Tuesday, January 24, 2012

So Much Fun!

The Golden Age of Comics is so much fun to look at, and this item is icing on the cake. The 1942 novelization of Superman by George Lowther helped to solidify the legend, including a description of Krypton in detail, re-naming Kal's parents as Jor-el and Lara (previously Jor-L and Lora) and so forth.

The illustrations are golden, by Joe Shuster—the original Superman artist, showing depth and vitality. The paintings are vibrant and the sketches are beautiful gesture drawings, full of spontaneous action. This book is just so much fun to look at!

Joe Shuster — illustrator throughout


Jor-el placed his infant son into the model of the Space Ship.

The steel bullet went hurtling into space

The anvil in his hand was like a feather.

Superman brought the old man to the surface.

Leering down at Kent were skeleton faces of a skeleton crew.

Superman caught the white-hot shell in his bare hands.

Superman felt the steel-like muscles of his shoulder
sink into the metal.

Superman forced his shoulders between the twin propellers.

Speed and power were behind the fist that landed
on the skeleton's jaw.

Then Superman saw the convoy.









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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2012 at 6:11 PM

    Thanks for posting these. I too love this vintage of Superman. Have you seen Steve Rude's Superman? He's got that golden-age feel going great guns. A search of his name at comicartfans.com will turn up a lot of his Superman drawings and paintings!

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  2. Thomas Haller BuchananJanuary 24, 2012 at 7:02 PM

    Yes, Steve Rude, Darwyn Cooke, and several others have made great honor to comic book roots with their styles and sensibilities.

    Thanks for stopping in, CoryJay.

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  3. KidJanuary 24, 2012 at 7:13 PM

    Thom, I first read about this book in the introduction (by E. Nelson Bridwell) to Superman: The '30s to the '70s, but it wasn't 'til 23 years later that I got to read it for myself. This was when Applewood books printed a superb facsimile edition (dustjacket and all) in 1995. Well worth having. Keep up the good work.

    (CoryJay stopped in at my blog too, but unfortunately it was only to insult me, hence my not publishing his comment.)

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  4. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2012 at 8:02 PM

    This book was republished in a new edition several years back.

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  5. BobJanuary 25, 2012 at 8:17 AM

    I'm with you -- I love this book. I have the facsimile edition, and the illustrations are a great treat. (Superman of the 40s is my favorite incarnation...)

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  6. AnnieJanuary 26, 2012 at 5:27 PM

    Hi Thom,

    Even though the art and the subject matter bears no relation, there's something about the energy and playfulness in these illustrations (maybe it's the flying!) that reminds me of the Peter Wheat comics.

    I love the underwater one, for the design elements and the concept, and the expression on the faces of the little fish.

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