Golden Age Superman

Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone! I am back for this Christmas season to look at a Superman promo comic that was released around this time in 1940. Joining me all the way from England is Andrew Leyland of Hey Kids Comics and Fantasticast podcasting fame! So join us for some talk about Superman, Christmas music, and Santa Claus being unable to do his job without help (as seems to happen every year in some story or another).

I'm following my new format this episode, separating off discussion of real world and contemporary comics, as well as all Other Media adventures of Superman into their own episode here. In the daily strips, a new adventure begins as Superman sets out to help change the life of the meekest man in the world. The Sunday strips finish up Superman's confrontation with the robot bandits of Metropolis, and then Metropolis is attacked by a hurricane.  So of course Lois decides that's a great time to go out and get a story. On the radio, Clark Kent wraps up the mystery of the 5 million dollar gold heist before setting off on a Native American adventure with Jimmy Olsen to solve the mystery of a series of deaths that are always accompanied by the howl of a coyote. Not only that, but since 1940 is over, I take a few moments at the end to look back at the year and pick out some favorite and not so favorite works to come out of the franchise in the previous twelve months.

After another of my now regular hiatuses, I am back to discuss Action Comics 33 with my good friend Charlie Niemeyer. We'll be looking at Jack Burnley's penultimate story of his fabled run on the book, featuring a will, a lumber mill, a muscled and mustachioed Frenchman, and Lois dying in a whirlpool! (spoilers) In the back-up features, Tex Thomson undergoes a significant and patriotic transformation. We'll also discuss the latest affairs of Pep Morgan, the Black Pirate, the Three Aces, Clip Carson, and Zatara. Thanks for listening!

The first episode of a brand-new podcast has arrived! In Justice Society Origins, JON WILSON (of Golden Age Superman, this show's parent podcast) and MICHAEL BAILEY (of several other podcasts, not the least of which are From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast and Tales of the Justice Society of America) begin at the beginning with All-Star Comics 3, where the feature characters from several other comics come together to discuss their recent adventures over dinner.  It may not be the most exciting of beginnings for the world's first successful super-team, but it is where we find ourselves today. Also in each episode will be an origin spotlight.  This time around, we look at the beginnings and legacy of the original Red Tornado, Ma Hunkel. Thanks for listening!  Don't forget to tell your friends!

And I have returned to continue with my coverage of the Superman adventures that were published in November 1940.  First, Charlie Niemeyer helps me take a look at Action Comics 32.  And in other media, I finish my look at the daily newspaper story where Lois has become a pawn of a mysterious master villain.  Then Superman punches up a robot invasion in the Sunday strips.  And the radio show concludes the Yellow Mask's return, deals with an invisible man, and sees a five million dollar train robbery. Next up: The Justice Society of America! Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  You are also welcome to check out the other end of the Superman spectrum at The New 52 Adventures of Superman, where Dave Weter and I discuss the latest adventures of the Man of Steel!  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments below or via email.  You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes, and leave a review if you like to spread the word to others.  Thank you so much for list

After an extended gap, the show is back for the first of three episodes to cover the adventures of Superman that were published in November of 1940.  Actually, the first two of those episodes will be Superman, the third will be a recently announced Justice Society of America special.  (Hooray!) The issue at hand today is Superman 8, but rather than tease the contents, I'm going to leave it to you to listen because there's a bit of a reveal in the course of the episode that I don't want to spoil.  Just trust me on this one.  And then come back in a couple weeks or so for more. Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  You are also welcome to check out the other end of the Superman spectrum at The New 52 Adventures of Superman, where Dave Weter and I discuss the latest adventures of the Man of Steel!  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments below or via email.  You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes, and leave a review if you like to spread the word t

It's been a while, hasn't it?  Did you miss me?  Well, summer is here, school's out, and that means time for more podcasts!  In this episode, I am joined by Charlie Niemeyer once again to look at Action Comics 31.  Someone has put the town of Brentville to sleep, and it's up to Superman to find out who and how and to put a stop to it!  Jack Burnley brings his beautiful art to the story, and it's a pretty darn good one.  Then in the daily newspaper strips, Lois has become a pawn of "the Master," but who is the Master and what is he trying to accomplish by getting Lois Lane fired from the Daily Planet?  Meanwhile, on Sundays, everything comes to a head in the exploration of Lois Lane's inherited property.  And finally, the Yellow Mask returns to menace the free world on the Superman radio show.  Lots of good stuff is going on, and you're invited to join in the fun! Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  You are also welcome to check out the other end of the Superman spectrum at

Welcome back to the goldenest Superman podcast ever produced, Golden Age Superman.  Here in episode 30B, I'll discuss Action Comics 30 with the help of Charlie Niemeyer, as we see golden globes of doom being used to destroy people, leaving behind nothing but a shadow imprint on the ground.  It's creepy gruesome stuff, and it makes for some fun Superman goodness.  Then, over in the newspaper strips, a hooded saboteur starts sabotaging the water and power of Metropolis, and Lois Lane gets closer to the land she inherited from Bill Bixby.  And on the radio show, Superman finally reveals his existence to one lucky boy.  All this and your emails and iTunes reviews.  Come check it out! Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments below or via email.  You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes, and leave a review if you like to spread the word to others.  Thank you so much for listening! 

Perry White joins the comic book cast in this episode's coverage of Superman 7 which is full of Joe Shuster goodness!  First, Superman has to save an innocent man from being framed for murder by three kingpins of crime.  Then it's off to Gay City for Clark to find out why men are exploding at the slightest touch, but Perry tells Lois to stay behind because Gay City is too dangerous for a woman.  And after cleaning up some local politics, Clark takes Lois out to dinner but they're kidnapped and held for execution by the "Black Gang".  Come give a listen! Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments below or via email.  You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes, and leave a review if you like to spread the word to others.  Thank you so much for listening! 

This episode, I am joined again by Charlie Niemeyer of Superman in the Bronze Age to look at Jack Burnley's work in Action Comics 29.  It's a great little mystery that jams 13 pages more full of story than they often are.  Feel free to laugh and mock as Jon stumbles all over the various characters' names, as the guest patiently waits for him to figure out what's going on.  Then over in the newspapers, Lois gets kidnapped (like that's news) and Superman goes for a nap on top of a train, while on the radio show, Clark assists in the plunder of an ancient civilization.  All that and more on Golden Age Superman! Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments below or via email.  You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes, and leave a review if you like to spread the word to others.  Thank you so much for listening! 

Golden Age Superman is back again, this time with 100% more voices!  This episode covers the second half of Superman's adventures from July 1940, and I am joined by Charlie Niemeyer (of Superman in the Bronze Age and frequently of The Thrilling Adventures of Superman) to look at Action Comics 28, where Jack Burnley becomes the regular artist on the title.  It's circus silliness involving a thief in leopard print, so brace yourselves!  Then Clark disguises himself as a tramp during the week while finally taking down the "Lamite" on Sunday in the newspapers, with a trip to Happyland Amusement Park coming at us from the radio show!  The fun-filled episode is filled with fun, so check it out! Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments below or via email.  You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes, and leave a review if you like to spread the word to others.  Thank you so much for listening! 

Welcome back to Golden Age Superman.  This is the first of two episodes that will examine the Superman adventures published during the month of July 1940, and this episode focuses on Superman 6.  First, Lois Lane is accused of murder.  Then Clark and Lois visit the small town of Gateston to help their newspaper expose the protection rackets going on there.  In South America, earthquakes and tornadoes ravage a small country, but someone is trying to stop the citizens of Metropolis from sending aid.  And finally, a corrupt construction company is killing crowds with their inferior building materials.  What can Superman do to help in all of these situations?  Find out in this episode!  Also, your emails and iTunes reviews are read! Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments below or via email.  You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes, and leave a review if you like to spread the word to others.  Thank you so much f

After last month's monster four-hour episode, Golden Age Superman is back with a more manageable length to cover the stories of June 1940.  In this episode, I take a look at Action Comics 27, which features Clark's and Lois's investigations of a rehabilitation home for wayward youths.  There is abuse afoot, and Lois is determined to stop it, and if you think she'll need Superman's help, you're right.  And thus ensues one of the longest battles ever between Superman and a simple mortal!  Will the Man of Steel prevail against ... MR. TWEED??!!  Find out in this latest episode! Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments below or via email.  You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes, and leave a review if you like to spread the word to others.  Thank you so much for listening!

Welcome to Golden Age Superman.  This episode, I spend a little while taking a look at Superman 5, New York World's Fair Comics 1940, Action Comics 26, and all the usual monthly doses of Superman in other media.  Highlights include Alex Evell's campaign against the Planet (get it?  evell = evil), Jack Burnley's first work on Superman at the New York World's Fair, and Professor Cobalt's quack clinic taking advantage of FDR's drive to cure polio. All that and more make this the BIGGEST EPISODE EVER! of the show.  We also see the debut of two new powers -- photographic memory, and super facial muscular control!  You won't wanna miss it! Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments below or via email.  You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes, and leave a review if you like to spread the word to others.  Thank you so much for listening!

April showers bring May flowers, and they also bring conniving female reporters who MUST KNOW SUPERMAN'S REAL IDENTITY!  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this latest episode covers Action Comics 25, the first time Lois Lane ever sought to find out who Superman really is.  It's a bit of a romp with Superman being immobilized by hypnotism and then killing lots of people.  In other words, Golden Age Goodness!!  Also, over in the Superman radio show, we have the debut of JIMMY OLSEN!!  So, it's a big month all around for the world of the man with the S on his chest.  Come check it out! Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments below or via email.  You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes, and leave a review if you like to spread the word to others.  Thank you so much for listening!

What do you do if your neglect and indulge your son, and he turns out to be a bit of a bum?  Why, call in Superman to straighten him out, of course!  That's what old Rufus Carnahan does in Action Comics 24, the Superman adventure discussed in this episode of Golden Age Superman.  But will his son Peter be able to elude his gambling debtors?  Also, Superman fights for the slums (again) in the daily newspaper strips and goes off to war (again) in the Sunday strips.  Coverage of the Superman radio show also continues with the dastardly doings of the Yellow Mask!  Check it out! In the email section, a listener mentions a Superman Homepage article about Superman and phone booths.  That can be found here. Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments below or via email.  You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes, and leave a review if you like to spread the word to others.  Thank you so much for listening!

Luthor is back, for the first time!  In this second half of Golden Age Superman's coverage of Superman's adventures in February 1940, Superman 4 takes us on two very different adventures with Luthor.  First we see him challenge Superman to a series of superfeats, and then our jaws hit the floor as he lures Superman to an ancient underground Pacific city to, um, fight dinosaurs.  And a giant rat.  But that's okay because there are two more stories after that full of Superman goodness, and joining me again on this journey is Superpodcaster Michael Bailey (of Views from the Longbox, From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast, and Xavier's Podcast for Gifted Youngsters).  I hope you enjoy it, and I'll see you again next week! Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments below or via email.  You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes, and leave a review if you like to spread the word to others.  Thank you so much for liste

Golden Age Superman is proud to present its first two-part episode!  The second month of 1940 saw more Superman content being published than in any month previous, with Superman 4 (for the first time presenting four all-new stories) and Action Comics 23 both featuring the first adventures of none other than Luthor himself.  Then there are the newspaper daily and Sunday strips, a special comic story published in Look magazine, AND the debut of the Adventures of Superman RADIO show!  Talk about huge.  And, not afraid to take something big and make it bigger, I've invited Superman podcaster extraordinaire Michael Bailey (of Views from the Longbox and From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast) to join me in taking a look at everything Superman was up to this month.  To give everything the time it deserves, I've split it over two episodes, and this is the first.  Have fun with it! Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments bel

Golden Age Superman is starting out a new year and a new decade. I'm back going solo this week to look at Action Comics 22, where Superman heads off to the war in Europe and runs into beautiful spies, intrigue, and massacre.  Then in the newspaper strips, the stories take a different approach on the war, as Clark Kent takes a job with spies and saboteurs.  Is it possible Clark Kent has turned traitor?? Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments below or via email.  You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes, and leave a review if you like to spread the word to others.  Thank you so much for listening!

Golden Age Superman is back again to finish out not just the year, but the 1930s decade!  AND to complete its celebration of the Ultra Humanite's farewell to Superman's comic stories with Action Comics 23.  For this final installment, I have J David Weter of Superman Forever Radio with me, and we talk about Ultra trying out her new life as a woman and what Superman has to do to stop her.  It's probably the best Ultra-Humanite story we've had, just in time for the character to say good-bye.  Then it's off to the daily and Sunday newspaper strips where war hits Europe and Superman get attacked ... by a BEAR??!! Golden Age Superman is a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.  If you wish to send feedback, you may do so in the comments below or via email.  You can also subscribe to the show through iTunes, and leave a review if you like to spread the word to others.  Thank you so much for listening!