Superman Through the Ages! Forum

Nov 2005 sales figures:

1. INFINITE CRISIS #2 (Of 7)
2. ALL STAR SUPERMAN #1
5. SUPERGIRL #3



None of the other Superman comcis are in the top ten or in the teens.

I was just going to post this. It's fantastic news and it doesn't surprise me in the least. People want to see Superman have cosmic stories where he does things that blow your mind. They don't want to see him facing street-level jobber villains.

Big congrats and a heartfelt "thank you" to Morrison and Quitely. You guys did it.

I've posted sales figures for Amazon.com before, but here is a list, in descending order, of the bestselling Superman books since 2000: (fiction, not "Thus Spake Zarathustra," etc.)

Search with "Superman" as subject:

1. It's Superman, by Tom de Haven
2. Tales of the Bizarro World, by Jerry Siegel
3. Superman in the Seventies
4. Superman and Batman: Generations
5. Superman: The Sunday Classics, 1939-1943
6. Son of Superman
7. Action Comics Archives, vol. 3
8. Superman Radio Scripts: Superman vs. the Atom Man
9. JLA/Avengers #1, by Kurt Busiek
10. Krypton Nights (poems)

Search with "Superman" in title:

1. It's Superman, by Tom de Haven
2. Superman/Batman vol. 3
3. Superman: Red Son
4. Superman/Batman vol. 2
5. Showcase Presents:  Superman vol. 1
6. Superman/Batman vol. 1
7. Superman: Birthright
8. For Tomorrow, vol. 2
9. Superman: Secret Identity by Kurt Busiek
10. Superman Archives, vol. 1

All the books listed are a) not set in the post-Crisis continuity, or b) have a huge element of Silver Age in them, such as Supergirl, or the World's Finest Team. The exception is For Tomorrow, which is #8 if you search only for books that have "Superman" in the title.

Boy, they must've really hated Superman back in the 30s and 40s, when virtually all he did was face "street-level jobber villains." Most of 'em didn't even wear costumes!

Sure, the Superman of the Golden Age faced stret level crime.  He also faced  munitions dealers who were provoking wars.

The GA Superman didn't have the constant self doubt the current one does.  He did what was right and did it, even he was hunted by the police.

That's a different topic.  And I wouldn't mind seeing the contemporary Superman going after munitions dealers either.

The self-doubt seems to be on its way out, thankfully.

you mean that vigilante's were accepted by the general public back then?

Not sure if accepted is the right word, but I think maybe there was some genuine feeling of corruption in high and low places going on at that time. So the idea of a honest and true hero who would take on these forces, and do it in the spectacular, fun way that Superman does really connected with audiences.

This is also where the importance of Clark Kent being a reporter for a crusading newspaper played such an important part. He could fight this battle for truth and justice on two fronts.

Just a note: every issue of SUPERGIRL is released with variant covers.
Without this little help by Michael Turner, this book wouldn't be in top 10.

IC and ALL STAR SUPERMAN deserve their place in the top 10. Especially the second title, in my opinion.

You hit it right on the nail, Kuuga, about part of the reason Superman's incorruptibility and invincibility was so popular back in the 1930s was because the world was fundamentally a dark place. Superman were shown to be a light in a dark world.

You can see this most clearly in the contemporary Doc Savage pulp story, "The Czar of Fear," where everyone is suspicious about Doc Savage's generosity and philanthrophy. "What does he get out it?" They ask. "Nothing," someone responds. "There's never been anybody like Doc Savage, ever."

That's not what I meant at all. I'm talking about street-level SUPER-VILLAINS. Guys like Bloodsport and such--jobbers, in a sense. Believe me, I miss the days when Superman fought against agents of the status quo. I love the scene where he makes the wife-beater pass out from fear. And I'd also like to see a return of old J. Wilbur Wolfington.

Hopefully I've made myself more clear.

Superman came out in the decade of the 1930's.  What is the one thing that the 1930's are most famous for?

The Great Depression.

Superman was a symbol of hope and positive change when he came out.  The goverment failed the citizens of the US.  The felt that something needed to be done to get the USA back on track.

Hope, self-confidence, decency, truth, justice are the things that are supposed to be part of Superman's character.

He became a reporter to get an inside track on injustices.  If that Superman started today, he'd be working for The Register, Electronic Frontier Foundation, or one of the on-line papers.

I'd hate to see a Superman who never acknowledged his own mistakes or questioned his own actions. That to me would make him a lot less interesting as a character. Yes, he always tries to do the right thing, but that doesn't mean he always knows what the right thing is.

That is true, and I can understand that.

But constant self-doubt and indecisiveness is what we have now as Superman's personality traits.

Acknowledging one's mistakes and questionning one's actions is one thing..  But allowing low confidence and self-doubt to get in the way of doing the right thing is quite another.  

Ultimatly, for Superman, "The Right Thing" is using his powers to help those in need, because that's what he believes someone who has Superpowers should do with them.