On one hand, this collection is a strong representation of what the Silver Age was--full of ideas just being thrown onto paper without any consideration for what it would mean. And there were actually a few ideas that were referenced again. That part was surprising.
On the other hand, it took me weeks to read, and has single-handedly made me question this blog project.
There were a number of instances where Superman was referenced as the only powered person in the world. This made no sense when compared to DC continuity...or even the other comics in this collection where Superman fought against other super-powered people.
Batman made an appearance though. That was fun.
Once you get past the obvious corny feel of the issues, they're actually pretty enjoyable. The potential in most of these things is pretty incredible, and in today's comics there'd be so much done with it. Writers would have planned out where to go with the nuances of each issue, and, sadly, how to break it down into multiple issues. At the risk of imitating every other internet comics commenter, we've really lost the art of individual issues in most comics today. Building them so that a trade tells a fully story may make sense from a business perspective, I guess, but it also means that the medium loses a lot of "character development" issues.
I was already introduced to a number of these issues through a reprint that collected some of the most famous Silver Age stories (ones that introduced Lori Lemaris and Supergirl were the more important ones). Both characters have played roles in the Superman mythos, Supergirl much more than Lori, and their introductions are reprinted here. Very nice for a new reader.
Stories bringing in Brainiac, Metallo, Kandor, and more were included, and as someone who has seen them develop into prominent concepts in modern comics, it was interesting to read how they got started. Metallo died in his debut story, interestingly, so I'm actually curious as to when he returned to play a big villain.
All in all, this is a collection I'd probably recommend to someone interested in reading older Superman comics. Would I suggest it to someone I wanted to get hooked on comics? No, just because it would probably scare them away with the corniness. But for someone already interested in comics, this might be good to read.
Next I'll be reviewing...the first Legion of Super-Heroes Archive, according to my list. But I've secretly already read that, so I'll be using this time to read the Haunted Tank Showcase in my attempt to get into war comics.
Don't tell anyone.
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