The Incomplete Bronze Age Superman Review Thread

brutalis
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cranky curmudgeon of the west and collector of all things geek!

Posts: 8,449

The Incomplete Bronze Age Superman Review Thread Jun 25, 2020 13:09:49 GMT -5

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Post by brutalis on Jun 25, 2020 13:09:49 GMT -5

Jun 25, 2020 12:44:13 GMT -5 zaku said:

Jun 25, 2020 10:02:51 GMT -5 dbutler69 said:

All of what you say is true. It's sort of like a comic version of comfort food. Just turn off the brain and enjoy.

The problem is that in the 70s you had Action Comics, Superman, Superman Family, wherever they published Superboy, World's Finest... One can get tired of even the best comfort food if there is too much of it.

In hindsight one can choose the best stories in the pile and say they were not bad, but try to imagine having to read month after month another story of how Luthor wants to destroy the world because of his early baldness and how Superman don't know how to decide between Lois Lane and Lana Lang ...

Thanks to distribution being "managed" here in Phoenix with shoddy findings on a regular basis i never really saw much Action, Superboy, Superman Family here. Occasionally see the odd issue of Action but until the LCS came along it was all about the "rights" and preference of who got rack space in where/which locations out here in the wild wild west.

Gimme a home on the ol' prairie where I can sit in my rockin' chair reading my favorite old comic books of yesteryear!

dbutler69
Friendly Neighborhood Regular

Posts: 4,256

The Incomplete Bronze Age Superman Review Thread Jun 25, 2020 13:19:30 GMT -5

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Post by dbutler69 on Jun 25, 2020 13:19:30 GMT -5

Feb 19, 2015 1:08:14 GMT -5 Crimebuster said:

March 1976

Superman #300: Cary Bates and Elliott S! Maggin end their Superman run with a bang (they're still on Action, though, so don't get too verklempt). The high concept of this anniversary issue: Superman's rocket lands "today" - 1976 - and thus he becomes an adult in the distant world of 2001. Actually, most of the story happens in 1990. Superman's rocket is found by the Americans, who secretly raise him as "Skyboy." Some dastardly Soviets decide to start World War III just because, but Skyboy stops them. He then comes to the weird decision that he has to stop using his powers, because if he keeps using them... what, humanity won't succeed in destroying themselves? I don't know. Anyway, fast forward to 2001, these same villains send a robot to America, claiming the robot is "Skyboy." The real Skyboy shows up, now calling himself Superman, and he wrecks the robot. THE END! My Grade: B-. Great concept, great cover, typical execution.

Notes: The depiction of the "future" in Superman #300 is kind of hilarious. There are all the flying cars and 3D TV projectors and force bubbles and everything from sci-fi depictions of the future, yet somehow this stuff is supposed to happen all in the 14 years between 1976 and 1990. Sure. They also give America a female president in 1990, which is pretty forward thinking. And the fashions are as silly as the floating easy chairs; c'mon, guys, men have been wearing suits for well over 150 years now. Is fashion really going to change so drastically in 14 years that everyone is wearing space onesies?

More sales figures! Comparing last year to this year:

Superman Family #171- 221,429
Superman Family #177- 170,000

Ouch!

World's Finest #230 - 242,726
World's Finest #238 - 186,000

Holy nut punch!

Wow. After Haney started so strong with the introduction of the Super-Sons, this title suddenly went straight into the dumper. I'm going to call this the "Metamorpho Effect." I don't really know why sales took such a massive nosedive, but the writing is clearly on the wall for Haney and company. Combined with the arrival of Jenette Kahn as head honcho, we're in line for a major editorial shakeup on this title very, very soon.

And Superman Family is doing just as bad. It took will have some format changes, which thankfully will result in more original content and less dirty reprints.

A strange year; the two main titles pretty much held steady, with Superman going up slightly and Action going down slightly, but the other books in the Superman family of comics both took a complete header. Yet neither book ends up getting cancelled, and within two years, the franchise adds another title in the form of DC Comics Presents. Are sales going to rebound? Or are DC's sales so bad overall that even massive losses like these are still considered solid by comparison? We'll see, but I'm guessing the latter.

I though #300 was a good story, overall. I, too, thought the technology hilarious. Whenever somebody writes about some time period like 20-50 years in the future, it seems like they always make the technology way too advanced! Also, I was shocked that, the first thing they do to the baby when they open up the rocket is to shoot a laser in his face! Are you freakin' kidding me?! Good thing he turned out to be invulnerable.

Anyway, I thought it was an interesting story with a nice little anti-war message.

Last Edit: Jun 25, 2020 13:19:46 GMT -5 by dbutler69

dbutler69
Friendly Neighborhood Regular

Posts: 4,256

The Incomplete Bronze Age Superman Review Thread Jun 25, 2020 13:22:19 GMT -5

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Post by dbutler69 on Jun 25, 2020 13:22:19 GMT -5

Jun 25, 2020 12:44:13 GMT -5 zaku said:

Jun 25, 2020 10:02:51 GMT -5 dbutler69 said:

All of what you say is true. It's sort of like a comic version of comfort food. Just turn off the brain and enjoy.

The problem is that in the 70s you had Action Comics, Superman, Superman Family, wherever they published Superboy, World's Finest... One can get tired of even the best comfort food if there is too much of it.

In hindsight one can choose the best stories in the pile and say they were not bad, but try to imagine having to read month after month another story of how Luthor wants to destroy the world because of his early baldness and how Superman don't know how to decide between Lois Lane and Lana Lang ...

Very true, but for me, I very rarely picked up a Superman comic back in the day. I've picked some up in recent years, often in a dollar bin, or TPB, or electronically, but since I was never a regular, or even semi-regular collector of Superman titles, this stuff that's so tiresome to many people is relatively new territory to me.

dbutler69
Friendly Neighborhood Regular

Posts: 4,256

The Incomplete Bronze Age Superman Review Thread Jul 1, 2020 7:49:07 GMT -5

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Post by dbutler69 on Jul 1, 2020 7:49:07 GMT -5

Feb 27, 2015 21:45:08 GMT -5 Crimebuster said:

May 1976

Superman #302: Lex Luthor somehow zaps Superman's pituitary gland so he grows huge - except his brain, which stays the same size. So the bigger Superman gets, the dumber he gets, as more and more brain power is dedicated to running his giant body. Before he turns into a complete moron - moreso than usual - he calls The Atom for help, since, you know, size changing. The Atom has no clue what is happening or how to fix it, but he does give Superman a walkie talkie and basically remote controls stupid Superman through a battle with Lex. In the end, The Atom tricks Lex into thinking he himself has been affected by the size-change virus, so Lex turns the whole thing off to save himself. THE END!! My Grade B. Despite the presence of The Atom, I enjoyed this a lot more than it deserved, I think. Not sure why.

This was a decent Bronze Age Superman yarn. Nothing special, but nothing too zany, either.

dabellwrites
Junior Member

Posts: 31

The Incomplete Bronze Age Superman Review Thread Sept 10, 2022 2:11:14 GMT -5 shaxper and zaku like this

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Post by dabellwrites on Sept 10, 2022 2:11:14 GMT -5

Okay, so I was looking for a specific issue of Kurt Busiek's Action Comics run. Instead, I saw #494 ("The Secret of the Super-S") and started reading it. Then I realized I was reading #489, "Krypton Dies Again". The story had some real poignant moments between the usual superheroics. I wish Cary Bates explored the Kandorians, Superman, and Supergirl, thrown in the Phantom Zone (since later issues show they can somewhat materialize outside the PZ) more than using Krypton's explosion reaching the Earth as a plot device for the later issues. I like the idea, but how they executed it fell flat. Superman should've gotten angry at Brainiac for what he did. I can't complain too much since it's an old story. Plus, it's Action Comics. Then there's the two-parter with Zod and his gang trying to kill the Man of Steel. Again, I love the idea. I don't know, Cary Bates has some good ideas, but I think the "Bronze Age" stories aren't for me. I figure Bates is up there with Maggin for the good writers for Superman in the 1970s. It's not the age either; I'm on S2 of both Star Trek and The Twilight Zone. Still watching Episode 1 of Mission Impossible. I'm also reading the Lee-Kirby Fantastic Four andUncanny X-men. The Lee-Ditko The Amazing Spider-Man. So, age is no factor for me.
Another thing, the story reads very Weisinger-y, not because of Curt Swan's pencils. Was this common for the "Bronze Age" to still have that 1960s feel? Or is it just Superman? How does Superman stack up against other titles from then? Currently on issue #496. One more thing, is Cary Bates a Jerry Siegel fan? There were two uncharacteristically Siegel moments in Superman. Such as Clark jacking up a regular human. Superman throwing Lyle Corliss on the ground.