The Contents of SUPERMAN: From the 30's to the 70's HC Collection

As I mentioned in the first episode of the Superman & Captain Marvel Power Hour Podcast, for the foreseeable future, most of the stories I'll be covering on the podcast will be pulled from the SUPERMAN: From the 30's to the 70's and the SHAZAM!: From the 40's to the 70's hardcover collected editions released by Harmony books in cooperation with DC writer and editor E. Nelson Bridwell in the late 1970's. These gorgeous hardcovers featured introductions by Bridwell and collected some of the best chronicles of each hero throughout the decades. Of course since Captain Marvel's Adventures ended in 1953, before being revived by DC in the early 70's, there is a 20 year absence with no new Captain Marvel material, meaning the SHAZAM!: From the 40's to the 70's collection is more heavily weighted on the 40's, 50's, and 70's material than the Superman collection is. Speaking of the Superman collection, in addition to containing sampling of the Last Son of Krypton's legacy from each decade, the book itself is also much easier to get your hands on at an affordable price. You can find copies of this hardcover with the dust jacket, fairly easily online for $10-$15. Not bad for a 400 page book collecting the Man of Steel's greatest stories up to the beginning of the 1970's. But the Captain Marvel collection is going to be hard to come by, and probably set you back upwards of $70!!! So what this blog post is going to do, is outline the contents of the Superman collection (with a similar post for the Captain Marvel collection coming later in the week), that lists out each story contained within the collection, as well as where else you can find these fine stories reprinted. That way, you can do your best to follow along with the podcast coverage with the resources you have at your disposal.


Note, for argument's sake, when breaking up the stories by decade, I'm going by the cover date instead of the actual published date. For example, Superman #62 was cover dated Jan/Feb 1950, and thus is lumped into the 1950's decade below, but it actually went on sale on November 2nd, 1949. All on sale dates courtesy of Mike's Amazing World.

So let's start with the Superman collection. Note that the first full story reprinted is "The Coming of Superman" from Action Comics #1, however it is the version from Superman #1, which reprinted the Superman material from the first 4 issues of Action Comics, but adding more content and pages to firm up more origin details.

The 1930's

1.) "Superman, Champion of the Oppressed" (composed of "The Coming of Superman" + "Origin of Superman" + "Clark Kent Gets a Job) - from Superman #1. These are also reprinted in Famous First Edition #C-61 Treasury, Superman Archives HC Vol. 1, Millennium Edition: Superman #1, Superman: the Greatest Stories Ever Told vol. 1 TPB, Superman Chronicles Vol. 1 TPB, and the Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1 HC.

2.) "War in San Monte" from Action Comics #2, and also reprinted in Famous First Edition #C-61 Treasury, Superman Archives HC Vol. 1, Millennium Edition: Superman #1, Superman: the Greatest Stories Ever Told vol. 1 TPB, Superman Chronicles Vol. 1 TPB, Superman in the Forties TPB, Lois Lane: A Celebration of 75 Years HC, Superman: A Celebration of 75 Years HC, and the Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1 HC.

The 1940's

3.) "The Challenge of Luthor" from Superman #4, and also reprinted in Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told HC & TPB, Superman Archives Vo1. HC, Superman Chronicles Vol. 3 TPB, and Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1 HC.

4.) "The Dukalia Spy Ring" from Superman #10, and also reprinted in Superman Archives Vol. 3 HC and Superman Chronicles Vol. 6 TPB.

5.) "The Light" from Superman #13, and also reprinted in Superman Archives Vol. 4 HC and Superman Chronicles Vol. 7 TPB.

6.) "The Archer" from Superman #13, and also reprinted in the Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told (HC & TPB), Superman Archives Vol. 4 HC, and Superman Chronicles Vol. 7 TPB.

7.) "Saboteurs from Napkan" from Superman #15, and also reprinted in Superman Archives Vol. 4 HC and Superman Chronicles Vol. 8 TPB.

8.) "How Clark Kent Met Lois Lane" from Adventure Comics #128. This story hasn't been reprinted anywhere else but this collection.

9.) "Man or Superman?" from Superman #17, and also reprinted in Superman Archives Vol. 5 HC, Superman Chronicles Vol. 9 TPB, and Superman: A Celebration of 75 Years HC.

10.) "Case of the Funny Paper Crimes" from Superman #19, and also reprinted in Superman #183, Superman Archives Vol. 5 HC, and Superman Chronicles Vol. 10 TPB.

11.) "Superman, Matinee Idol" from Superman #19, and also reprinted in Superman #183, Superman Archives Vol. 5 HC, and Superman Chronicles Vol. 10 TPB.

12.) "America's Secret Weapon" from Superman #23, and also reprinted in Superman Archives Vol. 6 HC and Superman in the Forties TPB.

13.) "The Mysterious Mr. Mxyztplk" from Superman #30, and also reprinted in Superman #183, Superman Archives Vol. 8 HC, Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told (HC & TPB), and Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told Vol. 2 TPB.

14.) "Lois Lane, Superwoman" from Superman #45. This story hasn't been reprinted anywhere else but this collection.

15.) "The Origin of Superman" from Superman #53, and also reprinted in Three-Dimension Adventures #1, Best of DC (Blue Ribbon Digest) #16, Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told (HC & TPB), Superman in the Forties TPB, and Superman: A Celebration of 75 Years HC.

The 1950's

16.) "Black Magic on Mars" from Superman #62. This story hasn't been reprinted anywhere else but this collection.

17.) "The Mightiest Team in the World" from Superman #76, and also reprinted in World's Finest Comics #179, World's Finest Comics Archives Vol. 1 HC, Millennium Edition: Superman #76 (#23), Superman/Batman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told TPB, Showcase Presents: World's Finest Vol. 1 TPB, and Superman: A Celebration of 75 Years HC.

18.) "The Girls in Superman's Life" from Superman #78. This story hasn't been reprinted anywhere else but this collection.

19.) "The Terrible Trio" from Superman #88, and also reprinted in 80 Page Giant #11 and the Greatest Team-Up Stories Ever Told (HC & TPB).

20.) "The Girl in Superman's Past" from Superman #129, and also reprinted in Superman Annual #1 (1960), Superman #217, Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told (HC & TPB), Giant Superman Annual #1 (1988), Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 1 TPB, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow Archives Vol. 2 HC, and Superman: A Celebration of 75 Years HC.

The 1960's

21.) "The Untold Story of Red Kryptonite" from Superman #139, and also reprinted in Superman Annual #8 (1964), Best of DC (Blue Ribbon Digest) #36, Showcase Presents: Superman Vol. 2 TPB, Showcase Presents: Supergirl Vol. 1 TPB, and Superman: Man of Tomorrow Archives Vol. 3 HC.

22.) "The Son of Bizarro" from Superman #140, and also reprinted in Action Comics #347, Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 2 TPB, Showcase Presents: Supergirl Vol. 1 TPB, and Superman: Escape from Bizarro World HC & TPB.

 

23.) "Superman Meets Al Capone" from Superman #142, and also reprinted in Superman #197 and Showcase Presents Superman Vol.2 TPB.

24.) "Bizarro Meets Frankenstein" from Superman #143, also reprinted in Superman #202 and Showcase Presents Superman Vol.2 TPB.

 

25.) "Superboy's First Public Appearance" from Superman #144, also reprinted in Showcase Presents Superman Vol.2 TPB.

The 1970's

26.) "The Pied Piper of Steel" from Action Comics #398. This story hasn't been reprinted anywhere else but this collection.

27.) "Superman Breaks Loose" from Superman #233, also reprinted in Superman in the Seventires TPB, Millennium Edition: Superman #233, Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told Vol. 2 TPB, and the Superman: Kryptonite Nevermore HC.


28.) "Superman, You're Dead...Dead...Dead" from Action Comics #399, also reprinted in the Best of DC (Blue Ribbon Digest) #12.


29.) "Duel of Doom" from Action Comics #400.This story hasn't been reprinted anywhere else but this collection.


And those 29 fantastic stories are what are contained within the pages of the Superman: From the 30's to the 70's Hardcover. Be sure to check back on Friday February 5th for the contents of the SHAZAM!: From the 40's to the 70's Hardcover.