Superman - The 1942 Novel!

Superman was a success right from the start, at least it was when creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster could get someone to publish the adventures. The character created a whole new genre, one pioneered by costumed heroes like Lee Falk's The Phantom among others. But Superman was something else again, at once familiar and esoteric, an alien from the heartland of America. 

Superman soon dominated the comic book world, getting his own title and appearing in other places like World's Finest alongside Batman. But he was not done. 

It was not long until Superman's fame spread to other besides comics. Radio took an interest and began a daily fifteen-minute program with the Man of Steel. 

Beyond the wild pages of his own comic book, he found safe haven in the more esteemed panels of the comic strip where his adventures dropped onto the stoops of Americans all over. 

And he went to the big screen when the Fleischer Studios (the folks responsible for the immensely popular Popeye features) lavished on the hero from Krypton possibly the best superhero cartoons ever made. 

So, I guess it was just a matter of time before Superman got a prose novel dedicated to him. And that's just what happened when George Lowther wrote The Adventures of Superman a novel destined for the libraries of the nation. Superman now occupied space among other classic heroes of literature such as Natty Bumppo, Sydney Carton, and Sam Spade. 

The novel is a quick-paced affair divided into two distinct parts. The first deals with Superman's origin and tells yet again how the planet Krypton explodes but not before a prescient scientist sends his son in a rocket to the planet Earth where he is found by a kindly farming couple who raise him as his own. There is special emphasis on relationship between Clark and his adopted father Eben in this retelling, and I was much reminded of how the story is told in the first Christopher Reeve movie. 

Then the scene shifts as Clark Kent tries to make a name for himself and earn a job on The Daily Planet. This version of the story has him head out West and investigate a strange ghost ship which is haunting the harbors of an important defense contractor. It's up to both Clark Kent and the mighty Superman to get to the bottom of these ghostly doings as well as uncover the threat to the nation's security. This story does an excellent job of building the menace and of offering the reader a number of suspects. Before it's done, Superman has been taxed and takes the fight to enemies of American and world security. 

Lois Lane is in this one but there's not much room to give her that much attention. Superman is front and center in this rather thrilling yarn that takes more than one twist along the way. The prose is decorated with wonderful sketches by Joe Shuster as well as some handsome black and white plates. There are several painted images too to add color to the finished product. To see the artwork check out this link. 

I enjoyed the 1977 Kassel reprint of the 1942 novel. It is highly recommended if you can dig up a copy.

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