Action Comics #1 - Atop the Fourth Wall

The man of steel! The man of tomorrow! The man who will wreck your stuff!

Originally uploaded November 1st, 2010.

RUMINATIONS: Ah, the first occurrence of Secret Origins Month, wherein I look at the first appearance of a popular character or team. Superman was naturally first up given his status as the “First” superhero, though that distinction is discussed in the episode itself. It is fascinating learning about a lot of the initial ideas and concepts about characters and how they evolved into what they are today. The great thing for me about the Month, though, is that I get a chance to do some Gold and Silver Age comics. I usually prefer to have a comic in front of me when I’m reviewing, which is why I don’t do this stuff as often, but I make an exception for these ones. Gold and Silver Age stuff is rife with goofy writing and art, which were acceptable at the time but have not aged at all and thus provide lots of humor potential.

Secret Origins Month remains a favorite for people, though more and more I’m getting demands for villain origins. It’s probably going to have to happen at some point since I’m running out of popular (or, at least, well-known) superheroes to do the origin stories of. I’ll probably do them eventually, but the honest truth is that I just find heroes more interesting than villains. I don’t really have a “favorite supervillain” or the like when it comes to superhero comics. It’s nice to see certain villains again, but I’m perfectly happy seeing new or different villains challenging the heroes when the opportunity arises.