{"id":33014,"date":"2025-06-01T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T08:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=33014"},"modified":"2025-05-30T16:50:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T16:50:51","slug":"superman-the-golden-age-dailies-1944-to-1947-volume-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/06\/01\/superman-the-golden-age-dailies-1944-to-1947-volume-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Superman: The Golden Age Dailies 1944 to 1947 (volume 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy Alvin Schwartz<\/strong>, Wayne Boring<\/strong> & the Superman Studio<\/strong> (IDW\/Library of American Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-68405-197-7 (HB)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

The American comic book industry – if it still existed at all – would be utterly unrecognisable without Superman<\/strong>. Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster\u2019s unprecedented invention was first fervidly adopted by a desperate and joy-starved generation, and gave birth to a genre if not an actual art form. Spawning an army of imitators and variations within three years of his 1938 debut, the intoxicating blend of breakneck, breathtaking action and wish-fulfilment epitomising the early Man of Steel grew to encompass cops-&-robbers crimebusting, socially reforming dramas, sci fi fantasy, whimsical comedy and, once the war in Europe and the East sucked in America, patriotic relevance for a host of gods, heroes and monsters, all dedicated to profit through exuberant, eye-popping excess and vigorous, dashing derring-do.<\/p>\n

From the outset, in comic book terms Superman<\/strong> was master of the world. Moreover, whilst transforming the shape of the fledgling funnybook biz, the Man of Tomorrow irresistibly expanded into all areas of the entertainment media. Although we all think of the Cleveland boys\u2019 iconic invention as epitome and acme of comics creation, the truth is that very soon after his springtime debut in Action Comics<\/strong> #1 the Man of Steel was a fictional multimedia monolith in the same league as Popeye<\/strong>, Tarzan<\/strong>, Sherlock Holmes<\/strong> and Mickey Mouse<\/strong>. We parochial and possessive comics fans too often regard our purest and most powerful icons in purely graphic narrative terms, but the likes of Batman<\/strong>, Spider-Man<\/strong>, Avengers<\/strong> and their hyperkinetic kind long ago outgrew four-colour origins to become fully mythologized modern media creatures familiar in mass markets, across all platforms and age ranges\u2026<\/p>\n

In the last century and even more so in this one, far more people have seen and heard the Man of Steel than have ever read his comic books. These globally syndicated newspaper strips alone were enjoyed by countless millions, and by the time his 20th<\/sup> anniversary rolled around, at the very start of what we call the Silver Age of Comics, he had been a thrice-weekly radio serial star, headlined 17 astounding animated cartoons, become a novel attraction (written by George Lowther) and helmed two feature films. He had then seamlessly segued into the next Big Thing – television. His first smash 8-season live-action show was but the first of many, making Superman a perennial sure-fire success for toys, games, food, puzzle and apparel manufacturers all over the planet.<\/p>\n

Although pretty much a spent force these days, for the majority of the previous century the newspaper comic strip was the Holy Grail all American cartoonists and graphic narrative storytellers hungered for. Syndicated across the country – and often the world – a strip feature could be seen by millions if not billions of readers and was generally accepted as a more mature and sophisticated form of literature than comic books. It also – at the start! – paid better, and rightly so. Some of the most enduring, entertaining characters and concepts of all time were devised to lure readers from one particular paper to another and many of the best became cornerstones of a global culture. Mutt and Jeff<\/strong>, Flash Gordon<\/strong>, Dick Tracy<\/strong>, Buck Rogers<\/strong>, Charlie Brown<\/strong> and so many more escaped humble, tawdry newsprint origins to become meta-real: existing in the minds of earthlings from Albuquerque to Zanzibar. Most still do\u2026<\/p>\n

The daily Superman<\/strong> newspaper strip launched on 16th<\/sup> January 1939, swiftly augmented by a full-colour Sunday page from November 5th<\/sup> of that year. Originally crafted by luminaries like Siegel & Shuster and their studio (Paul Cassidy, Leo Nowak, Dennis Neville, John Sikela, Ed Dobrotka, Paul J. Lauretta & Wayne Boring), the mammoth task soon required additional talents like strip veteran Jack Burnley and writers including Whitney Ellsworth, Jack Schiff & Alvin Schwartz. The McClure Syndicate feature ran continuously until May 1966, appearing, at its peak, in over 300 daily and 90 Sunday newspapers: a combined average readership of more than 20 million. Eventually, Win Mortimer & Curt Swan joined the unflagging Boring & Stan Kaye, whilst Bill Finger and Siegel also provided stories, telling serial tales largely divorced from comic book continuity throughout years when superheroes were scarcely seen.<\/p>\n

This second volume of the Library of American Comics collection continues the vast reprint program begun in the Sterling\/Kitchen Sink softcover editions which ceased production in 1999. All of that material – and these books too – are long overdue for re-release and digital editions. Here, however, the never-ending battle resumes with Siegel & Shuster and their helpers ceding control to new creators, but still addressing the World War the USA was close to ending. These sorties in \u201cthe never-ending battle\u201d occur over episodes #31-46, pages #1815 through 2594, and publication dates October 30th 1944 to April 26 1947.<\/p>\n

We open with an Introduction <\/em>by Sidney Friefertig, discussing the changes from conflict to reconstruction and sharing why and how the strip aroused the ire of military intelligence and the FBI after casually stepping on the toes of the ultra-top-secret Manhattan Project. All they had wanted was to explore how atomic energy might affect the Action Ace. Also in review is the Man of Tomorrow\u2019s post-war evolution via new scribe (and later poet, novelist and essayist) Alvin Schwartz (1916-2011) in the ever-evolving social stewpot of Metropolis and an increasingly smaller world.<\/p>\n

With the majority of material credited to Schwartz (Batman<\/strong>, Wonder Woman<\/strong>, Aquaman<\/strong>, Tomahawk<\/strong>, Newsboy Legion<\/strong>, Slam Bradley<\/strong>, House of Mystery<\/strong>, A Date With Judy<\/strong>, Buzzy<\/strong>, Bizarro<\/strong>) and increasingly the sole province of artist Wayne Boring, the compilation kicks off with Episode 31 (strips #1815-1844 as seen between October 30th<\/sup> and December 2nd<\/sup> 1944) and the dilemma of \u2018Superman\u2019s Secret Revealed!\u2019<\/em> as \u201cWorld\u2019s Richest Girl\u201d Aline Wail<\/em> announces her betrothal to the Man of Steel. Nobody is more despondent than Lois Lane<\/em> or more surprised than Clark Kent<\/em>, but by the time this genuine teletype typo is spotted, the story has gone global and Aline\u2019s actual fianc\u00e9 Aubrey Jones<\/em> has been outed by frantic reporters – including Lois – as the superhero; thanks to a concatenation of accidents and misconceptions…<\/p>\n

Sadly, inveterate gambler Aubrey needs to keep the deception going if he\u2019s to pay off his bookies, and plans to cash in by suing Lois and the Daily Planet, until the real Superman steps in to divert and dispel the mounting media madness…<\/p>\n

\u2018Lois Lane, Millionaire\u2019<\/em> (strips #1845-1904, December 4th<\/sup> 1944 – February 10th<\/sup> 1945) then details how a murderous lawyer Homer G. Clutch<\/em> and his virtual slave Mortimer<\/em> attempt to procure the feisty journalist\u2019s unsuspected inheritance of $3,000,000 from recently departed Grand-uncle Phineas Lane<\/em>. Of course, to get the cash, Lois must marry within 10 days of receiving the official letter of notification, and account executor Clutch has many ways of intercepting the pay-out. Moreover, when Clark breaks the story, his scoop makes Lois the target of every other chancer and ne\u2019er-do-well in town. They also all make it onto Clutch\u2019s to-do list before Superman – and ironical fate – end Lane\u2019s dreams of idle indolence…<\/p>\n

Mundane crime gives way to wild fantasy next as \u2018The Obnoxious Ogies\u2019<\/em> (#1905-1946, February 12th<\/sup> – March 31st<\/sup> 1945) are annoying heard but not seen. When the invisible fairy pranksters attach themselves to Superman they make his life – and Clark\u2019s – a cacophony of chaos until the Metropolis Marvel concocts something even these puckish pranksters cannot cope with…<\/p>\n

Spanning April 2nd<\/sup> to June 23rd<\/sup>, strips #1947-2018 reveal \u2018The Science of Superman\u2019<\/em> as intractable intransigent physics Professor Ebenezer Duste<\/em> refuses student Gil Gilmore<\/em> his degree because the callow youth used clearly fictious examples of a Man of Tomorrow\u2019s power set in his thesis. With his future career and current romance endangered the kid enlists Superman himself but even he cannot convince the sage of his authenticity, until at the height of a spiralling campaign of bizarre stunts, Duste finally finds his opinions shaken by attentive widow Prunella Busby<\/em> who has her own way of winning an argument…
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

When a Daily Planet cooking contest prize goes to elderly spinsters Annabelle<\/em> and Amelia<\/em>, they parlay the reception into a longed-for meeting with Superman, inadvertently drawing the cataclysmic attention of Extra-Dimensional prankster Mr. Mxyztplk<\/em> in \u2018A Recipe for Disaster\u2019<\/em> (June 25th<\/sup> – August 25th<\/sup>, strips #2019-2072)<\/p>\n

Eager to impress, the sprite embarks on a career as a chef to win their attention\/annoy the pants off his arch enemy and scare all Metropolis witless. It takes all Superman\u2019s ingenuity and large helping of cunning from the old biddies before the Myxy can be convinced to go home again…<\/p>\n

Lois finally finds herself \u2018Engaged to Superman\u2019<\/em> (#2073-2138, August 27th<\/sup> – November 10th<\/sup>) but when she insists that Clark be Best Man it triggers a wave of popular resentment among the city\u2019s women, who protest in the streets and literally strike a blow for romance. As if that weren\u2019t bad enough, mob chief Gaunt<\/em> suspends all operations until after the wedding, planning to curb Superman\u2019s anti-crime activities by threatening his bride. First, though, he has to marry Lois and the unhappy couple keep postponing the big day…<\/p>\n

Domestic screwball comedy gives way to more traditional dramatic fare when Superman must save the Daily Planet – and Clark\u2019s reputation – after a disgruntled employee publishes implausible predictions that Superman must make come true in \u2018Phoney Prophecies\u2019<\/em> (#2139-2198, November 12th<\/sup> 1945 to January 19th<\/sup> 1946) after which \u2018Lois Lane, Editor\u2019<\/em> (January 21st<\/sup> – April 6th<\/sup>, strips #2199-2264) confirms her courage, capability and ingenuity when high powered crooks seek to end her crusading crime reporting by seeking to buy her off with a major promotion. However, staunch and valiant, Miss Lane subverts the plot and makes The Daily Sphere a certified success before exposing the villains and negotiating a most rewarding return to the Planet…<\/p>\n

A fantastic crimewave heralds the return of super-science bandit Lex Luthor<\/em> (AKA Dr. Phineas Hackensack<\/em>) between April 8th<\/sup> and June 1st<\/sup> (#2265-2312) as the villain unleashes \u2018The Red Plague\u2019<\/em> as a means of getting Superman into his lab and subjecting to a battery of horrific tests all designed to end his life. When all else fails he turns the Man of Steel into a living atomic bomb but once again tastes bitter defeat, after which \u2018The Golden Scam\u2019<\/em> (June 3rd<\/sup> – July 20th<\/sup>, #2313-2354) sees super conman J. Phineas Foxtrap<\/em> gulled by his own greed and lose another fortune after selling fake gold bars to suckers with Superman\u2019s approval. Of course, thanks to maverick atomic boffin Dr. Al Kemist<\/em>, this time the ingots are completely genuine and vile trickster gets a taste of his own medicine…<\/p>\n

In \u2018Labors of Love\u2019 <\/em>(#2355-2378; July 22nd<\/sup> to August 17th<\/sup>) Superman again resolves to propose to Lois, but his heartfelt efforts are continually sabotaged by Mr. Mxyztplk, who spitefully decides that she\u2019s actually the only girl in creation fit to be his mate. Cue crazed chaos, calamity and just a little carnage….<\/p>\n

The trend towards whimsy and intellectual challenges continued when Lois is ordered to edit the Planet\u2019s \u201cAdvice to the Lovelorn\u201d column. She consequently asks our hero to cure a lazy dockside bum of being old, useless and unemployed in \u2018Superman Finds a Job\u2019<\/em> (#2379-2432; August 19th<\/sup> – October 2nd<\/sup>. He triumphs by inspiring aging wastrel Sam Brodie<\/em> to discover his true calling and at last take the wrinkly hand of not-so-patient lady love Miss Tillie Crockett<\/em>, but it\u2019s a close call and takes all his super-wits and a lot of dumb luck…<\/p>\n

Pure wickedness informs \u2018The Prankster\u2019s Peculiar Premonitions\u2019<\/em> (#2433-2462; October 21st<\/sup> – November 23rd<\/sup>) as the lethal Joker<\/strong>-wannabe feigns clairvoyance and prophecy to humiliate Superman and plunder the city, before a war of aerial signwriters breaks out in \u2018Sky Pirates\u2019 <\/em>(November 25th<\/sup> 1946 to January 4th<\/sup> 1947 and instalments #2463-2498) with a rogue pilot instigating a cunning crime wave of the air.<\/p>\n

\u2018Portrait of a Crime\u2019<\/em> (January 6th<\/sup> – February 8th<\/sup>; #2499-2528) introduces devious painter Pierre Laguerre<\/em> who seeks to remove the Man of Steel from action by the strangest of methods, prior to the book concluding on a potent note of social relevancy.<\/p>\n

\u2018Juvenile Delinquency\u2019<\/em> (#2529-2594; February 10th<\/sup> to April 26th<\/sup> 1947) finds privileged brat Stanton Gladstone<\/em> team up with dead-end kid Nicky Darrow<\/em> to run wild, have fun and teach their respective families a lesson in parenting. However, rowdy rebellion escalates to felony and possibly murder when veteran criminals lead by top thug Big Jim<\/em> step in to exploit the situation. Now Superman must not only punish the irredeemably wicked but save what remains of the boys\u2019 tarnished innocence…<\/p>\n

These yarns offer timeless wonders and mesmerising excitement for lovers of action and fantasy. The raw-boned early Superman is beyond compare and if you can handle the warts of the era or just crave simpler stories from less angst-wracked times, the adventures gathered here are ideal comics reading, and this a book you simply must see.
\n\u00a9 2018 DC Comics. All rights reserved. Superman and all related names, characters and elements are \u2122 DC Comics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alvin Schwartz, Wayne Boring & the Superman Studio (IDW\/Library of American Comics) ISBN: 978-1-68405-197-7 (HB) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. The American comic book industry – if it still existed at all – would be utterly unrecognisable without Superman. Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster\u2019s unprecedented invention was first fervidly … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Superman: The Golden Age Dailies 1944 to 1947 (volume 2)”<\/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":[191,113,78,75,76,125,344,345,127,242,148,111,107,210,9,93,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-comedy","category-comic-strip-classics","category-crime-comics","category-dc-superhero","category-humour","category-jimmy-olsen","category-lois-lane","category-nostalgia","category-pirates","category-romance","category-satirepolitics","category-science-fiction","category-sport","category-superman","category-war-stories","category-world-classics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8Au","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33014","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=33014"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33018,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33014\/revisions\/33018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}