Customer Reviews

Superman in the Fifties

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The story dates range from 1950 to 1959 and showcase a wonderful collection of stories from that period - several of which have been reprinted (or retold by current writers), and others that have been difficult to find since their original publication. Primarily from Action Comics and Superman, there are also stories from World's Finest, Adventure Comics, Showcase, Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane and Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen. The stories are:

"Three Supermen From Krypton" - Superman's very first encounter with other natives of Krypton and the inspiration for the Superman II movie. The art is especially eyecatching with Plastino evoking Jerry Shuster and Wayne Boring but with his own clear, detailed style.

"The Menace From The Stars" - the prototype for the Red Kryptonite stories, when Superman encounters a strange variety of kryptonite on an asteroid (the kryptonite is never directly shown or referred to by colour) and develops amnesia.

"The Girl Who Didn't Believe In Superman" - a blind girl doesn't believe what she can't see.

"Superman's Last Day In Smallville" - a classic story where Superman overhears a convict bragging that something Superboy did during his last day in Smallville will reap a million dollar prize for the criminal. Superman visits his old haunts as flashbacks recall events of the day. The story is notable for the clever ending and the hidden clue earlier in the story.

"The Ugly Superman" - from Lois Lane's comic, an ugly wrestler who wears a Superman costume falls for Lois. Hijinks ensue. Typical for the period, but (as also typical for her comic) greatly enhanced by Schaffenberger's wonderful art.

"Superman's Big Brother" - one of my all time favourite stories, since reading it in a 80-page Giant many years ago. A super-powered amnesiac arrives in a rocket ship containing a chart from Jor-el "so my son can reach Earth!". Superman assumes this to be his big brother (despite the note on the chart naming the man as Halk Kar - clearly not from the house of El) and spends the issue covering for Halk Kar's obviously weaker powers, until a blast of electricity restores the lost memories. Not a great story in itself, the issue is more notable for the inspiration of the later Superboy story which introduces Mon-el in almost identical circumstances (even down to the costume - red tights with blue cape).

"The Super-Dog From Krypton" - The first story of Superboy's beloved pet. Krypto clearly got much better looking and much smarter in later years. This troublesome canine is clearly the inspiration for the current version of Superman's pet. Jor-el's handy notes, found in Krypto's rocket, explain the family connection.

"Titano, The Super-Ape" - an essential bit of Superman mythology: the chimp who loves Lois and grows to become a giant ape with kryptonite vision after being exposed to uranium/kryptonite radiation.

"The Supergirl From Krypton" - the frequently reprinted classic story introducing Superman's cousin, Kara Zor-el.

"Superman's Super-Magic Show" - an early tale with Superman facing his first gathering of villains as Mr. Mxyzptlk teams up with Lex Luthor and the Prankster. Wacky hi-jinks ensue.

"The Super-Duel In Space" - The first tale of Brainiac and the bottled city of Kandor! Comes complete with Brianiac's pet space-monkey, Koko.

A double Bizarro treat with "The Battle With Bizarro" and "The Bride Of Bizarro" - the creation of the adult Bizarro Superman, followed by the creation of Bizarro Lois Lane. Al Plastino directly references the origin of the Bizarro Superboy which inspires Lex Luthor to create another creature. The stories are original and entertaining and a great complement to the collection in the trade paperback, Tales Of The Bizarro World.

"The End Of The Planet" is the weakest story of the collection, but is included as a showcase of Clark Kent's co-workers

"Superman And Robin!" is from World's Finest Comics and has Superman filling in when Batman is sidelined with injuries.

"The Stolen Superman Signal" has Jimmy Olsen and his watch, helping Superman catch the bad guys

"The Girl In Superman's Past" introduces Superboy's grown up girl friend, Lana Lang, who competes with Lois Lane for Superman's romantic attentions.

Almost every story in this collection is a true gem in comic book reading. I had such a great time reading it, that I had it completed in less then a day. I keep coming back to the really good ones every once in a while.
I think the artists and writers of the 1950s were incredible. Reading stories like this makes me wish DC would release all of the 1950s Superman stories into collected editions, no matter how expensive that would be.
My personal favorites in this volume are the introduction of Superboy's dog Krypto and a story that has three of Superman's biggest rivals hatching a scheme to make Superman the joke of Metropolis.
I think the greatest thing about this period in Superman's life is how the writers would make Superman use his brains to get himself, his friends and Metropolis out of trouble more then his incredible strength. Very creative stuff and something you don't see very often in today's comics.

This is one terrific book! You have Superman's big brother, The pre Phantom zone villains, comic adaptations of Panic in the sky and Around the word with Superman. The only bad thing is this, I don't have anything against Mark Waid but since Christopher Reeve did The Superman 70s book intro, and Adam West did the Batman 60s intro, and with George Reeves gone, the honor of the introduction should have gone to Jack Larson. But all in all, a Super book!

"Superman in the Fifties" is a collection of 17 stories from 1950 to 1959 reprinted in color. For me it was a nostalgic return to when I was a child and able to purchase 10 comics for a dollar off a turning rack (no sales tax either) at the local soda shop. The comics from the fifties served as an escapism for much of the youth at the time that was coming of age with the awareness that we could be threatened by nuclear attack at any time. Bomb shelter construction could be found in Popular Science magazines, and drills were performed in schools with students going into halls and crouching down and covering their heads or hiding under desks.

A hero was needed, one with super powers who could make the world right. We could all dream. Superman, "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound...fighting a never ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way." Sorry, just had to put that TV intro in from the 50's.

The stories may seem dated, but that is part of the mystique of reading comics that are reprinted.

The titles in this volume are:

- Three Supermen From Krypton!
- The Menace From The Stars!
- The Girl Who Didn't Believe In Superman!
- Superboy's Last Day In Smallville!
- The Ugly Superman!
- Superman's Big Brother!
- The Super-Dog From Krypton!
- Titano, The Super-Ape!
- The Supergirl From Krypton!
- Superman's Super-Magic Show!
- The Super-Duel In Space
- The Battle With Bizarro!
- The Bride Of Bizarro!
- The End Of The Planet!
- Superman And Robin!!
- The Stolen Superman Signal
- The Girl In Superman's Past

My favorite was "The Super Duel in Space" with Brainiac reducing some of Earth's cities and putting them in bottles. It was a good change up from the usual fiction, and non-fiction that I read. It provides plenty of background about Superman for young readers with terrific art that was hand drawn, unlike most modern comics that are created on computers. The stories are a very good sampling of "Superman" from the fifties.

I look forward to reading "Superman in the Sixties."
I give "Superman in the Fifties" 5 stars.

Today most comics books including "Superman" and "Batman" are published for adult readers. There are only a few comic books today that are published for young readrs, and a lot of them are silly.

The stories in this three books, "Superman in the Forties," "Superman in the Fifties," and "Superman in the Sixties" contian early stories of "Superman" when the character was at the height of his popularity. These stories back then were also pujblished for the entertainment of yhoung readers.

The stories are complete and simple enough for young readers to read.

These books would make great gifts for young readers.

In popular culture, the 1950's were a time of simplistic yearnings, happiness abounded, everyone was Caucasian and all difficulties could be easily resolved. The reality was completely different, schoolchildren were taught to "duck-and-cover" in the event of atomic attack, communists were everywhere and racial and ethnic prejudice often the law of the land.
The simplistic presentation of the world that was television extends to the comic books, a fact that is painfully obvious in this book. Superman is powerful, but he is also single-minded in his battles with powerful creatures, fails to see the obvious and his speech would drive a true super-being to tears. The modern comic reader would find this material horrendously dull; nobody in the stories seems to be smarter than a fifth-grader. It is easy to see why the Superman character had a difficult time surviving the social changes after the 1960's, it had to either be dramatically changed or it would have ceased to be relevant.
This book is a nostalgic look back at a time when the drive to make all entertainment so wholesome and clean made it so artificial that in hindsight it looks ridiculous.