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Action Comics (1938-2011) #48-63
Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 3
Written and drawn by his co-creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, these early adventures find Superman helping everyday people against crooked politicians, taking on mad scientists (including Lex Luthor), and running afoul of influential socialites. Collects ACTION COMICS #48-63, SUPERMAN #16-23, and WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #6-10.
792 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1943
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69 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Siegel
619 books81 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 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 3, 2022
Nice collection of these rare and hard to find Golden age stories. Nice fun reads. Recommended
February 13, 2025
Superman at War, Superman at Home: A Review of The Golden Age Superman Omnibus, Volume 3
In a country that adores reinvention, Superman is the rarest of American phenomena: a hero who does not change so much as he evolves. His essence remains the same—truth, justice, the ever-elusive “American Way”—but the means through which he embodies those ideals shift with the era that contains him. The Golden Age Superman Omnibus, Volume 3 captures a moment in that evolution: Superman as he fully transitions from a Depression-era bruiser to a symbol of wartime resilience, an idealized figure standing astride a world consumed by global conflict.
Collecting Action Comics #48-65, Superman #16-24, and World’s Finest Comics #3-5, this volume spans the years 1942-1943, a period when Superman, despite possessing the physical capability to single-handedly end World War II before lunchtime, was kept out of the European and Pacific theaters for both editorial and thematic reasons. Instead, these stories show him engaged in more symbolic battles: combating sabotage on the home front, dismantling espionage rings, and, in one particularly inspired sequence, taking on corrupt war profiteers.
If the first two volumes chronicled Superman’s origins and his transition into a polished figure of national heroism, then Volume 3 presents him as something even greater: a symbol of moral clarity in an era that desperately needed it.
Superman and the Wartime Ethos: The Hero Who Stays Home
By 1942, Superman was no longer merely a successful comic book character; he was a full-fledged cultural institution. He had conquered radio, newspapers, and the minds of millions. But there was a problem: in a time when millions of real men were being sent overseas, how does one explain why Superman—a being capable of bending steel in his hands—was still patrolling Metropolis instead of laying waste to Berlin and Tokyo?
DC Comics found an answer in restraint. Instead of showing Superman on the front lines (where, let’s face it, he would have been an apocalyptic force), they positioned him as a protector of America’s soul. While Captain America was busy punching Hitler and propaganda posters depicted absurdly muscular factory workers wielding wrenches like battle-axes, Superman’s war was fought on home soil.
His adversaries in this volume are, more often than not, enemy agents operating within America’s borders—spies, saboteurs, and industrial thieves who seek to weaken the country from within. Superman’s role in these stories is that of a sentinel, a living reassurance that America’s strength was not merely in its soldiers, but in its values. This decision, whether intentional or simply editorially convenient, made Superman into something even more powerful than a war hero: he became a moral hero.
A Character More Defined, A Clark Kent More Convincing
By this point in the Golden Age, Superman’s identity is no longer in flux. His core attributes—unquestionable virtue, boundless optimism, an unshakable commitment to justice—are now fully cemented. The Superman of 1942-43 is no longer the semi-anarchic vigilante who terrorized corrupt industrialists in the early Action Comics issues; he is now a fully mythic figure, as much an ideal as he is a character.
Clark Kent, too, has evolved. In his earliest appearances, Kent was a barely-there presence, a flimsy disguise meant only to justify Superman’s presence at the scene of the action. But in these stories, Clark becomes more distinct—a believable (if exaggerated) contrast to Superman’s grandeur. He is more timid, more socially awkward, and, crucially, more enjoyably ineffective. He exists not only to divert suspicion but to make Superman’s exploits seem all the more impressive by contrast.
Lois Lane, meanwhile, remains a sharp-tongued, fearless journalist, though her Golden Age incarnation still finds herself in distress with notable frequency. Yet even in these early stories, there are hints of the more independent, hard-nosed Lois that would later emerge.
Lex Luthor Takes Shape: The First True Supervillain
One of the most important developments in Volume 3 is the emergence of a more fully realized Lex Luthor. Though he had appeared in earlier stories, this is where he truly begins to take shape—not as the mad scientist of previous incarnations, but as a criminal mastermind with ambitions that stretch beyond individual schemes.
Luthor, it must be said, is Superman’s greatest villain not because he possesses any particular advantage—his technological prowess is impressive but ultimately futile against an invincible man—but because he represents an entirely different worldview. Superman is the embodiment of selfless power, a being who exists to use his abilities for the good of others. Luthor, by contrast, is the embodiment of selfish power—an intellect that refuses to serve anyone but itself.
In these stories, Luthor is no longer simply a bald man with a laboratory; he is the first glimmer of something far more sinister—a man who seeks power not through strength, but through manipulation. That he would eventually evolve into a corporate overlord in later decades is not surprising; his earliest motivations are already here, lurking beneath the surface.
The Art of Superman’s Maturation
Visually, Volume 3 marks an even sharper evolution in Superman’s design. The thick, stocky proportions of Joe Shuster’s original renderings have given way to a sleeker, more athletic build. His movements are smoother, his expressions more refined, and his iconic “S” emblem—once an ever-shifting design—is now fully standardized.
The storytelling, too, is tighter. While early Golden Age comics often felt like disjointed sequences of action panels loosely held together by narration, these stories begin to employ more sophisticated layouts, stronger pacing, and a more coherent narrative structure. Superman is no longer a two-dimensional force of nature but a character—one whose presence in a panel carries a weight that extends beyond mere spectacle.
Final Verdict: Superman at the Peak of the Golden Age
The Golden Age Superman Omnibus, Volume 3 is a crucial installment in Superman’s history. This is the moment when he fully ceases to be just a comic book hero and becomes the superhero—a figure of such overwhelming cultural significance that his presence alone was enough to reassure a nation in wartime.
This is Superman, no longer just a strongman in a cape, but a symbol. He is no longer just a powerful man doing good; he is now an ideal, a beacon of certainty in an uncertain time.
Final Thought: Why Superman Still Matters
One closes this volume with a renewed appreciation for why Superman has endured. He does not survive because he is the strongest hero, or even the most interesting one. He survives because he represents something essential: the belief that strength should be used for the good of others.
In 1943, that message was a necessary counterbalance to the chaos of war.
In 2024, one suspects it is just as necessary.
Superman still flies.
As well he should.
In a country that adores reinvention, Superman is the rarest of American phenomena: a hero who does not change so much as he evolves. His essence remains the same—truth, justice, the ever-elusive “American Way”—but the means through which he embodies those ideals shift with the era that contains him. The Golden Age Superman Omnibus, Volume 3 captures a moment in that evolution: Superman as he fully transitions from a Depression-era bruiser to a symbol of wartime resilience, an idealized figure standing astride a world consumed by global conflict.
Collecting Action Comics #48-65, Superman #16-24, and World’s Finest Comics #3-5, this volume spans the years 1942-1943, a period when Superman, despite possessing the physical capability to single-handedly end World War II before lunchtime, was kept out of the European and Pacific theaters for both editorial and thematic reasons. Instead, these stories show him engaged in more symbolic battles: combating sabotage on the home front, dismantling espionage rings, and, in one particularly inspired sequence, taking on corrupt war profiteers.
If the first two volumes chronicled Superman’s origins and his transition into a polished figure of national heroism, then Volume 3 presents him as something even greater: a symbol of moral clarity in an era that desperately needed it.
Superman and the Wartime Ethos: The Hero Who Stays Home
By 1942, Superman was no longer merely a successful comic book character; he was a full-fledged cultural institution. He had conquered radio, newspapers, and the minds of millions. But there was a problem: in a time when millions of real men were being sent overseas, how does one explain why Superman—a being capable of bending steel in his hands—was still patrolling Metropolis instead of laying waste to Berlin and Tokyo?
DC Comics found an answer in restraint. Instead of showing Superman on the front lines (where, let’s face it, he would have been an apocalyptic force), they positioned him as a protector of America’s soul. While Captain America was busy punching Hitler and propaganda posters depicted absurdly muscular factory workers wielding wrenches like battle-axes, Superman’s war was fought on home soil.
His adversaries in this volume are, more often than not, enemy agents operating within America’s borders—spies, saboteurs, and industrial thieves who seek to weaken the country from within. Superman’s role in these stories is that of a sentinel, a living reassurance that America’s strength was not merely in its soldiers, but in its values. This decision, whether intentional or simply editorially convenient, made Superman into something even more powerful than a war hero: he became a moral hero.
A Character More Defined, A Clark Kent More Convincing
By this point in the Golden Age, Superman’s identity is no longer in flux. His core attributes—unquestionable virtue, boundless optimism, an unshakable commitment to justice—are now fully cemented. The Superman of 1942-43 is no longer the semi-anarchic vigilante who terrorized corrupt industrialists in the early Action Comics issues; he is now a fully mythic figure, as much an ideal as he is a character.
Clark Kent, too, has evolved. In his earliest appearances, Kent was a barely-there presence, a flimsy disguise meant only to justify Superman’s presence at the scene of the action. But in these stories, Clark becomes more distinct—a believable (if exaggerated) contrast to Superman’s grandeur. He is more timid, more socially awkward, and, crucially, more enjoyably ineffective. He exists not only to divert suspicion but to make Superman’s exploits seem all the more impressive by contrast.
Lois Lane, meanwhile, remains a sharp-tongued, fearless journalist, though her Golden Age incarnation still finds herself in distress with notable frequency. Yet even in these early stories, there are hints of the more independent, hard-nosed Lois that would later emerge.
Lex Luthor Takes Shape: The First True Supervillain
One of the most important developments in Volume 3 is the emergence of a more fully realized Lex Luthor. Though he had appeared in earlier stories, this is where he truly begins to take shape—not as the mad scientist of previous incarnations, but as a criminal mastermind with ambitions that stretch beyond individual schemes.
Luthor, it must be said, is Superman’s greatest villain not because he possesses any particular advantage—his technological prowess is impressive but ultimately futile against an invincible man—but because he represents an entirely different worldview. Superman is the embodiment of selfless power, a being who exists to use his abilities for the good of others. Luthor, by contrast, is the embodiment of selfish power—an intellect that refuses to serve anyone but itself.
In these stories, Luthor is no longer simply a bald man with a laboratory; he is the first glimmer of something far more sinister—a man who seeks power not through strength, but through manipulation. That he would eventually evolve into a corporate overlord in later decades is not surprising; his earliest motivations are already here, lurking beneath the surface.
The Art of Superman’s Maturation
Visually, Volume 3 marks an even sharper evolution in Superman’s design. The thick, stocky proportions of Joe Shuster’s original renderings have given way to a sleeker, more athletic build. His movements are smoother, his expressions more refined, and his iconic “S” emblem—once an ever-shifting design—is now fully standardized.
The storytelling, too, is tighter. While early Golden Age comics often felt like disjointed sequences of action panels loosely held together by narration, these stories begin to employ more sophisticated layouts, stronger pacing, and a more coherent narrative structure. Superman is no longer a two-dimensional force of nature but a character—one whose presence in a panel carries a weight that extends beyond mere spectacle.
Final Verdict: Superman at the Peak of the Golden Age
The Golden Age Superman Omnibus, Volume 3 is a crucial installment in Superman’s history. This is the moment when he fully ceases to be just a comic book hero and becomes the superhero—a figure of such overwhelming cultural significance that his presence alone was enough to reassure a nation in wartime.
This is Superman, no longer just a strongman in a cape, but a symbol. He is no longer just a powerful man doing good; he is now an ideal, a beacon of certainty in an uncertain time.
Final Thought: Why Superman Still Matters
One closes this volume with a renewed appreciation for why Superman has endured. He does not survive because he is the strongest hero, or even the most interesting one. He survives because he represents something essential: the belief that strength should be used for the good of others.
In 1943, that message was a necessary counterbalance to the chaos of war.
In 2024, one suspects it is just as necessary.
Superman still flies.
As well he should.
February 6, 2020
It's hard to judge these classic stories as anything more than they are; dumb fun. In these tales we begin to see the WWII backdrop starts to take form, which makes these stories more interesting as a historical relic than anything. This book also contains one of my favorite Superman stories of all time in Superman #17.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews