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Superman Archives #2
Superman Archives, Vol. 2
These are the stories that catapulted Superman into the spotlight as one of the world's premier heroes of fiction. These volumes feature his earliest adventures, when the full extent of his powers was still developing and his foes were often bank robbers and crooked politicians.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
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43 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Siegel
620 books82 followersJerome "Jerry" Siegel, who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S. Fine, was the American co-creator of Superman (along with Joe Shuster), the first of the great comic book superheroes and one of the most recognizable icons of the 20th century.
He and Shuster were inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1993.
He and Shuster were inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1993.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 28, 2020
More early stories from the dawn of the Golden Age. This volume contains some of the first Superman tales to feature a splash page. As Ron Goulart points out in his introduction, they weren't in fashion when the title began, and don't really begin to appear until Superman #6.
The early Superman shows a remarkably callous disregard for human life when it comes to criminals. In Luthor’s second appearance, the man of steel deliberately crashes into the fleeing mastermind’s plane and watches the wreckage sink beneath the waters of a nearby lake(?). “The end of Luthor!” he dramatically declares. As comics fans, we all know that Luthor was never heard from again. In “The Rules of Gateston” (Superman #6), he deliberately allows a car full of crooks to plummet to their deaths after they run a freight truck off the road. “Only time to save one of them!” our hero declares. In the same story, he also casually knocks another carload of crooks off a bridge. Since he does this while dressed as Clark Kent, we can presume that they perish, though their fate isn't explicitly stated. These are hardly isolated incidents. These early tales are full of criminals being killed by bullet ricochets and their own explosions and so on, often with Superman on hand to remark how they got what they deserved or similar sentiments.
An overused device in these early stories is that of rendering people--often Lois--unconscious by touching a nerve in their neck. I understand that they need to be out cold until the police arrive or to prevent them from seeing Clark change to Superman or whatever, but it happens just a little too often. Also overused is the device of framing Clark or Lois for various crimes, often murder.
Other random thoughts on this volume:
Forgotten super powers #1: In “Luthor’s Incense Menace” (Superman #5), Superman can literally alter his facial features--including changing the color of his hair and growing a mustache. “Studying Mosely’s figure closely, Superman contorts his features so that they are identical to those of the leader of industry …”
How is Superman’s secret identity still a mystery when he signs the front cover of Superman #6 as “Clark Kent (Superman)”?
Forgotten super powers #2: In “The Construction Racket” (Superman #6), Clark volunteers to provide a blood transfusion to save Lois’ life. “Your blood conforms to *all four* types!“ gasps the doctor.
Some of the character names approach Chester Gould levels of inventive punning.
Although the obligatory text page stories are often forgettable, I note that one of them is credited to the one and only Gardner Fox.
The setup for “The Gay City Plague” (Superman #7) is incredibly bizarre: “Suddenly--as two strolling citizens collide, they *fall apart* …!” Definitely one of the strangest menaces ever!
Re: the splash panel of “The Black Gang” (Superman #7). What is *with* that guy’s pose? I mean, I understand he’s being shot, but, what, was he dancing in the middle of the park?
I'm not sure who did the lettering on “The Fifth Column” (Superman #8), but they have an annoying habit of putting a kink into their “N”s so that they often resemble “K”s. It gets akkoyikg as f-cn at times …
Although crude by modern standards, there's a power and innocence to these tales that's refreshing in many ways. Recommended!
The early Superman shows a remarkably callous disregard for human life when it comes to criminals. In Luthor’s second appearance, the man of steel deliberately crashes into the fleeing mastermind’s plane and watches the wreckage sink beneath the waters of a nearby lake(?). “The end of Luthor!” he dramatically declares. As comics fans, we all know that Luthor was never heard from again. In “The Rules of Gateston” (Superman #6), he deliberately allows a car full of crooks to plummet to their deaths after they run a freight truck off the road. “Only time to save one of them!” our hero declares. In the same story, he also casually knocks another carload of crooks off a bridge. Since he does this while dressed as Clark Kent, we can presume that they perish, though their fate isn't explicitly stated. These are hardly isolated incidents. These early tales are full of criminals being killed by bullet ricochets and their own explosions and so on, often with Superman on hand to remark how they got what they deserved or similar sentiments.
An overused device in these early stories is that of rendering people--often Lois--unconscious by touching a nerve in their neck. I understand that they need to be out cold until the police arrive or to prevent them from seeing Clark change to Superman or whatever, but it happens just a little too often. Also overused is the device of framing Clark or Lois for various crimes, often murder.
Other random thoughts on this volume:
Forgotten super powers #1: In “Luthor’s Incense Menace” (Superman #5), Superman can literally alter his facial features--including changing the color of his hair and growing a mustache. “Studying Mosely’s figure closely, Superman contorts his features so that they are identical to those of the leader of industry …”
How is Superman’s secret identity still a mystery when he signs the front cover of Superman #6 as “Clark Kent (Superman)”?
Forgotten super powers #2: In “The Construction Racket” (Superman #6), Clark volunteers to provide a blood transfusion to save Lois’ life. “Your blood conforms to *all four* types!“ gasps the doctor.
Some of the character names approach Chester Gould levels of inventive punning.
Although the obligatory text page stories are often forgettable, I note that one of them is credited to the one and only Gardner Fox.
The setup for “The Gay City Plague” (Superman #7) is incredibly bizarre: “Suddenly--as two strolling citizens collide, they *fall apart* …!” Definitely one of the strangest menaces ever!
Re: the splash panel of “The Black Gang” (Superman #7). What is *with* that guy’s pose? I mean, I understand he’s being shot, but, what, was he dancing in the middle of the park?
I'm not sure who did the lettering on “The Fifth Column” (Superman #8), but they have an annoying habit of putting a kink into their “N”s so that they often resemble “K”s. It gets akkoyikg as f-cn at times …
Although crude by modern standards, there's a power and innocence to these tales that's refreshing in many ways. Recommended!
April 27, 2018
I enjoy, upon occasion, going back and reading the Golden Age comics. Things were simpler and more obvious back then. You knew who the bad guy was cause he was the one the hero was punching. Villains did bad things and heroes stopped them. Top of this list was of course Superman, he always fought the good fight and brought justice to the wicked. It's nice to just lose yourself in this older simpler view of the world sometimes. Recommended
October 18, 2019
This one is for nostalgia buffs. It's an archived edition of four complete Superman comics from 1940 (Issues 5-8). Superman actually started appearing in Action Comics from 1938, but the ones in this edition are from the Superman comics that were completely devoted to 'the man of tomorrow'. As they've reprinted the complete comic books, it also includes short stories, ads, letters from Superman to his fans and a few funny shorts.
These stories don't have as much of the sci-fi element as later adventures. This Superman is more likely to fight gangsters, racketeers, corruption, and shady businessmen. Obviously the storylines, narrative and dialogue are dated now. One whole story is set in Gay City! However, if you read the stories within their historical context, it's fascinating. This was before Pearl Harbor, so America had not yet entered WWII. In one story, Superman must defeat fifth-columnists from South America who are trying to sabotage American industry. Indeed the whole book is very patriotic towards the US. In another story, Superman defeats a racketeer who tempts kids to put their lunch money in rigged slot machines. The story finishes with Superman turning to the readers in the last frame and saying 'I urge all my readers not to throw their money away wastefully into slot machines'. Yes, it's moralistic, but fighting for good and defeating the forces of darkness are at the heart of all true superhero tales
Lois Lane is much feistier than the Noel Neill version from the 1950s TV series. She reminds me of some of the leading ladies from gangster movies and film noir from that era. Clark Kent is much more insipid and she doesn't have much time for him. If only she knew he was Superman!
If you're looking for something with today's sensibilities, this might not be for you. However, I loved the nostalgia value. If you want a taste of the original, there's a lot to enjoy in this volume.
These stories don't have as much of the sci-fi element as later adventures. This Superman is more likely to fight gangsters, racketeers, corruption, and shady businessmen. Obviously the storylines, narrative and dialogue are dated now. One whole story is set in Gay City! However, if you read the stories within their historical context, it's fascinating. This was before Pearl Harbor, so America had not yet entered WWII. In one story, Superman must defeat fifth-columnists from South America who are trying to sabotage American industry. Indeed the whole book is very patriotic towards the US. In another story, Superman defeats a racketeer who tempts kids to put their lunch money in rigged slot machines. The story finishes with Superman turning to the readers in the last frame and saying 'I urge all my readers not to throw their money away wastefully into slot machines'. Yes, it's moralistic, but fighting for good and defeating the forces of darkness are at the heart of all true superhero tales
Lois Lane is much feistier than the Noel Neill version from the 1950s TV series. She reminds me of some of the leading ladies from gangster movies and film noir from that era. Clark Kent is much more insipid and she doesn't have much time for him. If only she knew he was Superman!
If you're looking for something with today's sensibilities, this might not be for you. However, I loved the nostalgia value. If you want a taste of the original, there's a lot to enjoy in this volume.
January 20, 2022
This is the second set of Superman stories from his inception back in the late 30s. The world's first "superhero," he had captured the imagination of kids of the era, and his popularity had soared to the point that he was now in two bi-monthly comics instead of one quarterly. This is back when 10 cents would buy you 64 pages of art and story, whereas today you get 22 pages for $4-$5.
The artist in particular couldn't keep up the pace, so in this set, other artists have stepped up to help, often an improvement. The stories unfortunately aren't very good, with the nadir, in my opinion, being Superman taking on carnival games operators.
This set of issues are chiefly interesting for two reasons: the changing powers of Superman and the advertisements.
We see telescopic and xray vision, super-hearing, and sometimes he seems to be flying, although at this point they're still sticking with him leaping everywhere. In one issue he uses his hands to reshape his facial features to exactly mimic someone else. I wonder if he ever used that power again.
The advertisements show the increasing popularity of super-characters, as other titles are shown, among them Adventure, More Fun, Flash, and All-Star. Batman also has two titles running by this point. In the final issue in this collection, All-Star Comics #3 is advertised, which introduced the first super-team ever, the Justice Society of America. Other ads include the usual kid-targeted ads for BB guns and the like, but also frequently Baby Ruth, advertised as a source of healthy dextrose, and later Butterfinger. Particularly interesting were the appearance of ads for licensed Superman toys and clothes as well as the radio shows.
All in all, not fun to read for the stories, but really fun to read as a look back in time. Imagine buying these off the newsstands for 10 cents and now have them being worth millions of dollars.
The artist in particular couldn't keep up the pace, so in this set, other artists have stepped up to help, often an improvement. The stories unfortunately aren't very good, with the nadir, in my opinion, being Superman taking on carnival games operators.
This set of issues are chiefly interesting for two reasons: the changing powers of Superman and the advertisements.
We see telescopic and xray vision, super-hearing, and sometimes he seems to be flying, although at this point they're still sticking with him leaping everywhere. In one issue he uses his hands to reshape his facial features to exactly mimic someone else. I wonder if he ever used that power again.
The advertisements show the increasing popularity of super-characters, as other titles are shown, among them Adventure, More Fun, Flash, and All-Star. Batman also has two titles running by this point. In the final issue in this collection, All-Star Comics #3 is advertised, which introduced the first super-team ever, the Justice Society of America. Other ads include the usual kid-targeted ads for BB guns and the like, but also frequently Baby Ruth, advertised as a source of healthy dextrose, and later Butterfinger. Particularly interesting were the appearance of ads for licensed Superman toys and clothes as well as the radio shows.
All in all, not fun to read for the stories, but really fun to read as a look back in time. Imagine buying these off the newsstands for 10 cents and now have them being worth millions of dollars.
October 29, 2023
A crapfest that is only of historical interest.
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.
March 10, 2017
This is the Old Testament Superman, stern, wrathful and unbothered about killing. He has the body of a classical statue and it powerfully contorts in front of stark panels of odd color tones. The villains at this point aren't sophisticated, except for the mysterious Moriarty-like Ultra, he contends with criminals who have no idea of his powers or his reputation. There is such energy to these stories. Thrilling.
September 29, 2011
i'm really suprized, this is the best Superman book i've ever read. the stories are fresh, most not having been reprinted, Shuster's art gets better w/each story and so does Jerry Siegel's writing. Superman is unknown in Metropolis, just a myth or story, gradually people begin to hear of him. Lois Lane is a strong woman character, not the helpless twit she later becomes. and Superman's powers begin to become greater.
a really enjoyable read!
a really enjoyable read!
August 25, 2015
A great volume in the series, with Superman starting to look and act like the Man of Steel finally. He's not killing people anymore, and he battles Luthor in this book (for the first time).
This one has some great Joe Shuster artwork, and the stories are fairly believable and rational for the era.
This one has some great Joe Shuster artwork, and the stories are fairly believable and rational for the era.
June 19, 2015
More original tales of Jerry Siegel's Superman, though I have to admit they feel too realistic what with most of his villains being ordinary criminals.
Nice throwbacks here and there.
B+
Nice throwbacks here and there.
B+
January 7, 2016
action 80
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