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The Superman Chronicles #1
The Superman Chronicles, Vol. 1
Collects Siegel and Shuster's early Superman comics--beginning with the Man of Steel's first appearance in 1938--in chronological order.
Contains Superman appearances from: Action Comics #1-#13, Superman #1, and New York World's Fair Comics #1.
Contains Superman appearances from: Action Comics #1-#13, Superman #1, and New York World's Fair Comics #1.
208 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 2006
32 people are currently reading
3138 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 - 30 of 83 reviews
January 30, 2018
People who say that 'super heroes have always been about social justice' can point to these early Superman stories as exhibit A.
Except, "social justice" Superman is a menace to society. He smashes cars, buildings, commits stock fraud, cheats at football spies on people, threatens them with death. It might be funny to list each and every sadistic or destructive thing in these 'chronicles,' but in the end, I just wanted to be done with them.
There was one above average story where someone pretends to be Superman's agent, so he can market Superman gas, Superman breakfast cereal, etc. Clark Kent's reporting busts that story wide open.
Also, I don't know if it was the times, or competition with Batman, but Supes seems to get even nastier toward the end of this run. At one point, he's flying a guy around to frighten him, and when the guy tries to knife Superman, he loses his grip, and both fall. Superman grabs the side of a building, and his victim plunges to his death. "just what he deserved anyway," says the hero of the downtrodden.
Jeez.
Except, "social justice" Superman is a menace to society. He smashes cars, buildings, commits stock fraud, cheats at football spies on people, threatens them with death. It might be funny to list each and every sadistic or destructive thing in these 'chronicles,' but in the end, I just wanted to be done with them.
There was one above average story where someone pretends to be Superman's agent, so he can market Superman gas, Superman breakfast cereal, etc. Clark Kent's reporting busts that story wide open.
Also, I don't know if it was the times, or competition with Batman, but Supes seems to get even nastier toward the end of this run. At one point, he's flying a guy around to frighten him, and when the guy tries to knife Superman, he loses his grip, and both fall. Superman grabs the side of a building, and his victim plunges to his death. "just what he deserved anyway," says the hero of the downtrodden.
Jeez.
October 26, 2013
This story tracks Superman's first fifteen stories beginning with Action Comic #1 through Action Comics #13 and also includes the New York World's Fair Comics #1 story and a few pages that Superman #1 added to its reprints of the stories in Action Comics #1-#4.
These fourteen stories features Superman as defender of the weak against a variety of foes including munitions dealers who Jerry Siegel charged with starting wars to line their own pockets, heartless mine owners, gangsters, and slum lords.
Superman's tactics were far rougher than they would become as Superman became a little more mild during the 1940s. Superman,like Batman struck fear in the hearts of criminals. Though Batman needed a cool name and a scary costume, all Superman needed to was to keep dropping and catching suspects until they talked.
Superman's rough edge would begin to get out of line. In Action Comics #8, he decided to solve the problem of slums by tearing them down forcing the government to rebuild as they had during recent hurricanes. The police responded by putting a warrant out for him for understandable reasons.
From here, Siegel made Superman even more forceful culminating in Action Comics #11 which sees the Man of Steel declare war on "Reckless Drivers." Declaring war involves forcibly seizing control of a radio station to broadcast a warning and then destroying all the automobiles in the police impound lot, among other very destructive acts. The stories serve as an almost cautionary tale of the danger of someone with unstoppable and no humility. It reflects the brashness of a 23-24 year old writer. Thankfully Superman would grow in the 1940s into a character that inspired by hope than by fear.
However, despite the more menacing Superman in this book, there are some fun stories in here. My Absolute favorite is Action Comics #6 which features an agent pretending to represent Superman and selling merchandising rights for the Man of Steel, which turned out to be prophetic of the merchandising machine Superman would become. Action Comics #7 features another story of Superman helping out somebody whose just in trouble and needs help. Action Comics #13 introduces the Ultra-Humanite, the first real supervillain, though we only get to meet him briefly.
Overall, this is great for adult Superman collectors who want to read all of his stories. For kids, I'd probably recommend Superman in the Forties for a more balanced look at the Man of Steel.
These fourteen stories features Superman as defender of the weak against a variety of foes including munitions dealers who Jerry Siegel charged with starting wars to line their own pockets, heartless mine owners, gangsters, and slum lords.
Superman's tactics were far rougher than they would become as Superman became a little more mild during the 1940s. Superman,like Batman struck fear in the hearts of criminals. Though Batman needed a cool name and a scary costume, all Superman needed to was to keep dropping and catching suspects until they talked.
Superman's rough edge would begin to get out of line. In Action Comics #8, he decided to solve the problem of slums by tearing them down forcing the government to rebuild as they had during recent hurricanes. The police responded by putting a warrant out for him for understandable reasons.
From here, Siegel made Superman even more forceful culminating in Action Comics #11 which sees the Man of Steel declare war on "Reckless Drivers." Declaring war involves forcibly seizing control of a radio station to broadcast a warning and then destroying all the automobiles in the police impound lot, among other very destructive acts. The stories serve as an almost cautionary tale of the danger of someone with unstoppable and no humility. It reflects the brashness of a 23-24 year old writer. Thankfully Superman would grow in the 1940s into a character that inspired by hope than by fear.
However, despite the more menacing Superman in this book, there are some fun stories in here. My Absolute favorite is Action Comics #6 which features an agent pretending to represent Superman and selling merchandising rights for the Man of Steel, which turned out to be prophetic of the merchandising machine Superman would become. Action Comics #7 features another story of Superman helping out somebody whose just in trouble and needs help. Action Comics #13 introduces the Ultra-Humanite, the first real supervillain, though we only get to meet him briefly.
Overall, this is great for adult Superman collectors who want to read all of his stories. For kids, I'd probably recommend Superman in the Forties for a more balanced look at the Man of Steel.
September 30, 2018
I grew up watching Superman cartoons but I never read the comics. I did some research and I found the very first issues of Superman! Issue 1 was written in June 1938. The Superman Chronicles, Vol. 1 starts with issue 1 and ends with issue 13, June 1939.
I really liked the classic artwork of these comics. The stories were fun and Superman never failed to impress. These comics were written for kids, but over time Superman grasped the attention of kids and adults.
I read a few reviews of this volume and I had to laugh at a lot of them. Many said Superman was too mean or cruel to the criminals/bad guys. I thought Superman never failed to help those in need, and the villains always got what was coming to them. However, not all the bad guys were put in prison. Some of the villains were shown the error of their ways by the Man of Steel and they completely changed. These comics were enjoyable and fun!
I really liked the classic artwork of these comics. The stories were fun and Superman never failed to impress. These comics were written for kids, but over time Superman grasped the attention of kids and adults.
I read a few reviews of this volume and I had to laugh at a lot of them. Many said Superman was too mean or cruel to the criminals/bad guys. I thought Superman never failed to help those in need, and the villains always got what was coming to them. However, not all the bad guys were put in prison. Some of the villains were shown the error of their ways by the Man of Steel and they completely changed. These comics were enjoyable and fun!
July 18, 2014
Recently read Batman Chronicles 1 and now I've read Superman Chronicles 1.
Superman, as originally imagined, is a fascinating figure: a sort of Super Marxist or anarchist, a fighter of "oppression" rather than a proponent to the "American way," as he seems indifferent or even hostile towards authority. Right at the start of Action Comics 1 Superman is bringing a wife-beater to justice, and in ensuing issues he is tackling big business and warmongers and con artists and even publicists who use the name of Superman in vain. He razes a slum, forcing the government to create a neighborhood that will keep underprivileged kids from turning into juvenile delinquents. He tackles prisoner exploitation and resists being tackled when leading a team to victory in football.
One of my favorite stories in the lot concerns Superman tricking a group of bored millionaires to party in a mine, at which point he inflicts on them the horrible conditions experienced by miners. There is a certain "everyman's revenge" aspect to Superman in these stories, and he will often be wearing disguises or enlisting in work as a normal Joe, perhaps suggesting that Superman is everywhere and everybody, much like the nameless stars of the Battleship Potempkin. Superman is a progressive figure who could only have emerged from the Depression.
Then there is what I call the "government bailout" episode, in which Superman saves a struggling circus by becoming its greatest attraction, to the detriment of all the other performers. If the old guy's circus is struggling, Superman, maybe it deserves to go out of business? What's going to happen when you get sick of showboating and go home?
Superman's fighting for the little guy, sure, but we all know what happened in Communist Russia and there's a streak of a dictator in him. Consider an issue concerning auto safety, in which Superman takes it upon himself to smash through walls, hijack radio stations, destroy impounded cars, and terrify motorists, all for his own sick idea of justice. Living under the whim of The Police State of Superman seems terrifying, and it makes one wish for a hero to arrive on the scene to take on this big, self-righteous bully, someone who embodies the independent, capitalist, and free market spirit of America... maybe someone bald...
These comics are a real joy to read, and it's fun to imagine what personal slight the authors felt compelled to excise through their human mouthpiece/op-ed Superman. I also like how Clark Kent isn't mild-mannered but actually a sniveling coward Lois Lane actively despises. Why Superman feels the need to keep up such an unlikable persona is a mystery, although if I were to get all Monday Night Freudian I would say he must get some sort of masochistic enjoyment out of being tortured by Lois after totally dominating the rest of the world.
Another interesting character is the Ultra-Humanite, the first sort of super villain Superman encounters, a prototype Luthor confined to a wheelchair. Such a character is more than a participant in the "brain vs. brawn" debate but rather as his name suggests a soldier in a much larger comic book battle, that between dogma and relativism, of which aptly-named Luthor more successfully champions.
It was interesting to hear Clark Kent's logical reason for becoming a reporter- to get the news dispatches first so as to more quickly help people. And finally, I enjoyed the ciruclarity (circularness?) of this collection, as the final issue leads us back to the first one.
Superman, as originally imagined, is a fascinating figure: a sort of Super Marxist or anarchist, a fighter of "oppression" rather than a proponent to the "American way," as he seems indifferent or even hostile towards authority. Right at the start of Action Comics 1 Superman is bringing a wife-beater to justice, and in ensuing issues he is tackling big business and warmongers and con artists and even publicists who use the name of Superman in vain. He razes a slum, forcing the government to create a neighborhood that will keep underprivileged kids from turning into juvenile delinquents. He tackles prisoner exploitation and resists being tackled when leading a team to victory in football.
One of my favorite stories in the lot concerns Superman tricking a group of bored millionaires to party in a mine, at which point he inflicts on them the horrible conditions experienced by miners. There is a certain "everyman's revenge" aspect to Superman in these stories, and he will often be wearing disguises or enlisting in work as a normal Joe, perhaps suggesting that Superman is everywhere and everybody, much like the nameless stars of the Battleship Potempkin. Superman is a progressive figure who could only have emerged from the Depression.
Then there is what I call the "government bailout" episode, in which Superman saves a struggling circus by becoming its greatest attraction, to the detriment of all the other performers. If the old guy's circus is struggling, Superman, maybe it deserves to go out of business? What's going to happen when you get sick of showboating and go home?
Superman's fighting for the little guy, sure, but we all know what happened in Communist Russia and there's a streak of a dictator in him. Consider an issue concerning auto safety, in which Superman takes it upon himself to smash through walls, hijack radio stations, destroy impounded cars, and terrify motorists, all for his own sick idea of justice. Living under the whim of The Police State of Superman seems terrifying, and it makes one wish for a hero to arrive on the scene to take on this big, self-righteous bully, someone who embodies the independent, capitalist, and free market spirit of America... maybe someone bald...
These comics are a real joy to read, and it's fun to imagine what personal slight the authors felt compelled to excise through their human mouthpiece/op-ed Superman. I also like how Clark Kent isn't mild-mannered but actually a sniveling coward Lois Lane actively despises. Why Superman feels the need to keep up such an unlikable persona is a mystery, although if I were to get all Monday Night Freudian I would say he must get some sort of masochistic enjoyment out of being tortured by Lois after totally dominating the rest of the world.
Another interesting character is the Ultra-Humanite, the first sort of super villain Superman encounters, a prototype Luthor confined to a wheelchair. Such a character is more than a participant in the "brain vs. brawn" debate but rather as his name suggests a soldier in a much larger comic book battle, that between dogma and relativism, of which aptly-named Luthor more successfully champions.
It was interesting to hear Clark Kent's logical reason for becoming a reporter- to get the news dispatches first so as to more quickly help people. And finally, I enjoyed the ciruclarity (circularness?) of this collection, as the final issue leads us back to the first one.
July 4, 2016
Okay, so, as far as delving into comic book history, this comic book was amazing. It was super cool to see the classic art work and the original Superman.
That being said, the stories were horrible by today's standards. Predictable, absurd, and preachy. Also, Superman was a bit of an arrogant jerk and even employed Batman-like tactics, which I thought was pretty funny since he's the exact opposite of that today.
So while I really liked reading this because of it's novelty and originality, I can't say that it was actually any good as far as stories are concerned.
That being said, the stories were horrible by today's standards. Predictable, absurd, and preachy. Also, Superman was a bit of an arrogant jerk and even employed Batman-like tactics, which I thought was pretty funny since he's the exact opposite of that today.
So while I really liked reading this because of it's novelty and originality, I can't say that it was actually any good as far as stories are concerned.
February 16, 2023
Early superman was the embodiment of 1938-1939 america. The villians were corrupt people willing to take advantage of people. Superman stops the day by protecting the victims from the villians schemes.
December 6, 2023
Enjoyed the first Superman stories from 1938 & 1939 which are reprinted in this book. Action Comics 1-13, New York World's Fair Comics #1 & Superman #1 are all in this volume.
February 25, 2016
"The Superman Chronicles" serves to provide fans of the Man of Steel, and of popular culture in general, with a cost-friendly alternative to its counterpart 'Archives' and 'Omnibus' series (which utilises more shiny and colourful print with hard-cover binding) by attempting to distribute every Superman story in chronological order from the character's debut appearance in Action Comics #1 onwards, using more inexpensive newsprint-style paper within soft-cover binding for the trade paperback market.
Volume One was published on 4th January 2006 for the American market, with its Kindle counterpart given a much later release date of 13th June 2013. It collects previously released golden-age Superman stories stretched across from June 1938 to July 1939 in magazine form from Action Comics #1-13, New York World's Fair Comics #1 and Superman #1 (with the first Superman magazine publication collecting stories previously published in Action Comics #1, which are not reprinted here again for reader convenience sake).
The Übermensch Superman concept was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, with Schuster providing illustration to Siegel's storytelling. The character was originally portrayed as a telepathic villain, and went through many developments in comic form before being founded as the iconic Superman that has been cemented into popular culture that we now know. Action Comics #1, another iconic piece of American popular and historical culture, was the first chronological appearance of Superman in what is now known as DC Comics Golden Age, and it has been extensively searched for by comic book enthusiasts, being sold at grandiose prices and reprinted for the mass market (I have recently received a copy as an exclusive add-on with Eagelmoss's "DC Comics Hardcover Graphic Novel Collection"). It featured a Superman having just reached maturity and having a side-job as a newspaper reporter at the Daily Star, heralding from the planet Krypton (later named in Superman #1 but only glimpsed at in this first appearance). As opposed to modern incarnations, he couldn't fly just yet, nor did he have heat vision or freeze breath (although one story does seem to state that he has telescopic vision of some sorts). As the saying goes, which was made popular in later radio and animation adaptations, this version of the Man of Steel could merely 'leap tall buildings in a single bound', in fact 1/8th of a mile, and was more powerful and faster than a locomotive, with near invulnerability; although he could be incapacitated by the odd bout of clumsiness and by electrified floors. The more widely known powers that Superman later developed, such as flight et cetera, were yet to be seen in comic form for a few years at best, and what is presented here is a Superman who preserved and delivered his own brand of justice; whether giving a wife-beater a harsh taste of his own medicine, or teaching a good lesson to the many business fat cats of the time by dangling them off rooftops and waging war on reckless drivers.
The late 30s being what they were, women were shown as meeker than the superheroines we see nowadays with leather bootstraps and busty costumes, so it was mainly the man, i.e. Superman, who saved the day, with another iconic character of comic book culture, Lois Lane, following the Man of Steel around like a lovesick puppy, and being almost repugnantly rude to Clark in the news office where they both worked. Early incarnations of Perry White, the aforementioned Lois Lane and a freckled newsboy not unlike Jimmy Olsen are shown here for the first time, as are early cameos of Ma and Pa Kent, and the planet Krypton, which was populated by people of evolved superior intellect and physical attributes, as opposed to the revised Silver Age origin of Clark gaining his powers from Earth's yellow sun.
Coincidentally, the world and characters presented within this first volume of the "The Superman Chronicles" were later retconned to originate from the parallel universe of Earth-Two within DC Comics' infinite Multiverse, in which most of the company's golden age characters resided. This Superman (aka Clark Kent/Kal-L) later grew into old age with a strip of grey hair to mark the character apart from the one presented in the comics' modern Earth-One continuity, later marrying his version of Lois Lane and becoming editor of the Daily Star (Earth-Two's version of the Daily Planet). The character was so popular that, following the company wide crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths" that erased all parallel Earths to form one coherent New Earth, Kal-L and Lois were transported to a paradise dimension, later returning in the 2005 "Infinite Crisis", and dying before becoming a Black Lantern in "Blackest Night". His character has recently resurfaced in the Convergence series, and Earth-Two is said to be saved from the original crisis somewhere outside of the main 52 parallel Earths that DC has decided to focus on in their New 52 relaunch. Additionally, another character called Power Girl (my personal favourite DC superhero) has survived into modern day continuity, being the Earth-Two duplicate of Supergirl and being the original Superman's cousin, gaining a lot of attention from her busty physique and also spotlighting her own solo series, whilst becoming chairwoman of the Justice Society of America.
What sets "The Superman Chronicles" aside from the hard-backed "Archives" series with their glossy papered interiors, I believe, is the appeal of the character's chronological progression. The "Archives" series publishes its volumes according to the magazines in which this original Superman appeared, such as solely printing those from Action Comics or the self-titled Superman series, as opposed to chronologically collecting his adventures into a linear line of heroics as the "Chronicles" series does. That being said, it would be nice to have an introduction to the collection, stating the early influences of the character and overall thoughts from appropriate artists and writers connected to the Superman mythos, as is usually evident in the bigger hard-back bound compendiums published by Detective Comics.
The newsprint-like paper on which the stories are printed are more akin to the material that was used for the original magazines, with the artwork being somewhat rather crudely drawn; the comic medium not having a solid footing as yet when originally published. Superman's suit, colouring and iconic 'S' logo were not as yet developed fully and differed from tale to tale, with his bootstraps sometimes being yellow, and at other times his 'S' symbol being completely removed from his chest. It was later, in subsequent issues of Superman and Action Comics, that a more recognisable and staple costume was set upon for the character. Advertisements are additionally kept in tact on each panel page, as are the front covers for each magazine in which the Superman adventure was originally published in, with an additional text story that was included within Superman #1.
Whilst reading this particular "Chronicles" series of the original Superman's exploits, I can't help but do so in a radio voice akin to that of Bud Collyer, who portrayed Superman in the classic radio series, the Fleischer Animation shorts (which were, in my opinion, the closest on-screen representation of the original Earth-Two Superman), and in the first season of "The New Adventures of Superman", which were made by Filmation Studios for the Saturday morning television programming block.
Overall, this first Volume of "The Superman Chronicles" showcases a Superman who was just that; a Super-Man; i.e. a fighter for justice who was shunned by the local police and feared by criminals as an urban myth. The more science-fiction aspect of his character was yet to be devised, and powers of flight and heat vision were completely non-existent. However, these weren't yet needed for the readership at the time, who simply wanted to read fun heroics and exploits of a hero who could overcome injustice and fight for the common man. The last story from Action Comics (#13) in this paperback collection introduces the readership to the Ultra-Humanite, who is widely considered to be the original Superman's arch-villain, and this character does indeed continue to make further appearances in subsequent volumes of the Chronicles series in various guises, making room for the more popular villain in Superman's rogues' gallery; that being Lex Luthor.
With this in mind, "The Superman Chronicles - Volume One" is a great introduction to the Superman mythos, with fun and sometimes wacky storytelling being blended in with political uneasiness of the time, and paving the way for the Man of Steel of today's times, having been cemented into popular culture via means of the continuing comic book medium, radio shows, television programmes, films/movies and video games, et cetera.
With this first volume being rounded up with Superman #1 tying directly into the first story in Action Comics #1, the book may be read as a stand-alone introduction to comics' first brightly caped and costumed superhero. However, I would additionally recommend Superman and Golden Age enthusiasts alike, as well as those interested in historical and American popular culture in general, to continue their journey of the original Superman's exploits and adventures in the second volume of" The Superman Chronicles" (the series having reached Volume 10 as of July 2012). Additionally, DC Comics has also released sister "Chronicles" series utilising the same set up of chronological character appearances for Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Silver Age iterations of the Flash and Green Lantern.
Volume One was published on 4th January 2006 for the American market, with its Kindle counterpart given a much later release date of 13th June 2013. It collects previously released golden-age Superman stories stretched across from June 1938 to July 1939 in magazine form from Action Comics #1-13, New York World's Fair Comics #1 and Superman #1 (with the first Superman magazine publication collecting stories previously published in Action Comics #1, which are not reprinted here again for reader convenience sake).
The Übermensch Superman concept was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, with Schuster providing illustration to Siegel's storytelling. The character was originally portrayed as a telepathic villain, and went through many developments in comic form before being founded as the iconic Superman that has been cemented into popular culture that we now know. Action Comics #1, another iconic piece of American popular and historical culture, was the first chronological appearance of Superman in what is now known as DC Comics Golden Age, and it has been extensively searched for by comic book enthusiasts, being sold at grandiose prices and reprinted for the mass market (I have recently received a copy as an exclusive add-on with Eagelmoss's "DC Comics Hardcover Graphic Novel Collection"). It featured a Superman having just reached maturity and having a side-job as a newspaper reporter at the Daily Star, heralding from the planet Krypton (later named in Superman #1 but only glimpsed at in this first appearance). As opposed to modern incarnations, he couldn't fly just yet, nor did he have heat vision or freeze breath (although one story does seem to state that he has telescopic vision of some sorts). As the saying goes, which was made popular in later radio and animation adaptations, this version of the Man of Steel could merely 'leap tall buildings in a single bound', in fact 1/8th of a mile, and was more powerful and faster than a locomotive, with near invulnerability; although he could be incapacitated by the odd bout of clumsiness and by electrified floors. The more widely known powers that Superman later developed, such as flight et cetera, were yet to be seen in comic form for a few years at best, and what is presented here is a Superman who preserved and delivered his own brand of justice; whether giving a wife-beater a harsh taste of his own medicine, or teaching a good lesson to the many business fat cats of the time by dangling them off rooftops and waging war on reckless drivers.
The late 30s being what they were, women were shown as meeker than the superheroines we see nowadays with leather bootstraps and busty costumes, so it was mainly the man, i.e. Superman, who saved the day, with another iconic character of comic book culture, Lois Lane, following the Man of Steel around like a lovesick puppy, and being almost repugnantly rude to Clark in the news office where they both worked. Early incarnations of Perry White, the aforementioned Lois Lane and a freckled newsboy not unlike Jimmy Olsen are shown here for the first time, as are early cameos of Ma and Pa Kent, and the planet Krypton, which was populated by people of evolved superior intellect and physical attributes, as opposed to the revised Silver Age origin of Clark gaining his powers from Earth's yellow sun.
Coincidentally, the world and characters presented within this first volume of the "The Superman Chronicles" were later retconned to originate from the parallel universe of Earth-Two within DC Comics' infinite Multiverse, in which most of the company's golden age characters resided. This Superman (aka Clark Kent/Kal-L) later grew into old age with a strip of grey hair to mark the character apart from the one presented in the comics' modern Earth-One continuity, later marrying his version of Lois Lane and becoming editor of the Daily Star (Earth-Two's version of the Daily Planet). The character was so popular that, following the company wide crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths" that erased all parallel Earths to form one coherent New Earth, Kal-L and Lois were transported to a paradise dimension, later returning in the 2005 "Infinite Crisis", and dying before becoming a Black Lantern in "Blackest Night". His character has recently resurfaced in the Convergence series, and Earth-Two is said to be saved from the original crisis somewhere outside of the main 52 parallel Earths that DC has decided to focus on in their New 52 relaunch. Additionally, another character called Power Girl (my personal favourite DC superhero) has survived into modern day continuity, being the Earth-Two duplicate of Supergirl and being the original Superman's cousin, gaining a lot of attention from her busty physique and also spotlighting her own solo series, whilst becoming chairwoman of the Justice Society of America.
What sets "The Superman Chronicles" aside from the hard-backed "Archives" series with their glossy papered interiors, I believe, is the appeal of the character's chronological progression. The "Archives" series publishes its volumes according to the magazines in which this original Superman appeared, such as solely printing those from Action Comics or the self-titled Superman series, as opposed to chronologically collecting his adventures into a linear line of heroics as the "Chronicles" series does. That being said, it would be nice to have an introduction to the collection, stating the early influences of the character and overall thoughts from appropriate artists and writers connected to the Superman mythos, as is usually evident in the bigger hard-back bound compendiums published by Detective Comics.
The newsprint-like paper on which the stories are printed are more akin to the material that was used for the original magazines, with the artwork being somewhat rather crudely drawn; the comic medium not having a solid footing as yet when originally published. Superman's suit, colouring and iconic 'S' logo were not as yet developed fully and differed from tale to tale, with his bootstraps sometimes being yellow, and at other times his 'S' symbol being completely removed from his chest. It was later, in subsequent issues of Superman and Action Comics, that a more recognisable and staple costume was set upon for the character. Advertisements are additionally kept in tact on each panel page, as are the front covers for each magazine in which the Superman adventure was originally published in, with an additional text story that was included within Superman #1.
Whilst reading this particular "Chronicles" series of the original Superman's exploits, I can't help but do so in a radio voice akin to that of Bud Collyer, who portrayed Superman in the classic radio series, the Fleischer Animation shorts (which were, in my opinion, the closest on-screen representation of the original Earth-Two Superman), and in the first season of "The New Adventures of Superman", which were made by Filmation Studios for the Saturday morning television programming block.
Overall, this first Volume of "The Superman Chronicles" showcases a Superman who was just that; a Super-Man; i.e. a fighter for justice who was shunned by the local police and feared by criminals as an urban myth. The more science-fiction aspect of his character was yet to be devised, and powers of flight and heat vision were completely non-existent. However, these weren't yet needed for the readership at the time, who simply wanted to read fun heroics and exploits of a hero who could overcome injustice and fight for the common man. The last story from Action Comics (#13) in this paperback collection introduces the readership to the Ultra-Humanite, who is widely considered to be the original Superman's arch-villain, and this character does indeed continue to make further appearances in subsequent volumes of the Chronicles series in various guises, making room for the more popular villain in Superman's rogues' gallery; that being Lex Luthor.
With this in mind, "The Superman Chronicles - Volume One" is a great introduction to the Superman mythos, with fun and sometimes wacky storytelling being blended in with political uneasiness of the time, and paving the way for the Man of Steel of today's times, having been cemented into popular culture via means of the continuing comic book medium, radio shows, television programmes, films/movies and video games, et cetera.
With this first volume being rounded up with Superman #1 tying directly into the first story in Action Comics #1, the book may be read as a stand-alone introduction to comics' first brightly caped and costumed superhero. However, I would additionally recommend Superman and Golden Age enthusiasts alike, as well as those interested in historical and American popular culture in general, to continue their journey of the original Superman's exploits and adventures in the second volume of" The Superman Chronicles" (the series having reached Volume 10 as of July 2012). Additionally, DC Comics has also released sister "Chronicles" series utilising the same set up of chronological character appearances for Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Silver Age iterations of the Flash and Green Lantern.
February 2, 2019
It is surprising how little has changed since Superman debuted 80 years ago. The son of Krypton has always been a reporter, only his paper was called "The Daily Star" instead of "The Daily Planet", and he's always been in love with Lois Lane, although she didn't love him back.
Lois Lane was the only defined character other than superman/Clark, his employer showed often but I don't think he even had a name. Clark wanted to date Lois since the first couple of stories, but he never showed his strength in front of her, he even let himself be bullied sometimes, and she resented him for that, falling in love with superman instead. Lois treated Clark like shit all the time, he acted like he cared (although he didn't because he is cool), she took advantage of his supposed naivety on more than one occasion, either to steal his work or to meet Superman.
Those stories mentioned above sound like they have some depth into them.. they don't. The plots are so simple I am beginning to forget them as I am writing this review. If you are reading Superman Chronicles to see the roots of Superman then all you need to read is the first page, where the story of Krypton is mentioned in 3 panels. The rest are one-shots (about 10 pages each) mostly involving Superman overhearing two reckless criminals planning something and intervening in the final moment to stop them.
Thankfully, most of the criminals are well motivated, meaning that they are not seeking world destruction for no reason; yet, Superman stumbles upon them casually everyday, along with planes running out of fuel and trains with broken breaks and badly constructed bridges falling apart it makes you question how the human race survived before superman.
If you are a HUGE fan of Superman, then you might want to read 20 pages from Superman#1 to get a glimpse of how it was 80 years ago. Anything beyond wouldn't be recommended.
Lois Lane was the only defined character other than superman/Clark, his employer showed often but I don't think he even had a name. Clark wanted to date Lois since the first couple of stories, but he never showed his strength in front of her, he even let himself be bullied sometimes, and she resented him for that, falling in love with superman instead. Lois treated Clark like shit all the time, he acted like he cared (although he didn't because he is cool), she took advantage of his supposed naivety on more than one occasion, either to steal his work or to meet Superman.
Those stories mentioned above sound like they have some depth into them.. they don't. The plots are so simple I am beginning to forget them as I am writing this review. If you are reading Superman Chronicles to see the roots of Superman then all you need to read is the first page, where the story of Krypton is mentioned in 3 panels. The rest are one-shots (about 10 pages each) mostly involving Superman overhearing two reckless criminals planning something and intervening in the final moment to stop them.
Thankfully, most of the criminals are well motivated, meaning that they are not seeking world destruction for no reason; yet, Superman stumbles upon them casually everyday, along with planes running out of fuel and trains with broken breaks and badly constructed bridges falling apart it makes you question how the human race survived before superman.
If you are a HUGE fan of Superman, then you might want to read 20 pages from Superman#1 to get a glimpse of how it was 80 years ago. Anything beyond wouldn't be recommended.
August 15, 2018
The earliest adventures of the man of steel! This Superman was a far cry from the one we have now. He took no prisoners, made his own laws, and enforced them his own way. It was funny to see Superman literally take OUT criminals back in the day and see the difference now, when Superman would never hang a crook over the city by his ankle (even if Batman might)
Well, that was a fun little romp through memory lane. Well, probably a memory for my great grandmother, who was 7 when Superman was created in the late 1930's. I sought her insight as I read this, curious to hear what my wizened mentor thought about the Man of Tomorrow. Her response? "Who cares? Didn't I send you to get my Ice Cream?"
In fact she did. I got distracted. So now I'm up up and away to get my granny her peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream that I may have already dug into (I'm not a monster.)
Catch y'all next time!
Well, that was a fun little romp through memory lane. Well, probably a memory for my great grandmother, who was 7 when Superman was created in the late 1930's. I sought her insight as I read this, curious to hear what my wizened mentor thought about the Man of Tomorrow. Her response? "Who cares? Didn't I send you to get my Ice Cream?"
In fact she did. I got distracted. So now I'm up up and away to get my granny her peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream that I may have already dug into (I'm not a monster.)
Catch y'all next time!
December 2, 2017
While there were several precursors to Superman, he’s generally agreed to be the first full-fledged comic book superhero. Superhuman abilities, a distinctive costume, and a dual identity, he had them all. When Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938, the readers had not seen anything quite like him before, and the comic book flew off the shelves.
However, the fellow who appeared in those early issues wasn’t quite the Superman we’ve come to know after all these years. The “Chronicles” series of reprints gives us full-color reproductions of the stories in order of publication, starting with the very first, plus the covers of the issues.
Action Comics #1 starts us off right with the classic scene of Superman smashing a car into a rock, which turns out to actually happen in the story. The feature begins with an abbreviated version of Superman’s origin. The dying planet that sent a single rocketship to Earth (not yet named Krypton), a passing motorist (not yet identified as the Kents) who takes the infant to an orphanage, his growing powers (strength, speed, leaping, nigh-invulnerability) and his determination to use his powers to help those in need. Clark Kent’s powers are explained by his physical structure being far more advanced than Earth humans, giving him the proportionate abilities of an ant or grasshopper.
The story itself starts in media res, as Superman carries a murderer to the governor’s mansion. Leaving her tied up nearby, the Man of Steel forces himself past the governor’s servant, and through a metal door to that worthy’s bedroom. He produces proof that the woman about to be executed is innocent, and stays right there until the governor pardons her.
The next day, Clark Kent is pleased to see that the Daily Star did not print anything about Superman’s involvement. But the rumor of a superhuman fellow in a bright costume has already come to notice, and the Star’s city editor puts his rookie reporter Kent on the job of discovering the truth.
Kent learns of a wife-beating in progress, but it’s Superman who appears at the scene and roughs up the abusive husband. The cad faints, and it’s Clark who greets the police.
Next, it’s time to establish the “mild-mannered” part of Clark Kent’s persona. Clark convinces fellow reporter Lois Lane to go dancing with him, but she’s showing a distinct lack of enthusiasm. When Clark backs down far too easily to a hood named Butch who cuts in, Lois is disgusted at his cowardice and leaves the dance hall.
Butch is angered by Lois’ refusal to dance with him, and sets out to abduct her with a few of his criminal friends to teach Lois a lesson. Naturally, Superman shows up and the cover scene ensues. The Man of Tomorrow carries Lois home and advises her not to tell anyone. Sure enough, the next day, no one will believe her wild story. It will take her a couple of issues to fully process her reaction to Superman.
The Star’s editor has a new assignment for Clark Kent. South American republic San Monte is having a civil war, and since the home front is getting so dull card games are front-page news (I am now imagining a 1930s version of Yu-Gi-Oh), Kent should go down there and file some war reports. Oh, pictures would be good too.
Rather than head directly south, Kent first travels to Washington, D.C. He spots a Senator Barrows being furtively contacted by lobbyist Alex Greer, who’s known to be connected to “dark money” but no one knows whose. Eavesdropping on their next meeting, Superman learns that the bill Senator Barrows is pushing is designed to entangle America in European affairs. (We never come back to this plot point.)
Afterward, Superman approaches Greer to find out who his backer is. Naturally the lobbyist declines to state this information, so Superman picks the man up and starts leaping all over town with him. He even finds time to impart a science fact about birds and power lines! His last leap doesn’t quite make it to the next building, and the men begin to fall….
All that in thirteen pages!
Action Comics #2 does not have Superman on the cover; he would not make it back until #7, and thereafter would usually be mentioned in a text box even if the cover was of someone else.
The story picks up where #1 left off, with Superman and Greer landing on the sidewalk. They survive, the sidewalk doesn’t. Greer spills the beans on his boss, international arms dealer Emil Norvell. Superman then uses his considerable persuasive powers to make sure that Norvell travels to San Monte and enlists in their army.
Lois is assigned to go along with Clark Kent to South America. Lots of things happen, including Norvell learning what it’s like to be on the pointy edge of his munitions, Lois nearly being shot as a spy, Superman just straight up killing a torturer (oh sure, we don’t see him land, but being tossed several miles away? He’s not going to have a soft landing) and the Man of Steel finding a creative way to stop the war.
The story is followed by an advertisement for the daily Superman comic strip, soon to come out.
#3 has Superman get a neglectful mine owner to improve safety conditions for workers. (Some ethnic slurs by baddies.) There’s also an announcement of the first Superman fan club, the Supermen of America.
#4 is Superman kidnapping a college football player for several days to impersonate him in order to prevent a game from being fixed. As a side effect, it also improves Tommy’s love life.
#5 has Lois Lane get enraged by the editor’s sexism (“no job for a girl”) and trick Clark Kent into pursuing a fake story while she goes off to cover a bursting dam. Superman saves Lois a couple of times and she admits her feelings for him while still despising Clark.
#6 is the first Superman impersonator story. A crook dresses his henchman up in a Superman suit and has him do faked stunts of superstrength so that the crook can claim he’s got a legal license to sell Superman merchandise. Lois easily sees through the fake, but still needs rescuing. Also has the first Superman-themed song.
#7 has Superman join a failing circus to give it an attendance boost, and reveal the criminals that are trying to take it over. This is a good spot to mention that Superman’s distinctive costume was partially based on a circus strongman outfit, including trunks worn over tights to keep certain body bulges smoothed out. This story also introduces Curly, the first of what would be a recurring type of bully who also works at the paper and pranks Clark Kent. By the end of the story, Clark finds a way to get some payback.
#8 is another classic moment for Superman as a social justice warrior. He decides to tackle the problem of juvenile delinquency in slum kids–by tearing down the entire slum, thus forcing the government to build them new housing ala FEMA!
Of course, actions have consequences, and in #9, the police bring in Chicago cop Detective Captain Reilly, known as “100% Reilly” for always getting his man. Reilly’s plan hits a significant snag when he attempts to chisel an informant out of the substantial reward money promised. Clark Kent is barely able to escape detection, but at the end, the visitor is known as “99% Reilly.”
#10 is another social justice story–Superman goes undercover as a prisoner to expose inhuman conditions imposed by a crooked warden. (Warning: torture.)
#11 continues Superman’s impersonations. To expose a crooked oil company, he poses as investor Homer Ramsey and contrives a beautiful scam where he tricks the oil company executives into trading their real money for their own worthless stock. Environmentalists may cringe at how he does it, though. (Presumably Superman turns the money he made over to charity.)
#12 has an interesting Zatara cover with a nifty spaceship. The Superman story has him getting angry at reckless drivers and automobiles that are unsafe at any speed. So he imposes a reign of terror on the city. (And admittedly, fixes a particularly bad stretch of road.) You can just feel Siegel’s outrage boiling off the page as Superman refuses to use doors in his pursuit of strict traffic enforcement. Also in this issue, an announcement of DC’s second superhero, the Batman!
New York World’s Fair #1 ties into that 1939 event. Clark and Lois are sent to cover the opening, but Superman spends most of his time helping attractions open on time and thwarting a criminal plot.
Action Comics #13 starts its story with Superman fighting the “Cab Protective League”, a shakedown racket aimed at taxi drivers. However, we soon meet the first ever evil mastermind to battle Superman. The Ultra-Humanite is a bald scientist who has given himself super-intelligence (which may or may not have anything to do with his paraplegia.) Moriarty-like, he’s been secretly behind some of the criminal schemes Superman has thwarted.
His vast knowledge of science allows the Ultra-Humanite to stun Superman, but not kill him. The evil scientist then appears to die in a plane crash, but Superman is unable to find a body. He’ll be back several times, until Lex Luthor takes over his ecological niche.
And the volume concludes with Superman #1, as Superman became the first superhero to have his own solo comic book. Most of the contents were reprinted from Action Comics #1-4.
However, the first story had a new introduction naming Krypton and the Kents for the first time, and establishing that John and Mary Kent had passed away from old age after training Clark in American values. We then see how Superman learned of the innocent person condemned for murder and where to find the murderer seen in the first story.
The explanation of Superman’s powers now explained that Earth’s lighter gravity aided his advanced body structure to perform his superhuman feats.
Finally, there’s a two-page text story. These prose stories appeared in comic books to force the post office to classify them at a lower postal rate. Usually, they weren’t very good. No exception here.
The art is crude but dynamic, and it’s fun to watch Superman perform his many feats. This is a rougher-edged fellow who very much has opinions, and isn’t afraid to take matters into his own hands. Soon he’ll calm down a bit and become more authority-friendly (and develop a code against killing.) No more random kidnappings!
Highly recommended to Superman fans and those who want to know more about the early history of superhero comics. Check your library!
However, the fellow who appeared in those early issues wasn’t quite the Superman we’ve come to know after all these years. The “Chronicles” series of reprints gives us full-color reproductions of the stories in order of publication, starting with the very first, plus the covers of the issues.
Action Comics #1 starts us off right with the classic scene of Superman smashing a car into a rock, which turns out to actually happen in the story. The feature begins with an abbreviated version of Superman’s origin. The dying planet that sent a single rocketship to Earth (not yet named Krypton), a passing motorist (not yet identified as the Kents) who takes the infant to an orphanage, his growing powers (strength, speed, leaping, nigh-invulnerability) and his determination to use his powers to help those in need. Clark Kent’s powers are explained by his physical structure being far more advanced than Earth humans, giving him the proportionate abilities of an ant or grasshopper.
The story itself starts in media res, as Superman carries a murderer to the governor’s mansion. Leaving her tied up nearby, the Man of Steel forces himself past the governor’s servant, and through a metal door to that worthy’s bedroom. He produces proof that the woman about to be executed is innocent, and stays right there until the governor pardons her.
The next day, Clark Kent is pleased to see that the Daily Star did not print anything about Superman’s involvement. But the rumor of a superhuman fellow in a bright costume has already come to notice, and the Star’s city editor puts his rookie reporter Kent on the job of discovering the truth.
Kent learns of a wife-beating in progress, but it’s Superman who appears at the scene and roughs up the abusive husband. The cad faints, and it’s Clark who greets the police.
Next, it’s time to establish the “mild-mannered” part of Clark Kent’s persona. Clark convinces fellow reporter Lois Lane to go dancing with him, but she’s showing a distinct lack of enthusiasm. When Clark backs down far too easily to a hood named Butch who cuts in, Lois is disgusted at his cowardice and leaves the dance hall.
Butch is angered by Lois’ refusal to dance with him, and sets out to abduct her with a few of his criminal friends to teach Lois a lesson. Naturally, Superman shows up and the cover scene ensues. The Man of Tomorrow carries Lois home and advises her not to tell anyone. Sure enough, the next day, no one will believe her wild story. It will take her a couple of issues to fully process her reaction to Superman.
The Star’s editor has a new assignment for Clark Kent. South American republic San Monte is having a civil war, and since the home front is getting so dull card games are front-page news (I am now imagining a 1930s version of Yu-Gi-Oh), Kent should go down there and file some war reports. Oh, pictures would be good too.
Rather than head directly south, Kent first travels to Washington, D.C. He spots a Senator Barrows being furtively contacted by lobbyist Alex Greer, who’s known to be connected to “dark money” but no one knows whose. Eavesdropping on their next meeting, Superman learns that the bill Senator Barrows is pushing is designed to entangle America in European affairs. (We never come back to this plot point.)
Afterward, Superman approaches Greer to find out who his backer is. Naturally the lobbyist declines to state this information, so Superman picks the man up and starts leaping all over town with him. He even finds time to impart a science fact about birds and power lines! His last leap doesn’t quite make it to the next building, and the men begin to fall….
All that in thirteen pages!
Action Comics #2 does not have Superman on the cover; he would not make it back until #7, and thereafter would usually be mentioned in a text box even if the cover was of someone else.
The story picks up where #1 left off, with Superman and Greer landing on the sidewalk. They survive, the sidewalk doesn’t. Greer spills the beans on his boss, international arms dealer Emil Norvell. Superman then uses his considerable persuasive powers to make sure that Norvell travels to San Monte and enlists in their army.
Lois is assigned to go along with Clark Kent to South America. Lots of things happen, including Norvell learning what it’s like to be on the pointy edge of his munitions, Lois nearly being shot as a spy, Superman just straight up killing a torturer (oh sure, we don’t see him land, but being tossed several miles away? He’s not going to have a soft landing) and the Man of Steel finding a creative way to stop the war.
The story is followed by an advertisement for the daily Superman comic strip, soon to come out.
#3 has Superman get a neglectful mine owner to improve safety conditions for workers. (Some ethnic slurs by baddies.) There’s also an announcement of the first Superman fan club, the Supermen of America.
#4 is Superman kidnapping a college football player for several days to impersonate him in order to prevent a game from being fixed. As a side effect, it also improves Tommy’s love life.
#5 has Lois Lane get enraged by the editor’s sexism (“no job for a girl”) and trick Clark Kent into pursuing a fake story while she goes off to cover a bursting dam. Superman saves Lois a couple of times and she admits her feelings for him while still despising Clark.
#6 is the first Superman impersonator story. A crook dresses his henchman up in a Superman suit and has him do faked stunts of superstrength so that the crook can claim he’s got a legal license to sell Superman merchandise. Lois easily sees through the fake, but still needs rescuing. Also has the first Superman-themed song.
#7 has Superman join a failing circus to give it an attendance boost, and reveal the criminals that are trying to take it over. This is a good spot to mention that Superman’s distinctive costume was partially based on a circus strongman outfit, including trunks worn over tights to keep certain body bulges smoothed out. This story also introduces Curly, the first of what would be a recurring type of bully who also works at the paper and pranks Clark Kent. By the end of the story, Clark finds a way to get some payback.
#8 is another classic moment for Superman as a social justice warrior. He decides to tackle the problem of juvenile delinquency in slum kids–by tearing down the entire slum, thus forcing the government to build them new housing ala FEMA!
Of course, actions have consequences, and in #9, the police bring in Chicago cop Detective Captain Reilly, known as “100% Reilly” for always getting his man. Reilly’s plan hits a significant snag when he attempts to chisel an informant out of the substantial reward money promised. Clark Kent is barely able to escape detection, but at the end, the visitor is known as “99% Reilly.”
#10 is another social justice story–Superman goes undercover as a prisoner to expose inhuman conditions imposed by a crooked warden. (Warning: torture.)
#11 continues Superman’s impersonations. To expose a crooked oil company, he poses as investor Homer Ramsey and contrives a beautiful scam where he tricks the oil company executives into trading their real money for their own worthless stock. Environmentalists may cringe at how he does it, though. (Presumably Superman turns the money he made over to charity.)
#12 has an interesting Zatara cover with a nifty spaceship. The Superman story has him getting angry at reckless drivers and automobiles that are unsafe at any speed. So he imposes a reign of terror on the city. (And admittedly, fixes a particularly bad stretch of road.) You can just feel Siegel’s outrage boiling off the page as Superman refuses to use doors in his pursuit of strict traffic enforcement. Also in this issue, an announcement of DC’s second superhero, the Batman!
New York World’s Fair #1 ties into that 1939 event. Clark and Lois are sent to cover the opening, but Superman spends most of his time helping attractions open on time and thwarting a criminal plot.
Action Comics #13 starts its story with Superman fighting the “Cab Protective League”, a shakedown racket aimed at taxi drivers. However, we soon meet the first ever evil mastermind to battle Superman. The Ultra-Humanite is a bald scientist who has given himself super-intelligence (which may or may not have anything to do with his paraplegia.) Moriarty-like, he’s been secretly behind some of the criminal schemes Superman has thwarted.
His vast knowledge of science allows the Ultra-Humanite to stun Superman, but not kill him. The evil scientist then appears to die in a plane crash, but Superman is unable to find a body. He’ll be back several times, until Lex Luthor takes over his ecological niche.
And the volume concludes with Superman #1, as Superman became the first superhero to have his own solo comic book. Most of the contents were reprinted from Action Comics #1-4.
However, the first story had a new introduction naming Krypton and the Kents for the first time, and establishing that John and Mary Kent had passed away from old age after training Clark in American values. We then see how Superman learned of the innocent person condemned for murder and where to find the murderer seen in the first story.
The explanation of Superman’s powers now explained that Earth’s lighter gravity aided his advanced body structure to perform his superhuman feats.
Finally, there’s a two-page text story. These prose stories appeared in comic books to force the post office to classify them at a lower postal rate. Usually, they weren’t very good. No exception here.
The art is crude but dynamic, and it’s fun to watch Superman perform his many feats. This is a rougher-edged fellow who very much has opinions, and isn’t afraid to take matters into his own hands. Soon he’ll calm down a bit and become more authority-friendly (and develop a code against killing.) No more random kidnappings!
Highly recommended to Superman fans and those who want to know more about the early history of superhero comics. Check your library!
July 31, 2024
In the first 13 issues of Superman's existence, the Man of Steel takes on stock brokers, corrupt bosses, crappy motorist, crooked politicians, wife beaters, and many more of the world's most common crooks and oppressors. There's really nothing not to like. It's just fun, pulpy fantasy at its best, with no pointlessly convoluted plots or confusing multiverses to worry about.
May 13, 2017
Okay. I'll admit why it took me around 5 months to finish this. It was my poop comic. I kept this in the bathroom and read a couple of pages every time I was bored while pooping.
Now that this is out of the way, let me tell you about this collection. This is a chronicle of Superman's very first comics. A collection of cautionary tales where the red caped hero always saves the day and teaches us some morale. Not too shabby, but don't expect a crazy plot or a complex origins story. Totally worth checking out.
Now that this is out of the way, let me tell you about this collection. This is a chronicle of Superman's very first comics. A collection of cautionary tales where the red caped hero always saves the day and teaches us some morale. Not too shabby, but don't expect a crazy plot or a complex origins story. Totally worth checking out.
November 18, 2023
First off, I love the format in The Chronicles line. These are cheap ($14.99 list price) softcovers that collect Golden Age comics on heavy stock pulp paper in color. These stories have been available as DC Archives for years, but I cannot afford yet another slew of $50 hardcovers, so these are a great alternative. (EDIT/NOTE: This was well before my illness/addiction really kicked in. I now sell blood and organs (sometimes even my own!) to fund this cursed hobby.)
This is nowhere near the caliber of The Batman Chronicles trade, but was still enjoyable based on historical significance alone. It is fascinating to watch the evolution of both the character and the comic book medium in this embryonic era (1938-1939). My knowledge of Superman is limited to the movies and the Superfriends cartoon from the late ‘70s, so this was an eye opener.
On to the stories: These are crude, both in grammar and plotlines, often rushing in the last page or two to wrap it up due to space and time constraints. Having said that, these are still more sophisticated in terms of story and artwork than Timely Comics from that era.
Action Comics No. 1: The one that started the whole superhero phenomenon. The iconic cover image sets the tone for these early tales. Superman’s uniform is an almost indigo blue in this first appearance, with his “S” emblem being all yellow, except for the cover and the final panel. Maybe the fibers of his alien uniform changed colors later on because of Earth’s sun? Who knows! Superman cannot fly in any of these issues, instead relying on his “powerful leg muscles to jump 1/8 of a mile”. His super strength and speed are apparent in this issue, when he takes on… a wife beater. Superman takes on… a wife beater. Right. Lois Lane is a bee-yotch in these early issues.
Action Comics No. 3: Superman takes on the menace of… unsafe coal mine working conditions.
Action Comics No. 4: This time, it is the shocking story of how Superman drugs and kidnaps a college football player to take his place in “the big game” because he has uncovered a plot by the rival team’s coach to hire thugs as ringers to take out the star players in the game. Okay!
Action Comics No. 5: Clark Kent works for The Daily Star, not the Daily Planet, in these early issues. This issue sees that bee-yotch Lois Lane lie to Clark Kent and send him on a bogus assignment so that she can steal his scoop about a dam breaking. The editor wouldn’t send her because the story was “too important for a girl.” Ah, yes, the chauvinistic ways of men in the 1930s. I love the cars and fashions in these stories, and I have to keep it in perspective that these were the styles at the time.
Action Comics No. 6: A crooked businessman pretends to be Superman’s manager so that he can sell his likeness and make money off of him. Of course Superman foils this dastardly plot!
Action Comics No. 7: With his first cover appearance since Issue 1, Superman (with yellow boots and a yellow S due to printer plate errors and kept for posterity) saves a circus from closing by going to work for them. No, really, that is what happened.
Action Comics No. 8: A crooked fence who hires juvenile delinquents to steal for him frames one of the boys after he wants more money for his deeds. Superman uncovers his plot to frame the boy’s three accomplices, and defends the boys by saying that saying that they’re not responsible for their actions because of their environment. Hello? Is he nuts? If these kids were black they would’ve been thrown in the slammer! So, Superman takes matters into his own hands by kicking everyone out of the tenements so that he can demolish them. He takes on the National Guard and tricks the bombers into razing the neighborhood, thus resulting in shiny new “apartment-projects” which, ironically enough, will become the same ghetto some 30-40 years later.
Action Comics No. 9: Some crack detective from Chicago comes into town to catch Superman and put him on trial for his crimes. These stories all have a serial, carry over feel to them, which is cool.
Action Comics No. 10: Superman causes a car accident so that he can be sent to the slammer. He uncovered prisoner cruelty on the chain gang, and needed to fix it from the inside. After all, it’s not like he could just jump over the wall, or break through the wall to get in, right?
Action Comics No. 11: That crafty Superman! He uncovers a plot by crooked stockbrokers to swindle shareholders with an oil well that has never spit out a drop of oil. So, he wears a hat to conceal his identity and becomes Homer Ramsey! He breaks into the offices of the crooks, and rifles through their files, stealing confidential client information (can you say felony?). He then proceeds to buy all of the shares off of the individuals for their current depressed value. Then he takes a drill bit and goes to the drilling site and strikes oil, making himself into a millionaire. Isn’t that considered conspiracy? Then he forces the crooked brokers (who recently received news of striking oil) to pay him in cash. So, after swindling the shareholders, conspiring to commit fraud, and extorting the money from the brokers, Superman then proceeds to destroy the oil rig! Unreal. What a “hero”!
Action Comics No. 12: This guy needs some badass super-villain to show up, because now the obviously bored hero takes on careless drivers. He smashed up a defenseless used car salesman’s lot because he sells “accidents looking for a place to happen.” The self-righteous piece of crap also bullies a drunk driver, and then destroys an auto factory because this company’s cars get into more accidents than other companies. That’s okay, because Superman gets his in the end, as Clark Kent gets a parking ticket because the police, frightened by Superman’s unprovoked rampage, become Nazis and start cracking down on people.
Action Comics No. 13: Superman takes on the Cab Protective League, a sordid group who bullies independent cab drivers. He forces them to take sledgehammers and destroy their own cabs as restitution. Reynolds, one of the guys involved in the Cab Protective League, is taken into police custody. On the way to the station, he asks if he can smoke a cigarette. The police say no problem. Oh, but there is a problem…it is a cigarette that contains a “mysterious gas”. Of course, the mystery to me is why didn’t this gas affect Reynolds. Did he get immunized to the effects of said gas, or do I read too much into this stuff? Reynolds takes off in the police car, which Superman tracks to a cottage. Then Superman takes on his first super-villain…the Ultra-Humanite, a cripple who is “the head of a vast ring of evil enterprises”, and his brain, due to a scientific experiment, being “the most agile and learned on Earth!” He has rigged up a voltage line on the floor, which shocks Superman into unconsciousness. Strapped to a table, he heads towards a buzzsaw. A buzzsaw which shatters upon hitting his thick Kryptonian skull, and the shrapnel of which stuck Reynolds in the throat, killing him. The Ultra-Humanite escapes with his lackeys into an airplane, which Superman causes to crash by slamming into its propeller. He searches the wreck, but he got away. So let me get this straight: a guy in a wheelchair can get up and walk away from an airplane crash? Oh yeah, somewhere along the way, Superman develops super hearing and X-ray vision. All in all, this was some pretty funny stuff.
This is nowhere near the caliber of The Batman Chronicles trade, but was still enjoyable based on historical significance alone. It is fascinating to watch the evolution of both the character and the comic book medium in this embryonic era (1938-1939). My knowledge of Superman is limited to the movies and the Superfriends cartoon from the late ‘70s, so this was an eye opener.
On to the stories: These are crude, both in grammar and plotlines, often rushing in the last page or two to wrap it up due to space and time constraints. Having said that, these are still more sophisticated in terms of story and artwork than Timely Comics from that era.
Action Comics No. 1: The one that started the whole superhero phenomenon. The iconic cover image sets the tone for these early tales. Superman’s uniform is an almost indigo blue in this first appearance, with his “S” emblem being all yellow, except for the cover and the final panel. Maybe the fibers of his alien uniform changed colors later on because of Earth’s sun? Who knows! Superman cannot fly in any of these issues, instead relying on his “powerful leg muscles to jump 1/8 of a mile”. His super strength and speed are apparent in this issue, when he takes on… a wife beater. Superman takes on… a wife beater. Right. Lois Lane is a bee-yotch in these early issues.
Action Comics No. 3: Superman takes on the menace of… unsafe coal mine working conditions.
Action Comics No. 4: This time, it is the shocking story of how Superman drugs and kidnaps a college football player to take his place in “the big game” because he has uncovered a plot by the rival team’s coach to hire thugs as ringers to take out the star players in the game. Okay!
Action Comics No. 5: Clark Kent works for The Daily Star, not the Daily Planet, in these early issues. This issue sees that bee-yotch Lois Lane lie to Clark Kent and send him on a bogus assignment so that she can steal his scoop about a dam breaking. The editor wouldn’t send her because the story was “too important for a girl.” Ah, yes, the chauvinistic ways of men in the 1930s. I love the cars and fashions in these stories, and I have to keep it in perspective that these were the styles at the time.
Action Comics No. 6: A crooked businessman pretends to be Superman’s manager so that he can sell his likeness and make money off of him. Of course Superman foils this dastardly plot!
Action Comics No. 7: With his first cover appearance since Issue 1, Superman (with yellow boots and a yellow S due to printer plate errors and kept for posterity) saves a circus from closing by going to work for them. No, really, that is what happened.
Action Comics No. 8: A crooked fence who hires juvenile delinquents to steal for him frames one of the boys after he wants more money for his deeds. Superman uncovers his plot to frame the boy’s three accomplices, and defends the boys by saying that saying that they’re not responsible for their actions because of their environment. Hello? Is he nuts? If these kids were black they would’ve been thrown in the slammer! So, Superman takes matters into his own hands by kicking everyone out of the tenements so that he can demolish them. He takes on the National Guard and tricks the bombers into razing the neighborhood, thus resulting in shiny new “apartment-projects” which, ironically enough, will become the same ghetto some 30-40 years later.
Action Comics No. 9: Some crack detective from Chicago comes into town to catch Superman and put him on trial for his crimes. These stories all have a serial, carry over feel to them, which is cool.
Action Comics No. 10: Superman causes a car accident so that he can be sent to the slammer. He uncovered prisoner cruelty on the chain gang, and needed to fix it from the inside. After all, it’s not like he could just jump over the wall, or break through the wall to get in, right?
Action Comics No. 11: That crafty Superman! He uncovers a plot by crooked stockbrokers to swindle shareholders with an oil well that has never spit out a drop of oil. So, he wears a hat to conceal his identity and becomes Homer Ramsey! He breaks into the offices of the crooks, and rifles through their files, stealing confidential client information (can you say felony?). He then proceeds to buy all of the shares off of the individuals for their current depressed value. Then he takes a drill bit and goes to the drilling site and strikes oil, making himself into a millionaire. Isn’t that considered conspiracy? Then he forces the crooked brokers (who recently received news of striking oil) to pay him in cash. So, after swindling the shareholders, conspiring to commit fraud, and extorting the money from the brokers, Superman then proceeds to destroy the oil rig! Unreal. What a “hero”!
Action Comics No. 12: This guy needs some badass super-villain to show up, because now the obviously bored hero takes on careless drivers. He smashed up a defenseless used car salesman’s lot because he sells “accidents looking for a place to happen.” The self-righteous piece of crap also bullies a drunk driver, and then destroys an auto factory because this company’s cars get into more accidents than other companies. That’s okay, because Superman gets his in the end, as Clark Kent gets a parking ticket because the police, frightened by Superman’s unprovoked rampage, become Nazis and start cracking down on people.
Action Comics No. 13: Superman takes on the Cab Protective League, a sordid group who bullies independent cab drivers. He forces them to take sledgehammers and destroy their own cabs as restitution. Reynolds, one of the guys involved in the Cab Protective League, is taken into police custody. On the way to the station, he asks if he can smoke a cigarette. The police say no problem. Oh, but there is a problem…it is a cigarette that contains a “mysterious gas”. Of course, the mystery to me is why didn’t this gas affect Reynolds. Did he get immunized to the effects of said gas, or do I read too much into this stuff? Reynolds takes off in the police car, which Superman tracks to a cottage. Then Superman takes on his first super-villain…the Ultra-Humanite, a cripple who is “the head of a vast ring of evil enterprises”, and his brain, due to a scientific experiment, being “the most agile and learned on Earth!” He has rigged up a voltage line on the floor, which shocks Superman into unconsciousness. Strapped to a table, he heads towards a buzzsaw. A buzzsaw which shatters upon hitting his thick Kryptonian skull, and the shrapnel of which stuck Reynolds in the throat, killing him. The Ultra-Humanite escapes with his lackeys into an airplane, which Superman causes to crash by slamming into its propeller. He searches the wreck, but he got away. So let me get this straight: a guy in a wheelchair can get up and walk away from an airplane crash? Oh yeah, somewhere along the way, Superman develops super hearing and X-ray vision. All in all, this was some pretty funny stuff.
May 17, 2009
Wow. I grabbed this one, figuring that it would be a nice introduction for my son to the world of comics. I was never a big fan of mainstream comics in my youth ... I did read X-Men in the Eighties, and a little bit of Spiderman, but other than that, my teenage comics of choice were Chaos! (until they went monthly), which are very inappropriate for young children. In the end, while I enjoyed the earliest Superman stories, this collection turned out to be almost equally inappropriate.
Besides the fact that some of the situations Superman swoops in on are pretty violent themselves (such as an imminent lynching), Superman is often an almost equally violent defender. In the first few stories, he wraps rifle barrels around some thugs' necks and throws them from a high-rise, and threatens the lives' of these second-rate criminals more than a few times. As an adult, there's obviously no problem, and if my son was a teen, I wouldn't really care either -- there's nothing all that offensive. However, I'll keep searching for a more kid-friendly introduction to the mythos.
Please note that I am not taking the fact that this is not appropriate for younger kids into consideration for my rating. I simply thought that it would be nice information to have for others who may be seeking the same.
Besides the fact that some of the situations Superman swoops in on are pretty violent themselves (such as an imminent lynching), Superman is often an almost equally violent defender. In the first few stories, he wraps rifle barrels around some thugs' necks and throws them from a high-rise, and threatens the lives' of these second-rate criminals more than a few times. As an adult, there's obviously no problem, and if my son was a teen, I wouldn't really care either -- there's nothing all that offensive. However, I'll keep searching for a more kid-friendly introduction to the mythos.
Please note that I am not taking the fact that this is not appropriate for younger kids into consideration for my rating. I simply thought that it would be nice information to have for others who may be seeking the same.
March 3, 2014
The Superman Chronicles is an important book for a comic book collection for any true fan of the medium to read. But it may be a let down for a lot of people.
Now while these are obviously pioneering comic book stories - Superman was the first big-time super-hero - but these stories really, well, stink. Superman is a huge asshat in most of them, killing people right and left (and not during wartime where he might be able to justify it) , letting people get tortured, taking over peoples' lives without so much as a how-do-you-do. He's a serious dickhead.
I understand this was hero gratification for Siegel and Shuster, and it was a new type of story in the medium, but jeez, control things, dudes.
Joe Shuster's artwork is pretty good for the era most of the time, and there are a good number of stories here, so it's a good buy if you can get it cheaply in Amazon's marketplace or a flea market. I wouldn't pay full price for this, and I'm a huge golden age fan. Reading these tales make me glad that Superman became something much nobler and better, at least until the New 52 revamp turned him back into an asshat.
Now while these are obviously pioneering comic book stories - Superman was the first big-time super-hero - but these stories really, well, stink. Superman is a huge asshat in most of them, killing people right and left (and not during wartime where he might be able to justify it) , letting people get tortured, taking over peoples' lives without so much as a how-do-you-do. He's a serious dickhead.
I understand this was hero gratification for Siegel and Shuster, and it was a new type of story in the medium, but jeez, control things, dudes.
Joe Shuster's artwork is pretty good for the era most of the time, and there are a good number of stories here, so it's a good buy if you can get it cheaply in Amazon's marketplace or a flea market. I wouldn't pay full price for this, and I'm a huge golden age fan. Reading these tales make me glad that Superman became something much nobler and better, at least until the New 52 revamp turned him back into an asshat.
May 17, 2019
Superman isn't the man he thought he was in these stories. He's a bit of a thug and rampaging monster. Definitely not the Superman we know and love these days.
November 2, 2020
Got bored of it...
January 23, 2021
This was another recent find at a local Little Free Library. I've seen the cover of the first Superman comic book many times before, but had never actually read any of these early stories. Other people have written well-researched books about Superman, so I'll just drop a few quick notes here:
--Having just read a book of first appearances for Marvel characters in the WWII era, I can say that Superman's debut is pretty stunning. In the course of the 7 panels on the first page, we get his life story from Krypton to deciding to become Superman...and we get scientific examples that show other creatures who can do things that appear to be impossible: ants lifting heavy objects and the distance a grasshopper can leap.
--Early Superman is more of a vigilante making moral decisions and forcing others to follow his ideas. Some of these solutions happen by allowing others to fall into danger because he is pulling a long-con on the bad guys, rather than just walking up and stopping things immediately.
--The strange scene of Clark Kent following up on a hot tip of a wife beating as a story. When he arrives on site as Superman, he beats up the husband, but never checks on the wife.
--The collection includes other covers from the Action Comics issues...some are very much "of their time."
--The strangest image is the first character name panel for a story that shows Superman pulling on a cable and tearing down a tower of the Brooklyn Bridge. WTF, Superman?
--Having just read a book of first appearances for Marvel characters in the WWII era, I can say that Superman's debut is pretty stunning. In the course of the 7 panels on the first page, we get his life story from Krypton to deciding to become Superman...and we get scientific examples that show other creatures who can do things that appear to be impossible: ants lifting heavy objects and the distance a grasshopper can leap.
--Early Superman is more of a vigilante making moral decisions and forcing others to follow his ideas. Some of these solutions happen by allowing others to fall into danger because he is pulling a long-con on the bad guys, rather than just walking up and stopping things immediately.
--The strange scene of Clark Kent following up on a hot tip of a wife beating as a story. When he arrives on site as Superman, he beats up the husband, but never checks on the wife.
--The collection includes other covers from the Action Comics issues...some are very much "of their time."
--The strangest image is the first character name panel for a story that shows Superman pulling on a cable and tearing down a tower of the Brooklyn Bridge. WTF, Superman?
January 29, 2025
As someone who hardly ever reads comic books, Superman is a classic that is super well known, and I felt comfortable starting with this one.
Throughout the first, or beginning, of the Superman chronicles, it’s clear that Clark Kent is made to be this socially awkward, almost off putting character to hide the identity of Superman. And as important, at the time, to hide his identity, it made the ego Superman super high. It’s clear that he had this mentality that he can who whatever he wants, even if that meant putting others in danger or destroying parts of the city. But for the rest of the world to think or look to Superman as someone who is serving justice while he’s actively putting risk on others just contradicts what he stands for. It’s also worrying that society sees Superman act out that they just kind of ignore it, even though it has put many civilizations in life danger.
I think I expected more of a hero in the early chronicles of Superman, but I understand why he needs to figure out a good balance between Clark Kent and Superman. Balancing two personalities while trying to bring justice to the world is hard enough on his identity, but also on his personal relationships as well.
Throughout the first, or beginning, of the Superman chronicles, it’s clear that Clark Kent is made to be this socially awkward, almost off putting character to hide the identity of Superman. And as important, at the time, to hide his identity, it made the ego Superman super high. It’s clear that he had this mentality that he can who whatever he wants, even if that meant putting others in danger or destroying parts of the city. But for the rest of the world to think or look to Superman as someone who is serving justice while he’s actively putting risk on others just contradicts what he stands for. It’s also worrying that society sees Superman act out that they just kind of ignore it, even though it has put many civilizations in life danger.
I think I expected more of a hero in the early chronicles of Superman, but I understand why he needs to figure out a good balance between Clark Kent and Superman. Balancing two personalities while trying to bring justice to the world is hard enough on his identity, but also on his personal relationships as well.
August 3, 2025
doing this for all 10 of the volumes
Starting off a bit boring, shaped slowly I to the classical superhero style we're all used to.
would it even be fair to call this generic if this is basically ground zero for superherodom as we know it
Og superman is kinda funny, bc on one hand he resembles the classical beacon of hope for humankind like what the 2025 figure is based on
but then in the other this hope is sometimes framed exclusively for Americans 😭😭. Tough luck if you're a minority, animal, or anything else lmao
Lois Lane is kinda a weird character too. Like she's lowkey lobotomized but I appreciate the fact that she's ultimately superman's sidekick. She's a headstrong lady and it's nice to see that her origins aren't entirely built off of misogynistic tropes.
Jimmy Olsen's cameos were straight fire.
Also lowkey annoying as hell that Lex Luthor is just called Luther in the beginning. Add the Lex already damn
Favorite issues were def when the Clark Kent and Superman identity were forced to combine. Like why is Superman Clark Kent's worst opp tf. Does bro got DID
Starting off a bit boring, shaped slowly I to the classical superhero style we're all used to.
would it even be fair to call this generic if this is basically ground zero for superherodom as we know it
Og superman is kinda funny, bc on one hand he resembles the classical beacon of hope for humankind like what the 2025 figure is based on
but then in the other this hope is sometimes framed exclusively for Americans 😭😭. Tough luck if you're a minority, animal, or anything else lmao
Lois Lane is kinda a weird character too. Like she's lowkey lobotomized but I appreciate the fact that she's ultimately superman's sidekick. She's a headstrong lady and it's nice to see that her origins aren't entirely built off of misogynistic tropes.
Jimmy Olsen's cameos were straight fire.
Also lowkey annoying as hell that Lex Luthor is just called Luther in the beginning. Add the Lex already damn
Favorite issues were def when the Clark Kent and Superman identity were forced to combine. Like why is Superman Clark Kent's worst opp tf. Does bro got DID
August 17, 2025
What’s compelling about early Superman was how he wasn’t fighting for “Truth Justice and the American Way,” a term that wasn’t truly canonized as Superman’s modus operandi until the late 70s, but rather he was waging a one man war on the side of the oppressed and downtrodden. This Superman is a real firebrand here, from giving wife beaters a taste of their own medicine, starting a personal battle against reckless driving, to fighting injustices in the prison system; he’s no goody-two-shoes. Even nearly 90 years later these comics are still exciting and tackle real world issues, all wrapped up with Shuster’s simple but effective art that elevates these stories into all time classics
October 31, 2019
I liked seeing the original Superman here. Interesting to see his character develop. For example, I was unaware that Superman originally had no red boots! Just blue shoes that seemed to be apart of the blue tights.
I liked seeing Superman with minimal powers, no flight just able to leap. It makes the stakes higher and actually is exciting to imagine Superman RUNNING off the telephone wires with two crooks under each arm!
I liked seeing Superman with minimal powers, no flight just able to leap. It makes the stakes higher and actually is exciting to imagine Superman RUNNING off the telephone wires with two crooks under each arm!
March 17, 2025
In the first issues of Superman? He wasn’t fighting aliens. He wasn’t going against monsters or giant robots.
He was taking and exposing corrupt politicians and lobbyists. He was fighting for unions and workers rights. He was inspiring boys from disadvantaged communities. He was preventing greedy stockbrokers from tanking the local economy with stock buybacks.
Superman, we need you now more than ever. 😔
He was taking and exposing corrupt politicians and lobbyists. He was fighting for unions and workers rights. He was inspiring boys from disadvantaged communities. He was preventing greedy stockbrokers from tanking the local economy with stock buybacks.
Superman, we need you now more than ever. 😔
July 5, 2019
It took me awhile to get through this one, but overall it ain't that bad. The stories are simple, predictable and at times completely illogical, but also fun, and sometimes unintentionally hilarious.
All in all, everyone who likes Superman should check this out just to see where it all started and how much it has changed.
All in all, everyone who likes Superman should check this out just to see where it all started and how much it has changed.
August 29, 2020
On the merits of these first thirteen issues of Action Comics, this is an inconsistent and even problematic set of stories. For instance, Superman is more reckless than the criminals at many points throughout! That said, these are the issues that essentially spawned a genre, and it is fascinating to read them as primary documents in the history of superhero literature.
May 25, 2022
loved the ‘everyman’ sensibilities of early superman. instead of monthly villains, he focuses on the REAL villains of the world like car accidents and abuse of power in prisons. truly a man of the people.
also lois lane is hilariously mean to clark kent. she has absolutely no patience for that man and honestly it’s a refreshing angle that should be explored again.
also lois lane is hilariously mean to clark kent. she has absolutely no patience for that man and honestly it’s a refreshing angle that should be explored again.
December 25, 2024
these really are pretty neat, a man of tomorrow whose mission is bringing tomorrow now, a moral tomorrow where the cruel and slovenly status quo is left behind, the arrival of comeuppance for oppressors and the shielding of the downtrodden
Want to read
March 28, 2019Synopsis: his first appearance! Action Comics #1-13, New York World's Fair Comics #1, and Superman #1. Illustrator Joe Shuster was from Toronto.
November 29, 2019
The Golden Age of Comics origin of Superman.
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