{"id":36068,"date":"2026-07-26T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T08:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=36068"},"modified":"2026-07-26T11:30:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T11:30:02","slug":"superman-the-golden-age-sundays-volume-2-1946-1949","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2026\/07\/26\/superman-the-golden-age-sundays-volume-2-1946-1949\/","title":{"rendered":"Superman The Golden Age Sundays volume 2 1946-1949"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Alvin Schwartz<\/strong>, Wayne Boring<\/strong> & various (IDW\/Library of American Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-63140-109-1 (HB)<\/p>\n

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

After years wallowing in obscurity most of Superman<\/strong>\u2019s newspaper strip exploits were at last made available to aficionados and the curious newcomer in tomes such as this one, compiled under the auspices of the Library of American Comics. Sadly, that bounty has dried up and the books are becoming as rare as the original strips. Hopefully the whole canon will one day make it into digital editions. Until then though, we fortunate ones can share what we have, like this epic transitional selection seeing the close of a Golden era in advance of a fresh, bold, daringly Atomic Age…<\/p>\n

The comic book industry would be utterly unrecognisable without Superman<\/strong>. Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster\u2019s bold and unprecedented invention was fervidly adopted by a desperate and joy-starved generation and quite literally gave birth to a genre if not an actual art form. The Man of Tomorrow was shamelessly copied, adapted by countless inspired writers and artists for numerous publishers, spawning an incomprehensible army of imitators and variations within three years of his summer 1938 debut.<\/p>\n

Yes, 88 YEARS\u2026 and still counting!<\/p>\n

The intoxicating blend of breakneck, breathtaking action and visceral wish-fulfilment expressed by the newborn Action Ace swiftly expanded to encompass cops-&-robbers crimebusting, socially reformist dramas, science fiction and fantasy, romance and comedy; and – once war in Europe and the East engulfed America – absorbed and reinforced patriotic relevance for a host of gods, heroes and monsters, all dedicated to profit through exuberant, eye-popping excess and dashing derring-do. Superman was master of the world and whilst transforming and dictating the shape of the fledgling funnybook industry, relentlessly expanded into all areas of entertainment media.<\/p>\n

We might think of the Cleveland boys\u2019 iconic invention as the epitome and acme of comic strip creation, but the truth is that very soon after his debut in Action Comics <\/strong>#1 the Man of Steel was a fictional multimedia monolith in the same league as Sherlock Holmes<\/strong>, Popeye<\/strong> and Tarzan<\/strong>. Diehard comics fans regard our purest, most enduring icons in primarily graphic narrative terms, but the likes of Batman<\/strong>, Spider-Man<\/strong>, The<\/strong> Hulk<\/strong> and their hyperkinetic ilk long ago outgrew four-colour origins to become fully mythologized modern media creatures, instantly recognised in mass markets across all platforms and age ranges. Far more people have viewed or heard the Man of Steel than have ever read his comics.<\/p>\n

His globally syndicated newspaper strips reached untold millions, and by the time of his 20th<\/sup> anniversary – at the very start of what we know as the Silver Age of Comics – he had been a thrice-weekly radio serial regular and starred in a series of astounding animated cartoons, as well as two films and a novel by George Lowther. Superman was a perennial wellspring for toys, game, puzzle and apparel manufacturers and had just ended his first smash live-action television serial. In his future were many more shows, a stage musical, a ton of blockbuster movies and near-seamless succession of games, bubblegum cards and TV cartoons beginning with The New Adventures of Superman<\/strong> in 1966 and continuing ever since. Even superdog Krypto<\/strong> has got in on the all screens act. However, in his formative years the moving picture option was simply an expensive novelty for most. The Action Ace achieved true mass market fame through a different medium: one not that far removed from his print origins.<\/p>\n

Although pretty much a spent force these days, for most of the last century newspaper strips were the Holy Grail American cartoonists\/graphic narrative storytellers hungered for. Syndicated across the country – and frequently the world – they might be seen by millions if not billions of readers and were generally accepted as a more mature and sophisticated form of literature than comic books. At that time it also paid far better, and rightly so. Some of the most enduring and entertaining characters and concepts of all time were created to lure readers from one particular paper to another and many of them grew to be part of a global culture. Flash Gordon<\/strong>, Dick Tracy<\/strong>, Buck Rogers<\/strong>, Blondie<\/strong>, Charlie Brown<\/strong> and so many more escaped humble, even tawdry newsprint origins to become meta-real: existing in the minds of earthlings from Albuquerque to Zanzibar. Some still do\u2026<\/p>\n

Superman was the first comic book character to make that leap; about six months after exploding out of Action Comics<\/strong>. The daily Superman<\/strong> strip launched on 16th<\/sup> January 1939, augmented from November 5th<\/sup> of that year by a full-colour Sunday page. Originally crafted by 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 the additional artistic gifts of Jack Burnley and ancillary writers Whitney Ellsworth, Jack Schiff & Alvin Schwartz. The McClure Syndicate feature ran uninterrupted until May 1966, and at its peak appeared in over 300 daily and 90 Sunday newspapers with a combined readership surpassing 20 million. For most of the post-war years, Boring & Stan Kaye limned the spectacular Sundays (latterly supplemented by Win Mortimer & Curt Swan). The majority of strips from 1944 to 1958 were written by largely unsung, nigh-forgotten scribe Alvin Schwartz.<\/p>\n

Born in 1916, Schwartz was an early maestro of comic books, writing Batman, Superman, Captain Marvel<\/strong>, and for many other titles and companies. Whilst handling the Superman strip he freelanced on Wonder Woman<\/strong> and other superheroes as well as DC\u2019s genre titles such as Tomahawk<\/strong>, Buzzy<\/strong>, A Date with Judy<\/strong> and House of Mystery<\/strong>. After numerous and ever-escalating clashes with new Superman Editor Mort Weisinger, Schwartz quit comics for commercial writing: selling novels, essays, documentaries and docudramas for the National Film Board of Canada. He worked miracles in advertising and market research, developing selling techniques like psychographics and typological identification. A member of the advisory committee to the American Association of Advertising Agencies, he died in 2011.<\/p>\n

After too many years wallowing in obscurity most of Superman\u2019s newspaper strip exploits are finally available to aficionados and the curious newcomer in tomes such as this one compiled under the aegis of the Library of American Comics.<\/p>\n

Showcasing Schwartz & Boring in their purest prime, these Sundays (numbered as Pages #354 to #520, collectively spanning August 11th<\/sup> 1946 to October 16th<\/sup> 1949) depict an almost omnipotent Man of Steel in domestically-framed tales of emotional dilemma, pedestrian criminality and surreal situations rather than muscle-flexing bombast, faux angst and bludgeoning action. Here humour, wit, mystery, fashion, satire and wonder reign supreme.<\/p>\n

Following affable appreciation of the creators and the times in Mark Waid\u2019s \u2018An Introduction\u2019<\/em> and a selection of contemporaneous Superman<\/strong> comic book covers in \u2018A Wayne Boring Gallery\u2019 <\/em>the weekly wonderment recommences in all its vibrant glory. Sadly, the serials are untitled, so you\u2019ll just have to manage with my meagre synopses of individual yarns…
\n\"\"
\nKicking off is a beguiling domestic dilemma as Lois Lane<\/em> is overwhelmed looking after a neighbour\u2019s boy whilst preparing to collect her sternly formidable, imminently visiting Aunt Matilda<\/em>. Snowed under mounting physical and mental loads, she ropes in Superman to backstop her, only to discover there are many tasks – like baking a cake whilst watching a boisterous brat – that even the miraculous Man of Steel cannot manage…<\/p>\n

Next up and beginning with Page 358 (September 8th<\/sup> 1946) the Action Ace faces criminal mastermind Tom Catt<\/em> who plunders Metropolis in \u201cCuriosity Crimes\u201d dependent on the victims\u2019 own innate nosiness. After a cascade of cat & mouse clashes the cunning crook ultimately falls because he didn\u2019t follow his own advice about obtrusive inquiry and foolhardy felines…<\/p>\n

More distracting nonsense results after social thinktank The Skeptics <\/em>prove by rational debate that Superman doesn\u2019t exist and seek to legally end the fraud being perpetrated upon the world. It takes a number of impossible tasks diligently performed by our hero before the cranky coots are convinced to change their minds, after which Page 371 (December 8th<\/sup> 1946) briefly returns the Man of Tomorrow to his war years and wish-fulfilling Superman\u2019s Service for Servicemen <\/em>scheme as he helps demobbed G.I. Steve Kennedy<\/em> adapt to peacetime, work woes and officious in-laws making life intolerable…<\/p>\n

Keeping our frame of reference domestic, a new year and fresh sequence (Page 375, January 5th<\/sup> 1947) saw the invulnerable hero hounded by an indefatigable go-getting salesman from Dynamic Insurance. Elmer Doolittle<\/em>\u2019s career – and future wedded bliss – depend on selling Superman a policy. Luckily, the goal never actually specified what kind of policy…<\/p>\n

March 9th<\/sup> (Page 384) signalled a return to fantastic fantasy as an invisible beast causes havoc in the heartlands and farmers call for help to bring the \u201cNosuch Animal\u201d to brook. Sadly, when Superman intervenes the unseen terror loses its camouflage gift and is exposed as a living example of a dinosaur… a Paleomatzoball. Moreover, this rampaging colossus loves rough handling and develops a disastrous romantic attachment to the Man of Steel before our embarrassed involuntary swain devises a timely solution to their mutual problem…<\/p>\n

The \u201cpeace dividend\u201d delivered by the end of the war is scrutinised next as Clark visits Boom Town and sees how a former manufacturing mecca was infiltrated and overrun by mobsters, gamblers and racketeers once the military – and their trustworthy, well-trained police – were transferred elsewhere. When the entrenched thugs begin attacking the municipality\u2019s new law enforcement recruits, the Man of Steel steps up to school the neophytes and ensure crime never pays there again…<\/p>\n

Circuses were a big draw and popular pastime of the postwar years and from Page 400 (June 29th<\/sup>) Superman & Lois were lured into that limelight when swindlers targeted Cap\u2019n Tobey\u2019s Mammoth Carnival<\/em>. When the doddering owner is gulled into promising the world that the Metropolis Marvel is his new top attraction, Superman naturally helps out by showing up, but his good deed only allows a cartel of gangsters to use his scheduled performances as opportunities to try new ways to assassinate the Action Ace… with no appreciable result…<\/p>\n

Next (from 28th<\/sup> August) two more former G.I.\u2019s enlist the Man of Steel in a business venture, hoping his promotion of their new hot dog line (\u201cTeenie Weinies\u201d) will ensure success, Sadly, the enthusiastically spectacular super sales campaign only lands our hero with a lawsuit for restraint of trade when established fast food rivals cry unfair competition against their own brand of \u201cYankie Frankies\u201d! Ordered to cease and desist, our hero still manages one stellar and out of this world act of promotion before capitulating…<\/p>\n

One of the earliest examples of a recurring Silver Age Superman trope comes next as Page 414 (October 5th<\/sup> 1947) sees exotic nuclear radiation (another increasing popular maguffin of the forthcoming Atomic Age) accidentally reduce the mighty Man of Tomorrow to the size and relative age – but thankfully not intellect or emotional development – of an infant. Unable to appear as Clark, \u201cSuperbabe<\/em>\u201d recruits vagabond Edward Benton<\/em> who resembles his adult self to impersonate Kent until a remedy is found, only to see the double fall for Lois and attempt to steal his civilian life and wed her under false pretences. Unable to operate as hero or tolerate the loss of Lois, the Caped Kryptonian risks a deadly potential cure, sabotages Lois\u2019 wedding day and risks exposing his greatest secret to stop the mad escapade…<\/p>\n

After that soap opera scandal carries us over the Holiday season, accidental time travel – beginning with February 22nd<\/sup> 1948\u2019s Page 434 – sees Superman stranded in the past and ensnared by the irresistible wiles of seductive, lethally ambitious Egyptian Queen<\/em> Cleopatra<\/em>. Thankfully, former beau Mark Antony<\/em> is able to break her spell before the Man of Tomorrow returns to today, just in time to foil an impending Martian invasion (May 2nd<\/sup> – July 18th<\/sup> over Pages 444-455) by impersonating an \u201cordinary human\u201d abducted to their testing labs…<\/p>\n

He even acts as a matchmaker for their lonely leader before returning to Earth and his strangest encounter yet after he\u2019s \u201cadopted\u201d by talking dog Angus<\/em> who needs a safe, secure home for his homeless human orphan kid pal Nicky Nichols<\/em>. Of course, once he\u2019s over the shock and disbelief, Superman is delighted to provide them and even reunite Nicky with his missing-but-not-dead mother… once he\u2019s stopped every grifting chancer\u2019s exploitative schemes to make money out of the mouthy mutt…<\/p>\n

Another extraordinary tyke turns up on Page 467 (October 10th<\/sup>) as radical theorists of The Educational Improvements Association attempt to hothouse a 3-year old prodigy with plenty of weird notions of her own. \u201cSmartypants<\/em>\u201d is granted absolute freedom to do whatever she wants, with the Man of Steel sworn to make every wish come true. The result is utter anarchy (with unleashed dinosaurs!) and total chaos until the harassed, embattled boffins convene for a swift rethink before resorting to tried-&-trusted rearing methods…<\/p>\n

November 28th<\/sup> (Page 474) saw Superman in whimsical mood as he puckishly teaches a rug salesman a lesson by making his smarmy, smug sales patter about magic carpets come true for downtrodden shopper Geoge Paley<\/em>. Sadly, the prank goes exponentially awry as an ever-escalating war for possession of George\u2019s flying rug breaks out, resulting in violence, loss of livelihood and litigation. Once he\u2019s done settling all the crises he\u2019s sparked, the Action Ace resolves to quit playing practical jokes…<\/p>\n

Far-flung fantasy follows from Pages 484 to 493 (February 6th<\/sup> – April 10th<\/sup> 1949) as Superman gathers Amazon jungle flora for the Metropolis Botanical Society and stumbles upon a fabulous golden sword, a potent legend and a long-hidden civilisation in the Lost Valley of Ru. Holding the antique blade, the Man of Steel inadvertently fulfils an ancient prophecy and must marry the socially reforming Queen. That\u2019s not what tyrannical nobles led by Baron Akhar<\/em> want, and his machinations to thwart the prophecy and marry her himself – as well as the monarch\u2019s embarrassing infatuation with the mighty caped stranger – lead to confusion, crisis and civil war before our hero can fix everything and flee back to the outer world\u2019s relative calm…
\n\"\"
\nThe next serialised saga (Pages 494-505, April 17th<\/sup> to July 3rd<\/sup>) offers another human-interest drama given a super-powered spin as, having learned nothing, Superman hires a double to stand in for him at all onerous public functions he\u2019s too polite to refuse. Sadly, affable, honest mimic Mike<\/em> is soon innocently complicating the Action Ace\u2019s double lives to the point of imminent calamity and when the hapless doppelganger is kidnapped, panic ensues following wildfire rumours of the hero losing his powers. Realising the jig is up, Superman takes drastic action…<\/p>\n

Concluding this final Golden Age collection, Pages 506-520 (July 10th<\/sup> – October 16th<\/sup> 1949) detail a bizarre fantasy wherein Superman emulates the travels of Lemuel Gulliver<\/strong> in a story within a story. To cheer up a love-crushed youngster, the Metropolis Marvel recounts his travails on a distant heavy-gravity world where his powers fluctuated and he faced miniscule warriors and lumbering giants, overthrew a tyrant before brokering peace and even arranging a love match between representatives of each side!<\/p>\n

The Golden Age Superman: – Sunday Pages 1946-1949 – <\/strong>was the last of two huge (312 x 245 mm), lavish, high-end twinned hardbacks re-presenting the Man of Steel\u2019s exploits during WWII and the immediate aftermath. They were a welcome addition to the superb commemorative series of Library of American Comics which preserved in luxurious splendour such landmark strips as Lil Abner<\/strong>, Tarzan<\/strong>, Rip Kirby<\/strong>, Polly and her Pals<\/strong> and many of the abovementioned cartoon icons. It\u2019s an unimaginable joy to see these neglected Superman stories again, offering a far more measured, domesticated and comforting side of one of America\u2019s most unique contributions to world culture. It\u2019s also a pure delight to see some of the most engaging yesterdays of the Man of Tomorrow. Join me, see for yourself and agitate for the entire library to be released in digital editions…
\n\u00a9 2014 DC Comics. All rights reserved. SUPERMAN and all related characters and elements are trademarks of DC Comics.<\/p>\n

Today in 1883, Edwin Balmer<\/strong> – journalist\/fantasist\/author\/co-creator of the Speed Spaulding<\/strong> sci fi strip – was born. The day also saw the deaths of groundbreaking cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay<\/strong> (Little Nemo in Slumberland<\/strong>, Gertie the Dinosaur<\/strong>, Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend<\/strong>) in 1934 and Reg\u2019lar Fellers<\/strong>, It\u2019s A Great Life If You Don’t Weaken<\/strong>, Wide Awake Willie<\/em> creator Gene Byrnes<\/strong> in 1974.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alvin Schwartz, Wayne Boring & various (IDW\/Library of American Comics) ISBN: 978-1-63140-109-1 (HB) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.. After years wallowing in obscurity most of Superman\u2019s newspaper strip exploits were at last made available to aficionados and the curious newcomer in tomes such as this one, compiled under the … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Superman The Golden Age Sundays volume 2 1946-1949”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_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},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[191,280,113,78,75,76,290,102,125,344,345,225,127,242,148,111,107,210,9,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-animal-antics","category-comedy","category-comic-strip-classics","category-crime-comics","category-dc-superhero","category-dinosaurs","category-fantasy","category-humour","category-jimmy-olsen","category-lois-lane","category-mystery","category-nostalgia","category-pirates","category-romance","category-satirepolitics","category-science-fiction","category-sport","category-superman","category-world-classics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-9nK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36068","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=36068"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36068\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36082,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36068\/revisions\/36082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}