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The history of Superman.
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Short Description: Superman would make one and half million copies of Action Comics sold each ...... In 1991, Superman got a fourth comic book Superman, the man of steel. ...
Content Inside: The history of Superman. The history of SUPERMAN Cette page en franais. 1 Earth II Superman Superman was imagined in 1933 by Jerry Siegel, nineteen, penciled by his pal Joe Shuster, same age, and "published" in their fanzine, Science Fiction . The two kids realy though they had found the idea of the century. They expected to see their work published as comic strip in a big daily paper. They soon had to meet reality. They tried with all american papers and everywhere they where sent back by a kick in the bottom. A guy who leaped over buildings and lifted cars? Who would be intersted in such nonsenses? Who? Nobody but Sheldon Mayer. The future creator of Sugar and Spike, didn't succeed in making his bosses of EC comics accept the character, but he could give it to one of their competitors, Harry Donenfeld, who was looking in emergency for anything in order to fill up the new title of the National Periodical (company which would latter be known as DC), Action Comics, whose number 1 would came in october... 1938.Yes. Five years hd passed. And this kind of publishing was no more than a makeshift, comic books, then, were despisted, they made no money. First comic books were gived away with packs of washing. Nobody could expect that this was on the brink to change because Superman would make one and half million copies of Action Comics sold each month. Then everything changed. Superman got his comic strip since January 1939 and all american papers rushed upon it. Then there came a radio serial, broadcasted all over US territory, and, in 1941, cartoons at Max Fleisher's. In 1948 all cinemas projected the first of his many movies. And in 1953 he was played by George Reeve in a succeesfull T.V. series. In the comic book field too, everything had changed.Overnight comic books came from everywhere. 1939 spawned Batman, the first Marvel comics, Sub- Mariner and Human Torch, followed in 1940 by Atom, Flash, Green Lantern, Captain America.In the same time than an industry, a new kind was born, super-heroes. Most of them were but a lot of Superman without S on the chest. As the famous Captain Marvel of C. C. Beck, at Fawcett's, the only one whose succees exceeded Superman's one, which was made forbiden by DC as piece of plagiarism. (If a suit should be brought against every obvious copycat comic, it would take to build new universities for forming lawyers.) The Superman of this golden age was much less powerfull than the one who would be known latter. He jumped over skyscrapers, he didn't fly through the whole universe He lifted cars, not buildings like today and certainly not planets like in the 60's. His powers have been increased -and diversified - little by little, in order to give readers a reason to keep buying. Their (first) scientific explanation, by the difference of mass and of atmospheric pressure between Earth and his native planet, became ridiculous only because of this growing. It was absolutely credible in the begining. It's in order to make an equilibrium with this evergrowing power that editors were compelled to introduce kryptonite (december 1949), the only substance that could hurt or even kill Superman, and then to use it more and more often untill it became awkward causing an imbalance contrary to the former one. This need to increase the hero's power unveils the poverty of the comic. Either you like it or not, you can't deny that Superman the world wild richest comic series. Only most of the items that constitute this wealth didn't exist then, or were not exploited. We knew that Superman came from another planet but we knew nothing about that planet or his parents. He fought crime, but he had no, or very few, noticeworth adversaries. Lex Luthor (appeared in april 40) was but the ordinary mad scientist such as hundred others thet you could found in the super-heroes field or elsewhere. Mr Mxyztplk (september 44), the joking imp who may be obliged to go back to his world in the fifth dimension only by making him say his name bakward, one of the all times best villains, was the exception that must not hide the rule. Beside, not only the recurrent items were rare, but the few ones that were there were contradictory.For instance, in the begining Kryptonians were supermen everywhere. Latter it's been explained that they had no power on their own planet. It was another corollary of Superman's growing powers. Else, from the moment he could fly through outer space, all his fellow citizens should have survive the explosion of their planet and the world would be full of supermen. There were contradictions too between the adventures of Superboy (january 45) and of Superman. Think of the characters http://g.courtial.free.fr/supsto.htm (1 of 11)14/6/2005 10:20:58 pm Document Outlineg.courtial.free.frThe history of Superman.
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