Sunday, August 23, 2009

Superman: Sunday Classics 1939-1943

Here's how this works. I read a book or two and tell you about them and try not to get too long-winded. This time, a review of Superman: Sunday Classics 1939-1943 (Sterling, 2006).



A few weeks ago, I read the collection of three years' worth of Superman daily strips. Sterling has a companion volume available, and this reprints all the color Sunday strips - a separate continuity, as was the standard at the time - from the same period. I was surprised to find it a little more juvenile than the daily, with very little of the wit and imagination seen in the daily strips. The most interesting elements are the ones which reflect wartime life, with an endless stream of fifth columnists and saboteurs bent on interrupting the flow of war bonds. It's serviceable enough for what it is, but I think I would only recommend this for collectors or nostalgists who've already tried the book of dailies.

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