The Tenth Day of Classic Comics Christmas 2020
Dec 31, 2020 22:03:42 GMT -5
Calamas, Confessor, and 3 more like this
Post by Farrar on Dec 31, 2020 22:03:42 GMT -5
3. Jerry Siegel
He's on my list for many, many 1960s stories, including but not limited to Action #278-285/#360; Lois Lane #51; Superman #165 and #169.
Growing up I read and enjoyed a lot of Siegel's work, even if I didn't know he was the author back then. But since I do know now, here are just a few Siegel stories I absolutely love:
Supergirl continuing saga reprint in Action #360, originally in Action #278-285.
I've mentioned this before, but when I saw the cover of Action #360 in some house ads I was mesmerized by the board game format of the cover. Unfortunately I never saw that particular comic on the stands in my neighborhood candy stores. A couple of years later my father took us kids to a neighborhood park and en route to the park, we passed a teenager selling his comics right there on the street...including Action #360! The guy was selling it for fifty cents, or maybe a dollar. When I was growing up my family wasn't well off financially, so for us that was a lot of $$$ to shell out for a single comic, even a giant-sized one. But I wanted that comic and my father bought it for me. I'll never forget that.
Apart from the nostalgia factor, I loved that comic's interior too. It contained the Supergirl serial from the issues I mention above, so that it was like one long story. I can only imagine how it must have played out in its original, stretched out over several months form. It seemed like a novel. This was during the period when Supergirl wasn't known to the public; here she loses her memory, she's adopted, and for a while lives just as plain Linda Danvers. Of course it all worked out. This arc showed me that comic book characters' circumstances could change; this was like a coming of age story for Supergirl.
Another Siegel story I love is the one in Lois Lane #51. Siegel excelled at the imaginary stories, especially the ones that involve self-sacrifice and end tragically, as here. Superman marries three times and each time his wife--Lois, Lana, Lori--dies. Okay, I know it sounds ridiculous but as a young reader I loved it. So heartbreaking!
Siegel wrote a lot of those imaginary tales but a tragic story that wasn't imaginary was the one in Superman #165, when Superman suffers amnesia and adopts a new identity as "Jim White." As plain old Jim he and a woman named Sally Selwyn meet and fall in love. When he regains his memory he has no recollection of her. Again, heartbreaking. Siegel does a follow-up Jim White-Sally Selwyn story in #169, in which once again sacrifice plays a big part.
He's on my list for many, many 1960s stories, including but not limited to Action #278-285/#360; Lois Lane #51; Superman #165 and #169.
Growing up I read and enjoyed a lot of Siegel's work, even if I didn't know he was the author back then. But since I do know now, here are just a few Siegel stories I absolutely love:
Supergirl continuing saga reprint in Action #360, originally in Action #278-285.
I've mentioned this before, but when I saw the cover of Action #360 in some house ads I was mesmerized by the board game format of the cover. Unfortunately I never saw that particular comic on the stands in my neighborhood candy stores. A couple of years later my father took us kids to a neighborhood park and en route to the park, we passed a teenager selling his comics right there on the street...including Action #360! The guy was selling it for fifty cents, or maybe a dollar. When I was growing up my family wasn't well off financially, so for us that was a lot of $$$ to shell out for a single comic, even a giant-sized one. But I wanted that comic and my father bought it for me. I'll never forget that.
Apart from the nostalgia factor, I loved that comic's interior too. It contained the Supergirl serial from the issues I mention above, so that it was like one long story. I can only imagine how it must have played out in its original, stretched out over several months form. It seemed like a novel. This was during the period when Supergirl wasn't known to the public; here she loses her memory, she's adopted, and for a while lives just as plain Linda Danvers. Of course it all worked out. This arc showed me that comic book characters' circumstances could change; this was like a coming of age story for Supergirl.
Another Siegel story I love is the one in Lois Lane #51. Siegel excelled at the imaginary stories, especially the ones that involve self-sacrifice and end tragically, as here. Superman marries three times and each time his wife--Lois, Lana, Lori--dies. Okay, I know it sounds ridiculous but as a young reader I loved it. So heartbreaking!
Siegel wrote a lot of those imaginary tales but a tragic story that wasn't imaginary was the one in Superman #165, when Superman suffers amnesia and adopts a new identity as "Jim White." As plain old Jim he and a woman named Sally Selwyn meet and fall in love. When he regains his memory he has no recollection of her. Again, heartbreaking. Siegel does a follow-up Jim White-Sally Selwyn story in #169, in which once again sacrifice plays a big part.
