Superman, Volume 1

I own several of the other Showcase Presents featuring more esoteric characters (Phantom Stranger, Jonah Hex, Enemy Ace, Metamorpho) so this is the first "mainstream" DC book I've bought, and I love, love, love it. So much of the Silver Age can be tedious, but each story was so much fun that I could barely set this book down. See the first appearance of Bizarro and Supergirl! Marvel at the lengths Lois Lane will go to marry Superman! Witness the embarrassment Clark Kent will endure to protect his secret identity! Whoever selected these stories did a great job. One thing I would like to see added is some biographical information, particularly for unsung writers like Bill Finger. Perhaps that could come in an introduction, maybe written by a comics historian. I'm going to buy copies for my elementary-school-age nephews (it can double as a coloring book) and collect more for myself.

This volume along with Green Lantern vol.1 were the first two Showcase books put out by DC, and so they put them out at a promotional price of 9.99 while the others retail for 16.99. To the previous reviewer, this Superman volume does not have any missing pages, that's just a messed up book. I personally don't mind the lack of color in the DC Showcase or Marvel Essentials at all for one reason: the great pencillers in the old days were just as good (or better) as the best ones today, but the coloring was so poor pre-1990s or so that you really are not losing anything by the comics companies removing those awful cheap coloring jobs. Many coloring these days is done by computer and it shows, you simply cannot compare older comics' coloring with the average comics of today. Now if modern comics would just drop the 'we have to be so incredibly intense and violent all the time' everything would be in great shape. Not that I have anything against these things, it would just be nice if it wasn't every comic I read today from front to back. I love the Dark Knight Returns, but I also love wacky older Batman stories and the Batman TV show. Maybe that's why I love reading these older stories in Showcase and Essentials, because they frequently have zany lighter mood stories which are fun reading.

What parent doesn't want their son to be honest, helpful, brave, kind, courteous, and patriotic? Clark Kent was all of these things in 1958--kind of corny, huh? Then I guess, Corny is good--especially when you talk about our kids. But I love these stories for the cheezy (by today's standards) mysteries. How did Superman know ...? And some of the stories are classics, the first Metallo, first Supergirl, his first real proposal to (guess who)... And I love the turmoil Clark experiences guarding his greatest secret. Clark wants to tell Lois "I'm Superman, let's get married and live happily ever after." But no; if the world knew his identity, then his friends would be in constant danger. So Clark sacrifices his own desires for the safety of his friends and the good of his country. That's right, I said country. Superman was a proud American before his last movie--in Superman Returns, he stands for Truth, Justice, and "all that other stuff." Lets see you keep your greatest talent a secret from all your friends.

I'm only in my 20s, definitely not the traditional age for Silver Age fans, but I've loved these simplistic, often goofy stories for years. I buy quite a few modern comics, but I always make time for things like this. DC's Showcase line is a Godsend! In this volume, we have over 500 pages of classic Silver Age stories that are brimming with endless possibilities. This was in a time where creators weren't afraid to throw logic out the window if it made for a more entertaining story. Some of my favorite moments from this book include: -Batman shopping for a birthday gift for Superman at the mall, in full costume! -President Superman solving the budget deficit by filling Fort Knox with treasure he found in wrecked pirate ships on the ocean floor. -Batman taking a week off from crimefighting so he can break into the Fortress of Solitude and play pranks on Superman. -Superman scheming to eliminate the manifestation of his new power: a tiny version of himself that grows out of his hand, and steals his thunder! -Superman becoming a lion. -Superman using his super vision to see through the time barrier! this book is filled with such craziness, from cover to cover. There's never a dull moment. And for less than $10, there's no reason not to check it out.

As other reviews of books in the Showcase Presents series have noted, this is DC's version of the Marvel Essentials series-- B & W reproductions of comics published decades ago. The comics in this particular edition were originally published between June '58 and Nov '59, when I was eight and nine years old and a voracious comics reader. Even now, I can actually remember reading some of the particular comics that are in this book, and while, to an adult, the stories here are simplistic and even sometimes silly, it was, for nostalgia purposes alone, a real delight to get to re-read them again for the inexpensive price of ten dollars. In fact I sort of feel sorry for children growing up now, who have to make do with comics that are kind of grim and sordid, in contrast to the clearly drawn, cheerful and good-hearted ones that existed back in the fifties and sixties.