Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1 Hardcover – June 11, 2013

With the release of DC/Warner Brothers Man of Steel this Summer (this very week, as I type this), DC has been putting out numerous re-releases of Superman to get us prepped for the big film (and yes, I am oh-so excited to want to see the film come midnight opening). And just in time of the film release, DC has released this phenomenal omnibus of "The Last Son of Krypton" when he first appeared in 1938 that ushered in the age from the Pulp comics like the Shadow, The Phantom, and Doc Savage into the beginning creation of the "Superhero comic". I know I've seen other omnibi reviews like Spider-Man and Fantastic Four as being praised as the best material in the medium. With all due respect, THIS is the pendulum of the Superhero medium. Every icon you can name, even the mighty Batman, all came from the blueprint that is Superman and these stories go to show just why.SUPERMAN: THE GOLDEN AGE collects ACTION COMICS #1-31, SUPERMAN #1-7, and NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR COMICS #1-2. Included is a foreword and afterword by Jim Steranko.I won't go into any real detail for the material itself, other then it being what it is for the time period. These early comics by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (with accompanying art by Jack Burney and Wayne Boring) were meant for kids and adults (kids mostly) as a new form of entertainment in the comic medium. These stories are mostly about Superman being a social crusader for the oppressed people across America. Superman fights numerous thugs, thieves, and egomaniacs hell bent on taking over the world. It may not be as exciting as today's comics, but that's the charm about reading these stories. We get introduced to most of Superman's regular cast of characters like John and Mary Kent, Jimmy Olsen, and the most famous lady in comics (tied with Wonder Woman) Lois Lane. Additional introductions also go for Superman's rouge gallery like Ultra-Humanite (Superman's first villain), Alex Evell, Blackie Sarto, Medini, and Superman's greatest nemesis, Lex Luthor as that "egomaniac hell bent on taking over the world".The characters portrayed during this time are quite different then where they are now here 75 years later. Most of the characters designs, way of thinking, and motives were still being worked out by Siegel and Shuster. Superman will have various times his "S" logo will change its shape and color, his boots go yellow once in awhile, his power-set is still being worked out (he doesn't actually fly at this time yet, but there is times he does seem to float) and Superman will even leave villains to die. Other characters like Ultra-Humanite is an old crippled man instead of a humanoid ape and Luthor is genius-level mad scientist who wants to kill Superman and take over the world (which in some cases, is no different then the Luthor today...). But again, it was still about the characters finding their voice and there is nothing wrong with that.This new 2013 Omnibus comes with a dust jacket designed by Darwin Cooke (the lovely cover photo on Amazon shows why), with the original Action Comics cover on the spine jacket. The actual hardcover board is thick black, but sadly lacking in any design. The logo is imprinted on the cover and spine with nothing added. A shame DC couldn't do a cover design better then this, but for me, no biggie. The book itself comes with a contents page giving the title, list of author and artist, and page number where to find the issue. The paper is archive-level paper. Thick and non-glossy as to no reflections, with the colors being true to their original form, giving a vibrant look in it's original intent. The book is sewn/glued binding, but is impressively sturdy. The book spine bends out evenly with barely any gutter loss at all. It can get a tiny bit tight at the far ends, but after a while, the book folds on just fine and stays flat. There are no extras here at all in the back, sadly, aside from the foreword and afterword by Jim Steranko. This beats buying the Archives that are bit too much money for what they are asking.If you are economically strapped for cash, DC also has the DC Chronicles collection. They are softcover books with full color and cheaper to buy. All first 4 volumes of the Superman Chronicles books make up this entire omnibus. All four together cost about the same price (not counting shipping fees though) as the Omnibus at the current Amazon price. But be warned that books 2 - 4 are currently out-of-print and could be difficult to find (or be pricey). But that option is up to you. I'm more of a trade person over omnibus, but I couldn't resist having this book just in time for the upcoming film.So SUPERMAN: THE GOLDEN AGE OMNIBUS VOLUME 1 is an impressive book for the first and arguably greatest superhero of all time, even if it has some minor flaws. If you are a Superman fan that wants have these great stories and pay a little extra, go for it right now. I cannot wait for volume 2 of Superman during his golden era or the Man of Steel film coming out this week. So happy 75 years Superman. Let's just hope DC release a golden age omnibus book for Batman's 75th birthday next year as well.

Although I was hoping for the current cover (both were pictured), I am happy to get the book as it completes my set. It arrived faster than advertised and in near perfect condition ... only a small scrape on the back.

I thought I would just get down to brass tacks and tell you what you get with the Superman Omnibus Volume one.This is DC’s third attempt at a Golden Age Superman compilation. The first was the Archive editions which separated Action comics and Superman comics into two collections. They were nice hardcover books with glossy pages. Volume one of Superman being 272 pages and volume one of Action Comics having 240 pages. The cover prices were $49.95 but can be purchased now for significantly less.The Superman Chronicles, by contrast, were paperback, closer to 200 pages, were printed on cheaper paper and had a cover price of around $18. Unlike the Archive editions these collected all Superman stories including World’s Finest stories.As with the Chronicles, The Omnibus edition collects all Superman stories but is printed on glossy paper like the Archive editions. Volume one has a whopping 784 pages and I was concerned that it might be so large as to be unwieldy but it’s not too big to open up and read. You get Action Comics #1-31, Superman #1-7 and New York World’s Finest #1-2. Of course you only get the Superman stories not the other supporting stories in Action Comics and New York World’s Finest. This volume of stories would constitute most of the first two volumes of the Action Comics Archive plus almost the entire first two volumes of the Superman archives plus part of the World’s Finest Archive volume 1. The material here is almost precisely the content of the first four volumes of the Superman Chronicles.Both the Archives and Chronicles have images that are about 8 by 6. The Omnibus is slightly larger at around 9 by 6.5. The Archives and Chronicles had very little in the way of extra material and the Omnibus doesn’t have a ton more. There is a four page forward and two page afterwards.In my opinion the Omnibus is the best bet for a Golden Age Superman collection. I have not seen a second volume scheduled for release but since this book is called volume one I assume there is intended to be more. The Omnibus is more attractive than Archives and Chronicles and has larger images. All in all I would say that the current price of $48 is more than fair for what your get.

This book is an awesome collection of Superman in his original form. The stories are simple but also insightful to the social problems of the time. Its a different kind of Superman, a ruthless Superman, but a Superman who is ultimately a heroic and stanch champion of the oppressed. The comics presented here are refreshingly cartoonish and bright, but also contain a kernel of reality seeded throughout plenty of the story lines. Here, he does not fight over-the-top Gods and ridiculously overpowered villains, he fights against corrupt officials and sordid criminals (along with the occasional mad scientist). These are, if not the first, one of the earliest depictions of actual super-heroic crime fighting; An aspect of Superman comics that is very seldom seen today. The stories are absolutely directed at kids, but they do have sincere messages behind some of them. One thing I like best is that many of the stories show how Superman positively affects individuals and their lives, which is another thing modern Superman stories are lacking in. The stories range from comedic to dramatic. Some of the stories can come off as being "slanted" with the authors' personal views, and the stories can be clumsy (being that they are written by young writers), but all in all its an essential and delightfully FUN piece of Superman's history. The physical book itself - binding, paper, etc - is all very high in quality. I love it and highly recommend it. I really hope they come out with a Volume 2.

I hated Superman and so would you if you had read the Supergirl stories in Action Comics 252 to 299. He was a bully and she was so sweet that she did not seem to notice that he was a bully.Even in the early stories, Superman was often a jerk but think about it. If you could leap tall buildings at a single bound, were more powerful than a locomotive, and faster than a speeding bullet, wouldn't you do some horrible things? Clark scoops Lois, not because he is a better reporter but because he is Superman, and Lois does not like it. I am with Lois. She comes over as a much nicer person than the Lois I knew in the sixties.Superman fights for truth, justice, and the American way, and because he is less powerful than the Superman of the fifties and sixties he is able to fight a wide variety of enemies. Some of the stories are serious and some are humorous.If Dean Cain is your favourite Superman, I think you will like this book.NOTE The photos I added to my review are photos of the original comics, not the book. The omnibus pages have been cleaned up. I wanted to show you the primitive but effective art and the kind of adventures you will get.

This book is a dream come true. It goes all the way back to the original Superman comics .You can see Superman gradually change as the comic matures and it has so many stories that it will keep you busy reading for a long time. I hope they do a similar book for the Batman comics. Buy this book, it's unbelievable.

A great collection of all the Golden Age Superman comics from June 1938 to December 1940. This was exactly what I want and expect from an omnibus, it's a nice way to get a large collection of sequential comic books without all the messing around trying to work out which ones you have and which ones you need, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing if they bring out a Vol. 2. Be slightly wary if you're expecting the later style of Superman, their is a big contrast. Most of the story-lines are ridiculous, but it seems that the more absurd they are the more I enjoy them. Definitely worth every penny.

Durante a infância, lia os episódios esporádicos da forma como eram publicados no Brasil pela antiga Editora Brasil América (EBAL) e sonhava ler as estórias desde a primeira publicação original.Esta obra finalmente realizou meus sonhos e, além disso o conteúdo histórico veio otimamente encadernado em capa dura e resistente, com cores vivas e nítidas.Minha próxima meta: adquirir o número 2.

Terrific book, haven't finished yet. Since it is impractical to track down first 20 issues or so of comics from the 1930s, is great to have books like this that reprint them, in colour, from the days when Superman, as the famous tagline goes, was ONLY "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound." Prompt delivery, book as advertised.