This weekend’s light-hearted and escapist superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at the first twelve adventures of Superman. Previously I looked at Batman stories from 1939-1940 HERE, but these early Superman tales are often hilariously weird.
ACTION COMICS Vol 1 #1 (June 1938)
NOTE: Though many regard this as the start of the Golden Age for superhero comics I personally go with November 1936 when the Clock debuted. Click HERE.
Title: Superman, Champion of the Oppressed
Villains: Assorted criminals
Synopsis: Just before a far-off planet (not yet called Krypton) is destroyed by “old age” (the story actually says that) an unnamed scientist and his wife send their infant son in a small spaceship to planet Earth. The space vessel lands in an unnamed state, where a passing motorist (no names for Ma and Pa Kent for a while) takes the baby to an orphanage.
As he grows, the alien realizes that he has super-strength, super-speed and invulnerability. He picks up the name Clark Kent and becomes a reporter in Cleveland (yes, Cleveland) working for the Daily Star (yes) newspaper. He begins a double life as Superman, battling the forces of evil.
Superman takes down a wife-beater, saves Lois Lane from horny gangsters and clears a woman falsely convicted of murder by tying up the real killer – and even smashing his way into the governor’s mansion to make him call off her imminent execution.
Setting up a cliffhanger ending, Clark Kent is assigned to cover a war in the fictional South American country of San Monte. On his way there, Clark becomes Superman and abducts Alex Greer, a Washington D.C. lobbyist who is trying to get the U.S. into a war. Hilariously, Supes takes Greer to the top of a high building and threatens to throw him to his death unless he reveals the name of his employer. Continue reading
LEOPARD GIRL 
Powers: Leopard Girl employed her supernatural “cry of the leopards” to use a small army of leopards to help her fight the forces of evil in Africa. She could interact with the Dark Continent’s ghosts, who saw her as an ally. 
Comment: In her secret identity as “Gwen”, Leopard Girl worked with research scientist Dr. Hans Kreitzer. Her fellow assistant was named Peter, whom she once carried with one arm while swinging through the jungle. 
For this weekend’s light-hearted, escapist blog post about superheroes, Balladeer’s Blog goes back to the Justice Society of America, this country’s very first superteam.
ALL STAR COMICS Vol 1 #39 (February 1948) 
NELVANA OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS
BLACK WING 
Powers: Black Wing was in peak physical condition and excelled at unarmed combat. He was also a superb pilot and had the advantage of flying the high-tech craft he had stolen from the Nazis. 
THE DRAGON 
YANKEE GIRL 
AIR MAN 
BLUE LADY 
This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero blog post will examine the early years of Marvel Comics, which was called Timely Comics back in 1939. 
MARVEL COMICS Vol 1 #1 (October 1939) 
This figure escapes, learns to control its ability to “flame on” and “flame off”, and defeats the crime boss Anthony Sardo and his gang. When Phineas Horton hints at using his android creation to make money, the Torch rebels and flies off to function in the world on his own. 
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