Showcase Presents Superman

Reviewer: Marcus Q

Oct 06

When I first heard that DC was going to come up with series which was similar to Marvel’s essential line I thought I would give it a shot.

Little did I know that DC were going to release their first 2 volumes for a measly £6. I thought this was great and picked up these 2 volumes which happened to be Superman and Green Lantern.

Another thing I thought was great was that DC resurrected the title Showcase Presents, which as far as I know has not be used since the late 90’s.

Any way on to the review.

This book is massive at 560 page of Superman stories from the Silver age, and sports a great cover from Action Comics 242. The cover has been altered and updated a bit and the colors look great.

When I first opened up the book I noticed that they have listed each of the stories in each issue and they have also listed who the writers and illustrators. I thought this was a nice touch because it told you who each issue was done by.

The first issue in the book is Action Comics 241 and this story is called “The key to fort Superman”. The Story is basically about the Fortress of Solitude and what superman does in his spare time. To get into the Fortress Superman has to use a super key , which according to him is disguised as a luminous arrow marker for planes flying over. Once superman is in the Fortress we see that he has rooms dedicated to his friends and even one for Clark Kent in order to preserve his secret identity just incase any one enter the fortress.

As the story progresses we find out there is an intruder in the fortress and the intruder keeps leaving riddles for superman which culminates in an ending that envelopes Kryptonite and a Super Birthday cake with candles in the shape of superman’s head.

This story sets the tone of the book and as the issues progress I believe the stories get better and better. Towards the end of the book we are introduced to Bizzaro and through out the book there are some other notable appearances such as :

The Introduction of Brainiac and Kandor The Introduction of Supergirl Lex Luthor becoming the Kryptonite man The Introduction of Lori Lemaris The Introduction of Metallo And the Return of Krypto

This book also has some interesting and Bizarre stories such as:

Superman as a Fireman Superman as a Police Officer Superman's Future Wife The ghost of Lois Lane Lois Lane’s Super- Dream And best of all Superman Joins the Army

Whilst I enjoyed this book I did find that some of these stories were very boring and seemed very childish. But I do understand that these stories were aimed for children originally. I really enjoyed this book and whilst it wont be for every one , I would really recommend this book to any comic fans and also to any parents who wish to read these stories to their children. It took me 10 days to read this book and I think ill be getting the next volume as soon as I can afford it. So if you like seeing kooky and interesting Superman stories of old then pick this book up as it will be an entertaining read.

Artwork: 9 out of 10 Writing: 10 out of 10 (for the time period) Ragging Bullet Rating: 8 out of 10