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Post by Valentine Smith on Nov 4, 2011 8:19:58 GMT -5
So, Grant's take on Superman has renewed my love for the golden-age Superman. I can't get enough of the dynamic, physical, tough-talking, wise-cracking, ass-kicking Superman of the late 30s to mid-40s. I adore the original Siegel/Shuster stuff, and I think Superman #1 (which reprints the stories from Action 1-4, plus bonus material) is pretty much the most perfect comic book ever produced.
I'm going on a classic Supes bender, starting today. I've got Superman Archives Volumes 1 and 2, as well as Superman Chronicles Volume 1. I also intend to spend some quality time with the old radio show and the Fleischer cartoons.
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Post by Jor-L5150 on Nov 4, 2011 13:21:24 GMT -5
 i don't have any of the radio show, though i used to have an analog cassette tape with a couple ep's. (an analog cassette tape was a small plastic rectangle that held a spool of magnetic tape, on which audio could be recorded and played back. while the packaging was a downturn for album art, the format was very convenient and you could actually have a cassette player in a car or even a boat! these devices ran off the vehicle's battery so you never had to "charge" your cassette player- unless it was portable. the portable players were originally quite small, but in time grew to be as big as a carry-on suitcase. while the analog cassette tape did not fully destroy the LP format {which has enjoyed a revival in recent years} it absolutely ended and "8-track" which was a clumsy format to begin with {even though it actually contained a similar magnetic tape}. in time the CD format came along and dominated the media until the end of th epony express. some of you might be old enough to recall "cd's" they were the things your older siblings listened to and made handy coasters for your beverage {don't get any water-rings on the table!} in primitive times people actually enjoyed tactile contact with things.)
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Post by Jor-L5150 on Nov 4, 2011 13:26:45 GMT -5
So, Grant's take on Superman has renewed my love for the golden-age Superman. I can't get enough of the dynamic, physical, tough-talking, wise-cracking, ass-kicking Superman of the late 30s to mid-40s. I adore the original Siegel/Shuster stuff, and I think Superman #1 (which reprints the stories from Action 1-4, plus bonus material) is pretty much the most perfect comic book ever produced. I'm going on a classic Supes bender, starting today. I've got Superman Archives Volumes 1 and 2, as well as Superman Chronicles Volume 1. I also intend to spend some quality time with the old radio show and the Fleischer cartoons. i'd like to get "chronicles" but the "archives" put me off. the thing is, the comics were originally published on cheap paper, and the art had a character to it. when it is reproduced on high-gloss paper (as it is in "archives") it actually compounds how the art looks fairly crude. the "chronicles" editions reproduce the art on a matte-finish paper that, imo, does a better job of capturing the aesthetic of vintage comics and comic strips. it's also more desirable, again, imo, to have photo-reproductions of comic pages as opposed to re-printing them. to see what i mean, look at books like "the art of jack kirby" or " the art of peanuts" or the "plastic man" book and i think you'll agree. photographs of vintage comics, printed on matte paper actually "feel" like old comics (even though the paper is significantly better in quality) reprinting on high-gloss paper, to me looks to slick and has less character. i am hopeless. |
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Post by Valentine Smith on Nov 4, 2011 20:42:20 GMT -5
Gotta disagree about the Archives. While I think the slick paper is overused in general, with the archives, you get these brilliantly recolored (according to the original pallette, but recolored nevertheless), and the colors REALLY pop.
Now, The Chronicles, I believe, use the same sources that they printed the Archives from, so you still get the fresh color, but I think they look great on the slick paper.
Superman #1 looks really beautiful in the archives. It's bright, and personally, I think the art is dynamic and fluid!
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Post by Valentine Smith on Nov 7, 2011 18:52:41 GMT -5
I just made myself a cup of tea, sat down with some pre-WWII Duke Ellington records, and read Superman #1 in the Archives.
I think if I had to name my single favorite issue of all time, it could very well be Superman #1. Sure, it's just the same Superman stories from Action Comics 1-4, plus the additional 2-page origin and first week of strips/prologue, and a text piece. But as one big package. with that GLORIOUS, perfect, four-color cover, and the cool back cover with Supes breaking out of the chains...it's unbeatable.
The pace never lets up. Superman is just moving constantly. The art and dialogue are simplistic, but everything is so bite-sized that you don't get caught up in little things like exposition. In some of these stories, literally, more happens in a SINGLE PAGE than in an ENTIRE ISSUE of modern comics.
And the "villains". A wife beater, a woman who assassinated a "labor leader", a dick-y munitions guy, a corrupt politician and lobbyist, a crooked football coach, a rich owner of an unsafe mine...amazing!
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Post by Jor-L5150 on Nov 8, 2011 15:12:52 GMT -5
val- do you have the kitchen sink press/DC superman the comic STRIP archives?
they are beautiful, and actually what jerry and joe wanted all along.
gorgeous slip-cased books and excellent reproduction.
(might have been re-released in paperback - can't recall)
i got them for an anniversary present (i telegraphed my request ) and adore them.
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Post by Valentine Smith on Nov 8, 2011 15:25:35 GMT -5
I do not.
But, I just sent a request for them to the library.
Excellent.
I'm on a golden-age bender right now.
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Post by Jor-L5150 on Nov 8, 2011 19:29:53 GMT -5
let me know if they ome through- i don't mind lending them to you.
9too bad kitchen sink got out of the comics biz- they held the torch for underground/indie cartoonist while also supporting vintage comics reprints and old guys like eisner)
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Post by Valentine Smith on Nov 8, 2011 23:36:05 GMT -5
Check out IDW's beautiful Peanuts and Dick Tracy libraries. Think they did a Felix The Cat one as well, and I think they're about to do the Alex Raymond Flash Gordon stuff!
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Kirok
New Member
"You have failed this city!"
Posts: 3,179
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Post by Kirok on Sept 17, 2012 11:02:41 GMT -5
I have Volume 1 of the Superman Chronicles and the Batman Chronicles. Being the true "year one" of those characters, they're fascinating reads for historical value if nothing else. As for me, there WAS something else and I quite enjoyed them both.
The stories are simple sure, but I liked how Superman was a force for good against real world problems, injustice, and corruption. As hokey as it may sound, it's actually a bit inspiring and I can see how it caught on with the public conciousness in a deeper way than being about just another costumed hero. I was looking forward to Morrison's updated take on this "champion of the oppressed" version of the character...but that lasted maybe 4 issues before getting totally off track.
I know this is totally unintentional, but reading them in chronological order in the Chronicles actually gives the feel of the first season of a television series, with the reveal of the "big bad" at the end of the season in the Ultra-Humanite. The reference of his many agents around the world and the implication that these are some of the people Superman had been fighting so far was a nice touch. Maybe I'm off point, but that's what I got out of it.
I don't think I'll getting any more Chronicles, at least for the forseeable future, but I did enjoy reading (as I said) the true "year one" of my favorite comics characters.
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