SUPERMAN The Golden Age Omnibus Volume 1

Foreword and afterword by none other than Jim Steranko. These groundbreaking stories cementing Superman's place as the medium's most enduring hero are gathered for the first time in this massive, expansive collection. This collects every single Superman story from the fabled origin on for three full years...1938 to December, 1940! Here is the original Superman, who began as a heroic crusader who could only leap, not fly, and was operating way outside the law. Police were shooting at him as often as bad guys. And he was not above intimidating, and sometimes summarily dealing out harsh justice as the lone vigilante he was. These are the really fun stories, as penned by creator Jerry Siegel who used Superman to reveal and squash injustices big and small that were unique to the late 1930s and early 1940s. Labor unrest, shoddy workmanship, crooked politicians, cruel dictators...nothing was beneath his attention. And Joe Shuster's art was simplicity and yet quintessential. He knew how to boil down the details into a strip that was gripping, dramatic, romantic. His early Lois is feisty, sexy and a lot of fun. Here is how the legend started, including the first appearances of leading characters, The Daily Planet, villains and more that would endure and be built upon right up to today. I love these stories, featuring a different world and a different superhero, before so much would come along and change everything. Watch as the strip slowly fleshes out, adding characters and featuring many firsts. These include Clark going to work at the Daily Star, (Action #1), the first Jimmy Olsen (Action #6), first use of X-ray vision (#11), Superman finally gets the Action covers to himself (#19), first Luthor and first mention of the Daily Planet (Action #23), first Lois Lane cover (#29), first Perry White (Superman #7), etc. The superb Superman artist Jack Burnley does his first cover and interior artwork on Superman in World's Fair Comics 1940.