s first modern superhero. The Man of Steel emerged as a champion of the oppressed, taking down any enemy with his super-strength and speed, both foreign and near to home. In his distinctive royal blue, red and yellow costume, complete with cape, the stalwart Kryptonian emanated strength and fearlessness. He swiftly became a symbol of hope for a downtrodden America.
Collecting all of the Metropolis Wonder’s first-ever adventures from ACTION COMICS #1-19, SUPERMAN #1-3 and NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR COMICS #1!
Faster than a speeding bullet, Superman burst onto the comic book scene in 1938, just as America was on the terrifying precipice of a world war. In a desperate time, legendary creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster brought to life the world’s first modern superhero. The Man of Steel emerged as a champion of the oppressed, taking down any enemy with his super-strength and speed, both foreign and near to home. In his distinctive royal blue, red and yellow costume, complete with cape, the stalwart Kryptonian emanated strength and fearlessness. He swiftly became a symbol of hope for a downtrodden America.
Collecting all of the Metropolis Wonder’s first-ever adventures from ACTION COMICS #1-19, SUPERMAN #1-3 and NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR COMICS #1!
393 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 22, 2016
133 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Siegel
623 books82 followersJerome "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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
September 16, 2024
Title: Superman: The Golden Age, Vol. 1
Author: Jerry Siegel
Genre: Superheroes
Publication Year: 2016 (all of the content initially published in 1939 to 1041)
Review: Although the content is dated, there is something to be said about the historical impact that Superman made on the late 1930s into the 1940s. Action Comics #1 - 19, Superman #1 - 3, and the New York World's Fair comic contained multiple stories but those issues featured Superman on the cover, a ten-page short Superman story, and filler content designed to promote other heroes. In this anthology, the covers are all included along with the Superman Features, pinups, nutritional, and exercise advice.
The collection is beautiful with its high quality, glossy paper, well-bound, and lovingly illustrated by Joe Shuster. The Superman included in these pages doesn't look like the Superman most people recognize: in comportment, in attitude, nor look. Yet, he effected the zeitgeist almost immediately.
There are no super-villains, in those first stories. Neither are there any other superheroes. No Perry White. No Daily Planet. Lois Lane is a shadow of the character she eventually becomes. And Superman's heroic deeds are more shaped to combat the overt societal woes that prevailed upon the times.
Poverty seems to bear the greater burden as the root cause of war, crime, spousal abuse, homelessness, and suicide. Although some of the story-telling is a little boring, the work is classic, meritorious, and impactful.
Author: Jerry Siegel
Genre: Superheroes
Publication Year: 2016 (all of the content initially published in 1939 to 1041)
Review: Although the content is dated, there is something to be said about the historical impact that Superman made on the late 1930s into the 1940s. Action Comics #1 - 19, Superman #1 - 3, and the New York World's Fair comic contained multiple stories but those issues featured Superman on the cover, a ten-page short Superman story, and filler content designed to promote other heroes. In this anthology, the covers are all included along with the Superman Features, pinups, nutritional, and exercise advice.
The collection is beautiful with its high quality, glossy paper, well-bound, and lovingly illustrated by Joe Shuster. The Superman included in these pages doesn't look like the Superman most people recognize: in comportment, in attitude, nor look. Yet, he effected the zeitgeist almost immediately.
There are no super-villains, in those first stories. Neither are there any other superheroes. No Perry White. No Daily Planet. Lois Lane is a shadow of the character she eventually becomes. And Superman's heroic deeds are more shaped to combat the overt societal woes that prevailed upon the times.
Poverty seems to bear the greater burden as the root cause of war, crime, spousal abuse, homelessness, and suicide. Although some of the story-telling is a little boring, the work is classic, meritorious, and impactful.
September 19, 2017
Sometimes I enjoy just relaxing and reading the older Golden Age stories. Things were simpler then. I like to imagine the wonder of the reader as they experienced something that was totally new and different. I think it was like the first time someone in the ancient world heard the myths and legends of the Gods and heroes. This collection of those early Superman stories are like that for me. Recommended
September 24, 2023
Pretty interesting stuff, definitely not what I've come to expect from a Superman comic. Here he's a really down-to-earth guy who just happens to have super powers.
The stories aren't very heroic and none feature supervillains. It's all about Superman battling social injustice. Some of what he does is very against the law too. Many have him disguising himself, basically magically, to match the person he's trying to help out.
Lois Lane absolutely detests Clark Kent. It's pretty entertaining.
The stories aren't very heroic and none feature supervillains. It's all about Superman battling social injustice. Some of what he does is very against the law too. Many have him disguising himself, basically magically, to match the person he's trying to help out.
Lois Lane absolutely detests Clark Kent. It's pretty entertaining.
January 8, 2021
"And so begins the startling adventures of the most sensational strip character of all time: Superman!
A physical marvel, a mental wonder, Superman is destined to reshape the destiny of a world!"
Action Comics #1 - 1938.
A physical marvel, a mental wonder, Superman is destined to reshape the destiny of a world!"
Action Comics #1 - 1938.
June 9, 2018
The original Superman comics, which premiered in the late 1930s, are as juvenile as one might expect. The illustrations are crude. Sometimes buildings are nothing more than boxes or streaks of lines. Other times faces aren't filled in. There were several times I couldn't tell Clark Kent apart from other characters. The pacing is awkward. Story setups can be sluggish while endings might wrap up in just a few frames. The dialogue is clunky. Superman often says things like "This deviltry of yours is going to stop right now!" or "Five deaths in as many days!—Hm-mm! This fairly shrieks for investigation!" The formula storytelling becomes apparent after a while. And Lois Lane is just too infatuated with Superman and too mean to Clark Kent.
But while these comics are products of their times in terms of their rudimentary nature, they are also products of their times in their depictions of a country almost a decade into the Great Depression, one where members of the working class were not only struggling to survive but struggling to find a voice to express their ire and anguish at the political and economic elites who caused their plight. For the first dozen issues, Superman doesn't fight super villains or mad scientists (that doesn't happen until Issue #13 where the Ultra-Humanite first appears). He, instead, fights against the members of a corrupt order: a mine owner who puts profits before his miners' safety, crooked politicians and scheming weapons manufacturers, wife beaters, abusive prison wardens, evil stock brokers whose crimes have led people to suicide. He corrects many wrongs: saving a woman wrongfully placed on death row, knocking down the slums so they can be rebuilt with better living spaces, and generally handing out a poetic justice to those who have taken advantage of the system.
In one of the more incredible story lines, he works with some troubled teenagers who are burgeoning into a life of petty crime. Instead of entirely blaming them for their actions, he says, "It's not entirely your fault that you're delinquent—it's these slums—your poor living conditions." In my favorite issue, he even apprehends a con man who attempts to claim the royalties for Superman merchandise. In today's parlance, he would be known as a social justice warrior.
One of the more surprising aspects of these comics is how the stories manage to be continually engaging. Considering Superman is far superior to anyone else here, they could quickly become boring as he dispatches one criminal after another with ease. However, Siegel actually comes up with some inventive—while admittedly silly—ways of keeping things interesting, often involving Kent trying to maintain his secret identity or get the scoop for his newspaper while alternately saving the day. Only occasionally does Superman resort to smashing things to get his way.
But while these comics are products of their times in terms of their rudimentary nature, they are also products of their times in their depictions of a country almost a decade into the Great Depression, one where members of the working class were not only struggling to survive but struggling to find a voice to express their ire and anguish at the political and economic elites who caused their plight. For the first dozen issues, Superman doesn't fight super villains or mad scientists (that doesn't happen until Issue #13 where the Ultra-Humanite first appears). He, instead, fights against the members of a corrupt order: a mine owner who puts profits before his miners' safety, crooked politicians and scheming weapons manufacturers, wife beaters, abusive prison wardens, evil stock brokers whose crimes have led people to suicide. He corrects many wrongs: saving a woman wrongfully placed on death row, knocking down the slums so they can be rebuilt with better living spaces, and generally handing out a poetic justice to those who have taken advantage of the system.
In one of the more incredible story lines, he works with some troubled teenagers who are burgeoning into a life of petty crime. Instead of entirely blaming them for their actions, he says, "It's not entirely your fault that you're delinquent—it's these slums—your poor living conditions." In my favorite issue, he even apprehends a con man who attempts to claim the royalties for Superman merchandise. In today's parlance, he would be known as a social justice warrior.
One of the more surprising aspects of these comics is how the stories manage to be continually engaging. Considering Superman is far superior to anyone else here, they could quickly become boring as he dispatches one criminal after another with ease. However, Siegel actually comes up with some inventive—while admittedly silly—ways of keeping things interesting, often involving Kent trying to maintain his secret identity or get the scoop for his newspaper while alternately saving the day. Only occasionally does Superman resort to smashing things to get his way.
April 10, 2016
This is a great trade of the earliest appearance of Superman. It's amazing to see the progressive, man of the people approach Siegel and Shuster took in the early years. It's a fantastic view into the past.
The stories themselves are simple, straightforward... They aren't really narratives, more like a series of images tied together with words. They have more in common with modern newspaper comics than superhero stories of today. This is a vital collection for fans of the medium!
The stories themselves are simple, straightforward... They aren't really narratives, more like a series of images tied together with words. They have more in common with modern newspaper comics than superhero stories of today. This is a vital collection for fans of the medium!
August 10, 2016
This was such a great read! I've been wanting to get my hands on these comics for a while and I'm so glad to find them in chronological order! This is a Superman that we've never met before. He has basically the same background, but the way he carries out justice is completely different. In each issue, Superman grapples with a crime or situation that is troubling (suicide caused by gambling, high car fatality rate, orphanage being run poorly, etc.) and solves it the way we all wish we could. Superman goes in and beats the crap out of the people doing the bad deeds (some instances where he lets them die!). He'll do as much property damage as he sees fit in order to see justice done or to restore the natural order of things. Sometimes it's funny to see the lengths he goes to because he's just causing mass havoc in some issues. I love this Superman. He's the guy I think of that can tackle any problem I have, no matter how big or complicated it may seem. Superman just goes in there, kicks butt, and ends the war in one day (which he does in an issue or two). If you can, get your hands on this, because it is a great adventure that you won't find today!
June 28, 2020
The first page of Action Comics #1 introduces Superman as the "champion of the oppressed". While his interpretations of who are the oppressed and how he should champion them might be a bit dated it's easy to see why this comic sparked such an explosion in comics that would define an entire industry for decades. Superman is proactive and always seeking out reasons to help people, both as reported Clark Kent and as the unbelievable costumed hero Superman! The antagonists of these early stories are numerous, being anyone from mobsters to domestic abusers to corrupt politicians and war profiteers.
The key to who Superman is comes from how upfront and aggressive he is in his crime-fighting. He will kidnap people, throw them through walls, threaten to snap their neck, all while being indestructible and immune to any attempts to resist him. One of his favourite ways to deal with evil men is to capture them and force them to take the place of the people they are oppressing- putting them on the front lines in a war zone or trapping them in their workplaces with unsafe working conditions. He also has a vendetta against cars, which can be seen in the iconic Action Comics #1 cover. People who drive under the influence, reckless drivers who hit-and-run, and the rich elite who use their cars carelessly or to commit crimes. Even traffic and safety laws are not immune from Superman's watchful eyes!
Perhaps the greatest standout of this collection is Joe Shuster's artwork. The design of Superman's costume itself is iconic for a reason, and he truly stands out among all the antagonists in their generic clothing. Superman is a superhero, one the villains struggle to believe even exists, and appears larger than life every time he's on the page. When Superman lifts heavy weights with ease or moves with extreme speed he does it with a smile, Shuster always preserving the sense of scale and making every movement a big moment that stops the reader - and the villains - in their tracks.
The biggest problem facing this collection is that, like many books from as early as the Golden Age, it is incredibly dated. The stories are pretty straightforward and as entertaining as they are, they start to form a pattern. Superman gets his first supervillain in this book - the Ultra-Humanite - but even then they're less of a "supervillain" and more of a recurring mad scientist. Seeing Superman use his power to deflect bullets, perform incredible acts of strength, or out-speed fast-moving vehicles, was something new and exciting but looking back on from a modern perspective hardly constitutes a thrilling conclusion to an issue. Superman's attempts to tackle poverty and mental health are well-meaning but do nothing to address any systemic issues or large-scale changes and come across as hollow solutions to complicated problems. There is also a worrying trend of how often a story begins with Superman saving someone from suicide, with the key plot being Superman trying to stop whatever bad thing drove the person to want to suicide, which resolves itself by Superman erasing all the person's problems in a neat and orderly fashion.
Superman: The Golden Age is the sort of book that needs to be read with the right mindset. Readers need to go into it looking not for something new and exciting, but for a simple story that wears its heart on its sleeve. Many issues have small inserts at the end of them targeted directly towards children and telling them how to exercise to be strong like Superman, or eat healthy to be fit like Superman. It's an accessible title that wants to prove to the reader that good will always triumph over evil and doing good isn't the job of a hero, it's the job of every single person. Superman is the "champion of the oppressed" and the big moral of every story is to always look around for people in need of help. No problem is ever too small for Superman, and there's always something you can do to make the world a better place.
The key to who Superman is comes from how upfront and aggressive he is in his crime-fighting. He will kidnap people, throw them through walls, threaten to snap their neck, all while being indestructible and immune to any attempts to resist him. One of his favourite ways to deal with evil men is to capture them and force them to take the place of the people they are oppressing- putting them on the front lines in a war zone or trapping them in their workplaces with unsafe working conditions. He also has a vendetta against cars, which can be seen in the iconic Action Comics #1 cover. People who drive under the influence, reckless drivers who hit-and-run, and the rich elite who use their cars carelessly or to commit crimes. Even traffic and safety laws are not immune from Superman's watchful eyes!
Perhaps the greatest standout of this collection is Joe Shuster's artwork. The design of Superman's costume itself is iconic for a reason, and he truly stands out among all the antagonists in their generic clothing. Superman is a superhero, one the villains struggle to believe even exists, and appears larger than life every time he's on the page. When Superman lifts heavy weights with ease or moves with extreme speed he does it with a smile, Shuster always preserving the sense of scale and making every movement a big moment that stops the reader - and the villains - in their tracks.
The biggest problem facing this collection is that, like many books from as early as the Golden Age, it is incredibly dated. The stories are pretty straightforward and as entertaining as they are, they start to form a pattern. Superman gets his first supervillain in this book - the Ultra-Humanite - but even then they're less of a "supervillain" and more of a recurring mad scientist. Seeing Superman use his power to deflect bullets, perform incredible acts of strength, or out-speed fast-moving vehicles, was something new and exciting but looking back on from a modern perspective hardly constitutes a thrilling conclusion to an issue. Superman's attempts to tackle poverty and mental health are well-meaning but do nothing to address any systemic issues or large-scale changes and come across as hollow solutions to complicated problems. There is also a worrying trend of how often a story begins with Superman saving someone from suicide, with the key plot being Superman trying to stop whatever bad thing drove the person to want to suicide, which resolves itself by Superman erasing all the person's problems in a neat and orderly fashion.
Superman: The Golden Age is the sort of book that needs to be read with the right mindset. Readers need to go into it looking not for something new and exciting, but for a simple story that wears its heart on its sleeve. Many issues have small inserts at the end of them targeted directly towards children and telling them how to exercise to be strong like Superman, or eat healthy to be fit like Superman. It's an accessible title that wants to prove to the reader that good will always triumph over evil and doing good isn't the job of a hero, it's the job of every single person. Superman is the "champion of the oppressed" and the big moral of every story is to always look around for people in need of help. No problem is ever too small for Superman, and there's always something you can do to make the world a better place.
April 23, 2018
To my great surprise, I really rather enjoyed this collection. The restoration, while a tad garish, is more than adequate, and the art, while often crude, is both in keeping with the times and quite often intriguing in how Shuster chooses to portray characters; you can also see him developing as he goes, although some of that might be the presence of assistants or ghost artists.
The stories are very different from those of the mid to late 1940s onward. Superman is a crusading roustabout, not afraid to cause massive amounts of damage or to be seen as on the wrong side of the law. In his civilian life, as the meek reporter CLark Kent, he suffers abuse from the rather unpleasant Lois Lane, but seems to invite it, not because of an innate masochism, but because he enjoys having a target for an occasional wicked barb and some ongoing snark -- yes, the Superdickery began here.
These early stories are wild and hairy things, too, between Superman's decidedly unruly behaviour and some truly appalling moments -- Clark loves to swipe identities, and occasionally employs kidnapping and drugs for that purpose; in another story, Lois attempts to roofy Clark so she can steal his story. This wild west approach to storytelling makes for a great deal of fun.
The stories are very different from those of the mid to late 1940s onward. Superman is a crusading roustabout, not afraid to cause massive amounts of damage or to be seen as on the wrong side of the law. In his civilian life, as the meek reporter CLark Kent, he suffers abuse from the rather unpleasant Lois Lane, but seems to invite it, not because of an innate masochism, but because he enjoys having a target for an occasional wicked barb and some ongoing snark -- yes, the Superdickery began here.
These early stories are wild and hairy things, too, between Superman's decidedly unruly behaviour and some truly appalling moments -- Clark loves to swipe identities, and occasionally employs kidnapping and drugs for that purpose; in another story, Lois attempts to roofy Clark so she can steal his story. This wild west approach to storytelling makes for a great deal of fun.
March 12, 2020
Superman when he was halfway between an Hardboiled character (Slam Bradley) and a way for Siegel to expose his clear-as-day socialist and anarchic ideas. The fact that this version of him killed and drugged innocents is a testimony to me that Supes was not the first superhero in the modern sense ever created, as such title goes to Wonder Woman with her repeated woe to never kill or maim anyone and her gentle and kind attitude towards everybody. Yet there are some ideas that can still be applied this day, as some of the problems exposed like mismanagement of public-funded structures and worker's safety are literally written on the daily newspaper. Also, for how much I love and prefer the amazing Amazon princess to the man who came from the Planet Krypton, I must say that I feel the latter was more "thought-provoking" in regards to some issues such as government social policies, at least in the very first issues. The great art by Joe Shuster is welcomed too.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
October 19, 2024
Man, I love these earliest Superman stories by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster. They're kind of like John Dos Passos' U.S.A.: The Complete Trilogy—The 42nd Parallel, 1919, and The Big Money for kids, with art influenced by Elzie SEGAR and Roy Crane.
Thanks, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, for the loans.
Highly recommended.
Thanks, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, for the loans.
Highly recommended.
February 25, 2017
I enjoyed it because hey, it's Superman. And a lot of it is so ridiculous that ti's fun. It just took me a very long time to get through, and to be honest Golden Age Superman isn't my favorite Superman. He's awfully fond of beating people up and destroying things. Also Lois Lane is a jerk.
April 19, 2020
The Superman Appears
A mighty champion of justice and scourge of the criminal underclass, a costume clad vigilante patrols the streets, ready to spring into action whenever something untoward occurs. His exploits are covered in detail by Clark Kent, are reported for the 'Daily Star'. No-one in the outside world knows that Clark Kent is in reality, Superman.
Crudely drawn and simply presented on the page, the idealism behind Superman is ignited from the very first strip. Siegel and Schuster managed to create a hero who has grown in the past eighty two years, but still holds himself as the champion of justice and protector of the opressed.
A mighty champion of justice and scourge of the criminal underclass, a costume clad vigilante patrols the streets, ready to spring into action whenever something untoward occurs. His exploits are covered in detail by Clark Kent, are reported for the 'Daily Star'. No-one in the outside world knows that Clark Kent is in reality, Superman.
Crudely drawn and simply presented on the page, the idealism behind Superman is ignited from the very first strip. Siegel and Schuster managed to create a hero who has grown in the past eighty two years, but still holds himself as the champion of justice and protector of the opressed.
November 30, 2019
Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.
But hey, let's go ahead and ADD a caveat for those of us who like to leave "no doy!" Reviews: if you are not a fan of old comics, you won't like this. If you don't really like Superman, you won't like this.
If you DO like those things, as I most certainly do, you will love this.
It is definitely a different Superman. Weaker. Less concerned with Criminal's personal safety, he can't fly and he's not invulnerable.
But anyone who doesn't know those things going into this hasn't been paying attention.
Superman is the coolest.
But hey, let's go ahead and ADD a caveat for those of us who like to leave "no doy!" Reviews: if you are not a fan of old comics, you won't like this. If you don't really like Superman, you won't like this.
If you DO like those things, as I most certainly do, you will love this.
It is definitely a different Superman. Weaker. Less concerned with Criminal's personal safety, he can't fly and he's not invulnerable.
But anyone who doesn't know those things going into this hasn't been paying attention.
Superman is the coolest.
October 18, 2023
My favorite one was when a car breaks down and nearly causes a pile up so Superman goes to the used car salesman and LITERALLY DESTROYS ALL THE CARS IN THE LOT! 😂
The car guy is like “wth man?” And this is the only time in my life I ever sympathized with a car salesmen.
The car guy is like “wth man?” And this is the only time in my life I ever sympathized with a car salesmen.
March 15, 2017
I loved reading the first two years of Superman. The storylines were ok but ya know it's Superman.
April 1, 2023
While I have understood and respected what Superman has contributed to comic books, I have never been a big fan of the character. To be fair, though, I have not read many of his stories. Lately, I have begun to appreciate him more and now wish to remedy that.
This was a lot of fun to read. Not only the beginnings of the character but the origins of superhero comics themselves.
This was a lot of fun to read. Not only the beginnings of the character but the origins of superhero comics themselves.
May 27, 2024
I know some people would advise me to leave the 21st Century behind when reading this book and remember these stories were written in a different era for different people who had different morals and ideals.
Well, you people can just rock on with your bad selves because I'm going to talk about how Superman is a Supervillain in this collection.
He's awful! He's a bully, not just towards the evil henchmen but generally anybody in his way. Superman has a violent streak a mile wide, threatening to crush throats and rip hearts out. He drugs and imprisons an innocent football player! He blatantly breaks the law he's supposedly sworn to uphold. He purposely destroys some tenement buildings, leaving countless people homeless. He damages businesses, putting innocent employees out of work. Several people actually die as a result of Superman's actions. They may have been criminals but they deserved a trial before going straight to the execution.
This. This is the Superman that Batman should have been adverse to.
April 8, 2018
Well, you people can just rock on with your bad selves because I'm going to talk about how Superman is a Supervillain in this collection.
He's awful! He's a bully, not just towards the evil henchmen but generally anybody in his way. Superman has a violent streak a mile wide, threatening to crush throats and rip hearts out. He drugs and imprisons an innocent football player! He blatantly breaks the law he's supposedly sworn to uphold. He purposely destroys some tenement buildings, leaving countless people homeless. He damages businesses, putting innocent employees out of work. Several people actually die as a result of Superman's actions. They may have been criminals but they deserved a trial before going straight to the execution.
This. This is the Superman that Batman should have been adverse to.
April 8, 2018
February 5, 2018
Superman from Action #1 through the end of 1940. A lot of fun, though the Kent-Lane bickering gets meanspirited. This collection introduces Superman's first bald-scientist villain (The Ultra-Humanite), has Superman beating up thinly veiled Nazi stand-ins and has a surprising amount of topical issues: lynchings (though of someone white), a mine owner getting his workers killed through negligence, a war on reckless drivers. I'd give it another star but some of the storytelling gets a little choppy. As with any Golden Age book, YMMV.
August 1, 2017
Decent
Not too bad old superman was kind of an asshole. I only recommend to die hard fans. The hard work kindve sucks too
Not too bad old superman was kind of an asshole. I only recommend to die hard fans. The hard work kindve sucks too
August 7, 2018
A Lawful Chaotic Superman
Truth and Justice done his way or he'll literally throw you out of Metropolis and threaten to end your life.
Truth and Justice done his way or he'll literally throw you out of Metropolis and threaten to end your life.
January 1, 2022
Book group decided that instead of struggling through another very dense book of theory during the darkest and busiest part of the winter, we were going to have some fun and read Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster’s Superman: The Golden Age, Vol. 1, a collection of the earliest Superman comics, from 1938 and 1939.
I am not a big superhero fan and as such I admit that I did not expect to enjoy them all that much, but I did. They are goofy and quick to read and contain a lot of corrupt, powerful folks getting what’s coming to them. Our titular hero combines his Superman ability to punch people in the face and squish their guns with his bare hands with his Clark Kent investigative reporter role to give many of these terrible people multiple levels of comeuppance, and to direct money, resources, and positive press to the deserving.
Superman’s choices of targets are definitely where things get politically interesting–the very first adventure takes on war profiteers, and involves dropping a munitions magnate into the middle of an active battlefield until he has a change of heart about what his company ought to be manufacturing. Other adventures feature additional A Christmas-Carol-esque lessons to the rich and powerful, including one where he temporarily imprisons a rich coal baron inside his own unsafe mine after a worker got trapped there, one where he takes a fast-driving mayor on a trip to the morgue to view auto fatalities until he promises to start enforcing traffic laws, and a second weapons manufacturer who dies by inhaling the deadly gas he had until then been so stoked about manufacturing. In some adventures, dastardly criminals are apprehended and dropped off at the police station for prosecution; in other adventures, Superman takes on cruel and corrupt policemen and prison wardens. Obviously I like the ones where Superman fights cops better than the ones where he delivers people to them. Some of the adventures get a little after-school-special-y, especially the ones where Superman decides to Do Something About reckless driving, juvenile delinquency, and gambling.
Tacked onto the end of many of these adventures are bits of life and physical fitness advice for the younguns reading the comics, which, shall we say, vary in quality. They are however extremely fuckin’ funny.
The bit here that has probably aged the most awkwardly is the love triangle between Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Superman, who for the purposes of mapping out the dynamics here are in fact three different people. Lois hates Clark and she is entirely justified in doing so because her “meek” and “mild-mannered” co-worker keeps hitting on her at the office, and if he’s going to be an enormous coward about everything else he could at LEAST stand to ALSO ever exhibit any hesitation about sexually harassing his coworkers, please. If I were Lois I would also want to punch Clark’s lights out. However if I were Lois I would also have a better personal security plan for my reporting exploits than “be surprised every time I wind up with a gun in my face, then be surprised when I am conveniently rescued by Superman” because, while he has in fact shown up 100% of the time thus far, you can only wind up with a gun shoved in your face so many times before a sensible person would start assuming that to be a normal job hazard and try to account for it.
The bit that has aged the second-most awkwardly is the plotline where Superman impersonates a hurricane and deliberately destroys several blocks of tenement housing so the government is forced to rebuild the neighborhood with nice modern public housing projects. Somehow, I don’t think things would play out quite like that these days.
Overall, a fun and satisfying Robin Hood-esque power fantasy, highly entertaining.
Originally posted at They fly through the air with the greatest of ease.
I am not a big superhero fan and as such I admit that I did not expect to enjoy them all that much, but I did. They are goofy and quick to read and contain a lot of corrupt, powerful folks getting what’s coming to them. Our titular hero combines his Superman ability to punch people in the face and squish their guns with his bare hands with his Clark Kent investigative reporter role to give many of these terrible people multiple levels of comeuppance, and to direct money, resources, and positive press to the deserving.
Superman’s choices of targets are definitely where things get politically interesting–the very first adventure takes on war profiteers, and involves dropping a munitions magnate into the middle of an active battlefield until he has a change of heart about what his company ought to be manufacturing. Other adventures feature additional A Christmas-Carol-esque lessons to the rich and powerful, including one where he temporarily imprisons a rich coal baron inside his own unsafe mine after a worker got trapped there, one where he takes a fast-driving mayor on a trip to the morgue to view auto fatalities until he promises to start enforcing traffic laws, and a second weapons manufacturer who dies by inhaling the deadly gas he had until then been so stoked about manufacturing. In some adventures, dastardly criminals are apprehended and dropped off at the police station for prosecution; in other adventures, Superman takes on cruel and corrupt policemen and prison wardens. Obviously I like the ones where Superman fights cops better than the ones where he delivers people to them. Some of the adventures get a little after-school-special-y, especially the ones where Superman decides to Do Something About reckless driving, juvenile delinquency, and gambling.
Tacked onto the end of many of these adventures are bits of life and physical fitness advice for the younguns reading the comics, which, shall we say, vary in quality. They are however extremely fuckin’ funny.
The bit here that has probably aged the most awkwardly is the love triangle between Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Superman, who for the purposes of mapping out the dynamics here are in fact three different people. Lois hates Clark and she is entirely justified in doing so because her “meek” and “mild-mannered” co-worker keeps hitting on her at the office, and if he’s going to be an enormous coward about everything else he could at LEAST stand to ALSO ever exhibit any hesitation about sexually harassing his coworkers, please. If I were Lois I would also want to punch Clark’s lights out. However if I were Lois I would also have a better personal security plan for my reporting exploits than “be surprised every time I wind up with a gun in my face, then be surprised when I am conveniently rescued by Superman” because, while he has in fact shown up 100% of the time thus far, you can only wind up with a gun shoved in your face so many times before a sensible person would start assuming that to be a normal job hazard and try to account for it.
The bit that has aged the second-most awkwardly is the plotline where Superman impersonates a hurricane and deliberately destroys several blocks of tenement housing so the government is forced to rebuild the neighborhood with nice modern public housing projects. Somehow, I don’t think things would play out quite like that these days.
Overall, a fun and satisfying Robin Hood-esque power fantasy, highly entertaining.
Originally posted at They fly through the air with the greatest of ease.
November 8, 2024
First sentence: As a distant planet was destroyed by old age, a scientist placed his infant son within a hastily devised space-ship, launching it toward Earth!
Premise/plot: What you see is what you get. This book is a collection of the earliest Superman comic books. The comic books include Action Comics (where he first appeared), New York World's Fair Comics, and the self-titled Superman comics. The main villain in these--appearing more than any other villain, I mean--is Ultra. But more often than not, each comic book has its own villain, or "villain." Sometimes the villain is a greedy businessman who takes shortcuts with the quality of his products, and sometimes they are out-and-out villainous. Ultra, for example, is out for world domination. Superman also at least once--maybe a few more times--does some "aggressive negotiating" with countries at war. He is not above beating out a confession from a villain either.
My thoughts: A handful of these are extremely moralistic and didactic. To those that have read this book, a handful might not come across as the right word. There are super-incredibly-obvious didactic tactics at play. There are direct moralization at play. There are more subtle and indirect moralization at play. There's a range of spectrum. Even at its worst--it's enjoyable for a giggle. The writing is SO over the top and "special." My new favorites being SHORTLY LATER which appears more often than not in most of the adventures followed up by SHORTLY AFTER. The second half of the book, the writers seemed to have switched up the phrase. IF readers got paid a penny for every time the word "muscles" was used, then they'd be able to afford a LOT of comics.
I can definitely see the appeal of Superman. Though it's not necessarily a visual appeal in the comics. I think this might just be the times in which they were written, but, it is almost like there were essentially three male faces and one perhaps two female faces that appear. Everybody looks the same, or same-ish. There are no details, no expressions. I thought it was funny--perhaps ironic--that Superman was able to take the place of at least two different people and masquerade as someone else. Once as a football player and once as a boxer??? Honestly, the way these characters are drawn, I believe it. That being said, I enjoyed the vintage-ness of it.
Premise/plot: What you see is what you get. This book is a collection of the earliest Superman comic books. The comic books include Action Comics (where he first appeared), New York World's Fair Comics, and the self-titled Superman comics. The main villain in these--appearing more than any other villain, I mean--is Ultra. But more often than not, each comic book has its own villain, or "villain." Sometimes the villain is a greedy businessman who takes shortcuts with the quality of his products, and sometimes they are out-and-out villainous. Ultra, for example, is out for world domination. Superman also at least once--maybe a few more times--does some "aggressive negotiating" with countries at war. He is not above beating out a confession from a villain either.
My thoughts: A handful of these are extremely moralistic and didactic. To those that have read this book, a handful might not come across as the right word. There are super-incredibly-obvious didactic tactics at play. There are direct moralization at play. There are more subtle and indirect moralization at play. There's a range of spectrum. Even at its worst--it's enjoyable for a giggle. The writing is SO over the top and "special." My new favorites being SHORTLY LATER which appears more often than not in most of the adventures followed up by SHORTLY AFTER. The second half of the book, the writers seemed to have switched up the phrase. IF readers got paid a penny for every time the word "muscles" was used, then they'd be able to afford a LOT of comics.
I can definitely see the appeal of Superman. Though it's not necessarily a visual appeal in the comics. I think this might just be the times in which they were written, but, it is almost like there were essentially three male faces and one perhaps two female faces that appear. Everybody looks the same, or same-ish. There are no details, no expressions. I thought it was funny--perhaps ironic--that Superman was able to take the place of at least two different people and masquerade as someone else. Once as a football player and once as a boxer??? Honestly, the way these characters are drawn, I believe it. That being said, I enjoyed the vintage-ness of it.
August 27, 2025
Lo leí poco antes de ver la película que salió este año y me daba bastante la risa al oir a algunas personas decepcionadas porque "ahora Superman es woke".
Este volumen recopila los primeros cómics de Superman, entre 1938 y 1939, y aparte de que al principio de casi cada capítulo dice explícitamente que su objetivo es proteger "a los indefensos y a los oprimidos", estas son algunas de las causas que defiende:
-Mujeres maltratadas
-Mineros
-Gente sin recursos
-Gente estafada con acciones que no valen nada.
-Gente extorsionada por prestamistas
-Presos maltratados en cárceles
-El stand de la polio en la feria de NY
-Los muertos en carretera
-Los usuarios de un metro cuyos túneles literalmente se caen a trozos porque está mal construido
-Recaudación de fondos para una especie de aldeas infantiles
-Víctimas de la adicción al juego.
-Lucha contra la industria armamentística
-La seguridad de los trabajadores de la construcción
-Los huérfanos maltratados en orfanatos
Y no sé si es porque el mundo se está yendo al garete pero a mí esto me gustó más que si estuviera luchando contra gente del espacio.
Mis historias favoritas: 1) cuando destruye un barrio de chabolas porque lee en un periódico que después de un huracán el gobierno reconstruyó las casas... y consigue que les pongan casas en condiciones y 2) cuando atropeyan a un compañero de Clark Kent y Superman intenta acabar con los accidentes de tráfico de todas las maneras posibles.
Me encantó. 😍
Este volumen recopila los primeros cómics de Superman, entre 1938 y 1939, y aparte de que al principio de casi cada capítulo dice explícitamente que su objetivo es proteger "a los indefensos y a los oprimidos", estas son algunas de las causas que defiende:
-Mujeres maltratadas
-Mineros
-Gente sin recursos
-Gente estafada con acciones que no valen nada.
-Gente extorsionada por prestamistas
-Presos maltratados en cárceles
-El stand de la polio en la feria de NY
-Los muertos en carretera
-Los usuarios de un metro cuyos túneles literalmente se caen a trozos porque está mal construido
-Recaudación de fondos para una especie de aldeas infantiles
-Víctimas de la adicción al juego.
-Lucha contra la industria armamentística
-La seguridad de los trabajadores de la construcción
-Los huérfanos maltratados en orfanatos
Y no sé si es porque el mundo se está yendo al garete pero a mí esto me gustó más que si estuviera luchando contra gente del espacio.
Mis historias favoritas: 1) cuando destruye un barrio de chabolas porque lee en un periódico que después de un huracán el gobierno reconstruyó las casas... y consigue que les pongan casas en condiciones y 2) cuando atropeyan a un compañero de Clark Kent y Superman intenta acabar con los accidentes de tráfico de todas las maneras posibles.
Me encantó. 😍
Read
November 19, 2022Reading this book was delightful! I kind of expected primitive art and childish stories of a beloved character that hadn't really coalesced into what we think of him today. It was all of those things, but it was also an interesting window into the Great Depression era. The Superman of today tangles with larger-than-life villains like Brainiac and General Zod, but in these books he fights abusive prison wardens, gambling syndicates, and warmongers profiting from conflicts abroad. Through these really charming stories--Superman's sardonic tough-guy zingers as he's flinging criminals are hilarious!--you can see what concerns people had about the world around them. People have said that the power fantasy of the superhero genre can lead to some fascist thinking (see right-wing fans who think the sadistic Homelander is the hero of The Boys!) but in these stories the power fantasy rests in the notion that there is an impossible strongman waiting in the wings to be a guardian angel for the dispossessed. That kind of wish fulfillment speaks to a kind powerlessness during the early days of the Great Depression you can feel on every page. Fun time capsule.
August 31, 2021
Well, the stories are a 2/5 and the art is also a 2/5 but the reprint and the way this comic looks inside before the reprint is amazing. I really like how they made the pages and the reprints, that is great.
So this story has the famous "Action Comics #1" which is the first comic from the Action Comics series and the first appearance of Superman!
The late 30s and some early 40s comics with Superman being reprinted(Action comics, Superman Comics and New York World's Fair #1) have the origins of Superman and some early adventures, they get repetitive and boring but we will see the first appearance of Lex Luthor, Lois Lane and more characters which is cool.
The art style is ok, it could have been better in my opinion.
The texts, I personally hate these texts because it's hard to read them sometimes.
Overall this reprint and its pages are amazing, I recommend it if you like old comic books and superman comics.
So this story has the famous "Action Comics #1" which is the first comic from the Action Comics series and the first appearance of Superman!
The late 30s and some early 40s comics with Superman being reprinted(Action comics, Superman Comics and New York World's Fair #1) have the origins of Superman and some early adventures, they get repetitive and boring but we will see the first appearance of Lex Luthor, Lois Lane and more characters which is cool.
The art style is ok, it could have been better in my opinion.
The texts, I personally hate these texts because it's hard to read them sometimes.
Overall this reprint and its pages are amazing, I recommend it if you like old comic books and superman comics.
October 23, 2023
I am pleasantly surprised with this comic book. I have recently been reading the first issues of the FF and they have not aged well in some aspects. This came thirty years earlier and yet it reads better today. The text captions are moderate given the circumstances and the stories are fluent. The angle of such stories is very interesting, as they concern small-scale social issues and injustices. Nothing to do with the cosmic dimension that the caharacter has been gaining over the years. Not in vain, Superman's powers are quite modest here and Siegel tries to provide a "realistic" explanation to them. The art is effective but too simple in some aspects, especially the costume and the design of the remaining characters (e.g., all women look like Lois Lane).
August 10, 2025
This book collects Action Comics 1 through 19, Superman 1 through 3, and the Superman stories from the World Fair comic.
Golden Age Superman is a lunatic: his solution for every problem is threats of violence, inflicting violence, wanton killing of criminals, kidnapping, torture, property destruction, casual misogyny, and he's a mild sex pest. The dude sometimes even threatens victims with physical violence to make them behave in the future.
Champion of the oppressed, indeed!
Over all, it's pretty good stuff if you're into the absolutely batshit era of late 1930s pulp comic books, but if you're one of those people who think you understand the totality of Superman, you're in for a pretty rude surprise when you read these stories.
Golden Age Superman is a lunatic: his solution for every problem is threats of violence, inflicting violence, wanton killing of criminals, kidnapping, torture, property destruction, casual misogyny, and he's a mild sex pest. The dude sometimes even threatens victims with physical violence to make them behave in the future.
Champion of the oppressed, indeed!
Over all, it's pretty good stuff if you're into the absolutely batshit era of late 1930s pulp comic books, but if you're one of those people who think you understand the totality of Superman, you're in for a pretty rude surprise when you read these stories.
May 30, 2024
This collection includes the adventures of Superman from his initial appearance in Action Comics #1 (1938) through Action Comics #19, Superman comics #1-3, and his story in The New York World's Fair Comic #1. It's very interesting to see how the tone of superhero comics has changed in over 85 years of publication. Several of Superman's early adventures show him destroying private property (mostly of the villains, but still...), interrogating crooks to the brink of death, and playing the law for inept fools at times. This is definitely a trip down Nostalgia Lane to read these early adventures, and appreciate how far the Man of Steel has come since he first burst on the scene.
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