What do you think?
Rate this book
Superman: The Dailies
Superman: Sunday Classics 1939-1943
Thrill to the Early Adventures of the Man of Steel!
In the late thirties, when Superman was making his ground-breaking debut in comic books, his legend was simultaneously being propagated in Sunday newspapers.
Collected in this deluxe edition are the first three years of the classic Sunday Superman comic strips as written and illustrated by the Man of Steel's creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster.
In these timeless tales, the Man of Steel challenges saboteurs and racketeers, saves runaway trains and plummeting planes, defeats giant robots and begins his lifelong rivalry with his greatest nemesis, Lex Luthor.
In the late thirties, when Superman was making his ground-breaking debut in comic books, his legend was simultaneously being propagated in Sunday newspapers.
Collected in this deluxe edition are the first three years of the classic Sunday Superman comic strips as written and illustrated by the Man of Steel's creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster.
In these timeless tales, the Man of Steel challenges saboteurs and racketeers, saves runaway trains and plummeting planes, defeats giant robots and begins his lifelong rivalry with his greatest nemesis, Lex Luthor.
191 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1999
5 people are currently reading
85 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 22, 2017
I put this on my To-Read list because I love the early days before Superman became Omnipotent-Man and because I think Joe Shuster's artwork is fantastic, simple and understated, and the characters actually LOOK like normal human beings.
Now that I've finished it I have to say it was a disappointment, although it still gets 5 stars. The stories are fun, the art is great. Jerry Siegle knew how to tell a story in concise comic book terms. Joe Shuster's art is functional; it does what it has to do and doesn't throw in any unnecessary details.
We get here the original Superman who instead of flying could leap 1/8 of a mile, who was strong and powerful but not ridiculously so, and who was not invulnerable as nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin. In fact, if you painted him green and gave him a grouchy temper, you'd have the Hulk. (Proof once again that other writers retroactively ripped off Stan Lee at every opportunity. Anne will understand that.)
The complaint or disappointment comes in the format or layout of the book. Although it is a large coffee table volume, the comic pages are too shrunken and it gave me eyestrain trying to read the panels. The art stands out but the lettering is soooo very tiny I needed a magnifying glass to read it.
Still it was great to revisit a hero who, while super, was still realistic enough to be believed.
Bruce Timm, great and talented as he is, did a disservice to comics by setting an unrealistic template that everyone copies. Heroes now follow the cookie-cutter pattern of being tall with a deep large chest, narrow waist, and square jaw that covers half his face. (I can see this look for Superman and Flash, but why do Green Lantern or Hawkman need to look like that?) All women are small, slim, and pointy jawed, but have enormous hooters. The only variety is in the color of the costume or the color of the hair. Otherwise everyone looks alike. If shown in black and white you'd have a hard time telling any of them apart.
Joe Shuster's characters looked like real people. The sizes and physiques varied. It was a nice world back then, simple and adequate and fun.
Now that I've finished it I have to say it was a disappointment, although it still gets 5 stars. The stories are fun, the art is great. Jerry Siegle knew how to tell a story in concise comic book terms. Joe Shuster's art is functional; it does what it has to do and doesn't throw in any unnecessary details.
We get here the original Superman who instead of flying could leap 1/8 of a mile, who was strong and powerful but not ridiculously so, and who was not invulnerable as nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin. In fact, if you painted him green and gave him a grouchy temper, you'd have the Hulk. (Proof once again that other writers retroactively ripped off Stan Lee at every opportunity. Anne will understand that.)
The complaint or disappointment comes in the format or layout of the book. Although it is a large coffee table volume, the comic pages are too shrunken and it gave me eyestrain trying to read the panels. The art stands out but the lettering is soooo very tiny I needed a magnifying glass to read it.
Still it was great to revisit a hero who, while super, was still realistic enough to be believed.
Bruce Timm, great and talented as he is, did a disservice to comics by setting an unrealistic template that everyone copies. Heroes now follow the cookie-cutter pattern of being tall with a deep large chest, narrow waist, and square jaw that covers half his face. (I can see this look for Superman and Flash, but why do Green Lantern or Hawkman need to look like that?) All women are small, slim, and pointy jawed, but have enormous hooters. The only variety is in the color of the costume or the color of the hair. Otherwise everyone looks alike. If shown in black and white you'd have a hard time telling any of them apart.
Joe Shuster's characters looked like real people. The sizes and physiques varied. It was a nice world back then, simple and adequate and fun.
July 2, 2013
Overall, an enjoyable volume. The early Siegel Superman is much more interesting than the contemporary boy scout of a character, who seems more "law and order" than "champion of the oppressed." Similar to my response to volume 1, although the narration is sometimes clunky, and key plot points are often limited to a word balloon, I think Superman's willingness to go out of his way to correct wrongs, especially from wicked businessmen, is very impressive. We have only three super-villains in the volume--Lex Luthor, the Image, and the Blaze--the latter of whom dies at his own hand, albeit accidentally. The Blaze's powers were too reminiscent of Timely's (Marvel) the Human Torch to be a recurring character, although he is a man in a suit rather than an android.
The art gradually moves from simple and cartoony to illustrative. I don't know if this is because of Shuster's developing skill, or because of the multiple artists who worked on the material, or changes in public taste, or (most likely) a combination of the three factors. The art is credited to Shuster, although a list of additional artists is in the front, their contributions unspecified.
Lois Lane isn't nearly as annoying and The Nostalgia Critic would have you believe. She usually shows a lot of gumption, and it seems like Siegel and Shuster were at least trying to present her as a strong woman, even if her constantly becoming a damsel in distress undermines these attempts. The most horribly sexist moment is when heiress Paula Taylor is spanked by a man named Jim, who takes her over his knee. Jim is in love with her, although they are not yet a couple. Simply presenting this incident would not have been so offensive if Clark Kent weren't looking through the door with his X-ray vision in total approval of Jim's actions. when a man is this rude to Lois at the same party, Superman displays some superdickery to get him to leave her alone. The progression of the character is shown a few episodes later when Superman admits that it's not very "supermanly" to be jealous of Lois getting involved with another man (the Nazi spy who turns out to be the Blaze), especially when his mission would make marriage a problem for him. At another point, there is also an amusing passage in which the modern reader would be inclined to interpret Lois's thinking as that Clark and Superman are lovers, which I doubt crossed Siegel's mind. In spite of the rapid-fire storytelling a three-row Sunday script requires, we still manage to see a lot of character development--Superman worries how long he can fool an intelligent woman like Lois as to his dual identity, several incidents where Clark breaks character and knows it, and other incidents where he takes advantage of the Clark persona (noted in Roger Stern's introduction to be based on Harold Lloyd) to do some secret superheroing.
One final note--I don't know if the Image ever appeared again (as of this writing, there is no entry for him on The Comic Book Database, but his interesting powers are similar to that of the Mirror Master, a Silver Age DC villain most associated with the Flash. (Mirror Master died during Crisis on Infinite Earths. Captain Boomerang briefly took up the mantle, followed by a Scot who would plague Animal Man.) He survived (Superman brought him to a police station by recognizing his shadow), however. There is also a villain named Pete Parker, and late in the volume there is an army engineer with a name similar to a comics creator.
Also impressive is the $14.95 cover price for a hardcover book with glossy full-color pages.
The art gradually moves from simple and cartoony to illustrative. I don't know if this is because of Shuster's developing skill, or because of the multiple artists who worked on the material, or changes in public taste, or (most likely) a combination of the three factors. The art is credited to Shuster, although a list of additional artists is in the front, their contributions unspecified.
Lois Lane isn't nearly as annoying and The Nostalgia Critic would have you believe. She usually shows a lot of gumption, and it seems like Siegel and Shuster were at least trying to present her as a strong woman, even if her constantly becoming a damsel in distress undermines these attempts. The most horribly sexist moment is when heiress Paula Taylor is spanked by a man named Jim, who takes her over his knee. Jim is in love with her, although they are not yet a couple. Simply presenting this incident would not have been so offensive if Clark Kent weren't looking through the door with his X-ray vision in total approval of Jim's actions. when a man is this rude to Lois at the same party, Superman displays some superdickery to get him to leave her alone. The progression of the character is shown a few episodes later when Superman admits that it's not very "supermanly" to be jealous of Lois getting involved with another man (the Nazi spy who turns out to be the Blaze), especially when his mission would make marriage a problem for him. At another point, there is also an amusing passage in which the modern reader would be inclined to interpret Lois's thinking as that Clark and Superman are lovers, which I doubt crossed Siegel's mind. In spite of the rapid-fire storytelling a three-row Sunday script requires, we still manage to see a lot of character development--Superman worries how long he can fool an intelligent woman like Lois as to his dual identity, several incidents where Clark breaks character and knows it, and other incidents where he takes advantage of the Clark persona (noted in Roger Stern's introduction to be based on Harold Lloyd) to do some secret superheroing.
One final note--I don't know if the Image ever appeared again (as of this writing, there is no entry for him on The Comic Book Database, but his interesting powers are similar to that of the Mirror Master, a Silver Age DC villain most associated with the Flash. (Mirror Master died during Crisis on Infinite Earths. Captain Boomerang briefly took up the mantle, followed by a Scot who would plague Animal Man.) He survived (Superman brought him to a police station by recognizing his shadow), however. There is also a villain named Pete Parker, and late in the volume there is an army engineer with a name similar to a comics creator.
Also impressive is the $14.95 cover price for a hardcover book with glossy full-color pages.
June 11, 2013
Superman: Sunday Classics 1939–1943 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster is a collection of the comic strips which were published in papers across the country between the four years mentioned. Some of the illustrations are done by Peter Poplaski and an introduction is written by Roger Stern.
This is a wonderful coffee table book with an amazing wraparound dustcover and excellent interior art. This is a large format, hardbound book in full color printed on prestige format paper – something unusual for today and a great value for the money.
As one might imagine, the book is a blast to read. Carefully reading and studying the panel, one could how Siegel and Shuster progressed as a writer and artist and their train of thought. Clark Kent is hardly mentioned, not surprising if you want kids to come back and read the strip the next week, Superman is not the all-powerful superhero, his powers haven’t yet fully developed (he doesn’t fly, just jumps real high). In one of the strips he gets hurt and the famous “S” shield varies as the character was being developed.
Superman in this strip is a step, or a few steps, above a circus strongman accomplishing magnificent feats, underwear on the outside and all. The adventures are masterfully reproduced to insure enjoyment of fantastic storytelling, active imagination and the beginning of the greatest super-hero of all.
For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
This is a wonderful coffee table book with an amazing wraparound dustcover and excellent interior art. This is a large format, hardbound book in full color printed on prestige format paper – something unusual for today and a great value for the money.
As one might imagine, the book is a blast to read. Carefully reading and studying the panel, one could how Siegel and Shuster progressed as a writer and artist and their train of thought. Clark Kent is hardly mentioned, not surprising if you want kids to come back and read the strip the next week, Superman is not the all-powerful superhero, his powers haven’t yet fully developed (he doesn’t fly, just jumps real high). In one of the strips he gets hurt and the famous “S” shield varies as the character was being developed.
Superman in this strip is a step, or a few steps, above a circus strongman accomplishing magnificent feats, underwear on the outside and all. The adventures are masterfully reproduced to insure enjoyment of fantastic storytelling, active imagination and the beginning of the greatest super-hero of all.
For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
March 1, 2017
Golden Age Superman is the best: Socialism meets sci fi sensibilities. He punches lots of "robots" for the masses.
June 16, 2018
This is a companion volume to SUPERMAN: THE DAILIES, 1939-1942, which I recently reviewed. If you enjoyed that one, then you'll enjoy this one, too, and...well, perhaps that's all you really need to know. If you're still with me, though, then I'll explain why I like this book slightly better than the first one.
Reason #1: Color. I know that some "comic art nerds" argue for the superiority of black and white art, but to me, Superman is a character who practically begs to be in color. In the days when Sunday funnies were "a big deal," this strip probably popped out from the page. I can't compare this book's coloring to that of the original strips, but I liked it, and I think that it maintains a certain "old time feel."
Reason #2: Longer individual strips. It's an interesting trade off: Sunday strips are longer but only appear once a week. One can doubtless make arguments in favor of either the daily or Sunday format (I should probably note that, in SUPERMAN's case, the daily and Sunday strips presented twp different story continuities.), but personally, I enjoyed that the individual Sunday strips had more room to advance each story. I'd also argue that Superman works better in longer-form strips that provide more room for showcasing his powers. Of course, a collection like this adds another advantage, as it eliminates the week long wait between chapters.
Reason #3: The stories themselves. This is another personal preference, but I slightly preferred the Sunday stories to the daily stories. The daily stories became more whimsical and even sillier over time, whereas the Sundays mostly stuck to an old time adventure tone. In fact, this volume's stories strongly reminded me of the 1940s Fleischer Brothers movie cartoons, as they did hold similar tones, presented similar plots and had definite beginnings and endings. That's intended as a compliment, as most Superman fans hold those Fleischer cartoons in very high esteem.
Reason #4: The longer time span of this volume's strips. For me, the fascinating thing about a long-enduring character such as Superman is tracking the character's evolution over time. As the Sunday strips appeared only once a week, a collection of them naturally spans more time, and unlike the daily collection, this one continues further into World War II. That, in turn, shows us how the war changed the approach to the series, and we find the expected wartime propaganda along with stories about Nazi saboteurs. In one notable story, for example, Clark Kent and Lois Lane cover a war bond tour, which Nazis naturally try to sabotage (You'd THINK that Nazi spies in America would be more concerned with other matters - like trying to stop American manufacturers from producing weapons, e.g. - but apparently not.). Oddly enough, no one ever seems to wonder why Clark Kent hasn't been drafted or why Superman isn't in Europe helping our boys on the battlefield, but...perhaps that's just as well. Superman works best as escapism, and 1940s newspaper audiences probably appreciated a break from the real life wartime horrors detailed on the front page.
Reason #5: Bonus content. This volume ends with a contemporary newspaper advertisement of the strip, and a four page story originally published in LOOK magazine in February 1940. The latter, retroactively titled "How Would Superman End World War II?" shows the Man of Steel scooping up Hitler and Stalin and marching them before the League of Nations (Needless to say, this is before the U.S. entry into the war and before Hitler invaded the Soviet Union.). This content may not be necessary, but it's fun - sort of like the cherry on top of the sundae.
There you have it - five good reasons to like this book even better than the companion book that collects the dailies. Mind you, if you read both books and hold the opposite opinion, then that's fine, too. Either way, both books deliver plenty of Golden Age Superman fun, and as the kids today say, "It's all good!"
Reason #1: Color. I know that some "comic art nerds" argue for the superiority of black and white art, but to me, Superman is a character who practically begs to be in color. In the days when Sunday funnies were "a big deal," this strip probably popped out from the page. I can't compare this book's coloring to that of the original strips, but I liked it, and I think that it maintains a certain "old time feel."
Reason #2: Longer individual strips. It's an interesting trade off: Sunday strips are longer but only appear once a week. One can doubtless make arguments in favor of either the daily or Sunday format (I should probably note that, in SUPERMAN's case, the daily and Sunday strips presented twp different story continuities.), but personally, I enjoyed that the individual Sunday strips had more room to advance each story. I'd also argue that Superman works better in longer-form strips that provide more room for showcasing his powers. Of course, a collection like this adds another advantage, as it eliminates the week long wait between chapters.
Reason #3: The stories themselves. This is another personal preference, but I slightly preferred the Sunday stories to the daily stories. The daily stories became more whimsical and even sillier over time, whereas the Sundays mostly stuck to an old time adventure tone. In fact, this volume's stories strongly reminded me of the 1940s Fleischer Brothers movie cartoons, as they did hold similar tones, presented similar plots and had definite beginnings and endings. That's intended as a compliment, as most Superman fans hold those Fleischer cartoons in very high esteem.
Reason #4: The longer time span of this volume's strips. For me, the fascinating thing about a long-enduring character such as Superman is tracking the character's evolution over time. As the Sunday strips appeared only once a week, a collection of them naturally spans more time, and unlike the daily collection, this one continues further into World War II. That, in turn, shows us how the war changed the approach to the series, and we find the expected wartime propaganda along with stories about Nazi saboteurs. In one notable story, for example, Clark Kent and Lois Lane cover a war bond tour, which Nazis naturally try to sabotage (You'd THINK that Nazi spies in America would be more concerned with other matters - like trying to stop American manufacturers from producing weapons, e.g. - but apparently not.). Oddly enough, no one ever seems to wonder why Clark Kent hasn't been drafted or why Superman isn't in Europe helping our boys on the battlefield, but...perhaps that's just as well. Superman works best as escapism, and 1940s newspaper audiences probably appreciated a break from the real life wartime horrors detailed on the front page.
Reason #5: Bonus content. This volume ends with a contemporary newspaper advertisement of the strip, and a four page story originally published in LOOK magazine in February 1940. The latter, retroactively titled "How Would Superman End World War II?" shows the Man of Steel scooping up Hitler and Stalin and marching them before the League of Nations (Needless to say, this is before the U.S. entry into the war and before Hitler invaded the Soviet Union.). This content may not be necessary, but it's fun - sort of like the cherry on top of the sundae.
There you have it - five good reasons to like this book even better than the companion book that collects the dailies. Mind you, if you read both books and hold the opposite opinion, then that's fine, too. Either way, both books deliver plenty of Golden Age Superman fun, and as the kids today say, "It's all good!"
July 24, 2019
The first in a very long line of editions collecting the long running Superman comic strip of 1939-66. This volume has the first 3 years of the Sunday strips which comprised of a different story than that in the dailies.
I would love to eventually own all the these. But they're not cheap. Nor are all of them still in print. But when I can find them affordably, I'll snatch them up in a heartbeat. And no, unlike other series, I won't wait to read them until I have the complete in- order set!
This book reprints Superman's cosmic origin, following the Man of Steel through his first appearances in Metropolis. These early adventures have Superman battling giant robots, two-bit hoods, femme fatales and a half villain named Luthor.
Before the close of this volume, the United States and Superman enter the war effort against the Nazis and Imperial Japanese. Clark Kent and Lois Lane travel the nation covering the sale of war bonds and creation of new war machines only to stumble upon Nazi saboteurs! Good thing that the Man of Tomorrow is here to ensure freedom and democracy for today!
Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joel Shuster present their greatest creation in all of his art-deco glory. It's very much a product of its time. The men are all drawn to look like Jerome Kerr and the women are illustrated as the ever so sultry Veronica Lake and Dorothy Lamour. I love the 1930s style of the Superman logo. It's really classic stuff.
One thing that didn't transfer so we is the lettering. It's very pencil thin and tiny. Thus it's extremely hard to read. Seeing as these are nearly 80 year old reprints, the lettering is quite faded. You'd have thought that the editors of this omnibus would have doctored up the dialogue. But they didn't. Could it be that with so small a font any repair work would have damaged the artwork?
This is a great collection of early Superman comics. The art is breathtaking. But you need a magnifying glass to read these beauties. Aspirin too!
April 3, 2020
I'm absolutely loving it! The stories are not infantile and have a certain freshness over them; they're not heavy going but they are for a somewhat adult audience. They deal mostly with quite 'mundane' criminals, and there's very little science fiction in it. The artwork also is innovative; the superhero stock poses have not yet been fully figured out at the start of the run. Overall it's much superior to the 'barrel chest Superman" of a decade later.
It's neat to see Superman grow in a mere 4 years time; his leaping turns into (sort of) flying, his chest symbol turns into the logo still used. You can see that assistants are taking over, and that the drawing style changes somewhat, but at least they can use their talents and are not hamstrung as much as their colleagues who worked on Bob Kane's Batman and had to mimic Kane's wooden style.
The physical book is nicely done - it's glossy paper, but the original colours have been retained and you get a feel of what the strips would have looked like in the newspapers. The only drawback is that the dustcover contains new art, and not original '40s art.
Highly recommended!
It's neat to see Superman grow in a mere 4 years time; his leaping turns into (sort of) flying, his chest symbol turns into the logo still used. You can see that assistants are taking over, and that the drawing style changes somewhat, but at least they can use their talents and are not hamstrung as much as their colleagues who worked on Bob Kane's Batman and had to mimic Kane's wooden style.
The physical book is nicely done - it's glossy paper, but the original colours have been retained and you get a feel of what the strips would have looked like in the newspapers. The only drawback is that the dustcover contains new art, and not original '40s art.
Highly recommended!
October 8, 2020
Exactly what you would expect from Golden Age Superman but in some ways better, since Jerry Siegel was finally able to give to big blue some welcomed sci-fi and outlandish enemies different from the overdone and tiresome gangsters/racketeers from the action comics and superman solo titles. Supes seems also much more keen to quips and self-referential humour than in those series, again a welcomed change of pace. The only real gripe I have about this is that I don't particularly like some of the propaganda elements of the latter part of the book, especially comparing to the anti-militaristic vein of the original Action Comics #1 and #2, hence a 4.5. On the borderline rapey scene in which a guy spanks a woman and then proceeds to kiss her while unconscious, it's not funny in the slightest but I guess that it's in line with what was the ATROCIOUS romantic social norm back then (see Silver Age romance titles in that regard) as well as the 100% certified mysoginy of Jerry Siegel himself, a man not exactly fond of women in general as you would know by seeing the costant mistreatment/bashing of the first historical version of Lois Lane. Great art completes the package.
September 4, 2024
Not as strong as the Batman 40s Sunday classics collection (and less progressive, surprisingly - somehow I thought the Superman comics of this era would be as or more progressive than the Batman comics - not so) - less entertaining, fairly repetitive, and patronizing/jealous Clark Kent is pretty tiresome - this is one of the weaker Clark Kent iterations. Still decently entertaining, especially in the first half before the book gets taken over by propaganda comics (some of which are decent, but most of which are pretty boring, unsurprisingly), and the art is pretty good.
April 27, 2025
as much as i admire a lot of the stuff in Superman's early comic books...his newspaper comics take the cake! incredible artwork, more imaginative storylines, and a dynamic layout that lends itself to brevity and punch...eventually the team on the books would figure out a format that elevates the book (a few years in they start utilizing circles to highlight story pivots and break up the page) but this is as good as it gets for classic Superman, working class hero and guy who chases trains, beats up cool robots and foils (satanist?) Luthor!
January 22, 2022
It was interesting to see the early Superman comics. I found the art to be enjoyable, while the stories themselves were often a bit too redundant and absurd. Not truly knowing much about actual Superman comics going into this, I was impressed to see Lois wasn't simply a damsel in distress, but often was in those situations due to her bravery and willingness to go into any situation for a good lead story.
November 9, 2020
There's some fun stuff, but overall, it's fairly clunky. Lois Lane is just the absolute worst. There's not much more to say. This is back when Superman used to punch mobsters & Nazis most of the time. Occasional weird stuff like giants and robots don't really add enough spice. Superman was literally never my thing, even in his inception.
December 31, 2020
Ostensibly by Seigel and Shuster but with many hands helping out, including Wayne Bor-ing, one of the definitive Superman artists. There are some seriously lame stories here (gi-ant underground-dwelling hemophiliacs attacking surface dwellers to steal their blood!!!), and the best any of them get is mediocre, but there is also some nice art.
May 17, 2021
FINALLY- it takes SO long to read this thick horizontal!
I had to see the beginnings of Superman but this was too much in one book for me.
It got so repetitive watching him do everything to avoid the detection of Lois which obviously got ridiculous after the first few times.
I had to see the beginnings of Superman but this was too much in one book for me.
It got so repetitive watching him do everything to avoid the detection of Lois which obviously got ridiculous after the first few times.
September 26, 2020
Shuster's primitive sketchy artwork has its moments of breathtaking potential, gradually evolves to greater depth and solidity with many various assistants.
Stories derive from mundane post-Depression era/early WW2/spy threats, the most bizarre being the giant destructive robots and underground dwelling.
Early semi-recognizable (and explicitly-named) Luthor, Clark/Lois relationship.
1943-ish reference to (Fortress of Solitude precursor) mountain hideaway.
Logo improves from crude look but never seems to get to the polished version we're familiar with.
Lois nose gets better-defined.
Far into book before editor-in-chief is named "White", then "Perry White"
Reprints Look Magazine's 1940 What if Superman Won the War strip
Stories derive from mundane post-Depression era/early WW2/spy threats, the most bizarre being the giant destructive robots and underground dwelling.
Early semi-recognizable (and explicitly-named) Luthor, Clark/Lois relationship.
1943-ish reference to (Fortress of Solitude precursor) mountain hideaway.
Logo improves from crude look but never seems to get to the polished version we're familiar with.
Lois nose gets better-defined.
Far into book before editor-in-chief is named "White", then "Perry White"
Reprints Look Magazine's 1940 What if Superman Won the War strip
August 15, 2023
Super interesting to read this in light of the previous 80 years of comics, shows, and movies
July 23, 2013
In 1938, the first adventure of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s creation Superman saw print.
And made us all believe a man could leap tall buildings in a single bound.
With the celebrations and festivities filling the Geek world this year for the 75th birthday of Superman, I decided some time ago to finally read my accumulation of Golden Age volumes featuring the Man Of Steel. A journey to the beginning of it all, just to get a feel for the unknown decades to come.
Starting with The Superman Chronicles Volume One, than moving onto Superman Archives Volume One and Two, followed with Superman: The Dailies 1939-1942 and Superman: The Sunday Classics 1939-1943, I consumed the lion share of those early years.
And what an interesting time they were!
Siegel the writer and Shuster the artist created and recreated their Superman many times over the years, hoping to eventually make it into a newspaper strip, which at the time was considered the prized destination for all truly great comic strips. When, by luck and by chance they were rescued from the slush pile, history was changed. And as the character skyrocketed in popularity, small changes moved through the strip, bringing what could be called a proto-Superman more into the version so many of us know today.
They start off with the bare bones origins, rocketed from an unnamed planet, being found on Earth, growing up with great powers, and deciding to help mankind. So many of the other tropes, such as Ma and Pa Kent, their guidance of young Clark Kent, and their demise, are not introduced yet.
The story quickly jumps straight into the action, so to speak, with Superman making his very first public appearance stopping a lynching. They establish very fast that he is a man who believes in law and order and proper government. He will talk to you nice at first, but if you push the point, the fists will fly. The rest of the tale has Superman striving to clear the condemned man in time, and along the way he storms the Governor’s mansion. Shortly after, he teaches a wife beater a lesson, finally lands a date with Lois, and then smashes a car up just like they show on that famous cover.
It is quite a lot to take in, but it is amazing how much they establish right away.
The social justice themes become a hallmark of Siegel and Shuster’s work, with war profiteers, corrupt government officials, and nefarious conspiracies to destabilize the economy, being constant staples of their work. Also Lois Lane is immediately set-up, first slightly bitchy, then more compassionate over time. Any junior league psycho-analysis could have a field day figuring out these young men’s visions of women. And early on they introduce Lex Luther, making him a red haired super scientist master of crime. All this and the occasional emo moment from Supes, the kind of sentiment that Smallville would milk ten seasons out of.
One interesting facet, which so many other variations from John Byrne’s Man of Steel to Smallville to It’s Superman to the current Man Of Steel movie, all featured is the concept of Superman as an urban legend. Even with media reports of his exploits, you can quickly lose count of the amount of times some crook will exclaim “Superman! You’re Real!” This only abates after War World Two kicks into high gear and Superman becomes a good friend and ally of the army.
By that time many artists, who had already been ghosting for years for Shuster, who suffered from extremely bad eyesight, became a lot more noticeable. While Shuster had a somewhat rougher style, these other artists had a more refined look to them. Wayne Boring, who became one of the pre-eminent Superman artists years later, was one of these “helpers.” It is also obvious that Siegel improves his storytelling skills as the years go by. While little moments and some dialogue exchanges are well done, quite often the overall plots are filled with could best be described as wonky developments and logic leaps. Sometimes it is best to just read and not think.
Another constant over these volumes is the powers being increased quite abit, with the strength and speed becoming more extravagant very quickly. The leaping is pretty much flying by the 1940’s, but is still never called that. The super senses are present and accounted for right off the bat, and the X-ray vision slips into the story like it was there all along. Knowing all we know now, these powers just popping up seem anti-climatic at best.
But in so many ways, these lookbacks to 75 years ago helps us see how far these concepts and characters have come. And the nitpicks and critiques in the present, just like mine here, have to really remember the point of 1938 Superman.
He was made by Siegel and Shuster to entertain children. A man of great strength and passion and justice who would inspire people everywhere.
A man who will make you believe a leap can become flying.
And made us all believe a man could leap tall buildings in a single bound.
With the celebrations and festivities filling the Geek world this year for the 75th birthday of Superman, I decided some time ago to finally read my accumulation of Golden Age volumes featuring the Man Of Steel. A journey to the beginning of it all, just to get a feel for the unknown decades to come.
Starting with The Superman Chronicles Volume One, than moving onto Superman Archives Volume One and Two, followed with Superman: The Dailies 1939-1942 and Superman: The Sunday Classics 1939-1943, I consumed the lion share of those early years.
And what an interesting time they were!
Siegel the writer and Shuster the artist created and recreated their Superman many times over the years, hoping to eventually make it into a newspaper strip, which at the time was considered the prized destination for all truly great comic strips. When, by luck and by chance they were rescued from the slush pile, history was changed. And as the character skyrocketed in popularity, small changes moved through the strip, bringing what could be called a proto-Superman more into the version so many of us know today.
They start off with the bare bones origins, rocketed from an unnamed planet, being found on Earth, growing up with great powers, and deciding to help mankind. So many of the other tropes, such as Ma and Pa Kent, their guidance of young Clark Kent, and their demise, are not introduced yet.
The story quickly jumps straight into the action, so to speak, with Superman making his very first public appearance stopping a lynching. They establish very fast that he is a man who believes in law and order and proper government. He will talk to you nice at first, but if you push the point, the fists will fly. The rest of the tale has Superman striving to clear the condemned man in time, and along the way he storms the Governor’s mansion. Shortly after, he teaches a wife beater a lesson, finally lands a date with Lois, and then smashes a car up just like they show on that famous cover.
It is quite a lot to take in, but it is amazing how much they establish right away.
The social justice themes become a hallmark of Siegel and Shuster’s work, with war profiteers, corrupt government officials, and nefarious conspiracies to destabilize the economy, being constant staples of their work. Also Lois Lane is immediately set-up, first slightly bitchy, then more compassionate over time. Any junior league psycho-analysis could have a field day figuring out these young men’s visions of women. And early on they introduce Lex Luther, making him a red haired super scientist master of crime. All this and the occasional emo moment from Supes, the kind of sentiment that Smallville would milk ten seasons out of.
One interesting facet, which so many other variations from John Byrne’s Man of Steel to Smallville to It’s Superman to the current Man Of Steel movie, all featured is the concept of Superman as an urban legend. Even with media reports of his exploits, you can quickly lose count of the amount of times some crook will exclaim “Superman! You’re Real!” This only abates after War World Two kicks into high gear and Superman becomes a good friend and ally of the army.
By that time many artists, who had already been ghosting for years for Shuster, who suffered from extremely bad eyesight, became a lot more noticeable. While Shuster had a somewhat rougher style, these other artists had a more refined look to them. Wayne Boring, who became one of the pre-eminent Superman artists years later, was one of these “helpers.” It is also obvious that Siegel improves his storytelling skills as the years go by. While little moments and some dialogue exchanges are well done, quite often the overall plots are filled with could best be described as wonky developments and logic leaps. Sometimes it is best to just read and not think.
Another constant over these volumes is the powers being increased quite abit, with the strength and speed becoming more extravagant very quickly. The leaping is pretty much flying by the 1940’s, but is still never called that. The super senses are present and accounted for right off the bat, and the X-ray vision slips into the story like it was there all along. Knowing all we know now, these powers just popping up seem anti-climatic at best.
But in so many ways, these lookbacks to 75 years ago helps us see how far these concepts and characters have come. And the nitpicks and critiques in the present, just like mine here, have to really remember the point of 1938 Superman.
He was made by Siegel and Shuster to entertain children. A man of great strength and passion and justice who would inspire people everywhere.
A man who will make you believe a leap can become flying.
April 10, 2016
Read this review and more on my blog.
Check out my review on Youtube.
Superman: Sunday Classics collects all of Superman's Sunday comic strips from 1939 til 1943 and puts them all together in what ended up being a very fun read.
To say Superman was a different person at the start is an understatement.
Superman: Sunday Classics 1939 - 1943 collects all of the Sunday Comic strips and puts them all together into an easy to read collection. It is better read as a coffee table read than how you would read a novel, but anyone who enjoys Superman as a character, or maybe just enjoys DC Comics, will find this surprisingly enjoyable.
Whether these Sunday comic strips came before Superman's comic books is not clearly explained (though how I interpreted it was that Superman was in these comic strips first), but either way, the Superman that was introduced back in 1939 was a very different character to the one that we all think of today. He was still from Krypton, but I will leave it up to you to read it if you wish to find out what was different about him.
None of the iconic super villains were introduced within these comic strips, but towards the end of this collection, the villains that Superman faced changed from petty thief's and the like to people that we would picture as villains in a comic book universe.
At the start, about 10 pages are dedicated as to how Siegel and Shuster came up with the idea of Superman, and how they went about getting him to become a published character.
I did very much enjoy find out about Superman's origin, and who long it took Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster to actually get Superman into the Sunday Newspapers shows that nothing good comes easy.
Check out my review on Youtube.
Superman: Sunday Classics collects all of Superman's Sunday comic strips from 1939 til 1943 and puts them all together in what ended up being a very fun read.
To say Superman was a different person at the start is an understatement.
Superman: Sunday Classics 1939 - 1943 collects all of the Sunday Comic strips and puts them all together into an easy to read collection. It is better read as a coffee table read than how you would read a novel, but anyone who enjoys Superman as a character, or maybe just enjoys DC Comics, will find this surprisingly enjoyable.
Whether these Sunday comic strips came before Superman's comic books is not clearly explained (though how I interpreted it was that Superman was in these comic strips first), but either way, the Superman that was introduced back in 1939 was a very different character to the one that we all think of today. He was still from Krypton, but I will leave it up to you to read it if you wish to find out what was different about him.
None of the iconic super villains were introduced within these comic strips, but towards the end of this collection, the villains that Superman faced changed from petty thief's and the like to people that we would picture as villains in a comic book universe.
At the start, about 10 pages are dedicated as to how Siegel and Shuster came up with the idea of Superman, and how they went about getting him to become a published character.
I did very much enjoy find out about Superman's origin, and who long it took Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster to actually get Superman into the Sunday Newspapers shows that nothing good comes easy.
January 19, 2013
This book contains the first nearly three and a half years or so of Superman strips that appeared in Sunday papers. These run parallel to the Daily Strips that have been collected in other works.
The multi-part series are solid golden age Superman stories told over the course of several weeks. There are no story lines that are poor though a few seem more improbable than usual. The last five strip stories turn solidly towards World War II as Superman helps out fundraising in Hollywood and on various national defense projects,including helping a young man grow up to face the challenges of war time.
If you're a fan of the Golden Age Lois Lane, this is also a great book because she features prominently in every strip. Her extreme bravado is particularly pronounced in the series entitled Luthor: Master of Evil in which Lois attacks Clark for not wanting to go out into the midst of a Hurricane.
The art in that particular story is superb, particularly the scenes with Lois and Superman in the hurricane. It's Golden Age Comic art as good as it gets and makes the book a great read for fans of Superman.
The multi-part series are solid golden age Superman stories told over the course of several weeks. There are no story lines that are poor though a few seem more improbable than usual. The last five strip stories turn solidly towards World War II as Superman helps out fundraising in Hollywood and on various national defense projects,including helping a young man grow up to face the challenges of war time.
If you're a fan of the Golden Age Lois Lane, this is also a great book because she features prominently in every strip. Her extreme bravado is particularly pronounced in the series entitled Luthor: Master of Evil in which Lois attacks Clark for not wanting to go out into the midst of a Hurricane.
The art in that particular story is superb, particularly the scenes with Lois and Superman in the hurricane. It's Golden Age Comic art as good as it gets and makes the book a great read for fans of Superman.
June 11, 2010
I have been a fan of Superman as long as I can remember. Mostly from the never ending reruns on WPIX TV in NYC where I grew up. Being a child of the fifties, it was required that you run around in your PJ's with a towel your mom pinned to you, pretending to be the Man of Steel.
..But I digress! This book is a compilation of all the Sunday newspaper strips featuring Superman in his original form. He doesn't fly.. but he CAN "Leap Tall Buildings in a single bound". Subsequently, the character of the early Superman is much like the Spiderman we've all come to know from DC's rival Marvel. He climbs buildings, and makes wise cracks as he is performing impossible feats! Siegal and Shuster lay the groundwork for the relationship Clark has with Lois, but at times it is truly contentious.. but overall I found it a great insight into the formation of what has become America's comic icon.
..But I digress! This book is a compilation of all the Sunday newspaper strips featuring Superman in his original form. He doesn't fly.. but he CAN "Leap Tall Buildings in a single bound". Subsequently, the character of the early Superman is much like the Spiderman we've all come to know from DC's rival Marvel. He climbs buildings, and makes wise cracks as he is performing impossible feats! Siegal and Shuster lay the groundwork for the relationship Clark has with Lois, but at times it is truly contentious.. but overall I found it a great insight into the formation of what has become America's comic icon.
November 14, 2012
Chunky book with a few years' worth os Superman comics from the Sunday editions of newspapers of the years 1939-1943. Great book for kids on a rainy afternoon. The big problem is the tiny print. Otehrwise, the book is huge, heavy, and can take repeated visits.
This was one of several books I picked up along the way to fill the taste for comics in my kids. When I was a kid, newspapers were affordable, lively, and had several pages of cartoons that kids could read without adults wondering what the heck the editors and artists were thinking. We had to cancel our newspaper because of cost, irrelevance, and the increasing sexual content of the comics. A book like this goes a long way to providing simple entertainment. We also just love how Superman doesn't care one whit about the rights of criminals- he was one tough guy when it came to the bad guys!
This was one of several books I picked up along the way to fill the taste for comics in my kids. When I was a kid, newspapers were affordable, lively, and had several pages of cartoons that kids could read without adults wondering what the heck the editors and artists were thinking. We had to cancel our newspaper because of cost, irrelevance, and the increasing sexual content of the comics. A book like this goes a long way to providing simple entertainment. We also just love how Superman doesn't care one whit about the rights of criminals- he was one tough guy when it came to the bad guys!
October 27, 2016
Really interesting to see the early days of Superman.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews