WC: ACTION COMICS #317

We're getting down to the end in my summations of my Windfall Comics purchase of 1988, which means that we're going to start to see the same titles show up again and again, issue after issue. These were the books which were a part of that purchase in some bulk, the ones whose demand on … Continue reading WC: ACTION COMICS #317

Editor Hated Superman

In the 1970s, longtime Superman editor Mort Weisinger took a cue from rival Stan Lee's playbook and began to tour the college circuit himself, lecturing on the Man of Steel and screening episodes of the 1950s television program THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN. In this, he wasn't as successful as Lee, even with visual aids. But … Continue reading Editor Hated Superman

THE AMAZING WORLD OF SUPERMAN: HOW A COMIC MAGAZINE IS CREATED.

THE AMAZING WORLD OF SUPERMAN was a tabloid-sized special publication put together in 1973 by National Periodical Publications as a souvenir item intended for the second Superman day being held in Metropolis, Illinois, which had been declared the official "Home of Superman." The interiors were printed in black and white, with sturdy cardstock color covers. … Continue reading THE AMAZING WORLD OF SUPERMAN: HOW A COMIC MAGAZINE IS CREATED.

WC: SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #77

SUPERMAN'S PAL JIMMY OLSEN is a resolutely strange series, albeit one that was incredibly successful for two decades thanks to the lasting appeal of Superman and the performance of actor Jack Larson as the cub reporter on the syndicated ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN television program. Every young reader of the period knew exactly who Jimmy Olsen … Continue reading WC: SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #77

The Selling of Superman: Correspondence between Jack Liebowitz and Jerry Siegel

I've been doing a deep dive of late into the early days of Superman, researching everything that is known or can be established about the development, purchase and evolution of the Man of Steel across his first decade, when he became virtually immediately a Pop Culture Phenomenon that conquered all forms of mass media simultaneously. … Continue reading The Selling of Superman: Correspondence between Jack Liebowitz and Jerry Siegel

BHOC: SUPERMAN #329

Picked up this latest issue of SUPERMAN during my regular weekly Thursday run to the 7-11 for new comics. It was a book that I'd followed steadily for some time. And yet, this turned out to be the last issue of the book that I bought for a few months. I don't quite recall what … Continue reading BHOC: SUPERMAN #329

WC: ACTION COMICS #316

I feel like I've described the Mort Weisinger-edited Superman family of titles from the early Silver Age so many times by this point that there isn't really any way of doing so again. So take it from me, as silly and ridiculous and even childish as these comics seem, they were by far the best-selling … Continue reading WC: ACTION COMICS #316

WC: SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #75

It's maybe difficult to believe looking back on events from fifty years on, but the title above was one of the best-selling series of the 1960s. It handily outsold even the most popular Marvel books by far, and left more storied titles such as JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and GREEN LANTERN in the dust. Such … Continue reading WC: SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #75

WC: ACTION COMICS #311

There's something extremely comforting about the Superman titles edited by Mort Weisinger at the start of the Silver Age of Comics. They were unfailingly consistent in terms of their execution and in the level at which they placed their stories. While there were occasionally physical challenges to be overcome, these Superman stories weren't about action-oriented … Continue reading WC: ACTION COMICS #311

BHOC: ACTION COMICS #488

I was into picking up this next issue of ACTION COMICS thanks both to the impending showdown between Superman and Microwave Man--a costumed villain from the past who'd spend decades off in space--and the start of the Air-Wave back-up series. I knew Air-Wave from over in GREEN LANTERN and had liked him a bunch as … Continue reading BHOC: ACTION COMICS #488