Superman in the Forties
Grade 4 Up–The first in a series of decade-themed volumes of Superman collections,The Fortiesprovides a selection of vintage material. Along with reproductions of key cover art and essays about Supermans enemies, his contributions to the war effort, etc., readers are given access to a sampling of historical documents as the character, the format, and the popularity evolved with time. The collection begins with the earliest appearances from 1938, and then hops about, occasionally pausing over some entertaining curiosities and rarities: an early prose story has been reprinted here, along with some of the daily newspaper comics from 1942, and a tale featuring the first of a number of varied Supergirls that would appear. The color is often garish, and–along with the line work–seems to have lost some of the subtlety evidenced in photographic reproductions of the same material. It is bold and bright, but frequently lacks finesse, and comes across as flat or simplistic. The greatest loss is in the faces, which need to capture readers emotions and imaginations. The stories have a good variety of the fun and the drama of the era, before the character moved into the realm of science-fiction silliness.–Benjamin Russell, The Derryfield School, Manchester, NHCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.