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Superman in the #70s
Superman in the Seventies
A sequel to the hit collection Superman in the Sixties! The early 1970s were a time of change for the Man of Steel. As Clark Kent shifted from being a newspaper reporter to a TV newscaster, his alter ego saw the destruction of all remaining Kryptonite on Earth! This period also featured many new villains, including Terra-Man, and the dramatic reintroductions of such foes as Lex Luthor -- in green and purple armor!
224 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2000
About the author
Elliot S. Maggin
239 books34 followersElliot S. Maggin, also spelled Elliot S! Maggin, is an American writer of comic books, film, television and novels. He was a main writer for DC Comics during the Bronze and early Modern ages of comics in the 1970s and 1980s. He is particularly associated with the character of Superman.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 27, 2015
If you've read any of my other review's of Superman books, or books that feature Superman, you know that I'm not a huge fan of the character. But the thing about that is, I really want to be. I just haven't found a lot of Superman stories that I really like. As I dive more and more into the bronze age of DC I'm finding that it's a period of the company I really enjoy. I actually prefer it to the modern era, much the way I like the silver age of Marvel more then the present day. Maybe I'm just an old school comics fan. When I saw this book collecting Superman stories from the 70's I figured it might be a good read for me.
This book is actually just one of series of books which feature different stories from the then 60 year publishing history of Superman. As such, it is not just one continuing story, but stories selected to give you an over view of what was happening in the Superman titles at the time. With that in mind I thought I would review this book differently then I normally do. Rather then do a straight forward review of the whole book, I'm going to talk about how I felt about each of the stories individually.
1) MAKE WAY FOR CAPTIAN THUNDER
This was an interesting one to read because it's basically a back door way of getting Superman to fight Captain Marvel, without the two of them actually fighting. I'm not sure why they had to do it this way, I think there was some legal reasons why they couldn't use Captain Marvel, but I still enjoyed the story. I've actually been wanting to read a good Superman VS Captain Marvel story ever since I was teased one in a Crisis on Multiple Earth's collection. There's one panel I particular liked where Captain Thunder is fighting the classic Universal Monsters. The big problem with this story is the ending. It's basically just some mumbo jumbo where Captain Thunder goes back to his own universe because they ran out of pages.
2) JUDGE, JURY...AND NO JUSTICE!
The set up for this story is that Superman has to fight Superboy, but somehow, Superman has no memory of this happening. So he knows it can't really be Superboy. I think this story suffers from the fact that you really need to know more about what is going on in Superman prior to this story. The villain of the piece is Pete Ross, Superboy's childhood friend. There's an explanation given about why he is trying to kill Superman, but it's still kind of a weak story. I think what happen here is that they came up with a cool idea, Superman VS Superboy, but didn't have a good way to make it happen.
3)THE MAN OF MURDERED THE EARTH!
This is an interesting one because it focuses more on Lex Luthor than Superman. Basically Lex has created an unstoppable monster to fight Superman, and the resulting battle causes everyone, except Lex, to simply disappear from the face of the Earth. I thought that Lex's response to this, which is that he doesn't really understand it, showed how great a villain he his. With everyone on earth dead Lex decides to just leave the planet. He figures, "Well, there ain't shit left for me here, so why stick around?". That is a seriously evil dude. The story falls apart at the end where it turns out that Superman punched the monster so hard it made everyone on earth exists on a different plane of existence then Lex. Superman and Lex get rid of the monster, and Superman puts everything back to normal. Because, Comics.
4)The Man WHO Murdered Metropolis!
The thing I liked most about this story is that it has the awesome version of Brainiac where he's in a purple outfit with those weird dots on his head. I really like this version of Brainiac the best. The story itself is pretty good as it's just a brawl between Superman and Brainiac, with Superman being on a time table. The end is a bit corny, but I think it shows that there was a time when Superman was quite smart, and wasn't just the guy who was really strong.
5) THE CHALLENGE OF TERRA-MAN
Didn't really care for this story because of the weird set up used. Basically they were trying to find a way to weaken Superman without using magic or Kryptonite. They ended up with this weird concept about how every six years Superman becomes emotionally disabled because of some Kryptonian ritual. I like that they were trying something new, but it's kind of weak. The fight itself is always dumb, because you get the sense that if Superman wasn't dealing with this other problem this would have been a much quicker fight.
6) THE PARASITE'S POWER PLAY!
A pretty neat story where Superman and Lex team up to take on Parasite. There's also a cool angle where Parasite has absorbed some things from Lex, rather then Superman, and is trying to carry out one of Lex's plans. There was two pretty moments in the story to. One was where Clark get's one over on Steve Lombard, who's basically being a huge douche, and the other is where Lex saves Superman's life because if anyone is going kill Superman it's going to be him.
7) JIMMY OLSEN BRINGS BACK THE NEWSBOY LEGION!
I don't have much to say about this one since I own both this single issue, and have it the Forth World Volume One collection. It's still pretty cool that they included it. It certainly is a departure from what else was happening with Superman at the time.
8) I AM CURIOUS (BLACK)!
I always feel weird writing about things that discuss social changes because I feel like if you have anything negative to say about them, people will think you are promoting what the story condemns. Having said that, I wasn't a big fan of this story. I'm glad that they included a Lois Lane story, but I wish they would have picked a different one. I just thought it was silly that no one would talk to Lois because she was white, but once she becomes black, she is everyone's best friend. I'm a white man, and I don't treat every white person I meet like family, because I don't know shit about them. It just doesn't make sense to me that just because people have the same skin color they automatically feel a connection to each other.
9) WHO WAS THAT DOG I SAW YOU WITH LAST NIGHT?
Not much to say about this story. It's not good but it's not bad. It's kind of just a way of bringing Krypto into Superman, since he is usually associated with Superboy.
10) SUPERMAN BREAKS LOOSE
Like the Jimmy Olsen story I have already read this in the Kryptonite Nevermore collection, so I don't have much to say about it. One thing though is that the coloring in this book is way different than the one in the Nevermore book.
11) MUST THERE BE A SUPEMAN?
An interesting story where the Guardians of the Universe think Superman is hurting the people of earth by taking care of all there problems. The plant the idea inside his head and Superman starts telling people to fuck off and take care of there own stuff. This story should have been called, "THE GUARDIANS ARE ASSHOLES AND THEY WON'T REST UNTIL YOU ARE TOO!"
12) I CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN
Not actually a Superman story, but a Clark Kent story. It's a nice one where Pete Ross uses some legal maneuvering to save Clark's childhood home from being destroyed.
13) SUPERMAN TAKES A WIFE!
This is by far the most silver age story included. It's basically an imaginary story that they make a real one by having it be a story about the Earth 2 Superman. I wasn't expecting this story but i'm glad it was included since I've been reading a lot of the Earth 2 stories lately.
And that's it. While this wasn't a really great collection of stories, I actually liked it quite a bit. For me the kind of stories they were telling in the 60's and 70's really seem to fit better into my idea of what Superman should be.
I would say this book is for fans of DC's bronze age, or people who want to see more about Superman's different periods over the years.
This book is actually just one of series of books which feature different stories from the then 60 year publishing history of Superman. As such, it is not just one continuing story, but stories selected to give you an over view of what was happening in the Superman titles at the time. With that in mind I thought I would review this book differently then I normally do. Rather then do a straight forward review of the whole book, I'm going to talk about how I felt about each of the stories individually.
1) MAKE WAY FOR CAPTIAN THUNDER
This was an interesting one to read because it's basically a back door way of getting Superman to fight Captain Marvel, without the two of them actually fighting. I'm not sure why they had to do it this way, I think there was some legal reasons why they couldn't use Captain Marvel, but I still enjoyed the story. I've actually been wanting to read a good Superman VS Captain Marvel story ever since I was teased one in a Crisis on Multiple Earth's collection. There's one panel I particular liked where Captain Thunder is fighting the classic Universal Monsters. The big problem with this story is the ending. It's basically just some mumbo jumbo where Captain Thunder goes back to his own universe because they ran out of pages.
2) JUDGE, JURY...AND NO JUSTICE!
The set up for this story is that Superman has to fight Superboy, but somehow, Superman has no memory of this happening. So he knows it can't really be Superboy. I think this story suffers from the fact that you really need to know more about what is going on in Superman prior to this story. The villain of the piece is Pete Ross, Superboy's childhood friend. There's an explanation given about why he is trying to kill Superman, but it's still kind of a weak story. I think what happen here is that they came up with a cool idea, Superman VS Superboy, but didn't have a good way to make it happen.
3)THE MAN OF MURDERED THE EARTH!
This is an interesting one because it focuses more on Lex Luthor than Superman. Basically Lex has created an unstoppable monster to fight Superman, and the resulting battle causes everyone, except Lex, to simply disappear from the face of the Earth. I thought that Lex's response to this, which is that he doesn't really understand it, showed how great a villain he his. With everyone on earth dead Lex decides to just leave the planet. He figures, "Well, there ain't shit left for me here, so why stick around?". That is a seriously evil dude. The story falls apart at the end where it turns out that Superman punched the monster so hard it made everyone on earth exists on a different plane of existence then Lex. Superman and Lex get rid of the monster, and Superman puts everything back to normal. Because, Comics.
4)The Man WHO Murdered Metropolis!
The thing I liked most about this story is that it has the awesome version of Brainiac where he's in a purple outfit with those weird dots on his head. I really like this version of Brainiac the best. The story itself is pretty good as it's just a brawl between Superman and Brainiac, with Superman being on a time table. The end is a bit corny, but I think it shows that there was a time when Superman was quite smart, and wasn't just the guy who was really strong.
5) THE CHALLENGE OF TERRA-MAN
Didn't really care for this story because of the weird set up used. Basically they were trying to find a way to weaken Superman without using magic or Kryptonite. They ended up with this weird concept about how every six years Superman becomes emotionally disabled because of some Kryptonian ritual. I like that they were trying something new, but it's kind of weak. The fight itself is always dumb, because you get the sense that if Superman wasn't dealing with this other problem this would have been a much quicker fight.
6) THE PARASITE'S POWER PLAY!
A pretty neat story where Superman and Lex team up to take on Parasite. There's also a cool angle where Parasite has absorbed some things from Lex, rather then Superman, and is trying to carry out one of Lex's plans. There was two pretty moments in the story to. One was where Clark get's one over on Steve Lombard, who's basically being a huge douche, and the other is where Lex saves Superman's life because if anyone is going kill Superman it's going to be him.
7) JIMMY OLSEN BRINGS BACK THE NEWSBOY LEGION!
I don't have much to say about this one since I own both this single issue, and have it the Forth World Volume One collection. It's still pretty cool that they included it. It certainly is a departure from what else was happening with Superman at the time.
8) I AM CURIOUS (BLACK)!
I always feel weird writing about things that discuss social changes because I feel like if you have anything negative to say about them, people will think you are promoting what the story condemns. Having said that, I wasn't a big fan of this story. I'm glad that they included a Lois Lane story, but I wish they would have picked a different one. I just thought it was silly that no one would talk to Lois because she was white, but once she becomes black, she is everyone's best friend. I'm a white man, and I don't treat every white person I meet like family, because I don't know shit about them. It just doesn't make sense to me that just because people have the same skin color they automatically feel a connection to each other.
9) WHO WAS THAT DOG I SAW YOU WITH LAST NIGHT?
Not much to say about this story. It's not good but it's not bad. It's kind of just a way of bringing Krypto into Superman, since he is usually associated with Superboy.
10) SUPERMAN BREAKS LOOSE
Like the Jimmy Olsen story I have already read this in the Kryptonite Nevermore collection, so I don't have much to say about it. One thing though is that the coloring in this book is way different than the one in the Nevermore book.
11) MUST THERE BE A SUPEMAN?
An interesting story where the Guardians of the Universe think Superman is hurting the people of earth by taking care of all there problems. The plant the idea inside his head and Superman starts telling people to fuck off and take care of there own stuff. This story should have been called, "THE GUARDIANS ARE ASSHOLES AND THEY WON'T REST UNTIL YOU ARE TOO!"
12) I CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN
Not actually a Superman story, but a Clark Kent story. It's a nice one where Pete Ross uses some legal maneuvering to save Clark's childhood home from being destroyed.
13) SUPERMAN TAKES A WIFE!
This is by far the most silver age story included. It's basically an imaginary story that they make a real one by having it be a story about the Earth 2 Superman. I wasn't expecting this story but i'm glad it was included since I've been reading a lot of the Earth 2 stories lately.
And that's it. While this wasn't a really great collection of stories, I actually liked it quite a bit. For me the kind of stories they were telling in the 60's and 70's really seem to fit better into my idea of what Superman should be.
I would say this book is for fans of DC's bronze age, or people who want to see more about Superman's different periods over the years.
February 12, 2018
Ah, Superman … For a character who pretty much created the entire superhero genre, he really doesn't seem to garner the same respect from the fan community as, say, Batman or Wolverine. I’ve heard some complain that he's too powerful, that stories featuring him are boring because he can easily power his way out of any trouble. And he stands for truth, justice, and the American way. How corny can you get? As with so many characters, the secret is getting a writer that knows how to handle him, and suddenly boring becomes cool. Superman is an easy character to write badly.
The 70's were an interesting time for Superman. DC was a bit slow to react to Marvel Comics’ rise in popularity, but, by the late 60's and early 70's, they were starting to up their game on their flagship titles. This book showcases some of the newer writers like Denny O’Neil, Cary Bates, and Elliot S. Maggin (for my money, one of the all-time great Superman writers.) Artwork is mostly by the inimitable Curt Swan, because why mess with a beautiful thing? There's a reason that his Superman is considered definitive.
Some comments on random stories:
“Kryptonite No More” has been often reprinted. Denny O’Neil seemed to be single handedly revamping the entire DC Universe with his runs on Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern/Green Arrow. In this story, he does the same for Superman. There are some interesting ideas in this story, and, although some changes were fleeting, a few--like Clark Kent as a TV reporter--proved surprisingly long-lasting.
“Make Way for Captain Thunder” is a personal favorite. It's a nice homage to Captain Marvel--I assume it dates from an era before DC definitively had the rights to the character. It’s a confrontation that the fans had been waiting for, and it doesn't disappoint.
“The Man Who Murdered the Earth,” is another personal favorite. The Galactic Golem is a cool--but creepy--visual. The ending is a bit contrived, though.
What is going on in “The Man Who Murdered Metropolis”? Braniac keeps referring to Superman by all these weird nicknames that seem like crossword puzzle clues or something. If this were Groo, the Wanderer, I’d assume I’d found the secret message … The mystery is not explained in the story.
“The Challenge of Terra Man” is a textbook example of throwing an artificial handicap at Superman just to give the villain a chance.
The Jimmy Olsen story is clearly part of Jack Kirby’s legendary “Fourth World” titles that he did for DC, and has to be some of the Kirby-est writing he ever did. It's fun and exciting and makes me grin to recall it but … “surreal” seems woefully inadequate.
All in all, this is a fine collection of work. Some of the stories are showing their age, but some--”Must There Be A Superman?” in particular--are as fine as you’ll ever read. Recommended!
The 70's were an interesting time for Superman. DC was a bit slow to react to Marvel Comics’ rise in popularity, but, by the late 60's and early 70's, they were starting to up their game on their flagship titles. This book showcases some of the newer writers like Denny O’Neil, Cary Bates, and Elliot S. Maggin (for my money, one of the all-time great Superman writers.) Artwork is mostly by the inimitable Curt Swan, because why mess with a beautiful thing? There's a reason that his Superman is considered definitive.
Some comments on random stories:
“Kryptonite No More” has been often reprinted. Denny O’Neil seemed to be single handedly revamping the entire DC Universe with his runs on Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern/Green Arrow. In this story, he does the same for Superman. There are some interesting ideas in this story, and, although some changes were fleeting, a few--like Clark Kent as a TV reporter--proved surprisingly long-lasting.
“Make Way for Captain Thunder” is a personal favorite. It's a nice homage to Captain Marvel--I assume it dates from an era before DC definitively had the rights to the character. It’s a confrontation that the fans had been waiting for, and it doesn't disappoint.
“The Man Who Murdered the Earth,” is another personal favorite. The Galactic Golem is a cool--but creepy--visual. The ending is a bit contrived, though.
What is going on in “The Man Who Murdered Metropolis”? Braniac keeps referring to Superman by all these weird nicknames that seem like crossword puzzle clues or something. If this were Groo, the Wanderer, I’d assume I’d found the secret message … The mystery is not explained in the story.
“The Challenge of Terra Man” is a textbook example of throwing an artificial handicap at Superman just to give the villain a chance.
The Jimmy Olsen story is clearly part of Jack Kirby’s legendary “Fourth World” titles that he did for DC, and has to be some of the Kirby-est writing he ever did. It's fun and exciting and makes me grin to recall it but … “surreal” seems woefully inadequate.
All in all, this is a fine collection of work. Some of the stories are showing their age, but some--”Must There Be A Superman?” in particular--are as fine as you’ll ever read. Recommended!
December 19, 2024
A random sampling of Superman stories from the 1970s. Many of these have been collected elsewhere, but there are some hidden gems. There is also a lovely introduction by Christopher Reeve.
This collection contains one of my all-time favorites: The Parasite's Powerplay - which sees Lex Luthor and Superman team up to defeat Parasite.
This book also contains:
Make Way for Captain Thunder - Superman battles a knockoff Billy Batson/Shazam. Pretty amusing.
Judge, Jury and No Justice - Superman vs. Superboy! How?! Why?! This is a surprisingly intense story with a time-displaced Superboy attacking Superman and his allies. Eventually, you learn that Superboy is
The Man Who Murdered the Earth - Lex Luthor finally destroyed Superman but also somehow murdered everyone on Earth?! This is a good story and was also collected in Lex Luthor: A Celebration of 75 Years.
The Man Who Murdered Metropolis is an odd Brainiac story. The villain attacks with a mirage of the city mirrored in the sky. He calls Superman a series of increasingly abstract and bizarre epithets which isn't explained. (Was it meant to be funny?)
The Challenge of Terra-Man - Supie randomly has a problem wherein every 6 years he becomes debilitatingly depressed because Kryptonians viewed their birthdays as a time of sorrow (for some reason.) This also manifests in physical symptoms such as stomach cramps and fever. Oh and floating upside down. This is very odd.
We get a Jimmy Olsen story, The Newsboy Legion from the time period when Jack Kirby was writing and illustrating the book.
And the Lois Lane story I am Curious (Black) which is awkwardly handled, though it's heart seems to be in the right place.
Who Was the Dog I Saw You With Last Night gives a little love story to Krypto the Superdog.
Superman Breaks Loose was also collected in the Superman: Kryptonite Nevermore collection and is the story in which he becomes invulnerable to kryptonite.
Must There Be a Superman? - the guardians of the universe (from Green Lantern comics) decide Superman is impeding human progress (interestingly, that's also the crux of Lex Luthor's problem with him in modern comics.) Rather than simply expressing their concerns to Superman, they decide to implant subliminal anxieties that manifest when he returns to Earth and finds himself constantly second-guessing himself.
The Private Life of Clark Kent - Clark is feeling sentimental about the house he grew up in, which he has hung onto all these years. The house is slated for demolition to make way for a new highway.
Superman Takes a Wife - this story is set on Earth 2, which was the parallel universe where the Golden Age versions of the characters lived. A wizard destroys the Superman part of his personality and Clark, who has forgotten he ever was Superman, marries Lois.
This is an interesting collection of stories. It would be nicer to read them in order, as there are parts which clearly reference or are building on other storylines. I'm looking forward to the new DC's Finest collections for this very reason. Though I do wish DC would give us a Bronze Age Superman omnibus (and a Vol 2 to the Silver Age omni!)
This collection contains one of my all-time favorites: The Parasite's Powerplay - which sees Lex Luthor and Superman team up to defeat Parasite.
This book also contains:
Make Way for Captain Thunder - Superman battles a knockoff Billy Batson/Shazam. Pretty amusing.
Judge, Jury and No Justice - Superman vs. Superboy! How?! Why?! This is a surprisingly intense story with a time-displaced Superboy attacking Superman and his allies. Eventually, you learn that Superboy is
The Man Who Murdered the Earth - Lex Luthor finally destroyed Superman but also somehow murdered everyone on Earth?! This is a good story and was also collected in Lex Luthor: A Celebration of 75 Years.
The Man Who Murdered Metropolis is an odd Brainiac story. The villain attacks with a mirage of the city mirrored in the sky. He calls Superman a series of increasingly abstract and bizarre epithets which isn't explained. (Was it meant to be funny?)
The Challenge of Terra-Man - Supie randomly has a problem wherein every 6 years he becomes debilitatingly depressed because Kryptonians viewed their birthdays as a time of sorrow (for some reason.) This also manifests in physical symptoms such as stomach cramps and fever. Oh and floating upside down. This is very odd.
We get a Jimmy Olsen story, The Newsboy Legion from the time period when Jack Kirby was writing and illustrating the book.
And the Lois Lane story I am Curious (Black) which is awkwardly handled, though it's heart seems to be in the right place.
Who Was the Dog I Saw You With Last Night gives a little love story to Krypto the Superdog.
Superman Breaks Loose was also collected in the Superman: Kryptonite Nevermore collection and is the story in which he becomes invulnerable to kryptonite.
Must There Be a Superman? - the guardians of the universe (from Green Lantern comics) decide Superman is impeding human progress (interestingly, that's also the crux of Lex Luthor's problem with him in modern comics.) Rather than simply expressing their concerns to Superman, they decide to implant subliminal anxieties that manifest when he returns to Earth and finds himself constantly second-guessing himself.
The Private Life of Clark Kent - Clark is feeling sentimental about the house he grew up in, which he has hung onto all these years. The house is slated for demolition to make way for a new highway.
Superman Takes a Wife - this story is set on Earth 2, which was the parallel universe where the Golden Age versions of the characters lived. A wizard destroys the Superman part of his personality and Clark, who has forgotten he ever was Superman, marries Lois.
This is an interesting collection of stories. It would be nicer to read them in order, as there are parts which clearly reference or are building on other storylines. I'm looking forward to the new DC's Finest collections for this very reason. Though I do wish DC would give us a Bronze Age Superman omnibus (and a Vol 2 to the Silver Age omni!)
May 4, 2021
What a nostalgic romp this was. Brought me back to the glory days of my childhood comic shop, a teal, windowless building filled with quarter bins. These were the kinds of issues I would dig for. Just beyond the extreme goofiness of the 60s Superman and before the Byrne "this is effing serious" relaunch in the 80s. We got some Jack Kirby, the infamous Lois Lane vs. race issue and just a ton of goofy fun. I'd read Superman in the Fifties forever ago and now I might just have to read all of the decade collections. Good times.
I interviewed author Elliot S! Maggin over on the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
I interviewed author Elliot S! Maggin over on the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
November 27, 2024
Its funny that the modern day Superman comics reference all the fun from the Silver Age while Supes himself acts far more like he did in the Bronze Age. The aspects of Superman that we know and love are actually more developed here than they ever were previously to. Clark actually respects Lois and the characters are a little more aged up in terms of their maturity. Gone are the days of Lana Lang/Lois Lane rivalries, or stories that are only dreams or pure fiction. Whatever's happening in the new Supe stories are canon to SOME version of the character (I'll explain in a second), which was a nice change than Superman going back to Krypton constantly or what if stories.
I think my favorite story in the whole book was either "Must There Be a Superman" or the Krypto the Superdog story here. I just like seeing Krypto which is probably why I liked that story as much as I did, but the marriage of Superman was also good here.
Some have not aged well in my opinion. The Brainiac story in this one is kind of rough I cannot lie. Which sucks, I really like Brainiac as a villain. Its just confusing I guess. Brainiac calls Clark a bunch of old people names, but there's not really any explanation as to why that's the case. And the way that he fools Brainiac is kind of dumb. Overall not great.
The story that's the worst in terms of aging is the Lois Lane story included. Its a pretty controversial storyline that I'm sure a lot of people are familiar with, but if you're not here's a basic summary: Lois Lane has some sort of story to report about in the "Little Africa" division of Metropolis. But no one's willing to talk to her because she's white and they don't trust her. So, she calls the aid of her pal Superman to change her form. A machine in the fortress of solitude can alter a person's skin color for a period of time, changing Lois from a white woman to black.
The story could be almost completely fine. It covered race issues at a time where they were particularly difficult, and it probably did open up eyes to young white kids at the time to make them less prejudiced. But turning Lois black was unnecessary. She ends up giving her blood to a black man that's doing street preaching against the white man's oppression. He was shot and so she basically does a blood transfer over him to keep him alive. She's black when they first talk but when he comes to, Lois has altered back to her true form. The man smiles and it ends with them shaking hands.
Yeah, if I was that man, I'd feel super betrayed. You're telling me you pretended to be black for a day and can now change back? That's crazy.
That's really the only one that's problematic mostly. I can't think of anything else that gave me an ick but that one certainly did. I'm willing to give it some slack since its so old and was written with good intentions, but I would not hand that to a child to read in the modern day.
But yeah, that's really my only gripes with the book. I liked Clark as a reporter, Morgan Edge was intriguing, the dialogue was definitely comic booky and of its time, but if you know that going in its a fun read. If you're not already a fan of Superman, don't expect this to convert you. It doesn't read like modern interpretations, but you're seeing the seeds planted. I liked going back to this era, I'm actually sad there wasn't more of it. And you can't get a Bronze Age Omnibus for Superman since they haven't released anything for it yet. But Comixology is a great resource for that, even if its like $0.99 for a single issue that's over 40 years old. Considering doing that and reading more from this era.
I think my favorite story in the whole book was either "Must There Be a Superman" or the Krypto the Superdog story here. I just like seeing Krypto which is probably why I liked that story as much as I did, but the marriage of Superman was also good here.
Some have not aged well in my opinion. The Brainiac story in this one is kind of rough I cannot lie. Which sucks, I really like Brainiac as a villain. Its just confusing I guess. Brainiac calls Clark a bunch of old people names, but there's not really any explanation as to why that's the case. And the way that he fools Brainiac is kind of dumb. Overall not great.
The story that's the worst in terms of aging is the Lois Lane story included. Its a pretty controversial storyline that I'm sure a lot of people are familiar with, but if you're not here's a basic summary: Lois Lane has some sort of story to report about in the "Little Africa" division of Metropolis. But no one's willing to talk to her because she's white and they don't trust her. So, she calls the aid of her pal Superman to change her form. A machine in the fortress of solitude can alter a person's skin color for a period of time, changing Lois from a white woman to black.
The story could be almost completely fine. It covered race issues at a time where they were particularly difficult, and it probably did open up eyes to young white kids at the time to make them less prejudiced. But turning Lois black was unnecessary. She ends up giving her blood to a black man that's doing street preaching against the white man's oppression. He was shot and so she basically does a blood transfer over him to keep him alive. She's black when they first talk but when he comes to, Lois has altered back to her true form. The man smiles and it ends with them shaking hands.
Yeah, if I was that man, I'd feel super betrayed. You're telling me you pretended to be black for a day and can now change back? That's crazy.
That's really the only one that's problematic mostly. I can't think of anything else that gave me an ick but that one certainly did. I'm willing to give it some slack since its so old and was written with good intentions, but I would not hand that to a child to read in the modern day.
But yeah, that's really my only gripes with the book. I liked Clark as a reporter, Morgan Edge was intriguing, the dialogue was definitely comic booky and of its time, but if you know that going in its a fun read. If you're not already a fan of Superman, don't expect this to convert you. It doesn't read like modern interpretations, but you're seeing the seeds planted. I liked going back to this era, I'm actually sad there wasn't more of it. And you can't get a Bronze Age Omnibus for Superman since they haven't released anything for it yet. But Comixology is a great resource for that, even if its like $0.99 for a single issue that's over 40 years old. Considering doing that and reading more from this era.
November 27, 2017
This is a somewhat less good collection than the previous two that I've read, and I think it suffers from the same issue as the Superman and Lois Lane 75th anniversary books suffer from. Namely the length limitations mean that only single issues from multi-part storylines can be presented. So you end up with stuff like Superman becoming immune to Kryptonite but there's some sort of Superman-shaped creature made of sand that might be doing something or the Jack Kirby story, which is just one early part of a long and involved saga. For all the notes before each section can tell us that there are lots of great Superman sagas, this book just can't actually show any of them and what we do get isn't enough for a clear look at what makes these multipart stories great. I wouldn't mind as much if not for the fact that while the book will mention what issues such and such a story ran in, it won't tell me where to find the story collected.
On the plus side, there are some good Superman stories here that manage to stand alone. The exploration of Luthor's morality that began in the sixties continues into the seventies as we see Luthor struggle with believing he's destroyed all life on Earth, and there's also a fun if somewhat odd tale of Brainiac. Superman gets to fight some serious heavyweights when he faces off with an imitation Captain Marvel and his own younger self. There are attempts at being socially relevant through Lois Lane becoming temporarily black and all the stuff about counter culture in the Kirby issue, though it tends to be more awkward than modern handlings. Also, I have to say I'm personally not a big fan of Kirby's Jimmy Olsen issue - it feels more like something that belongs in Marvel or at least a more out there DC comic than Superman. The somewhat goofy but overall sweet story about Earth Two (i.e. the Golden Age) Superman finally marrying Lois Lane is included here. The real highlight for me is seeing stuff by Elliot S! Maggin, who's a great creator of Superman stories. I loved his two novels about Superman and I'm glad to see that in comics as well, he gets the Man of Steel in a way that a lot of people just don't. I need to see if I can find some sort of best of collection of his work, because I'm sure I'd love it.
Overall, this is still an interesting look at Superman's history, and I do feel like in many ways the seventies must have been a strong decade for Superman. However, this collection suffers from needing to be around the same size as the previous ones. Whereas the 40s, 50s, and 60s generally saw one-off stories that make perfect sense when collected in isolation, the 70s saw Superman become more serialized and thus reprinting individual parts of large story arcs makes it hard to really see the strengths of 70s Superman storytelling. I imagine the same is probably true of the 80s volume, but I still intend to track it down at some point because I'm sure there'll be some great stuff there - and anything post-Crisis shouldn't be too tricky to find as a collected edition.
On the plus side, there are some good Superman stories here that manage to stand alone. The exploration of Luthor's morality that began in the sixties continues into the seventies as we see Luthor struggle with believing he's destroyed all life on Earth, and there's also a fun if somewhat odd tale of Brainiac. Superman gets to fight some serious heavyweights when he faces off with an imitation Captain Marvel and his own younger self. There are attempts at being socially relevant through Lois Lane becoming temporarily black and all the stuff about counter culture in the Kirby issue, though it tends to be more awkward than modern handlings. Also, I have to say I'm personally not a big fan of Kirby's Jimmy Olsen issue - it feels more like something that belongs in Marvel or at least a more out there DC comic than Superman. The somewhat goofy but overall sweet story about Earth Two (i.e. the Golden Age) Superman finally marrying Lois Lane is included here. The real highlight for me is seeing stuff by Elliot S! Maggin, who's a great creator of Superman stories. I loved his two novels about Superman and I'm glad to see that in comics as well, he gets the Man of Steel in a way that a lot of people just don't. I need to see if I can find some sort of best of collection of his work, because I'm sure I'd love it.
Overall, this is still an interesting look at Superman's history, and I do feel like in many ways the seventies must have been a strong decade for Superman. However, this collection suffers from needing to be around the same size as the previous ones. Whereas the 40s, 50s, and 60s generally saw one-off stories that make perfect sense when collected in isolation, the 70s saw Superman become more serialized and thus reprinting individual parts of large story arcs makes it hard to really see the strengths of 70s Superman storytelling. I imagine the same is probably true of the 80s volume, but I still intend to track it down at some point because I'm sure there'll be some great stuff there - and anything post-Crisis shouldn't be too tricky to find as a collected edition.
August 13, 2022
Scoring: 0 bad; 1-3 poor; 4-6 average; 7-9 good; 10 excellent.
Make Way for Captain Thunder. Capt Thunder is obviously a take on Capt Marvel/ Shazam as a boy takes the personality after saying the name. There's no real resolution to the story 4/10.
Judge, Jury and No Justice. Superman Vs Superboy in the era when Boy was Man in his teens. This is a story about actions, their consequences and understandability in the wider context. It's sad but understandable who the villain is. 8/10
The Man who Murdered the Earth. Fooling Luthor to think he's destroyed all living life on Earth, this has a doomladen feel. The explanation of how the trick is pulled off is corny. A good read, so 8/10
The Man who Murdered Metropolis. Double menace of a news strike and Braniac's scheme for a reverse Metropolis to push down on the real city. 8/10
Challenge of Terra Man. Terra Man first challenge coincides with Supes Birthday remorse, a remnant from his Kryptonian heritage. Fabulously told story throughout. 9/10.
The Parasite's Power Play. Luthor and the Parasite. 8/10
Jimmy Olsen brings back the Newsboy Legion. 0/10
I am Curious (Black). Lois Lane becomes black for a day. Within 14 pages, there's a limit to what social message the author wants to give. But it may help to at least scratch the racism. For trying to right a wrong 10/10.
Who was that Dog I Saw You With Last Night? A rather sweet love story for Krypto. 10/10
Superman Breaks Loose. A relaunch for Superman 8/10
Must there be a Superman? Big debate asking how much Supes should interfere vs people taking responsibility for their actions. 10/10
I Can't Go Home Again. A sentimental tale of potential loss. 5/10
Superman Takes a Wife. And for real. This was a biggie back in the 1970s. 10/10
Very enjoyable set of adventures. 8/10 overall
Scoring: 0 bad; 1-3 poor; 4-6 average; 7-9 good; 10 excellent.
Make Way for Captain Thunder. Capt Thunder is obviously a take on Capt Marvel/ Shazam as a boy takes the personality after saying the name. There's no real resolution to the story 4/10.
Judge, Jury and No Justice. Superman Vs Superboy in the era when Boy was Man in his teens. This is a story about actions, their consequences and understandability in the wider context. It's sad but understandable who the villain is. 8/10
The Man who Murdered the Earth. Fooling Luthor to think he's destroyed all living life on Earth, this has a doomladen feel. The explanation of how the trick is pulled off is corny. A good read, so 8/10
The Man who Murdered Metropolis. Double menace of a news strike and Braniac's scheme for a reverse Metropolis to push down on the real city. 8/10
Challenge of Terra Man. Terra Man first challenge coincides with Supes Birthday remorse, a remnant from his Kryptonian heritage. Fabulously told story throughout. 9/10.
The Parasite's Power Play. Luthor and the Parasite. 8/10
Jimmy Olsen brings back the Newsboy Legion. 0/10
I am Curious (Black). Lois Lane becomes black for a day. Within 14 pages, there's a limit to what social message the author wants to give. But it may help to at least scratch the racism. For trying to right a wrong 10/10.
Who was that Dog I Saw You With Last Night? A rather sweet love story for Krypto. 10/10
Superman Breaks Loose. A relaunch for Superman 8/10
Must there be a Superman? Big debate asking how much Supes should interfere vs people taking responsibility for their actions. 10/10
I Can't Go Home Again. A sentimental tale of potential loss. 5/10
Superman Takes a Wife. And for real. This was a biggie back in the 1970s. 10/10
Very enjoyable set of adventures. 8/10 overall
Scoring: 0 bad; 1-3 poor; 4-6 average; 7-9 good; 10 excellent.
February 14, 2021
Tohle jsem si fakt užil. V komiksech je sice dost užvaněných rámečků s textem, ale když jim člověk nevěnuje přehnanou pozornost, je to překvapivě svižné čtení.
Superman v sedmdesátkách se pomalu blížil k velkému restartu v DC, ale ani zde mu úplně nedocházel dech. Našlo se v něm spoustu šíleností, které nějak zbyly z šedesátých let, ve kterých se často obálka snaží šokovat nějakým zvratem typu "V tomto čísle Lex Luthor zničí svět", ale kupodivu nejsou výsledné příběhy (aspoň v tomto výběru) nijak zvlášť špatné.
V téhle době byl Superman šíleně overpowered a měl stovky šílených super-schopností. Díky tomu a ne úplně funkční vědě ve světě komiksů vždy na poslední chvíli vyřeší nějaké zdánlivě neřešitelné situace. Během milisekundy třeba uteče v čase, do jiné dimenze či sebe nahradí svou dokonalou kopií, aby to vypadalo, že je mrtvý... Pak Superman často tenhle šílený plán odvypráví čtenáři v jedné dvou bublinách, a potom si vesele odkráčí jako zbabělý Clark Kent za svou nic netušící přítelkyní Lois Laneovou, která o něho měla takový strach.
Vůbec to na mě nepůsobilo trapně, ale spíš mile, fakt to má své kouzlo. A kresba je taky fajn. Superman je správný superchlapák a Lois a další holky jsou vždycky šik v sedmdesátkové módě (chlapi vypadají hrozně trapně, samozřejmě).
Nejspíš by mě nebavilo číst nějakou sérii Supermana ze 70. let celou, ale jako takové nakouknutí, co se v té době se Supermanem dělo, je to fakt výborný.
8/10
Superman v sedmdesátkách se pomalu blížil k velkému restartu v DC, ale ani zde mu úplně nedocházel dech. Našlo se v něm spoustu šíleností, které nějak zbyly z šedesátých let, ve kterých se často obálka snaží šokovat nějakým zvratem typu "V tomto čísle Lex Luthor zničí svět", ale kupodivu nejsou výsledné příběhy (aspoň v tomto výběru) nijak zvlášť špatné.
V téhle době byl Superman šíleně overpowered a měl stovky šílených super-schopností. Díky tomu a ne úplně funkční vědě ve světě komiksů vždy na poslední chvíli vyřeší nějaké zdánlivě neřešitelné situace. Během milisekundy třeba uteče v čase, do jiné dimenze či sebe nahradí svou dokonalou kopií, aby to vypadalo, že je mrtvý... Pak Superman často tenhle šílený plán odvypráví čtenáři v jedné dvou bublinách, a potom si vesele odkráčí jako zbabělý Clark Kent za svou nic netušící přítelkyní Lois Laneovou, která o něho měla takový strach.
Vůbec to na mě nepůsobilo trapně, ale spíš mile, fakt to má své kouzlo. A kresba je taky fajn. Superman je správný superchlapák a Lois a další holky jsou vždycky šik v sedmdesátkové módě (chlapi vypadají hrozně trapně, samozřejmě).
Nejspíš by mě nebavilo číst nějakou sérii Supermana ze 70. let celou, ale jako takové nakouknutí, co se v té době se Supermanem dělo, je to fakt výborný.
8/10
July 6, 2020
This trade has some very cool stories of Superman and some others boring ones. Really great way to get a taste of how he was written in the 70s but this is nothing special.
Still really glad I read it, though.
Still really glad I read it, though.
March 5, 2018
Nice variety and writing, fun stories.
March 15, 2025
Nice collection! I hadn't read much of the 70s stuff. I like.
October 15, 2012
Nothing like taking a trip down nostalgia lane where Lois Lane was Superman's Love, Pet Rocks were the hottest thing out there and kids could ask their parents for one quarter to buy a comic book and get change back. Times have changed and comics with them and that's a part of life. Every once in a while though it doesn't hurt to take a trip to the past and enjoy some of the old comic book classics.
March 9, 2014
Weaker than the volumes representing previous decades (perhaps it didn't help that I'd already read the Kirby and O'Neil/Adams bits) although with some exceptions. I don't know if this means the selections were poorer, perhaps because they couldn't include enter story-arcs, or because this decade simply was a weak one for Supes.
February 27, 2012
A collection of adventures about the Man of Steel from the 1970s, with an introduction by Christopher Reeve. I heartily enjoyed these classic stories and recommend them highly for anyone who enjoys a swashbuckling good time!
6/10
6/10
August 25, 2015
Oh, Curt Swan! How I love you. You and Murphy Anderson. Best Superman team ever. Have yet to be beat. A sublime collection. Must-have for every Superman fan. Required reading for all comic book fans.
March 28, 2014
It has been amazing to see the changes across the years, some good and some bad. Some artists better. Some not so hot.
September 11, 2015
I'm reminded of why I didn't read Superman in the 1970s. About as exciting as watching paint dry.
March 23, 2018
Quick page turner and a fun read. For someone who grew up in this time, this will hold some fond memories.
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