Superman Archives, Volume 1

276 Pages·2005·65.27 MB·English

by  Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster

ww 4s¢-) 4)

ARCHIVE@PEDITIONS

SUPERMAN
ARCHIVES yVOLUME I
JERRY SIEGEL 4 E SH STER

> JOE SHUST
Vesa tor $0900,
th fit fries of SUPRA Conese
bec der Coleco fa th fy
eoresince tar oie release, acoso
Morey hey hr bee ere
ie rot woniy and rant of cies
coledo

Ua sw. I his lame, DC Comic proud
Sees
thd ep ety, THESUTERHAN
‘Stcnves howe he cate verter
{he Manoel es writen yey Siegel ond
(tom by Joe Sty Superman ecteto

Thee sins party Speen vo bed
yeti ere ina he aperpoweed deigd
we tnow toy. This Superman wos a Deprs-
“mare chon who cold dl hc
teri reat weighs, ourace tis, and
ose incall be pict by ating ese
‘hove heigl Hew teat mo
econ raph od tap, me vee

Everyone whe loves Superman and respects
the eat, seminal work of Siegel and Shuster

‘can dele into THESUPERMAN ARCHIVES a
tum fo a simple ine, when comic book super-
heroes were jst beginning to develop—and
Superman was the frst and the greatet
SUPERMAN

RCHIVES VOLUME |

JERRY SIEGEL & JOE SHUSTER

ETWEEN THE TIME THAT HEMINGWAY
erated Nick Adams and Tolkien conjured

Bio Boggins, he ame Yo ie

He wos born in the company of Mr. Chips,
Joseph K, Lady Chatterley, Conan, Std Loni
{gan Antony Adverse, Tom Joo, Perry Mas,
Horatio Hornblower Jeter Leroy, Chul, ond
Wier Mtty—ond become more fmous tha all
of thes,

en more remarkable is that othe hero ot
heroes, he ws the brainchild of to 1-yorelds
‘hose greatest ambition a to fil he poges of
‘heir small mimeazine, Science Fiction. As
hildhood friends Iving twee. locks opart in
Clereland, Ohi, Jny Sigel and Joe Shuster
shored and combined thei interests wore ond
Pictares—in the amteut Iterary endear

‘Although in 1930 the SF genre wos ail in its
farmative stages, the teenage: found thee nog
ination ignited bythe frm. Only three palp
Imagorines—Amaring Stories, Astounding
Stories, ond Air Wonder Storior-—wsre
devoted exclusively to fotastic fchon. Thee
femles sil setfrng fram the Depression, the
‘0 fre sxaped ponies fogather to afford thee
ewstand bab Sigel submited stores to the
pulps under the preudonym Bernard Kenton;
together the boys coloborated on ilustated fe
tion ond newspapers samples

Speman wos one of them

Concivodin 193, he dominated hie efforts
throeghout the next lve years, eve ater they

told hlfdozen projects tothe comics company
that wold evento herald the DC boner. Be
esing in hee craton, thay doggedly sent ou
mers resions fo newspaper syndcte, al of
‘hich rejected the srpe a cade and immature

Superman wor Fld under “are” by the
youth! team, wi, after @ Niagara a smi
sions, ron out of potonial markets. Their Man
SF Stoel wos too offoot for edtrt schooled in
Traditional comie-tip senbities to accep
Fentaty and SF bod shoken hands with the four
oot form decodes ear: LyonelFeiningers
‘The Kin-dar-Kids and Winsor McCoys Litle
Nomo in Slumberland date back almost fhe
turn of the century, wile Buck Rogers, Flash
Gordon, Brick Brodford, Aly Oop, ond Man-
rake poced the 30s Industri Er, preparing
the way fr the Atomic Age. Super beings, how
ee, mere another matter Parhps the perids
‘most outstanding wes pulp here Doc Sovge,
‘those edvertaements heedined him a: asuper
an oer 1934

“The word ubetrench wos coined by Geren
piloropber Fidhich Niteace before the fare
the contr. The ter, rnsated into Enis,
wos popularized through such references at
George Bernard Shaw's play Man ond Super
‘mon and such pulp tales os The Superman
(August, 1931) ond The Supermen (October,
1923) in Amazing Stories

Unfl June 1938, cami books were only on
‘echo of the funny papers. Some ofthe mest suc
‘certl merely reprinted the populor newspaper
‘Sins Blondie, Popeye, Abner, Terry ond
‘he Pirates, Buck Rogers, Dick Troy, Flesh
Gordon, Tarzan, ond Mickey Mouse. Pub-
Tishers nba could not ‘efford mozrleogue chor
‘cer dingy nurtured o multitude ot itaions

Camic books noeded 3 superman of thei
comma bald now chompion who could lop off
the pope in on onxpectd direction tht woukd
herald the Gelden Age of Comies—and they gt
im According to legend, the even was solely
the reaut of chance McClre Syadicate oget
M-C.Geines, an early comics panes, just hap-
se tahoe the Sigal and Shr submision
fn hit desk when president Harry Donenfeld
‘honed, inqiingobout ginal mera ofl
‘new magazine he was essemblng. Coincidon-
tally the arstviter team was elroy spl
ing several strips to hs line, including De
Occult, Federal Men, Henri Duval, Radio
Squad, Spy, ond Sloe Brady.

Donened recognized the materials appeal
and ordered the newspaper sip repsted into
amic-age format, with the frst wesk slim
nated to accommodate avilable space in the
Imogozne, which wos cvstened Action Com-
ies. On the cover, Superman hoisted on aut
Inabile oF mere a ty nope,

(The oping tle wos reprinted in ts mtiety
in Superman 1, a5 itis here. Tot story ond
those that immediately followed ore ealleted
tithin these pages exacty os they appeared
‘hon, Retouching i minimal, amd onl o restore
Crtstie detail, Colring,inclodingeirbrasking
‘and clortld, duplicates tht of the orginal
beck)

Tn, the Man of Steak was 7s gonus in
inc, « Heras im sength, 0 nemesis to
wong doen,” essing in toot cle, not very
“erent from the source that inspired bm: P=
‘p Wiles 1930 navel Gladiator. nth book, the
ete evidences syporstronath os a beby, dix
ers he en leap 40 fet inthe ir

tmachine- gun bullets and exploding shells cont
Danette his kin The fale wos one of Siege
Fovrtes, reviewed with pase in is anne

'S the concept developed, he puto spin on

the idea by grafting i the Biblical story of
‘Moser concealment from the Pharaoh, with out
er socesbtutngfor he Nile. The concpt of
‘liens visting Earth dates back os foros Yo
foie 1752 fantasy Miromegas, which count
less F authors, inladng HG, Well The
Wor of the Words, hae used oso dramatic
device,

“The explanation of Superman strength rlt-
ing to the grovity factor (dotaled on the filler
age between the second and thd trios inthis
‘olume, but contradicted by a newspapers
“yopss) wos fist suggested nahn W. Comp
balls Aorn Meme foles about a descendant of
then razed on the planet Jupiter wh i ©
physical ond mental superman on out world, The
‘noigybetwecn the strength of nsets and mon
‘ro ls deed tam Wil nore

‘Althaugh the Superman premize wat incom
et, the existing laments together with pax
fect lagi. T enforce the concept Siegel ded
"he dak dentity bt etndor are for dozens of
‘harcters fom Zor to The Show, traceable

1905s The Scarlet Pimpernel] wile Shar
ter provided the crowning touch: the superhero
Covtime, Previa, few fictionl mon of adver
fare had been esaciated wih hoe clathes, So
tpenman changed all thot by becaming come
Tooke fist—and mort importation

“The pulps had no colt SF characte, but
newspaper di, in Flash Gordon. Begining in
Janary 1934, the band spocchawl and his tt-
ae werefourolrfshion pats dificult for an
impressionable young att ignore. In his Hist
Fetstic sequence, Flesh wor gerbe ino rn
‘ting shit with @ yell ckevon i chest,

unks rer blue ight (ike © eu acaba)
‘Sided by Bel, and strotch boots ll hat wo
‘sing wos 0 ted cope-—hich he oequired «
few wesks later Fl Gordons influence Wes
pvc, By coincidence o design, the costume
Sapermon ultimately nore mode him the most
recognizable hero inthe comics univers ond
bond

Br todo’ tondrds, le Shuster ots primi
te, but what lack in sophistication ond pre
enim i makes up fr in ram, energetic imagery
is approach i the extence of corespendence
‘chal simplicity. Althoogh the artist learned
drow ater wining a scholarship to the Cleve
land Scho! ot Art, and while attending the ohn
Hontington Paitecrical Institute (where he
oid for leone dine at © time) be wor wore
Influenced by the humor ond adventare tips
the period. Roy Cranc super’ Wath Tubbs
provided Shster with ap desl model fr le
fond storing. Superman, expecially oF en
In there toe, bors on inforeringreromblonce
{e Coptin Ear.

Sell and srightorword the at was pr
fect match for ie subject motte and #0
essa it became the Choro howte style for
decades to ll Suen, th young daemon
ad more wrk thon he cold handle On January
16,1939, the Superman stip debuted in four
newspapers, with © Sunday poge strting on
November 5 By 1941, more thon 300 popes cor
red the Mon of Steals adventures for com
Fined culation of 20 ion. The Superman
«omic bok began as «quote in summer 1938
ond ws ollwed in sing 1981 by Word’ Fin.
st (orginally New Yore Worlds For

‘As the demand escalted, Siegel ond Shuster
rented on office that qualified a he smallest
Cleland, 2¢ up four drawing tables, and ied
Ht of orcas nln Joe bother. oat
Coxridy, Beanie Neville, and Leo Naveck were
meng Sperm emi ghosts, but the best
fad the mast enduring ws Weyne Boring, ©
Chicago Art Insitute student who penciled,
Inked, devon lettered the stp ultimately
Aeining the quintszental Superman

Sigel continued fo erie the Kryptonions
sogo, but Shuster woe forced to relinquish deaw-
ing dates othe charters popularity exceaded
thei wildest expectations Failing eesight ond 0
Sisyphoon wertlbad ford him Yo function pi
eri atthe stp art decoy, concenroting
Nis attic eft an layouts that were inthe
bythe shop exew with varying degrees of compe
tence. The stories reproduced inthis volumo,
howeve, have @ maximum input fam Shuster,
inst wate originally created or published a
newspaper tis

The eves! fles ral o west of services.
oat the Man of Stools post, det tha, oer

RD

the last hal centuy, have been refined, mod:
iid, odoped and wimataly changed Beyond
recognition on ctlution authentic legends
mot often andre
Tes itl remembered tht baby Ka K-68
in later versions) was “raed over to an orphan
‘xyum* ctr being found by the elderly Kent
(Siege! appropriately menoges to vance the
story, characterize the ewesome inf, ond
‘quseze a laugh iota the twe pol sequence
‘emorhaly, the parents appear to gt younger a+,
thei adopted san ogc inthe following ponl)
Superman stichlers wll alo note that young
{Clark begin his arer at The Daily Star nthe
fit story, mores to The Evening News (sin
dentally bed nar hs crests, in Clrclond) in
‘the eacond, ond etches boc tthe Stor by his
fourth adveturs, Almas on entire yer passes
before ho finaly settles dwn in Metropolis
(romed ater Pitz Lange dstopion film mate
pecs) Whothr he follow Lee daring fi job
opping or she fll him iil disputed,
‘Changes in costume abound theushot the
‘coty patie. Yes will pes belore Supermant
boots ore standardized. (Although we've oc
coped the foct that he weer his out under
‘rect lather, oe no one eer wondered how he
‘rere boots undor hs shoes?) The boot top oe
Semetines posted blow the knee, sonst
‘red, and often simpy stoight ocrss. Occ:
Sina they aren dawn stall The bel hol
ing up ts trnks oso oppeors ond disoppear
With sling regularity (lckly they have ne
Zipper] a do the chovons on is chert end ape,
the later of which i alto missing sporadialy|
during every adventure, The seeming incon
‘gruiies moy perhaps be explined by the com
feting notion tht not even Superman is pert.
‘The mort significant changes, Hower, cor-
‘com the hero powers As be wor originally cr
‘ted, “nothing les than a brsting tel ould
penetrote is skin. He had the lint ably to
“Toop” on eighth of @ mile end had no extrot
(Gapecventguim, inde. There m0 or
ance fo suport his Xray vision: to the contrary,
inthe fst tory, Clark rogues look ato nowe-
oper healing rom a man not three fst ewoy?
"The Man of Tener is ebony no longer
the Man of Yestordoy. Ono-upmanhip ha akon
im along way in the post 30 yoors. He now
sithstandsnaclarexplostans, can yt the ends
1 he ones od hos move sper bits of bat
sess thon Fredy Krueger os tes. Those born
in the este era mist remember that Super
‘man come to Earth in an age of inecence, a
Time amply rellected in the following stories.
Simple ines called lr simpler mesures; mejor
problems celd easly be resaed by te thet
of idence hough the Man of Stel pay it
the retrain in escing fo vent otion when
‘ro the apis nore hm,In is most boc orm,
Sapermon isthe embodiment ct the lime
Aalevon alscent foros the mest ponert
rman the word A hero erste for Kid by kids,
Tes impossible to overestimate Supermon's
pre-eminence in the comics universe, and this
llection represent the down fon er that en
nly be categorized oe on American pheno:
ro. In February 1940, the Mon of Steal made his
rodeo debut. The following yor, the fist of 17
ragitienti etoscoped cartoons ws released
to breathese worldwide audiences. A decade
later wo il els ond TY Series would fur

thor propagate the Superman legend. AS &
comic-book character, he is the foremost of
Yivee tho others being Batman ond Wonder
Woman-—ete edventres have Bean in conti
sous publication Hace His Inception Uke
Hamlet ond Mickey Mouse, he iso gure of fe.
Vinal immorality, a glant wehave come ebro
bet os rd SS STERANKO

LIM STERANKO is wrtedetgneristron ot
‘aemporatypoplr eal A 0 cemis writer
Cd crit whore woe fed wets mcd Nick
Fury—Agent of SHLELD, Coptain America,
‘nd Superman o¢ well a the Outlond fm aop-
{ation ond the grophic novel Chandler, he hor
cerhiitd his work around the werd inci
‘the Lowe. A petite ia the ftesy and
‘ofverture gee, he has pated 2 prfsion of
‘mova posters, record elms, ond Book covers
(inl 30 Show poperbocks ination 1
‘erking with teen Speer a roctin art
(on Roidrs ofthe Lost Ark. His wo voles ob
‘The History of Comics hae sld ore 10.000
‘copes He curently the editor and publisher ot
PREVUE Mopazine.
FO
THE COMPLETE STORY OF THE DARING
EXPLOITS OF THE ONE AND ONLY %
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