Strange Visitor

by Louise Simonson

These collections, showcasing stories from 1939 and into the early 1940s, feature some of the earliest adventures of the worlds greatest super-hero in hard-hitting stories by the Man of Steels... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316177997
• ISBN13: 9780316177993
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Length: 142 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.7" x 7.4"
• Age Range: 4 to 22 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

The Zeus of modern American mythology...

Superman has flown through American culture for nearly seventy years. He has appeared in almost every twentieth century entertainment medium: comics, television, and movies. With such ubiquity and staying power, it's probably fair to say that Superman stands as the Zeus of modern American mythology. Not only that, as Comic historian Mark Waid says in this book's introduction, Superman vicariously fulfills nearly every person's hidden dream of invincibility. Nothing can touch this guy. Not crooks with guns, not the law (who also have guns), not corrupt politicians (who might have guns), not even larger than life supervillans. In short, Superman embodies the American principle that "in America you can do what you want." If you're Superman, this is definitely true. How many people wouldn't want to shed their vulnerable human skins for that kind of power? Superman has become an all-out good guy in his later years. Now he works with the law, and dishes out justice by the book. For those familair with only this late Superman, the stories in this volume will produce gaping, eye-widening shock. In these early stories Superman takes the law into his own hands and metes out justice on his own eye-for-an-eye terms. In the first story, Superman drags a corrupt Senator on a terrifying trip from building to building and live power line to live power line. "I wonder if we can jump all the way to that building?" he asks. "NO DON'T" his captive pleads. He jumps and says "Missed -- doggone it!" while the politician writhes in agony. Over a series of live wires Superman man says "Oops! Almost touched that pole!" The Senator gives out a "Ye-eow!" By the hands of Superman, criminals receive the same treatment they dish out to their victims. A man involved in rigging a circus gets tossed into the air until he confesses. A wisecracking office mate gets his clothes torn off as retribution. Many get hit hard, one gets dropped into tar, a governor gets abducted from his bed to hear the confession of a corrupt workhouse superintendent that Superman has locked in the "hot box". Superman faces a man sneaking out to gamble, crushes his watch and tells him, "See how easily I crush your watch in my palm? If you don't quit gambling I'll look you up and give your neck the same treatment." The early Superman was a bully for justice. He used brute force to clean up crime. Even against the police and the army (see issue 8). Nothing stops him. The first half dozen stories feature Superman cleaning up human corruption. Evil businessmen and organized crime mafiosos get what's coming to them (usually in the form of Superman's fists). He helps out everything from a failing circus and a deceived oil company to a cab company victimized by protection money hoodlums. Most of the stories hail him as "friend of the helpless and oppressed." But he doesn't really receive any real challenges until the "Ultra-Humanite" (a proto Lex Luthor) appears. This arch-villain delivers some memorable but q

Wonder and Excitement that will Appeal to All

With "Superman: The Action Comics Archives", DC goes back to the first Superman stories. I imagine the reason DC archived Superman in multiple series has much to do with the initial popularity of the character with his multiple appearances, plus the fact that many of Superman's first stories in "Action Comics" were reprinted in his the first issues of his own solo title. Since I am largely up to date on the "Superman Archives" proper, which reprinted the solo series, going back and reading "The Action Comics Archives" is fun little treat, as one is reminded of how much the character changed in just his first decade. While I knew that Superman was initially a social crusader, its amazing just how much of one he really was. In these pages, Superman puts and end to juvenile delinquency by leveling a slum, and allowing the government to rebuild it. He forces the city of Metropolis got clamp down on reckless driving. He investigates the abusive behavior of a prison camp. And he cleans up the gambling rackets in the city. Naturally, all of these actions bring Superman into conflict with city officials and police, and Superman seems more of a renegade than super-hero. However, even early on, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel realized that their larger-than-life hero needed some larger than life adversaries. Thus came Ultra-Humanite, Superman's opposite number, a crippled, aged scientific genius who engages in several brilliant schemes designed to terrorize the population and enrich himself. His greatest trick, however, is transferring his brain from body to body (something the character continued to do, even if DC's shifting continuity made Ultra a JSA villain, not a Superman one). The Ultra stories are the most fun, since they are pretty straightforward super-hero tales. While the stories aren't deep character studies, Siegel had a strong sense of adventure and humor, as Superman uses his powers to right wrongs, frequently opting for humiliation and intimidation.. Shuster's art, while generally cartoony, is clear and communicates the awe and wonder the stories require. There are some moments of near-perfect detail. For example, as Superman confronts an actress who has inexplicably kidnapped several colleagues, Shuster presents one single panel of a head-shot of the woman, eyes blazing fiendishly. This moment tips Superman off that the girl is actually Ultra, but also communicates to the reader just how evil this person is, despite the otherwise simplistic quality of the art as a whole. Despite the flaws endemic to golden age comic books, the early Superman stories nonetheless age quite well. They are filled with such wonder and excitement that even a veteran reader will find appealing. Enjoy.

The comic book that started it all with The Man Of Steel!

Superman made his debut in Action Comics #1 in June, 1938. He became an instant sensation with readers, and started the superhero trend. Superman: The Action Comics Archives volume 1 reprints only the Superman stories from Action Comics #1, and #7-20 (issues 2 thru 6 were reprinted in early issues of Superman). These stories featured a Man of Steel who did anything to get justice done, including escaping from Police whenever they get on his trail! He didn't have all the superpowers that his modern version has today, or that modern version's sense of justice. Superman fought normal criminals in his early years, before getting a regular rogues gallery like arch mastermind Lex Luthor, the alien Brainiac, Bizarro, The Prankster, etc. One villain who became Superman's first recurring foe in this book was the Ultra-Humanite. A sinister villain who was thwarted by the Man of Steel many times. Read the classic stories from comics' Golden Age that started it all in Superman: The Action Comics Archives!

The Man of Tomorrow!

When Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two teenage kids from the slums, first read Philip Wylie's Gladiator they were shocked. Its premise was that even a superhero couldn't really do much to correct the injustice within society. The Superman they created not only disproved Wylie's premise, but also took the fight to the bad guys in violent and irresistible ways. A bad guy wouldn't rat out his boss; Superman tossed him out a skyscraper window and played catch with him all the way down. Nobody said no to Superman for very long. This pre-World War II Superman is very different than his modern cousin. He was the culmination of the mythic hero (think Samson) set in an economically depressed society that had a powerful faith that the future would be better. (The modern Superman comes from a very different place: Jor-el the father gave Kal-el, his only begotten son (think Jesus), so the world might be a better place.) The stories in this book show the world's first and best superhero. I've been reading and collecting Superman since the fifties, and this book thrills me. There is no greater high in comics than the genesis of Superman!

This is not the Superman you expect.

This Superman isn't as powerful as the one we are use to, yet that makes him all the more amazing. He isn't buddy buddy with the police. In fact, he defies them. This Superman is not afraid to put Justice before the law. The stories are great. The art is great. I highly recommend it.