Superman Archives - Volume 1

by Jerry Siegel

From the minds and hands of Superman creators Jerry Seigel Joe Shuster come the stories that started it all. This hardcover collectionincludes the early SUPERMAN comics that recount the Golden Age... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0930289471
• ISBN13: 9780930289478
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: DC Comics
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.0" x 10.5"

Customer Reviews

The first four issues of the "Superman" comic book from 1939

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 "Super

Great stuff, but buy used

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!

Gorgeous Reprinting of Classic Comic Books from the 1930s

DC's Archive editions are the pinnacle of classic comic book reprints. Lovingly restored and printed on high quality, glossy paper, they give the material the classy feel it deserves. In this, one of their earliest Archive editions, they reprint in their entirety (advertisements and all) the first four 1939 and 1940 issues of SUPERMAN, four issues that would easily fetch upwards of a quarter million dollars. SUPERMAN ARCHIVES VOL. 1 is not just a bargain. It's a glimpse into pop culture and comic book history.Most of these four issues are reprints of stories published in ACTION COMICS, other adventures from which appear in SUPERMAN: THE ACTION COMICS ARCHIVES, although several others were taken from the newspaper strips, which are reprinted in their original black and white form in Kitchen Sink Press' SUPERMAN: THE DAILIES.These early adventures are, compared to modern comic books, crude and childish, but they reveal a sense of wonder and awe absent from many of today's comics. In 1939, the readers and creators were still enthralled by the idea that a man could do whatever he wanted and dispense justice without rules. Just as Superman is different in these reprints -- a swashbuckling, two-fisted pulp hero, not the "big blue boy scout" of today, most of his earliest menaces are a far cry from the criminal masterminds and alien invaders he later fights. They are enemies of the Depression-era everyman: war profiteers, abusive husbands, incompetent mine owners, con artists, fascist spies, corrupt orphanage directors. Anyone who preys on everyday folks receives swift justice from the Man of Steel's fists.Comics creator and historian Jim Steranko provides a thorough analysis of the adventures in his Introduction and Afterword, so comics historians will want this book, as will Superman fans, nostalgists and collectors of all ages.

Classic stories of Superman's early years!!!

Superman Archives Volume 1 reprints Superman (first series) issues #1 thru #4 from 1939. These are truly great stories of Superman's early years. In the 1940s, Superman wasn't the all powerful hero that he is today. He was a person who truly believed in the fight for justice and helped anyone who needed it. Back then, he only had certain powers, and he became a vigilante, wanted by the Police! These stories give back the feel of the Depression Era. You really feel that time period through these stories. I bought this book back when it first came out in 1989. I loved it!!! As a die hard Superman fan, I wanted to read Superman's early years, and DC Comics made that possible through this book. The DC Archive Editions have proven to be great revisits of comics' early days. To any fan of early comic book history, or Superman, get this book!

If you like action, this is the place.

Superman first appeared in Action Comics. Many of those were reprinted in Superman Magazine. This collects those and other adventures. Action is a very appropriate word for Superman jumps in at any conflict. There is very little sitting around doing nothing. This Superman also thinks. He finds the best solution, then jumps in and does it. What I liked the most is how he helped ordinary people with ordinary problems such as a woman falsely accused of murder, a wife beater, a crooked employer, an arms dealer who starts wars to make money, crooked polititions, children in orphanages, etc. The drawings are simple but full of power and energy.