Book Description
The first Silver Age Superman Archive, reprinting ACTIONCOMICS #241-247 and SUPERMAN #122-126 (1958-1959)! This volume, with anintroduction by Mark Waid, features the debuts of the Fortress of Solitude,Brainiac, Kandor, the Super-Pets, and much more!
Customer Reviews:
Superman Archives Stories in Showcase Presents.......2006-02-22
Potential buyers might like to know that all 20 stories in Superman: Man of Tomorrow Archives: Volume 1, as listed by a previous reviewer, appear in Showcase Presents Superman: Volume 1. The stories in Showcase are in black and white, not colour, and the volume includes many more Superman tales from the Superman and Action comics. People who have already acquired Showcase Presents Superman: Volume 1 might like to consider whether or not they wish to buy the same stories (in colour) in the Superman: Man of Tomorrow Archives: Volume 1.
Silver Age Superman goodness.......2004-11-11
Much like "Batman: The Dynamic Duo Archives", "Superman: The Man of Tomorrow Archives" represents a jump ahead from the Golden Age material found the "Superman Archives", "Superman: The Action Comics Archives", and "Superman in the World's Finest Archives". And as with the "Dynamic Duo", there isn't any "official" reason for DC to have chosen to have done this, beyond a desire to get Silver Age material out there. Plus, let's face it, Superman and Batman have been, and ever shall be, DC Comics Big Guns. From the get go, both characters appeared in many differnt series, and multiple "Archives" sub-series is warranted (although why this leap is made NOW is anyone's guess).
With the Silver Age of comics begun in 1956, and a whole variety of characters from the Golden Age being rewritten from scratch, it made sense to revisit the company's flagship character. However, what DC with Superman was not a dramatic rewrite, a la, the Flash. Starting in 1958, "Action Comics" and "Superman" saw the science fiction elements of the Superman mythos developed. It also saw a renewed focus on the "Superman Family", as Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, and eventually, Supergirl, got their own solo series. The New Deal Crusader Superman started out as was left behind, and the Galaxy Spanning Boyscout took his place. Everything popular culture remembers Superman for (the city of Kandor and the other survivors of Krypton, the Fortress of Solitude, etc.) appeared at this time, as did a more diverse and challenging rogues gallery.
We owe this creative shift to editor Mort Weisinger and his stable, most notably artists Wayne Boring (the definitive Superman artist for most the 1950s, and definitely one of my favorite Superman artists), Al Plastino, Kurt Schaffenberger, and Curt Swan, as well a writer Otto Binder, among others.
As this is material from the Silver Age, a reader of modern comics has to take these stories as they find them (thank you, Dr. Wertham). The focus on character development that is pretty much taken for granted in today's comics is absent. The stories are more plot-driven. This can be a mixed blessing. When the stories are good, well-thought out and imaginative, then the story is a treat, and you smile with joy. A good exmaple is the first story of the collection "The Super-key to Fort Superman", in which we see the Fortress of Solitude for the first time. Despite its reputed impregnability, someone has snuck into the fortress, leaving notes for Superman that threaten impending doom.
It was at this time the Superman villains got a much- needed boost. While Superman always tangled with Lex Luthor, most of his enemies weren't any physical match. This changed with the introduction of Brainiac (in "The Super-Duel in Space"), the evil android who travels the galaxy, shrinking cities for the purpose of building his own empire. The most important of these cities is Kandor, a Kryptonian city taken just before the planet exploded.
The stories weren't exclusively sci-fi. In "The Steeplejack of Steel" Clark Kent goes undercover on a construction site to catch a fraudulent builder. The crooks various attempts to knock-off this undercover snitch are amusing, and the story is a nice reminder that Superman is, by profession, a reporter, and does as much good in that job as when he's wearing a cape.
The relationship with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are also well explored. In "Mrs. Superman", due to a series of plot (amusing) contrivances, Clark and Lois are trapped together on an island. Believing their situation to be hopeless, Clark comes clean, and proposes marriage. Naturally, things change so they can escape, and the real conflict is how Clark fools Lois into thinking he's not Superman. In the "Girl of Steel", Jimmy uses a magic artifact to grant Superman three wishes, one of which is a proto-type Supergirl. While this character vanishes at the end of the story, she did pave the way for Kara Zor-el, Superman's cousin.
As I said, not every story is great. The most glaring example is "The Return of Superman's Lost Parents" in which Clark's Earth-parents, the Kents (long dead) come forward in time to visit him. Of course, that's not what's going on, but the big problem I had was swallowing the idea that Clark would accept this couple without suspicion.
Aside from occasional clunker, the whole collection is a treat. Of course, in 1985, DC did an elaborate restructuring of continuity, so none of these stories are canon. This was a bit of a mixed-blesing. Change can be good. Lois Lane's perpetual schemes to marry Superman don't seem a particularly enlightened view of women. On the other hand, change can be bad. Brainiac was much more interesting before 1985 than he is now..
There is an element of innocence in this book that's really quite enjoyable. So while the Silver Age will always be hit and miss for me, the hits are far greater than the misses, and reading extremely fun. I look forward to volume 2. I do wonder if Wonder Woman (the third character of DC's "Holy Trinity") will be getting the Silver Age jump. I also wonder if "DC Comics Presents", the more recent team-up book staring Superman, is considered "Archive" worthy.
One of DC's best Archives ever!!!!!!!.......2004-10-31
I just received my copy a few days ago. What a swell Superman collection from the 1950's. 20 fantastic adventures with the "Man of Tomorrow!" The stories from Superman and Action Comics are presented in original release order starting from June 1958. The first story is thought to be the starting of the Silver Age of comics for Superman, and is the adventure presenting Superman's first visit to the Fortress of Solitude. If I personally had chosen where to start in presenting the best Superman stories of all time, it would have been with the exact same issue!
"The Adventures of Superman" TV show had recently ended. For many years in the 50's the Superman comics emulated the TV show, and unfortunately did not use the full canvas available in the comic medium. This set represents the first steps in exploring all of the fun and crazy ideas that could only be presented in the comic format. The giant fortress and key alone in the first issue would destroy any TV budget. In this collection we get adventures from under the sea to outer space! The Kryptonian city in a bottle (Kandor) is introduced as well as arch villain Braniac! These stories are fun and appropriate for any age. Many of the stories are 8 pages long and can keep my 4 year old interested.
If you are curious about the best Superman stories ever created, then this is the perfect place to start. The artwork is presented beautifully and is drawn by some of the best Superman artists of all time including some early work from the greatest and most prolific Superman artist of all, Curt Swan!!!
I've been waiting for this set since the DC Archives began over 15 years ago, and here it is! If you get half of the enjoyment out of it that I have, it will be more than worth the purchase price! :-)
Here are the contents of the "Man of Tomorrow" Archive!
Action 241 (June 1958)
"The Super-Key To Fort Superman"
Writer: Jerry Coleman
Artist: Wayne Boring
[First appearance of Arctic Fortress of Solitude; generally considered to mark the beginning of Superman's "Silver Age"]
- reprinted in the Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told, and Superman Annual 1, among other places
Superman 122 (July 1958)
"The Secret of the Space Souvenirs"
Writer: Otto Binder?
Artist: Al Plastino
- reprinted in Best of DC digest 12
"Superman In the White House"
Writer: ?
Artist: Al Plastino
[Semi-imaginary story - Jimmy Olsen dreams of Superman becoming President]
- reprinted in Superman Annual 7
"The Super-Sergeant"
Writer: ?
Penciller: Wayne Boring
Inker: Stan Kaye
Action 242 (July 1958)
"The Super-Duel In Space"
Writer: Otto Binder
Artist: Al Plastino
[First appearance of Brainiac; first appearance of Kandor]
- reprinted in Superman Annual 2, and Superman 217 giant
Superman 123 (August 1958)
"The Girl of Steel"
Writer: Otto Binder
Penciller: Dick Sprang
Inker: Stan Kaye
[Prototype "Super-Girl" appears in this story]
-Reprinted in Supergirl Archives volume 1, Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told, among other places
Action 243 (August 1958)
"The Lady and the Lion"
Writer: Otto Binder
Penciller: Wayne Boring
Inker: Stan Kaye
[Superman vs. Circe - Kandor cameo appearance]
- reprinted in Superman Annual 3
Superman 124 (September 1958)
"The Super-Sword"
Writer: Jerry Coleman?
Artist: Al Plastino
- reprinted in Superman Annual 7
"Mrs. Superman"
Writer: Otto Binder
Artist: Kurt Schaffenberger
[Clark & Lois are trapped on a desert isle. Believing his powers permanently gone, Clark reveals his identity and proposes marriage (!!)]
- reprinted in 80-page giant 14 from 1965
"The Steeplejack of Steel"
Writer: Otto Binder
Penciller: Wayne Boring
Inker: Stan Kaye
Action 244 (September 1958)
"The Super-Merman of the Sea"
Writer: Otto Binder
Penciller: Curt Swan
Inker: George Klein
[Introduction of undersea Fortress of Solitude]
- reprinted in Superman 187 giant
Action 245 (October 1958)
"The Shrinking Superman"
Writer: ?
Penciller: Wayne Boring
Inker: Stan Kaye
[First Kandorian villain (Zak-kul), first use of an "enlarging" ray by a Kandorian]
Superman 125 (November 1958)
"Lois Lane's Super-Dream"
Writer: Jerry Coleman
Artist: Kurt Schaffenberger
[semi-imaginary story in which Lois dreams she acquires super-powers]
- reprinted in Lois Lane Annual 1
"Clark Kent's College Days"
Writer: Jerry Coleman
Artist: Al Plastino
[Flashback relates when "Superboy" became "Superman" during Clark's college years]
- reprinted in Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told, Superman 183 giant
"Superman's Mystery Power"
Writer: Jerry Coleman?
Penciller: Wayne Boring
Inker: Stan Kaye
- reprinted in Superman Annual 7
Action 246 (November 1958)
"Krypton On Earth"
Writer: ?
Penciller: Wayne Boring
Inker: Stan Kaye
Action 247 (December 1958)
"Superman's Lost Parents"
Writer: Otto Binder
Artist: Al Plastino
- reprinted in Superman 193 giant
Superman 126 (January 1959)
"Superman's Hunt For Clark Kent"
Writer: ?
Penciller: Wayne Boring
Inker: Stan Kaye
"The Spell of the Shandu Clock"
Writer: Jerry Coleman
Penciller: Wayne Boring
Inker: Stan Kaye
- reprinted in Best of DC digest 38
"The Two Faces of Superman"
Writer: Jerry Coleman
Artist: Kurt Schaffenberger
[Superman masquerades as Alfred E. Neuman (!?)]
- reprinted in Superman Annual 3
Book Description
These collections, showcasing stories from 1939 and into the early 1940s, feature some of the earliest adventures of the worlds greatest super-hero in hard-hitting stories by the Man of Steels creators.
Customer Reviews:
Ideal for the Fans.......2006-08-29
This is a great book to own if you are into The Man of Steel. There is an introduction to the book and a biography of the creators at the end. Even though comics 2-6 are absent from this volume, its a great thing for younger fans to read because it takes you into the world that Siegel and Schuster have originally created showing how the character has developed over the past 67 years.
The Zeus of modern American mythology..........2006-06-25
Superman has flown through American culture for nearly seventy years. He has appeared in almost every twentieth century entertainment medium: comics, television, and movies. With such ubiquity and staying power, it's probably fair to say that Superman stands as the Zeus of modern American mythology. Not only that, as Comic historian Mark Waid says in this book's introduction, Superman vicariously fulfills nearly every person's hidden dream of invincibility. Nothing can touch this guy. Not crooks with guns, not the law (who also have guns), not corrupt politicians (who might have guns), not even larger than life supervillans. In short, Superman embodies the American principle that "in America you can do what you want." If you're Superman, this is definitely true. How many people wouldn't want to shed their vulnerable human skins for that kind of power?
Superman has become an all-out good guy in his later years. Now he works with the law, and dishes out justice by the book. For those familair with only this late Superman, the stories in this volume will produce gaping, eye-widening shock. In these early stories Superman takes the law into his own hands and metes out justice on his own eye-for-an-eye terms. In the first story, Superman drags a corrupt Senator on a terrifying trip from building to building and live power line to live power line. "I wonder if we can jump all the way to that building?" he asks. "NO DON'T" his captive pleads. He jumps and says "Missed -- doggone it!" while the politician writhes in agony. Over a series of live wires Superman man says "Oops! Almost touched that pole!" The Senator gives out a "Ye-eow!" By the hands of Superman, criminals receive the same treatment they dish out to their victims. A man involved in rigging a circus gets tossed into the air until he confesses. A wisecracking office mate gets his clothes torn off as retribution. Many get hit hard, one gets dropped into tar, a governor gets abducted from his bed to hear the confession of a corrupt workhouse superintendent that Superman has locked in the "hot box". Superman faces a man sneaking out to gamble, crushes his watch and tells him, "See how easily I crush your watch in my palm? If you don't quit gambling I'll look you up and give your neck the same treatment." The early Superman was a bully for justice. He used brute force to clean up crime. Even against the police and the army (see issue 8). Nothing stops him.
The first half dozen stories feature Superman cleaning up human corruption. Evil businessmen and organized crime mafiosos get what's coming to them (usually in the form of Superman's fists). He helps out everything from a failing circus and a deceived oil company to a cab company victimized by protection money hoodlums. Most of the stories hail him as "friend of the helpless and oppressed." But he doesn't really receive any real challenges until the "Ultra-Humanite" (a proto Lex Luthor) appears. This arch-villain delivers some memorable but quaint lines such as "I am known as 'The Ultra-Humanite'. Why? Because a scientific experiment resulted in my possessing the most agile and learned brain on earth! Unfortunately for mankind, I prefer to use this great intellect for crime. My goal? Domination of the world!!" Superman's new enemy basks in his depravity. He knows he's evil and he loves it. From this point on most of the corrupt rackets broken up by Superman have the "Ultra-Humanite" behind them. And the not so subtle social commentary of the early issues morphs into a battle of good (Superman) over evil (Ultra). Ultra represents Superman's evil alter-ego. Every time Superman destroys him, he returns. He even gets his "mighty brain" transplanted into a female Hollywood celebrity's "young vital" body (a rather amusing scene). Superman changes forever in this volume. The last stories point to the future of the comic: larger than life villains who also have superpowers and flailing egos. Gone forever are the days when Superman merely "cleaned up" towns of human crime by taking the law into his own hands. A huge metamorphosis.
Not only that, Superman's powers would later increase. Here he doesn't fly, but only leaps. His x-ray vision hasn't yet evolved into laser penetrating retinas. At this time the Superman of today remains slightly unrecognizable. Lois Lane doesn't even appear all that often. And there's absolutely no mention of Krypton or Kryptonite (but the reworked first story in "Superman Archive Volume 1" does). Superman has not yet obtained his famous Achilles' heel.
This volume reprints the original Action Comics, including Superman's very first appearance, but with a hitch: issues two through six appeared in the "Superman" comic that appeared in 1939. DC reprinted these in "Superman Archives Volume One" and only summarize the stories here. So a gap appears after the first issue. Regardless, this volume still remains a lot of fun to read. It shows how one of the most ubiquitous and recognizable figures in modern American culture got his start. And though Superman's creators, Jerry Siegel and Joel Shuster, both died in the 1990s their creation still lives inexorably on with no signs of stopping.
Not great but fun to read.......2006-06-21
It seems unthinkable that the police would ever look at Superman as a dangerous criminal but in this collection that is exactly what they do. But this is not the Superman we all know but a vigilante who does whatever he wants in the name of justice. If he wants to destroy property and ruin the lives of criminals that's just what he does. If he sees something he considers an injustice he acts on it. If that means he rips down slum dwellings to force better housing to be built then he does it. But then remember that this is Superman from the beginning of his legend in 1938 and he has yet to run up against the likes of Lex Luthor or Brainiac. But there are some recognizable elements of the Superman we all know so well here as we see him using his x-ray vision for the very first time.
It's funny to see Superman fighting against stock swindlers, protection rackets and reckless drivers but those are the kinds of threats he deals with in this collection. His vision of the world seems very black and white with little middle ground in between. You are either a good person or you aren't and he will deal with you accordingly. This Superman doesn't hesitate to intimidate criminals to get a confession whether they are gangsters or corrupt politicians. But even here in his early days Superman has to deal with elements of the fantastic, when he faces off against long time DC villain the Ultra Humanite. In the fine tradition of all mad scientists he wants to rule the world and seems to have the brains to make it happen. Comic writer Mark Waid gives some insight into the debut of Superman in the forward of this collection that is worth reading. You should also take a few moments to admire some of the dynamic cover art by Joe Shuster and Fred Guardineer. This collection contains Action Comics #1, and issues 7-20 and a summary of issues 2-6. The only reason I gave this 3 stars is that these are not the most exciting stories around but still for the sake of nostalgia worth reading at least once.
Wonder and Excitement that will Appeal to All.......2006-03-12
With "Superman: The Action Comics Archives", DC goes back to the first Superman stories. I imagine the reason DC archived Superman in multiple series has much to do with the initial popularity of the character with his multiple appearances, plus the fact that many of Superman's first stories in "Action Comics" were reprinted in his the first issues of his own solo title. Since I am largely up to date on the "Superman Archives" proper, which reprinted the solo series, going back and reading "The Action Comics Archives" is fun little treat, as one is reminded of how much the character changed in just his first decade.
While I knew that Superman was initially a social crusader, its amazing just how much of one he really was. In these pages, Superman puts and end to juvenile delinquency by leveling a slum, and allowing the government to rebuild it. He forces the city of Metropolis got clamp down on reckless driving. He investigates the abusive behavior of a prison camp. And he cleans up the gambling rackets in the city. Naturally, all of these actions bring Superman into conflict with city officials and police, and Superman seems more of a renegade than super-hero.
However, even early on, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel realized that their larger-than-life hero needed some larger than life adversaries. Thus came Ultra-Humanite, Superman's opposite number, a crippled, aged scientific genius who engages in several brilliant schemes designed to terrorize the population and enrich himself. His greatest trick, however, is transferring his brain from body to body (something the character continued to do, even if DC's shifting continuity made Ultra a JSA villain, not a Superman one). The Ultra stories are the most fun, since they are pretty straightforward super-hero tales.
While the stories aren't deep character studies, Siegel had a strong sense of adventure and humor, as Superman uses his powers to right wrongs, frequently opting for humiliation and intimidation.. Shuster's art, while generally cartoony, is clear and communicates the awe and wonder the stories require. There are some moments of near-perfect detail. For example, as Superman confronts an actress who has inexplicably kidnapped several colleagues, Shuster presents one single panel of a head-shot of the woman, eyes blazing fiendishly. This moment tips Superman off that the girl is actually Ultra, but also communicates to the reader just how evil this person is, despite the otherwise simplistic quality of the art as a whole.
Despite the flaws endemic to golden age comic books, the early Superman stories nonetheless age quite well. They are filled with such wonder and excitement that even a veteran reader will find appealing. Enjoy.
The comic book that started it all with The Man Of Steel!.......2001-09-20
Superman made his debut in Action Comics #1 in June, 1938. He became an instant sensation with readers, and started the superhero trend.
Superman: The Action Comics Archives volume 1 reprints only the Superman stories from Action Comics #1, and #7-20 (issues 2 thru 6 were reprinted in early issues of Superman). These stories featured a Man of Steel who did anything to get justice done, including escaping from Police whenever they get on his trail! He didn't have all the superpowers that his modern version has today, or that modern version's sense of justice.
Superman fought normal criminals in his early years, before getting a regular rogues gallery like arch mastermind Lex Luthor, the alien Brainiac, Bizarro, The Prankster, etc. One villain who became Superman's first recurring foe in this book was the Ultra-Humanite. A sinister villain who was thwarted by the Man of Steel many times.
Read the classic stories from comics' Golden Age that started it all in Superman: The Action Comics Archives!
Book Description
In these early tales, the Man of Tomorrows powers were still developing and his foes were often thieves and crooked politicians.
Customer Reviews:
The first four issues of the "Superman" comic book from 1939.......2007-01-02
I was going to point out that the chief value of reading the first four issues of "Superman" collected in Volume 1 of the "Superman Archives" was nostalgia, but then I realized that the term really applies to the past that you remember, and I was not reading "Superman" comic books back in 1939. Actually, reading any of the Superman titles was something I only did when we went to visit my cousins because their sun porch had a treasure trove of comic books. The comic books I remember buying on a semi-regular basis were war comics, specifically "Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos" and "Sgt. Rock" ("Our Army at War" back then). Since my father was in the military this was hardly surprising. When the "Batman" television series came out I was caught up in that and bought a subscription to the "Batman" comic book for a year, by first superhero comic book, very much aware that it was quite different from the show. But it was not until we were stationed in Japan that I got into Marvel Comics in a big way ("Amazing Spider-Man" #62 was my first purchase), and while I was busy Making Mine Marvel I developed a corresponding disdain for Superman and the entire DC line that lasted for a while. After all, I remember a Superman story where he swallows his costume to protect his identity, assuring the readers everything would come out okay in the end. Anyhow, it was not until DC rebooted the Man of Steel, giving him over to John Byrne for a significant makeover, that I started reading Superman comics on a regular basis. So actually reading the first four issues of was a revelation.
Keep in mind that Superman first appeared in the first issue of "Action" comics in 1938, so even though we get an origin story in "Superman" #1 these are not the very first Superman stories. I have a reprinted version of "Superman" #1 that is part of the "Superman Masterpiece Edition," along with an 8-inch state of the 1938 Superman and an illustrated book chronicling the Man of Steel's Golden Age, so I had read that premier issue before. The origin is actually just the first two pages of the first story in which the main plot has Superman saving an innocent woman from the electric chair (and getting Clark Kent a job at the "Daily Star"). This leads to the second story where Superman teaches a munitions maker about the horrors of war. Then we find an invitation to become a charter member of "Supermen of America" and a "Scientific Explanation of Superman's Amazing Strength" (Krypton's inhabitants evolved to physical perfection). The other two stories in the issue are reprinted from earlier issues of "Action," with Superman teaching a lesson to the heartless own of a coal mine and then taking the place of Tommy Burke, the greatest football player of all time. Following an introduction to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman's creators, there is two-page prose story regarding the Man of Steel (amazing that kids would want to read a prose story in a comic book).
In "Superman" #2 the Man of Tomorrow saves Larry Trent the ex-heavyweight champ from committing suicide and getting him a chance to re-win his title in the first story and "Champions Universal Peace!" in the second by ending the Boravian Civil War (at one point a soldier thinks he must be shooting blanks at Superman and shoots himself in a foot to prove, well disprove, his hypothesis). Then we have "Superman and the Skyscrapers," where Clark Kent investigates five deaths in as many days at the erection of the Atlas Building, followed by another prose story (but this time accompanied by two drawings). "Superman" #3 offers stories in which Superman and Clark help a runaway orphan, Clark battles Lois to get a big story (and Lois kisses Superman for what appears to be the first time), Superman has to deal with advertisers using his name as well as a spate of crimes, and Superman captures a smuggling ring. Clark has a lot more to do in these stories (and he is now working at the "Daily Planet"), which are a bit shorter as Siegel and Shuster's work is compliment by a couple of prose stories that have nothing to do with Superman and a one-page strip about a dog named "Shorty." In "Superman" #4 our hero takes on the evil Professor Martinson, fights a torpedo-like projectile and a pterodactyl courtesy of the mad scientist known as Luthor (no first name, but he has hair), stops a saboteur, and saves a truck drivers union from racketeers.
As I was reading these stories I was rather surprised that Siegel and Shuster were coming up with four Superman stories for each of these 72-page issues, but when you get to the back of this volume the Afterword by Jim Steranko explains that some of these stories are reprinted from "Action" and a couple were converted from stories drawn for newspaper syndication. Steranko, who also does the Foreword where he puts the creation of Superman in historical perspective, candidly observes that these two young pioneers typically stumble and fall in these early efforts, "yet, in retrospect, their failures are often as interesting as their successes." That is really what is captivating about these early stories, because neither the quality of the stories nor of the artwork is all that compelling. Here we discover that Superman is clearly a creature of the Great Depression whose commitment to justice is tempered by socialist inclinations as he protects the workers against the rich. It is also interesting to see that Superman dislikes Lois Lane as much as she disdains Clark Kent. Most obvious is that Superman does not have his full superpowers at this point where he can "hurdle skyscrapers, leap an eighth of a mile, raise tremendous weighs, run faster than a streamline train, and nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin!" Still, you can find the bare bones of the Superman mythos here and come to a better understanding how the first comic book superhero ended up becoming the greatest one of them all.
A Gem.......2006-11-06
Nothing like the original stuff which came out before I was old enough to read. A 'must have' for anyone serious about the classic comics.
Very Good.......2005-09-30
The book was recived with in a week of sale and was shipped very well.
Great stuff, but buy used.......2002-10-31
This is actually some great stuff. I think the early Superman stories are good examples of exciting storytelling with interesting social commentary.
For example, the first Superman story contains a none-too subtle anticaptial punishment message, as our man saves a lady from an execution and a man form a lynching (remember, this is 1938). The second shows Supe stopping a war that is concocted by munitions manufactureres (an early anti-WW2 message).
Along with that, reading these early adventures gives you the feeling that you're a little kid in pre-television 1938-39, sitting with awe and wonder with these exciting tales either being read to you by a skilled adult storyteller, or by yourself with a flashlight at night. Once you get in that mood of an inner child, you can really get into this stuff and it's lots of fun.
However, I would agree that the cost is a bit much for a new edition. Buy a good used copy. Gather the kids (over age 10, that is) around, turn the lights down low, read it with vigor, and have a ball!
Too much money.......2002-09-27
The reprints are gorgeous and in a wonderful hardcover that shouldn't fall apart too quickly. The text prefacing the book is boring and unneccessary, mostly, this book just costs waaayyyy too much. I would've preferred to get it in comic book format for about 10 dollars, but they no longer reprint this stuff. The stories aren't very good, but it's interesting to read in it's amateurishness and see how things originally were intended.
Books:
- Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guide to the Winter Garden: Plants That Offer Color and Beauty in Every Season of the Year (Taylor's Weekend Gardening Guides)
- The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats (Picture Book)
- The Art of Rebellion 2: World of Urban Art Activism
- The Art of Teaching Art: A Guide for Teaching and Learning the Foundations of Drawing-Based Art
- The Book of Nero 7: CD and DVD Burning Made Easy
- The Brand Gap: Expanded Edition
- The Complete Calvin and Hobbes (Calvin & Hobbes)
- The Complete Pelican Shakespeare (Pelican Shakespeare)
- The Complete Terry And The Pirates Volume 1: 1934 - 1936 A Library Of American Comics Original (Complete Terry & the Pirates)
- The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers (O'Reilly Digital Studio)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Teach Yourself Italian Complete Course Package
- History: Fiction or Science
- A Loving Scoundrel
- Bridges to Infinity: The Human side of Mathematics
- Directors on Directing: A Source Book of the Modern Theatre
- Fundamentals of Statistical Signal Processing, Volume I: Estimation Theory
- History: Fiction or Science
- You Can Draw Marvel Characters
- An Environmental History of Northeast Florida
- New York City Investment and Business Guide
General
| Comic Strips
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow Archives, Vol. 2 (DC Archive Editions)
World's Finest Comics Archives, Volume 3 (DC Archive Editions) (Archive Editions (Graphic Novels))
Batman The Dynamic Duo Archives, Vol. 1 (DC Archive Editions)
Batman: The Dynamic Duo - Archives, Volume 2
World's Finest Comics Archives, Vol. 2 (DC Archive Editions)
