Superman: The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen [Paperback]

Various (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 4, 2007

Cub reporter Jimny Olsen stars in this light-hearted volume collecting some of his most memorable adventures from the late 1950s and 1960s, all of which guest-star Superman!

While investigating crime for The Daily Planet, Jimmy undergoes one startling transformation after another, gaining temporary super-powers as Elastic Lad and becoming a Giant Turtle Man, The Wolf-Man of Metropolis, The Human Porcupine and much more!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In the 1950s and 1960s, the popularity of Superman was so massive that even peripheral cast members received their own titles. To ratchet up the Man of Steel's cub reporter pal Jimmy Olsen's appeal to young readers, writers frequently made Jimmy the victim of bizarre transformations that turned him into a King Kong–size turtle-man, a six-armed human octopus, a werewolf, a wish-granting genie, a giant-brained man of the future, or a human porcupine. Many metamorphoses were the outcomes of experiments by dotty scientist Professor Potter; others resulted from magic potions, interplanetary technology, and that old standby of fifties horror flicks, radiation. The best of the 17 stories collected here were drawn by Curt Swan, whose artistic approach defined the look of Superman in the 1960s and 1970s. Today's younger readers, accustomed to more polished fare, are likely to find Jimmy's travails formulaic and fatuous. Boomers who remember them fondly, however, might get bigger kicks rereading them with a knowing eye than they did the first time around. Flagg, Gordon

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (July 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401213693
• ISBN-13: 978-1401213695
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.5 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,323,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Amazing Jimmy Olsen, August 17, 2007

By 

Bennet Pomerantz "Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD" (College Park, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Superman: The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen (Paperback)

Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen was always an over eager cub reporter in the SUPERMAN comics and his own comic book. In his zeal , he would try to over achieve. Most of these tries would end in small diasters for his pal Superman.

These reprints of the 1950's thru 1980's Jimmy Olsen comics are a great overview and showcase of JImmy the adventerous one. In this collection of short comic stories, He becomes a great brain, a wolfman, a bizarro Jimmy(a negetive monstrous creature), A great alien from Jupiter, a 50 foot man (shades of the 50 foot woman of the B rated Movies), a quilled freak, a turtle man, an Elongated rubber man and even a superhero in Superman's bottle of Kandor

These comics are reprined in color with a brighter than average newspaper comic stock. The stories are cute and reflect an era gone by. I give it 4 stars because they could have given this collection a higher quality paper. I dont mean a slick paper stock like some books are today , just a better bond paper

For the collectors of Superman, this collection has been a long time coming. For others, it is a neat trip to an era gone by and well worth your time

And as Perry White would say "DON'T Call me CHIEF"

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen" Also Great for Young Readers, September 25, 2010

By 

Lou Cole "Lou Cole" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Superman: The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen (Paperback)

This is a great book. I remember these stories from years back when "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen" was a popular title published by DC Comics along with "Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane." They were so popular that DC Comics even used to publish 80 Page Annauls of these titles. DC Comics only published 80 Page Annauls of the top sellin g titles back then.

These stories are also great for kids to read. They are simple and the stories average about seven pages. The stories are simle, but not silly like a lot of the current few comic book titles published today aimed at young readers.

A lot of these transformations of Jimmy Olsen were revived in which Jimmy Olsen turned into in the "Countdown to Final Crisis" series.

This would be a great gift for a young reader.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Weird Adventures of Superman's Pal, May 3, 2011

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Superman: The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen (Paperback)

I have had a lot of fun recently reading these themed Silver Age collections like Batman: Secrets of the Batcave and Crisis On Multiple Earths. The multiple transformations of Jimmy Olsen are stories I have known about for years, due to their being referenced in comics like Kingdom Come (Giant Turtle Man) and Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? (Elastic Lad), but I have never read the originals.

"The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen" has Giant Turtle Man, Elastic Lad, and many, many more gathered together. Its seems like in the Silver Age Jimmy Olsen couldn't pass by an alien fruit or juice of the werewolf without tossing it down his thought. And somehow Lucy Lane was always there at just the wrong moment to catch him in his freakish state. But no matter what the predicament was, it always wore off after twenty-four hours leaving him reading for the next adventure.

The majority of these stories come from "Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen" (#s 22, 28, 31-33, 41-42, 44, 49, 53, 59, 65, 72, 80, 85, and 105) with one from "Superman Family" (#173). The Jimmy Olsen comics were published between 1957-1967, and are caught up in that weird Sci Fi -theme of the time that had aliens constantly popping into Earth to give a young cub reporter six arms, or turn him into a mind-reading green-skinned Jovian just for the fun of it. The Legion of Superheroes pop up in a few tales, and Jimmy even joins the Legion as an Honorary Member in his guise as Elastic Lad.

The stories are completely goofy, and just plain fun. This was a lighter time in comics, when stories didn't necessarily have to make sense, guys mooned over fickle girls like Lucy Lane and giant chimpanzees with kryptonite vision made for compelling super villains. I am glad that comic books have progressed from here, but I am equally glad that these kinds of collected editions are available to take a trip into the past when everything was just a little bit stranger.