{"id":28332,"date":"2023-07-22T09:00:21","date_gmt":"2023-07-22T09:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=28332"},"modified":"2023-07-20T17:22:25","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T17:22:25","slug":"superman-adventures-volumes-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2023\/07\/22\/superman-adventures-volumes-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Superman Adventures volumes 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy Paul Dini<\/strong>, Scott McCloud<\/strong>, Rick Burchett<\/strong>, Bret Blevins<\/strong>, Mike Manley<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-4012-5867-2 (TPB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

At their primal hearts heroes like Batman<\/strong> and Superman<\/strong> appeal directly and powerfully to the little kids in us all, who helplessly rail at forces that boss us around and don\u2019t let us be ourselves. Maybe that\u2019s why the versions ostensibly and specifically made for youngsters are so often the most vivid and rewarding\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Almost a decade after John Byrne re-galvanised, reinvigorated and reinvented the look and feel of the Man of Steel, animator Bruce Timm returned to comicbook country to meld modern sensibility and classic mythology with Superman: The Animated Series<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

With Paul Dini, he had already designed and overseen Batman: The Animated Series<\/strong>: a 1993 TV show which captivated young and old alike, breathing vibrant new life into an old concept. In 1996 lightning struck a second time. The show was another masterpiece and led to a tranche of sequels and spin-off including The New Batman\/Superman Adventures<\/strong>, Justice League<\/strong> and Justice League Unlimited<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Although the Superman cartoon show (originally airing in the USA from September 6th<\/sup> 1996 to February 12th<\/sup> 2000) never got the airplay it deserved in Britain, it remains a highpoint in the character\u2019s long, long animation history, second only to 17 astounding, groundbreaking shorts produced by the Max Fleischer Studio in the 1940s.<\/p>\n

These stylish modern visualisations became the norm, extending to the Teen Titans<\/strong>, Legion of Super Heroes<\/strong>, Young Justice<\/strong> and Brave and the Bold<\/strong> animation series that so successfully followed.<\/p>\n

The broad stylisation – dubbed \u201cOcean Liner Art Deco\u201d – also worked magnificently in static two dimensions for the spin-off comic book produced by DC as seen in this first of four compilations, curating Superman Adventures<\/strong> #1-10 (November 1996-August 1997).<\/p>\n

With no further ado, the all-ages action opens with \u2018Men of Steel\u2019 <\/em>by show writer Paul Dini, illustrated with dash and verve by Rick Burchett & Terry Austin. Because they know their audience, the editors wisely treated prior animated episodes and comic releases as equally canonical, and here shady mega-billionaire Lex Luthor<\/em> is a public hero even whilst covertly organising clandestine criminal deals, international coups and a secret war against the Man of Tomorrow.<\/p>\n

The devil\u2019s brew of dark deeds culminates here in the oligarch\u2019s creation of a new secret weapon: a hyper-powerful robot-duplicate of Superman, which he uses to initially discredit and ultimately attack the Caped Kryptonian. If it manages to kill him, Lex can mass-produce them and sell them to warlords around the world\u2026<\/p>\n

Comics grand master Scott McCloud came aboard as regular scripter with the second issue as \u2018Be Careful What You Wish For\u2026\u2019 <\/em>sees the return of Kryptonite-powered cyborg Metallo<\/em>. The mechanical maniac – like the rest of Metropolis – erroneously believes lonely, attention-seeking Kelly<\/em> to be Superman\u2019s girlfriend, but his sadistic revenge scheme hasn\u2019t factored in how Lois Lane<\/em> might react to the fraudulent claim\u2026<\/p>\n

Computerised Kryptonian relic Brainiac<\/em> resurfaces in \u2018Distant Thunder\u2019<\/em>, having placed its malign consciousness into Earth artefacts (such as robot cats!) before building a new body to facilitate a renewed assault on the Metropolis Marvel. As ever, Brainiac\u2019s end goal is assimilating data, but Superman quickly realises how to turn that programmed compulsion into a weapon ensuring the computer tyrant\u2019s defeat\u2026<\/p>\n

Apprentice photo-journalist Jimmy Olsen\u2019<\/em>s dreams of success and stardom get a big boost in issue #4\u2019s \u2018Eye to Eye\u2019<\/em>. After Luthor orchestrates another lethal attack on Superman – with an enhanced gravity-weapon – the cub reporter learns his job is as much about grit and guts as being in the right place at the right time\u2026<\/p>\n

Bret Blevins pencils \u2018Balance of Power\u2019 <\/em>as electrical villain Livewire<\/em> awakes from a coma and sets about equalizing gender inequality by taking over the world\u2019s broadcast airwaves. With all male presences edited out thanks to her galvanic gifts, the sparky ideologue returns to her original agenda and attempts to eradicate too-powerful men like Superman and Luthor\u2026<\/p>\n

McCloud, Burchett & Austin reunite for the astoundingly gripping \u2018Seonimod\u2019 <\/em>wherein Superman utterly fails to save Metropolis from complete annihilation. All is not lost, however, as Fifth Dimensional imp Mr. Mxyzptlk<\/em> has trapped the hero in a backwards-spiralling time-loop, allowing the Man of Tomorrow one last chance to track a concatenation of disasters back to the inconsequential event that initially triggered the string of accidents which wiped out everything he cherishes\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2018All Creatures Great and Small part 1\u2019 <\/em>opens a titanic 2-part tale which sees Krypton\u2019s Phantom Zone villains General Zod<\/em> and Mala<\/em> escape a miniaturised prison Superman had incarcerated them in. In the process they also shrink our hero to a few centimetres in height, but the endgame is far more devilish that that.<\/p>\n

When scientific savant Professor Hamilton<\/em> and top cop Dan \u201cTerrible\u201d Turpin<\/em> join Lois in using a growth ray to restore Superman, Zod intercepts them and transforms himself into a towering colossus of chaos and carnage. Utterly overmatched and without options, the tiny Man of Tomorrow is forced into the most disgusting and risky manoeuvre of his career to bring the gigantic General low in the concluding \u2018All Creatures Great and Small part 2\u2019<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

Mike Manley pencils Superman Adventures<\/strong> #9 as \u2018Return of the Hero\u2019 <\/em>focuses on an idealistic boy whose two heroes are Superman and Lex Luthor. However, as a series of arson attacks plagues his neighbourhood, Francisco Torres<\/em> learns some unpleasant truths about the billionaire that shatter his worldview and almost destroy his family. Happily, the Caped Kryptonian proves to be a far more reliable role model\u2026<\/p>\n

Wrapping up this first cartoon collection is a classic clash between indomitable hero and deadly maniac, as a twisted techno-terrorist y<\/em> returns, peddling Superman action figures designed to plunder and rob their owners\u2019 parents. \u2018Don\u2019t Try This at Home!\u2019<\/em> – by McCloud, Burchett & Austin – once again proves that no amount of devious deviltry can long deter the champion of Truth, Justice and the American Way\u2026<\/p>\n

Breathtakingly written and spectacularly illustrated, these stripped-down, hyper-charged rollercoaster-romps are pure, irresistible examples of the most primal kind of comics storytelling, capturing the idealised essence of what every Superman story should be. It\u2019s a treasury every fan of any age and vintage will adore.
\n\u00a9 1996, 1997, 2015 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Paul Dini, Scott McCloud, Rick Burchett, Bret Blevins, Mike Manley & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-4012-5867-2 (TPB\/Digital edition) At their primal hearts heroes like Batman and Superman appeal directly and powerfully to the little kids in us all, who helplessly rail at forces that boss us around and don\u2019t let us be ourselves. Maybe … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Superman Adventures volumes 1”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[76,97,9,123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dc-superhero","category-kids-all-ages","category-superman","category-tv-adaptations"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7mY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28332"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28335,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28332\/revisions\/28335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}