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Bell English 4 27 August 2013 The Super in Superman When someone says "comic book," what do you think of? Some think, "Gross, only nerds read those!" Others have flashes of their favorite parts of every comic book they have ever read. Comic books happen to be one of the only products that originated in America and is still made in the U.S.A. Theyre known as an art because even though they tell stories, the pictures, with extreme detail, speak for themselves. The History of Comics Comic books were invented in the late 1800s. The first comic strip is normally known as The Yellow Kid by a man named Richard Outcault (A History of the Comic Book). A comic book is much more than just a series of words and pictures with marginal cultural importance, (A History of the Comic Book), says the author of this article. They are clearly used to tell a story, but more importantly, they use modern language, such as slang and idioms, to tell that story and make it easier for the readers to comprehend. The art plays a very dynamic part in all comics. In some instances, its much more valuable. Depending on the comic style, there might only be art. Comprehension of these images is crucial. This author goes on to say, Traditionally occupying the fringes of pop culture, the comic book is actually a valuable historical text that comments on how young people and adults alike identify with cultural and political issues (A History of the Comic Book). Comics have been a loophole. The First Amendment states that as a human being in America, we have the right to the freedom of speech. The government rarely stays true to this without some kind of punishment. Comic books were and are a way to express a persons thoughts, feelings, and/or ideas politically. It is a way to say how they truly feel through a certain character or plot. As the years progressed, comic books became more for pleasure reading also. Since the

1960s, the comic book industry has been dominated by the two major publishers of superhero booksMarvel and Detective Comics (A History of the Comic Book). Although their names have changed over the years, they have always been on top, and still are to this day. Much like the United States, comic books have also gone through their own ages. They have different periods of time that distinguish periods of comic book history (A History of the Comic Book). The five main stages are Golden, Silver, Bronze, Iron, and Modern. They range from 1938 to present day. Superman was introduced in the Golden Age and managed to stay in the industry to this day, specifically as one of the most famous superheroes. History of Superman In the Superman story, change is the only constant (8 Ball, The History of Superman). The idea of Superman came from the minds of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. Back in the 1930s, this magnificent hero was actually a villain but was soon changed for the better. His first superpowers were super strength, super speed, and his super jump. Superman was born on Planet Krypton and sent to Earth where he was found and fostered by Jonathan and Martha Kent (8 Ball, The History of Superman). The Kents created a secret identity so he could be a human and live a normal life while also being able to use his powers, therefore Clark Kent became also known as the famous superhero Superman. Approaching the 1940s, Superman received additional powers. His powers increase and he is now able to fly, has x-ray vision, telescopic vision, microscopic vision, and heat vision. His body is virtually indestructible and he has the ability to time travel (8 Ball, The History of Superman). Throughout this decade Superman comics are turned into radio shows, and cartoon shorts. While becoming more and more famous, they also created a younger version of Superman and called him Superboy. It was meant to show a background to Supermans high school life. About halfway through the 50s decade, The Adventures of Superman aired as a television show and new supervillains were introduced, such as Braniac and Bizarro. About 1959 is when Supergirl is introduced as Linda Lee Danvers to the humans. Going into the 60s, more information is revealed about this mysterious character, Superman. HIs arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor, and he have had problems since they were teenagers. It is also shown that Superman is powerless without the Suns energy. The Disco Decade is when the famous Superfriends emerged, along with the first

Superman movie. Less than five years later, the second Superman movie was released, with the third following closely. Halfway through the 1980s, Supergirl was killed off. Many wondered why a person would do such a thing. DC Comics decided this because they published a twelve issue series called Crisis on Infinite Earths which was used as a way to alter the histories of many of their characters including Superman (8 Ball, The History of Superman). The Man of Steel was created in 1986, when John Byrne, a writer, brought the Superman comics back (8 Ball, The History of Superman). Only about a year later was Superman IV: The Quest for Peace released. The 90s decade was all about Lois and Clark. Superman died in 1992. Before he was able to resurrect, different Superman identities tried to claim their roles as Superman. These characters included Steel and Superboy. Superman revealed his double identity to Lois, and they were married in 96. The 2000s was the era of Smallville and Superman Returns. The most recent addition to Superman has been the 2013 movie, Man of Steel. The Co-Creators The original creators of Superman were Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. Joe Shuster was born on July 10, 1914 in Toronto Canada. At age nine, he and his family moved to Toledo, Ohio, where he met and befriended his future partner Jerome Jerry Siegel (Mike Konczewski, Mini Biography, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0795975/bio). Jerome Siegel was born October 17, 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio. Shuster and Siegel met in 1931 and stayed in one anothers lives since then. Their roles in the beginning of the partnership were simple; Shuster drew the images while Siegel wrote the comic. Their first comic strip was unsuccessful but they both received jobs at DC Comics. Continuing toward their dream career, they worked hard. In 1939, DC editor Sheldon Meyer decided to give the two young men a chance and published their character Superman a new comic title, Action Comics (Mike Konczewski, Mini Biography, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0796950/bio). This was the beginning of a great career, and many years of success. Yes, there were ups and downs, but the two worked together well and created happiness among readers. However, both Siegel and Shuster passed away in Los Angeles, California. Shuster died in July of 1992 only twenty days after his seventy-eighth birthday. Siegel lived until January twenty-eighth of 1996. Even after their deaths, their success lives on through their character, Superman.

Summary of Supermans Story Superman has many comic books to the overall story. In this particular comic, he battles with a fire alien. The story starts out with The Daily Planet being demolished. In the city of Metropolis, there was an old warehouse building that was three stories tall. This was The Daily Planet. It was built in 1826 and converted to the newspaper production facility. The Daily Planet was destroyed because of its age and the printing press wasnt doing its job as well as it should be. They joined The Daily Planet with The Globe, the competing newspaper, and called it Planet Global Network, or P.G.N. Lois Lane got a job almost instantly as the executive producer of P.G.N. nightly news and the executive vice president of new media. Clark Kent doesnt like combining the companies because he doesnt like The Globes illegal tactics. Meanwhile, in the new astrodome, small fires keep starting and disappearing. One night, as Superman was flying around aimlessly, he noticed a stolen tanker truck. He flew down to try stopping the thieves and the truck blows up. Superman was in shock, but was also determined to confront the problem. After getting a flame of fire shot at him, Superman realizes that the fire is not just a normal fire, but a fire alien. This fire alien was powerful and seemed to have the purpose of attacking Superman only. That is until it also tries setting the rest of Metropolis on fire. As Superman fought off the fire alien, it was speaking some language from another world. Somehow Superman understood it and recognized it as Krypton. Superman started blowing the fire aliens fire back at it. The fire alien then starts aiming its flames at news crews. Lois Lane had been allowed to take the lead on the coverage of the situation. However, Superman was unable to take the offensive and attack the fire alien. He finally had an idea to distract the villain. His idea was to recover the old Daily Planet globe from the demolition site and give the fire alien something to attack. Then, he used his super strength to force the fire alien into the atmosphere. Superman figured, if it takes oxygen for an Earthly-fire to burn, whos to say it takes oxygen for this alien-fire to burn also? He was right. He pushed the fire into space and watched it evaporate. News stories turned out incredible; for Clark and Lois, both. Late that night, Kent arrives at Lanes to apologize for unnecessary comments earlier in the day, and to congratulate her on her news story. Lois happens to have another man with her, so Clark Kent, clearly having a crush on her, leaves feeling lonely.

Personal Review of Superman This comic book was fairly interesting, even to someone who is not normally a comic reader. Not very much knowledge is needed to understand the storyline. A basic knowledge of superheroes is standard in reading a superhero type of comic book. A superhero is a character that does good things, like saving the world or city from potential harm, using powers that are imaginable and fictional. These potential threats are also very unrealistic. This specific story was simple. It was basic, but good. Superman fought an alien made of fire. Even knowing that the protagonists always win, it was a good fight. The art created by Joe Shuster was very detailed and made the story more comprehensive. Fiction comics are good for pop culture fans and younger kids, but anyone can read them and like them. Superhero comic books tend to be the most famous because they attract a variety of ages in all types of people. They also have a variety of colors due to the different imaginary things that happen during the story, like a battle against a fire alien. People like comic books because theyre short with theyre words, but still intelligent. Modern America has become lazy, therefore comic books are an easy way to say that they read. Works Cited A History of the Comic Book. 18 March 2008. Web. 26 August 2013. The History of Superman. 8 Ball. April 2013. Web. 28 August 2013. Biography for Joe Shuster: Mini Biography. Mike Konczewski. Web. 26 August 2013. Biography for Jerry Siegel: Mini Biography. Mike Konczewski. Web. 26 August 2013. Merino, Jesus. Perez, George. Superman. November 2011. Print. 20 August 2013.