★★★★★ 5
Where it all began
Format: Paperback
Superman was a hit almost from day one, selling not only millions of comics but quickly went on to star in radio shows, movie serials, TV shows, cartoons, movies and every other media under the sun.
And it all starts here. This volume reprints the very first Superman stories from 1938 - the Superman chapters from Action Comics 1-13, the New York World's Fair special and Superman #1, some of the rarest and most valuable comic books ever published.
The art is crude but serviceable, but the stories are surprisingly political. Rather than fighting super villains or aliens Superman spends more of his time taking on corrupt businessmen and politicians. In one early story he ends a war in Europe by kidnapping an arms maker and forcing him to fight in the trenches. After his experience he swears never to make weapons again. This is a Superman who takes on the real issues of his time, and while the solutions are simplistic his goals are a lot more impressive than stopping bank robbers or killer robots.
An early super villain, the Ultra Humanite, puts in a appearance but even his plot is centered around labor unrest rather than death rays.
This is a fascinating look into the history of American comics. politics and popular culture. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in those subjects.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2011
