| Author | Topic: Superman from the 30s to the 50s |
| Aldous Member |
 posted December
05, 2002 07:29 PM 
This, from SOLARLORD's recent thread:
quote: That first story could be a re-make of an earlier story. I have a very, very old comic book album of DC comics (164 pages) compiled by an Australian publisher, and which was left to me by my maternal grandfather. It contains a simply superb collection of old DC comics. (I have two of these precious albums, called "Colossal Comic".) There are very early comics of Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Superboy, Jimmy Olsen, Captain Comet, Captain Compass, and Green Arrow, complete with Henry Boltinoff gag strips inbetween stories. The first story of the album is a wonderful adventure called "Achilles versus Superman!" which I have been led to believe is from Superman #63 (1950). Do you know this story? The art is great, and has the Boring touch, probably as penciller, but I'm not certain. I think of this as a very early story, being just a dozen years after the publication of the first Action. IP: Logged |
| India
Ink Member |
posted December
05, 2002 11:11 PM
I don't recall reading this story in reprint form. However, it seems to me that some reference might have been made to Superman's meeting with Achilles in subsequent stories--or in letter pages commenting on stories. Both Superman's meeting with Hercules in the early sixties and his meeting with Zha-Vam in the mid-sixties have cameos of Achilles (among others). Both drawn by Boring. And there is the sense in those tales that Superman has already met the Greek gods and heroes. IP: Logged |
| Aldous Member |
posted December
06, 2002 06:20 AM
quote: I'll do a quick synopsis of this story for you. It won't be as long or as detailed as some other reviews because I'm a bit pressed for time... But the story is worth relating. *** A man in a suit and hat arrives in Metropolis Harbour, and Lois Lane is there to meet him. He is newsworthy because he wears a steel box on his right foot (where you would normally expect to find a shoe). He is also newsworthy because he is John Achilles, the man who has claimed to be descended from the great ancient Greek hero, Achilles. John Achilles refuses to speak to Lois, a reporter, because "your newspapers laughed at my claim." Lois being Lois, she is not put off by this rejection, and decides to secretly follow Achilles in the hope of getting a story. Achilles attends a meeting of the most notorious crooks in the city and proposes that he become their leader. He also claims he can defy their greatest enemy, Superman. Achilles announces that no weapon can harm him, that he is invulnerable. The criminals decide to test this ridiculous claim, and, to their astonishment, their knives and bullets cannot harm the man with the steel box over his right foot. Achilles explains that he is a direct descendant of the ancient hero Achilles, who, according to legend, gained invulnerability after being dipped in the river Styx. The modern-day John Achilles found his ancestor's tomb, and learned the ancient Achilles was actually dipped in a chemical of invulnerability, an ancient scientific discovery. (The walls of the tomb are covered in scientific writing.) John Achilles duplicated the ancient chemical and had himself dipped in it, "and it made me invulnerable, all except my right foot that wasn't dipped, because I didn't want to be different from my great ancestor." Achilles explains how the steel box is to protect his right foot, his only vulnerable spot. Achilles dons an ancient Greek helmet as a couple of the thugs usher in Lois Lane, who they caught spying. With Lois now a prisoner, Achilles assumes leadership over the criminals gathered, and announces he will repeat his great ancestor's exploits: he will crush his enemy Hector with a war-chariot, over-power the Amazons with a bow, and trick the Trojans with a wooden horse. *** This is going to take longer than I thought. That's only two pages covered so far... I might have to continue this later. Or, I could stop there... maybe it has whetted your appetite to hunt out the comic. An intriguing villain, to be sure, who is not quite what he claims to be... IP: Logged |
| dadkrel Member |
posted December
07, 2002 10:51 AM 
We are still waiting, Aldous. When you going to get back to us. IP: Logged |
| Aldous Member |
posted December
07, 2002 11:56 PM
quote: You want the rest of the story...? OK, then! I'm a bit worried about this old comic. It has yellowed with age, and the pages are literally crumbling. But, on with the story. ***** Clark leaves the Planet to look for Lois, who he knows has gone to interview Achilles. Clark, failing to find Achilles, calls in at the museum to see curator Dr. Hector Haley. He figures Dr. Haley may know the whereabouts of John Achilles, for Achilles is an archaeologist by profession. Dr. Haley knows of Achilles all right... "He was a fine archaeologist once, but he's mad now -- claims to be descended from the ancient hero. He hates me, because I disproved his claim!" Nearby, at a military recruitment display, Achilles and his thugs are in the process of stealing a tank. The men on guard fire at Achilles but the bullets just bounce off him. Achilles and his henchmen take over a tank and drive it through the wall of the museum. It crushes and kills Dr. Hector Haley. Clark, needless to say, finds a convenient spot to remove his outer garments... As Clark is switching to Superman, Achilles emerges from the tank with an imperious gesture, and announces, "I crushed my enemy Hector with this modern 'war-chariot'." A museum guard fires his revolver at Achilles, but the madman is unaffected. "My heel is my only vulnerable spot," he tells the guard, "and that's protected!" The henchmen of Achilles are startled to see Superman appear. The Man of Steel trains his X-ray vision on the steel box enclosing Achilles' foot, but he cannot see through it as it is lead-lined. Superman starts tossing giant-sized replica gems (part of a museum display) at the crooks, causing them to scatter and stumble like tenpins. The henchmen are ready to admit defeat, but John Achilles starts the tank running wild and Superman's super-vision reveals Lois is bound and trapped inside. Forced to deal with the tank, Superman gives Achilles and his men a chance to escape, and later he discusses the madman with Lois. "It seems incredible this Achilles found an invulnerability chemical -- yet he WAS proof against bullets![sic]" Lois had thought Achilles' predictions were crazy, but he did crush his enemy "Hector" with a "war-chariot"... Lois believes Achilles will try to carry out his other boasts, to overpower the Amazons with a bow and trick the Trojans with a wooden horse. Superman gives her a clue: "Amazons! They were athletic warrior women! And say, the champion girls' Olympic team is returning by plane today!" Lois grabs at the clue and figures Achilles will try to capture the Olympic team and hold it for ransom. She rushes off for the airport. Superman takes off in another direction. He has given Lois a bum steer for his own purposes. [cont'd...] IP: Logged |
| dadkrel Member |
posted December
08, 2002 01:20 AM
Wow! Another breathless clifhanger???? IP: Logged |
| Aldous Member |
posted December
08, 2002 03:51 PM
I don't mean to write reviews in instalments for the purpose of creating cliffhangers... I'm afraid there's a more mundane reason: I have limited time, and so I just add another bit of the story when I can. 
But -- on with the tale of Achilles. ***** Having sent Lois on what he believes is a wild goose chase (to keep her away from trouble), Superman heads for the Amazons Rubber Company, which gets a big payroll this day every month. [The Lois in this story is a lot more fetching than later Boring versions. She has a more svelte appearance, fine facial features, and long hair.] Superman's hunch is correct, for Achilles and his men already have the big rubber company in their sights. They stand along a balcony on a neighbouring building as Achilles raises a bow and arrow. Through the open window of the Amazons Rubber Company and into a vat of melted rubber flies the arrow. "My arrow is of special chemical substance [sic]," explains Achilles with glee, "and when it hits that big vat of melted rubber sulphur it creates sulphur dioxide, a gas that will stupify everyone in the factory!" Achilles and his men don gas masks and enter the factory to steal the payroll. A guard, who is all but overcome by the fumes, fires on Achilles but the shots have no effect. The crooks start forcing open the office safe as the Man of Steel enters the factory. Achilles has bet on Superman having to drag all the gas victims to safety, thereby giving the robbers a chance to escape, but Superman has a far quicker method of saving the rubber factory workers: he inhales all the gas and exhales it out through a window. A hireling tips a huge stack of tyres in Superman's direction. "So," says the Man of Steel, "you want to play games, do you?" He uses a giant strip of rubber tied between two support beams to make a giant slingshot, then he starts pelting the hoods with large bales of rubber, sending them sprawling. Superman notices that Achilles is also affected: "Hmm -- it seems that this Achilles can be hurt after all -- by rubber missiles!" Suddenly Lois, who has figured out Superman tricked her, enters the factory right in the middle of the action. One of Achilles' men tips over the vat of melted rubber and Superman is forced to fly Lois to safety. Once again, because of this diversion, the crooks escape. Superman is annoyed with Lois, but Lois tells him, "It's your fault! You deliberately sent me to the airport on that wrong clue!" "I was only trying to keep you out of trouble," says Superman, "but I guess that's hopeless!" Lois and Superman now go to work on Achilles' third boast, to "trick the Trojans with a wooden horse". The Man of Steel figures Achilles will make a hit on the Trojan National Bank in Metropolis. This time, instead of trying to get rid of Lois, he takes her with him. [cont'd...] IP: Logged |
| Aldous Member |
posted December
09, 2002 09:12 PM
An official of the Trojan bank, which backs onto the river, assures Superman his bank is in no danger. As well as the guards on duty, a bunch of workmen have arrived and will be inside all night, redecorating. "No one would try anything!" "You don't know this Achilles!" says Superman. "Now listen..." Elsewhere, John Achilles and his men are in an automobile, preparing to loot the bank. Up the street from the bank, they use the car to start a giant wooden horse (part of an advertising display for a saddlery) sliding downhill. The big horse gathers speed, and the crooks are confident, "It'll bust that bank wide open when it hits!" A mother and child are frozen with terror in the path of the careering horse, but Superman springs from the bank with wire cable coiled up like a lasso. He lassoes the horse and drags it into the sky, where the sight of the Man of Steel towing a big horse thrills a group of boys. Achilles' men are losing faith. As the criminals watch Superman fly away with the horse, a hireling says, "But Superman spoiled your trick, Achilles." "That wooden horse was only to get Superman out of the way!" says Achilles. "My REAL trick was to conceal a bomb inside one of the bank workmen's saw-horses!" No sooner has Achilles said this than a bomb blast is seen inside the bank. "See, the bomb in the bank just went off! Everyone in the bank will be killed and we can loot it easily!" Achilles' men are greatly amused: "...You're as great as your ancestor!" However, when the eager hoods burst into the bank, they find the bank official and the guards alive and well, and waiting for them. The Man of Steel had spotted the hidden bomb in the saw-horse with his X-ray vision and a smoke bomb had been set off in its place to fool the gang. Although his men are horrified, Achilles is not bothered. "We'll loot the bank anyway," he declares, "...their bullets can't hurt Achilles!" The guards fire their revolvers and Achilles is wounded. Achilles and his men are in shock as Superman crashes in through a large window. "They're non-metallic bullets," he explains. Superman had figured out, after seeing the rubber bale stagger Achilles, that he wasn't immune to non-metallic missiles. Superman has also deduced that the metal box on Achilles' foot contains a "magnetic repellor" whose magnetic field repels all metal missiles. Achilles, in a last desperate bid to escape, jumps through the man-sized hole in the window Superman had made. Superman is forced to let him go -- he figures it is more important to disarm Achilles' gang before they injure somebody. The large windows, unfortunately, are set above the river, and down in the water Achilles is fighting for his life. He cannot swim to safety because the steel box on his foot is too heavy and is dragging him down. He thrashes around, but is drowning. By the time Superman is in a position to go after him, Achilles is dead. Superman stands beside the river with Lois and a police officer. "And he drowned because of that steel box on his foot," says the Man of Steel. "Like the real Achilles, he died because of his heel!"
IP: Logged |
| Aldous Member |
posted December
09, 2002 10:46 PM
P.S. From what I've been able to find out, it seems Edmond Hamilton was the author of that Achilles story. IP: Logged |
| India
Ink Member |
posted January 09,
2003 11:29 PM
Curt Swan Alert: (a little late but I just discovered this baby today) The Dec. 2002 ish (No. 97) of Comic Book Marketplace cover features Curt Swan's work. I've yet to read it, but inside is a piece by Edward Zeno, author of Curt Swan: A Life in Comics, plus all kinds of art and stuff. It looks like most of this is excerpted from the book itself, but it's still a good mag to have. Also featured: Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and the works of Jim Shooter. IP: Logged |
| India
Ink Member |
posted January 10,
2003 12:00 AM
Here's a new link for the Bob Hughes home page which provides Shuster material that I mentioned on page 2 of this thread: http://www.supermanartists.comics.org/superart/superart.html I find "search by era" is the best way to get to the Shuster stuff. => IP: Logged |
| India
Ink Member |
posted January 12,
2003 05:20 PM
Here's another useful post that I've swiped from the archive boards:
quote: IP: Logged |
| Aldous Member |
posted January 13,
2003 05:26 PM
Does anyone own the Interplanetary Olympics story drawn by Al Plastino in Action Comics #220? IP: Logged |
| Continental Op Member |
posted February
01, 2003 11:29 AM
(bump) IP: Logged |
| India
Ink Member |
posted February
22, 2003 06:54 PM
Were there two Interplanetary Olympics stories--was the second a re-make of the first? IP: Logged |
| India
Ink Member |
posted March 08,
2003 04:12 PM
I actually looked up these two different "Interplanetary Olympics" stories in my Superman Encyclopedia, as well as the two Achilles stories. Michael Fleisher's accounts are thin, but both suggest the relationship between one account and the other. I may pull some quotes from the encyclopedia for use on this thread at a later date. I find the central fiction of the book most entertaining (the idea that Superman is a real person and all the stories are true accounts--and therefore all continuity conflicts are the products of chroniclers' errors or chroniclers' variant interpretations). IP: Logged |
| Aldous Member |
posted March 08,
2003 10:18 PM
I endeavoured to start a brief discussion of the Interplanetary Olympics stories some time ago... (I'm not sure where I first mentioned it. It wasn't on this thread. It may have been on the 60s thread.) But there were no takers. I have a great story drawn by Swan + Klein where Superman and Lana Lang wind up at the "Interplanetary Olympics". I've had the comic forever, but not long ago I came across info on another "Interplanetary Olympics" story that seemed to be an earlier version of the story I had. I can't remember now where I saw it -- I may have actually read the first page on the Mile High website or somewhere similar.
quote: That's what I was getting around to asking way back when. IP: Logged |
| India
Ink Member |
posted March 08,
2003 11:23 PM
I believe one was a remake of the other--although I've only read the sixties one. I mentioned it on page 16 of "Superman in the 70s" [as in the
index... That story was one of the reasons I regard this as the perfect comicbook (not the only perfect comicbook, mind--there have been a few others)--284 was where I read that story and fell in love with it. From the brief encyclopedia entry there seems to be a more complex plot device in the second story. That one is set on the artificial planet Vorn--the first one is set on the planet Thon. IP: Logged |
| Osgood
Peabody Member |
posted March 09,
2003 12:00 AM
The story was partially recycled it seems, but with some significant variations. In the second story, Superman loses deliberately to foil the aliens, while in the first his loss is due to the misfortune of an ill-fated piece of kryptonite. You can compare and contrast the two here: IP: Logged |
| Aldous Member |
posted March 10,
2003 01:46 PM
Neither of those links will work for me. I'll keep trying, though. Well, the plot development of one story definitely sounds a lot better than that of the other. And it's pretty obvious which is which. Maybe I shouldn't be too hasty, though. I've only read one of 'em after all. IP: Logged |
| India
Ink Member |
posted March 10,
2003 04:16 PM
Aldous, here's a cut n' paste for you from those links... Action Comics #220
Action Comics #304
=> IP: Logged |
| Aldous Member |
posted March 28,
2003 05:05 AM
Thanks for cutting and pasting that! I missed this. It must have disappeared from the first couple of pages of the Superman forum before I got a chance to see it. I only just came across it because I was about to post something about Superman novels. IP: Logged |
| Aldous Member |
posted March 28,
2003 05:15 AM
Something came up on the "Just purchased Elliot S. Maggin's books...." thread which leads me to believe that there may be a general misunderstanding that George Lowther in his Superman novel (early 40s) contributed a good deal to the Superman mythos. I very much doubt that Siegel & Shuster owe much to Lowther at all. Any discussion of a novel that contributed a great deal to the Superman mythos, a novel that Siegel & Shuster owe a great deal to, should revolve around "Gladiator", not "The Adventures of Superman". IP: Logged |
| India
Ink Member |
posted March 29,
2003 01:07 AM
I haven't read the Lowther book, so I can't really comment too much (was this re-released recently?--I recall seeing some sort of book displayed in the comic shop window). However, it is a favourite >ahem< "thesis" of mine that whenever Superman's origin is recounted it becomes redefined. The contribution of Lowther might be in that he restated the origin (just as the Superman radio show did--I have the tapes of those early episodes)--gathering together everything that had been stated before about Superman's origin but shaping it in his own way in prose. Intentionally or not, everytime they do this the chroniclers alter or embellish the origin. When one of my nephews was just an infant (a year old I think, which would make it 1987) I gave him these little picture books about Superman, they were all in a slipcase kind of box, and each little book was only a few pages. I think the illustrations might have been Al Plastino. Anyhow these books--which were fairly new, and possibly published after Crisis--recounted different phases of Superman's life. I think one book was about Krypton. The next about Superman's arrival on Earth as a baby. The third about him as Superboy in Smallville. And the fourth about his arriving as Clark Kent at the Daily Planet. Or something like that. Anyway they encapsulated Superman's origin story in a very specific way. I should have bought a set of these books for myself at the time. IP: Logged |
| Aldous Member |
posted March 29,
2003 04:09 AM
The origin can be retold and redefined, yes. Everything can be "gathered together" and reshaped. Even specifics can be nudged in certain directions... But the core ideas and precepts as set out by the creators must be preserved, otherwise it is no longer Superman we are talking about, but some other character who has borrowed Superman's name. A scientist on another planet places his infant son in a rocketship which escapes the planet's destruction. The infant Kryptonian is found and adopted by a kindly couple, the Kents, who name the boy Clark and raise him according to a simple and strict moral code. The boy grows to maturity and, after the loss of his foster parents, resolves to turn his super-power to the good of mankind and the world. To this end, he becomes two people, the mild-mannered Clark Kent and the spectacular Superman, NEITHER of whom is the complete picture of who this man is. That's just off the top of my head and may stand some tweaking, but essentially I'm saying Siegel & Shuster made him, and don't mess with what they made. There is ample scope for arguing over details and specifics, when did he do this, how did he do that, who did he love and who hates him and why..... Repackaging the origin is fine... But if you are going to mess with what Siegel & Shuster made, I say forget it. Everything comes back to the credit of the creators. For me, they are the authority on the subject. IP: Logged |