I'm planning this one (plus upcoming projects for Detective and Sensation Comics) to be fairly brief. In this project, I'll be covering the Superman stories from Action Comics #1-12. If someone would care to pick it up from then, please feel free.

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  • action_cover_001.jpg

    Action Comics #1 - "Superman!"
    Published: June 1938
    Writer: Jerry Siegel
    Artist: Joe Shuster


    We open with a quick, one page origin of Superman, along with a brief explanation of how Superman's powers work.


    As the story opens, we see Superman leaping through the air carrying a woman who is bound and gagged. He's heading to see the Governor.  As he arrives at the Governor's mansion, he leaves the woman outside. The attendant within won't allow him to see the Governor as it's late at night. Superman then busts through the door and carries the attendant until he finds the Governor's room. However, the door is locked and made of steel, but that's no impediment to Superman, who just smashes his way through. He then confronts the Governor in his bed, telling him an innocent woman is about to be executed in fifteen minutes for a crime she did not commit, and gives the Governor a signed confession. Before the Governor can act, his attendant appears with a gun. He shoots Superman, but the bullet bounces away harmlessly.  Superman disarms the attendant then turns his attention back to the Governor.  The Governor reads the confession, then calls the penitentiary and stops the execution. Superman then leaves, leaving behind a note to tell the Governor and his attendant where the real murderess is.


    The next day, as he heads to work, reporter Clark Kent is talking to someone in the street who tells him that the girl Superman saved last night was innocent. Scanning the article, he's pleased that Superman's involvement is not mentioned.


    Later, at the Daily Star--the newspaper where Kent works--he's called into the editor's office. The editor asks if he's ever heard of Superman. Clark is surprised but tells his editor that if anyone can get more information about Superman, he can.  Back in the main office, another man tells Clark about a wife-beating incident he needs to cover. He covers it as Superman and gives the wife beater what for. The wife beater faints, and Superman changes back into Clark before the police arrive.


    Later at the office, Clark asks a female reporter, Lois for a date. She grudgingly agrees.  As they're dancing later, he asks her why she avoids him at the office, and she tells him that she's been scrubbing sob stories all day and not to ask her for another one.


    A tough guy named Butch decides to cut in. Clark does nothing about this, but Lois rejects him, slapping Butch in the face. She then leaves Clark at the club, telling him that she avoids him because he's a coward.


    As Butch's pride is bruised, he decides to do something about "that skirt". However, he and his men are followed by Superman. Butch and the boys force Lois' taxi into a ditch, then they grab her and take her away.


    As they drive off, they spot Superman standing in the road ahead. They decide to play chicken with him, but Superman leaps over their car at the last second. He then chases down the car and lifts it over his head. Shaking the car, he first ejects and catches Lois, then turns the car into so much scrap metal. He then chases down Butch, and hangs him (by his pants) from a telephone pole.  He then grabs Lois and leaping through the air, escorts her home.


    The next day, Lois tries to tell her editor about her encounter with Superman, but he dismisses it and accuses her of having too much to drink the night before.  Clark attempts to apologize to her, but gets the cold shoulder.


    Clark is called into his editor's office and given an assignment. There's a war going on in the South American country of San Monte, and he wants Kent to go down there and cover if. He tells Kent to take a camera so he can get some good pictures as well.


    Kent grabs a train going to Washington D.C. instead of San Monte, where he watches a congressional session headlined by Senator Barrows. Afterwards, he takes a photo of the Senator with a shady looking man. He takes the picture to a local newspaper, where they identify the man as Alex Greer, the "slickest lobbyist in Washington". Apparently, no one knows what interests are behind Greer.


    That evening, Superman climbs a skyscraper to listen in to a conversation between Barrows and Greer. As they talk, it's revealed that Barrows is pushing through a bill that will get the USA embroiled in the war in Europe, and that Barrows will be well compensated for this service.


    Superman confronts Greer and asks who he works for. When Greer won't tell, he grabs him by the foot and leaps up to some telephone wires. Superman runs across the wires, as Greer is fearful of being electrocuted, and Superman plays on those fears. When they get close to the Capitol, Superman leaps up to the top as Greer begs him to put him down. Superman then leaps towards a skyscraper but seems to miss it...


    To be continued...


    My rating: 8/10


    Man, a lot happens here. We get a quick origin, a bunch of action establishing just who Superman is, and the establishment of a number of his ongoing relationship issues with other people.


    Additionally, we see that Superman isn't quite the "boy scout" that he would later become. This Superman doesn't take no for an answer, doesn't respect boundaries and has no qualms whatsoever about throwing his weight around. The only thing that matter  to him is that justice gets done, however that has to happen.  He kidnaps, coerces, tortures, destroys private property and a number of other crimes in this pursuit, and you love him all the more for doing so.

  • ...I believe the first volume of Superman Chronicles includes the Superman material from Action 1-13 , Superman #1 , and World's Fair Comics #1 - Are you working from a different source than that book ?
  • action_splash_002.jpg

    Action Comics #2 - "Superman!"
    Published: July 1938
    Writer: Jerry Siegel
    Artist: Joe Shuster

    Superman and Greer fall to the street, but Superman lands on his feet(destruction of public property). He suggests to Greer that they do it again, but Greer has had enough. He tells Superman that the mastermind behind him is one Emil Norvell, a munitions magnate who wants the USA embroiled in the war so he can profit. He also tells Superman where to find Norvell.

    Superman leaves Greer alone and jumps to the top of the Washington Monument, so he can get a good look at Norvell's estate. Meanwhile, Greer is warning Norvell about Superman's interest and impending visit. Norvell tells him he'll be prepared.

    As he hangs up the phone, Superman enters via an open window (trespassing) He tells Norvell he's coming with him whether he wants to or not (kidnapping) but Norvell tells him that he has other plans. Norvell pushes a button on his desk calling in his men. Armed with Tommy Guns, they shoot at Superman, but discover that he's bulletproof. As one of them says "He won't die!" Superman responds with "Glad I can't say the same thing for you!" He then proceeds to wrap the guns around the necks of the thugs and tosses them out the window (it's unclear if they're dead or not).

    Superman then bends an iron bar in his hands to show Norvell how strong he is )kind of unnecessary given the previous display of strength) and asks Norvell if he's coming along, and the munitions magnate is convinced. Superman takes Norvell to the docks and shows him a ship leaving in the morning for San Monte. He tells Norvell he needs to be on that ship or he'll hunt him down and kill him. Norvell agrees.

    The next morning, Clark Kent and Lois Lane board the ship to San Monte. Apparently the editor decided that he wanted some dispatches from San Monte with Lois' "feminine touch". Also on board the ship are some mercenaries headed to San Monte to enlist. There's also a mysterious woman, Lola Cortez, and of course Norvell.

    After the ship leaves port, Norvell gets a visit from Superman, who was simply checking to make sure Norvell was on board and to let him know that he's watching. After Superman leaves, Norvell turns to a hired assassin and tells him that that's his target. The assassin assures Norvell he's as good as dead.

    As Superman stands by the ship's railing watching the sea, he's jumped by a number of men. Superman braces himself against the rail, but it breaks and he tumbles into the sea.

    The assassins report back to Norvell that they successfully threw Superman overboard and ask for their money, but Norvell stiffs them, and tells them he'll call the police if they bother him again.

    Superman, of course, is not dead. He chooses to swim the rest of the way to San Monte.

    As the ship gets to port and Norvell disembarks, he's attacked by the thugs he stiffed before. Superman shows up and rescues him, driving off the thugs. Norvell asks Superman why he saved him, and Superman tells him that what he has planned is much worse than what those men would have done to him. Norvell asks him what he's going to do to him, and Superman tells him he won't do anything so long as Norvell joins the San Monte army.

    Later that evening, Norvell is trying to figure out what to do. He knows he can't defeat Superman as he's already tried and failed several times. He decides to join the army with the goal of escaping at the first opportunity.

    The next day, after Norvell enlists, he discovers that someone else has enlisted as well--Superman. Next thing you know, both of them are headed fro the front. As they march towards the front, Norvell asks Superman if he's trying to get them both killed. Superman then asks him why he makes munitions when he knows that they'll be used to kill me horribly, and Norvell responds that "men are cheap--munitions expensive!"

    At this point, the new unit is shelled. Norvell dives to the ground with the others and fears that he's going to die, that "this is no place for a sane man". Superman then tells him that his attitude changes when he's the one at risk.

    Later they get to camp. Sentries see a shadow they can't identify--it's Superman. He goes to the enemy camp where a couple of Generals are discussing the strength of their units. Superman pops into their tent and takes their picture. He then escapes into the night. The next day, Clark Kent sends the photo back to the Daily Star, where it's put on the front page.

    Meanwhile, Lois Lane and Lola Cortez are getting acquainted. Lola tells Lois that she's a wealthy traveler. Some army officers enter the hotel where they are staying and Lola quickly leaves, then hides a document in Lois' room.  Back in the lobby, the officers tell the manager that an important document has been stolen and asks to search the guests' rooms. The manager agrees, and the search turns up the document in Lois' room. Lois is arrested and sentenced to death for espionage (man, those San Monte courts move fast).

    Clark Kent, in his disguise as a soldier, overhears about Lois' plight. Superman rescues her from the firing squad. He then carries her off.

    As he lands, it's in the midst of some men torturing others for information. He grabs the torturer and tosses him off towards the horizon (presumably to his death. I can't imagine anyone surviving that).

    After freeing the man being tortured, Superman then takes Lois to the docks and urges her to return to America. Amazingly enough, she actually takes his advice.

    Superman returns back to the army camp but finds it being strafed by an enemy plane. Superman jumps into the airplane's path, destroying the propeller and causing the pilot to fall to his death.

    On the ground, Norvell thinks that Superman is dead too and celebrates, but Superman disabuses him of that notion a moment later. He begs Superman to allow him to return to the USA as he's grown to hate war, and Superman tells him that he can as long as he quits manufacturing munitions. Norvell agrees and boards the ship back to the USA.

    Superman then kidnaps the two armies' commanding officers and tells them to finish off the war by fighting things out themselves. They ask him why they should fight when they're not angry at one another. Superman asks them why they're at war int he first place, and neither of them can tell him. Superman then tells them that they've obviously only been fighting to support munitions manufacturers, and then gets them to sign a peace treaty.

    Clark Kent returns to the USA, and his editor tells him there's been no Superman news since he left, and wonders if Superman has retired for good, and Clark assures him that Superman will be back.

    My rating:  7/10

    This story has a tendency to jump all over the place, but at least it's a little more focused than the previous one. Superman is still very much a man of action who will do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals, whether he works within the letter of the law or not. It does lose points with me over the Lola/Lois subplot, not because it was started but because it was never really finished--we don't find out what happened to Lola, if anything, and there's no follow up on the army attempting to find Lois afterwards. It would have been nice to finish that off, plus the bit with the torturer seemed tacked on as well. Norvell gets off pretty lightly, too.

  • The cover of Action #2 didn't show Superman nor did it even mention him. This wouldn't last long.

    I'd be surprised if in a real war you would get the response that the two leaders gave Superman. They always have grievances or other reasons, real or imagined, and are not fighting because it's fun to use the weapons. When this came out the prevailing opinion in the U.S. was to stay out of another war. The Spanish Civil War was going on at the time and Japan was already at war with China. Mussolini had seized power in Italy and vowed to recreate the Roman Empire. Hitler had been in power in Germany for five years and had already been annexing territory by force, even though WWII was still a year away. Britain and France were trying to stave off another war. They had both lost essentially an entire generation of men in WWI. I hate it when people say that all France ever does is surrender. When the Blitzkrieg broke through France's Maginot Line they either had to surrender or be completely slaughtered.

  • I agree with you, Randy, that both issues are somewhat unfocused but the energy in them just leaps off the page.  I found both issues read very much like comic strips, which makes sense considering strips had been around for a few years in 1938 and as we all know this was the era of comic books in their infancy.  I enjoyed both issues even though the portrayal of Superman is jarring the first time you read it.  He's violent and clearly enjoys terrorizing criminals - and kills some without blinking.  He's also staunchly anti-war and an isolationist, which would not be an uncommon attitude a few years before Pearl Harbor.  

    They got Lois Lane right on the first try though.  I thought it was great how she told off the mobster that tried to cut in when Clark was dancing with her and then slapped the taste out of his mouth!  Plus, she wasn't worried about hurting Clark's feelings either - she really let him have it verbally as well.

  • I know that Siegel and Shuster initially wanted to have Superman in the newspapers and they had to rework/redraw some of the early stories to fit in comic books.

  • Richard Willis said:

    The cover of Action #2 didn't show Superman nor did it even mention him. This wouldn't last long.

    Superman appears on the covers of Action #1, 7, 10, 13, 15, and 17, and then beginning with #19 he's featured on the cover each month going forward.  With issue #9, going forward there's a blurb about Superman whether he appears on the cover or not, although a few times it's just a corner box of him.

    By contrast, Batman appears on the covers of Detective #27, 29, 31, and 33, and then every month starting with #35.  There is a blurb about the Batman on the four issues he does not appear on after his debut.

  • In the intervening year they learned to call attention to the superhero.


  • John Dunbar (the mod of maple) said:

    I agree with you, Randy, that both issues are somewhat unfocused but the energy in them just leaps off the page. 

    That's a great observation and one I wished I'd made. The stories are unfocused and all over the place, but there's an undeniable dynamism to them.

    They got Lois Lane right on the first try though.  I thought it was great how she told off the mobster that tried to cut in when Clark was dancing with her and then slapped the taste out of his mouth!  Plus, she wasn't worried about hurting Clark's feelings either - she really let him have it verbally as well.

    I guess that is getting Lois right.

    If I've never said so before, I'm nto a fan of Lois Lane. I've never understood what Superman saw in her, at least Pre-Crisis.. Sure, she was strong and willing to stand up for herself, but she was incredibly mean towards Clark and really didn't treat Superman any better. She was abrasive, fickle, shallow (there were any number of stories where Superman's appearance changed for some reason and she wanted nothing to do with him then) and quite frankly just plain mean.

  • action_splash_003.jpg

    Action Comics #3 - "Superman!"
    Published: August 1938
    Writer: Jerry Siegel
    Artist: Joe Shuster

    A miner is trapped in a cave in, and Clark asks his editor if he can cover the story. The editor agrees, and Superman goes to the rescue. When he arrives on the scene, he disguises himself as a miner and pretends to slip and fall into the mine. When he hits bottom, he finds the tunnel filled with poison gas. While he is unaffected, he stumbles upon the rescue crew who have succumbed to the effects of the gas. He moves them to safety. He then goes to the area of the cave in, and digs through the mound of coal to rescue the miner.

    Realizing the miner is in bad shape, he needs to get him to a hospital right away. However, when he tries to get the mine elevator, it doesn't respond. He chooses to climb the elevator cable to take the miner to safety.

    Clark Kent calls in the story to his editor, telling him that the miner will be crippled for life. He then visits the miner in the hospital and asks the miner if the cave in could have been prevented. The miner tells him that it could have been prevented but the management ignored the miners' safety concerns.

    Kent goes to visit the owner of the mine, Thornton Blakely. He asks Blakely if he's set up a pension for the injured miner. Blakely tells him no, that the miner was careless and that's why the accident happened. He says that his company will pay part of the miner's hospital bills and offer him a small retirement bonus. Kent then asks if he's going to repair the unsafe sections of the mine and Blakely denies that there are any unsafe areas, and even if there are, he's a businessman and doesn't care.

    That evening, Superman, still disguised as a miner, breaks into Blakely's estate (trespassing). He spots a party in progress. Blakely's security spots him and tries to captures him, which Superman allows.

    They take him to Blakely and explain that they caught him sneaking around on the grounds. They want to take him and rough him up. Blakely asks Superman why he's there and Superman tells him that he heard the sounds of the party and wanted to join in. Blakely tells his men to beat him up and throw him out. However, before they do, Blakely changes his mind.

    Blakely takes Superman out to his party. He tells his guest that he caught Superman trying to see how the other half lives, and that his guests are a bunch of nincompoops whose sole activity in life is trying to escape boredom. He then suggests that Superman take them down to the mine to continue the party.His guests aare all for it, and Superman leads them into the mine.

    As they tour the mine, the socialites begin to realize how poor the working conditions are down there. Superman then breaks one of the mine supports, causing a cave in.

    Blakely's guests begin panicking. Blakely tells Superman he's suffocating, but Superman tells him that the air will last for another 24 hours.  Blakely is confident they'll be rescued by then, but Superman tells him that may not happen. Blakely is then attacked by one of his guests, who is restrained by the others.

    Blakely then thinks of the safety devices and tells everyone that they're saved. He smashes a glass and activates a signal device, but it doesn't work. Superman tells him that like the other safety devices in the mine, this one is rusty and no good. Blakely's guests attack him again, telling him that if he'd installed proper safety devices they'd all be okay.

    After the latest physical altercation is avoided, Blakely finds a pick and tells Superman to start digging them out. However, Superman tells him that he's prepared to die, and if he wants to get out of there he needs to do the digging himself. Blakely tells him that if htey ever get out of that mine his first act will be to fire him.

    Blakely and his guests attempt to dig their way out, but make little progress. There's a rescue party on the other side attempting to dig them out as well. Blakely and his guests stop digging as they're winded, and one of them comments that the miners do this every day. They give up in frustration, and Blakley ruminates that if he'd known what it was like down there before, he would have done more for the miners.

    Blakely and his guests eventually pass out from exhaustion. At this point, feeling that Blakely has learned his lesson, Superman digs them out.

    A few days later, Kent visits Blakely. Blakely tells him that from now on his mines will have the best safety devices and his miners will be treated better than any others. Clark takes this news to heart, musing that if Blakely goes back on his word, he'll get another visit from Superman.

    My rating: 6/10

    The problem with this story is that it hinges on the antagonist making a ridiculous, boneheaded decision. If Blakely doesn't suggest moving his party to the mine, he likely doesn't learn his lesson, at least within the confines of the action. I will give some credit as this story is much more focused than the previous ones.

    It's also interesting to note that we only see Superman in costume in one panel in this story. One wonders why this was the case--did the editors pressure Siegel and Shuster to play down the costume aspect? Was it feedback from bans?Anyway, it's just odd.

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