Superman: From the Thirties to the Seventies

Superman From

by E. Nelson Bridwell (Contributor)

For all those who have thrilled to the heroic exploits of Superman, the comic strip's noblest hero, here, for the first time, is a collection of his most exciting adventures.

Twenty-eight full stories with 36 pages of color follow Superman from his origins in 'Atomic Comics' in 1938 to the 70s. Here are many of the most famous Superman firsts - the dramatic appearance of Red Kryptonite, Lois Lane's suspicions that bespectacled, self-effacing Clark Kent is Superman, and the girl in Superman's past, Lori the beautiful mermaid from the fabulous lost city of Atlantis, for whose love Superman was ready to forsake his career.

Here is the ultimate escape into a fantasy world in which Superman's transcendent goodness and superhuman strength do battle with the evil machinations of power-crazed criminals.

With an introduction by E. Nelson Bridwell, editor of 'National Periodical Comics,' a wealth of magnificent artwork and a bibliography listing all Superman's comic-book appearances, this book is a must for all comic addicts and everyone interested in this unique view of the American Way of Life.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superman, Pop Culture, Superheroes, History

380 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Edward Nelson Bridwell was a writer for Mad magazine (writing the now-famous catchphrase, "What you mean...we?" in a 1958 parody of The Lone Ranger in Mad) and various comic books published by DC Comics. One of the writers for the Batman comic strip and Super Friends, he also wrote The Inferior Five, among other comics. He has been called "DC's self-appointed continuity cop."

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, I had a friend named Alan Davis who lived a block and a half away from me. I used to sleep over at his house all the time and, although I liked Alan and enjoyed hanging out with him for that reason alone, one of the main reasons I wanted to stay over so much was to get to read two books he had lying around in the huge communal bedroom he shared with his many siblings. They had these awesome floor to ceiling 3 tiered bunk beds, and I remember vividly grabbing one or both of these particular books and climbing to the top bunk to read them.
One of the books was the one listed above, the other was the companion volume dedicated to Batman.

I must have read the both of them 500 times.
Yesterday I went to the used bookstore, and in accordance with my habitual search pattern of WWII section, Music BIo, Fiction, and Comics, I eventually walked into the comics section and was momentarily paralyzed when I saw this book on the shelf.
For many years, beginning in the late 90's, I have tried to search these two books out. The problem is I don't remember the titles, Alan's books didn't have the dust jackets and the only information I recalled about them was the Superman volume was bound in red cloth, and the Batman was bound in blue.
So I saw this book and almost immediately I knew what it was. Picking it up and looking under the dust jacket confirmed it.
What a moment that was. I found I still remembered every page, every character, the nuances of the illustrations.

So now that I know the title, I've got to get a copy of the Batman volume.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories here are in black and white, with only two color supplements. I found this book fascinating to watch the progression of the character through the decades. The art increasingly gets better with time. No offense to the creators, but their art style was not as good as the ones we see later on.

Tone changes with time too. At first it is almost self-righteous. Then it becomes righteous as the country goes into WWII. Then it becomes campy and almost weird as the 1950s and 60s comes along. Then in the 70s we see the perfect mix of weird and supervillainy and serious, creating some of the best stories in the book.

We see a lot of firsts here, besides the origin of Superman (which is told twice and in two different ways). We see the introduction of Lois Lane; Jimmy Olsen (in a blink and you miss it cameo. It was the radio show that caused him to become more prominent, which reflected back into the comic); Lex Luthor, though he's just called Luthor here. He first appears with a head of bushy hair, after that he is depicted as bald.; Mr. Mxyzptlk appears from the 9th Dimension in the 40s, looking very different than he would eventually become; there are a lot of soft Bizarro superman stories in the 50s, which I assume is due to the Comics Code Authority's influence.; and so on.

It's worth if you can find the book cheap.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This stretches from Superman's debut in 1938 through the late-sixties turning point where Clark switches from print to TV (he'd stay in TV until John Byrne rebooted the character in the 1980s), with a heavy emphasis on the 1940s and Siegel & Shuster's old stories. That works pretty well, if only for Lois, who is amazingly competent as a reporter (she was much less so in the Silver Age stuff I grew up with). Villains include Luthor, Toyman, Prankster, Mxyzptlk, Bizarro and the Archer (surprisingly no Brainiac). While no longer capturing the full scope of Supes' history the way it did when it first came out (it covers around 33 years, and that was 40 years ago), it's a lot of fun if you're a Superman fan or want to see what his early years were like.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it is not much of a surprise that I liked the stories best that were written at a time when I was reading Superman. Actually there is only one story that is really quite good The Girl in Superman’s Past. I never liked Lois Lane and Lana Lang. But Lena Lamaris! The woman Superman wanted to marry.

Interesting at least the Bizarro stories. A world were things are different. Okay, Bizarro dustman puts garbage on the street. But what does the Bizarro mailman do? What happens when you get to the edge of the cube world? Hm, and they make spelling mistakes! That is bizarre.

[Nicholas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting for the history but the stories are terrible. Nice to know the Superman has been all "Sovereign national borders? Screw that noise!" from the start.

[The_J · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Man of Steel through the decades

[Al McCarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stone cold classics right here.

[Hannah Belyea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bolstered by an introduction from MAD Magazine writer E. Nelson Bridwell, this selection of tales from the 1930's-70's takes readers on the ride of a lifetime as they follow Superman through dangers abounding, from earth criminals to travels beyond the sun! Bridwell offers readers new and old a vast and exciting collection of adventures that will keep eyes glued to every panel. You'll be reading these stories fasting than a speeding bullet!

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A "super" collection that, unlike many more contemporary comics, stands the test of time. Although Superman has changed. For example he tends to threaten physical harm to women a lot less than in the '40s!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book from my childhood. I wonder how many times I read this one.

[Omer Dassa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quality is too variable to rate.