Gather round, faithful [Superman Fan Club] devotees and other interested parties! All are welcome as today, this is the hour that we strike with our enthusiastic reading and reflection for all things Superman Silver and Bronze Age!!!
For this, our first reading, I would like to suggest that we take a sample from the beginning, middle and end of the Silver to Bronze Age available runs within Action Comics and Superman comics on DCU.
Beginnings:
SUPERMAN (1939-) #76 (May 1952) Superman 76 For the first time, Superman and Batman learn each otherâs secret identities when they meet on a cruise while trying to find a diamond thief. Consider this a bridge between the Golden and Silver Age, an interface if you will between the two âages.â
ACTION COMICS (1938-) #252 (May 1959) Action 252 Witness the origin and first appearance of Supergirl in âThe Supergirl from Krypton!â An example of the many âcanonâ standards to our modern day Superman that had their origins in the Silver Age of Comics.
ALSO This issue features the first appearance of evil villain Metallo!!
Middle Years:
ACTION COMICS (1938-) #340 (August 1966) Action 340 âPOWER OF THE PARASITE!â Featuring the first appearance of the Parasite! (Jim Shooter, writer). Yet another Silver Age contribution to the current day Superman âmythosâ fictional world foundation.
SUPERMAN (1939-) #233 (December 1970) Superman 233 Clark Kent moves from newspaper to television journalism as the Bronze Age of Superman unfurls before our eyes⌠and sports a great new branding look complete with super-neat Neal Adams covers! Oh, and something about âKryptonite No More.â What a cover! Weâll be revisiting this soon!
The End of the Bronze Age Superman on DCU
SUPERMAN (1939-) #365 (November 1981) Superman 365 The last âBronze Ageâ Superman comic in DCU! A Superman Revenge Squad member named Blymm subjects Supergirl to radiation that gives her the crazed symptoms of sleep deprivation. Where, oh where has Superboy gone?
Discussion (with spoilers):
-
In the Superman #76 first secret identity reveal between Clark and Bruce, what are your favorite âmodernâ touches that read better than the usual Golden Age Superman fare? Which parts felt so aged that they were brittle and a tad embarrassing to our modern morality?
-
For Action #252 , the first real âSupergirlâ appearance, is this your favorite âfirst appearanceâ of Supergirl through the ages? Why or why not? If not, which one is?
-
Action #340 , a very young Jim Shooter (15 years old in 1966!) came up with this story. How would you rate the action fight scenes between Superman and the Parasite?
-
They werenât fooling around when Superman #233 was published in late 1970! They pretty much changed everything except Clarkâs name! Which radical changes resonate with you as intriguing or even much-needed for the Superman backstory, and which ones were way over the top in your opinion?
-
For the last gasp of the DC Superman digitized Bronze age, published in 1981, we have a fine example of most of the Super Family showing up in a storyline. Does this story feel satisfying? What parts of this do you feel may have led to the drive by DC management 4 or 5 years later to do the Crisis, if any?
In two weeks: We return to Superman circa 1971!!!