Can I get some pre-crisis Superman recs?

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Must There Be A Superman is pretty lit.

Getting the obvious shit out of the way:

For the Man Who Has Everything
Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

What was the point of wrapping chains around just his chest? The fuck outta here

The newspaper strip is pretty great
Anything by Elliot S Maggin (including his prose novels Last Son of Krypton and Miracle Monday)
The Last Days of Superman

It'd be nice to recommend single issues/stories but they can be hard to find online. If you want a basic overview, look for these compilations:

Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told vol 1-2
The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told (and just for clarification, DC sucks at naming things creatively, these are all three distinct sets)

They have some post-crisis stories but they also do have quite a bit of pre-crisis ones and probably all of the stories that would be worthy of this thread.

Surprisingly enough, Lois Lane's ongoing often did a great job of humanising Superman and his supporting cast. Just don't go near that 2-issue miniseries she had in the 80's - one of the worst examples of "Very Special Episode" writing that plagued The Bronze Age.

Jimmy Olsen's ongoing was also good, but it was Silver Age goofiness through and through until Jack Kirby's run... when it was Jack Kirby weirdness through and through. Post-Kirby, it did a good job fleshing out Jimmy and making him a little more believable... well, as believeable as you can get for a young lad who can summon an alien demigod with his wristwatch. Jimmy's book was later renamed Superman Family, and is a pretty comfy read.

But for serious pre-Crisis recs, the early Seigel/Shuster run, Curt Swan's Silver Age work and Superman vs Muhammad Ali are the only must-reads I haven't seen yet itt.

Adding to this...

After these volumes, if you're still interested in more pre-crisis Superman, Superman Archives is the way to go for chronological order through the golden age, and the Showcase Superman volumes are the way to go for the Silver Age.

Do not read Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow unless you want to go on a murderous rampage. For the Man Who Has Everything is fine though.

What is that it? I want more Silver Age stuff. What are ones showing Superman being overpowered?

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Apparently Jeph Loeb actually inspired this story.

Also, the pages I'm skipping are adds.

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Most of the stories considered the best aren't really about showcasing his powers.

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Also, evidently, this is before the Guardians became complete shitheads.

And that's that.

I like the idea of the story, but it assumes that Superman does much more than he actually does, especially considering this is the Silver Age. Most of the time he's going around having big goofy sci fi adventures. He could be doing a lot more, and not just in by way of superheroics. I think Superman could lead an entire political revolution and no in the Injustice/Justice Lords sort of way, but just being the head of various political movements would attract tons of attention. If anything, Superman, and superheroes in general, are doing far too little. But that's just the nature of mainstream superhero comics I suppose.

>but it assumes that Superman does much more than he actually does, especially considering this is the Silver Age.
I disagree with this, actually. Most of the time we see him having big goofy sci-fi adventures because that leads to more interesting pulp stories, especially to the mind of the 12 year olds these stories were marketed to in the Silver Age. I never got the sense that these were the ONLY things Supes does, just the things we see him do most. Don't have a scan of it but one of the origins stories from the late 50s is all about him helping people and such.

everything be maggin
he's the superman writer for me

Well yeah I know the best/most popular/most well known aren't usually the ones where he's being powerful, but it's still nice to see. Also, if it's well known I probably already read them. I'm looking for some obscure stuff too, though I don't know if the OP is.

I'm willing to read anything really

Thank you

Stories by Edmond Hamilton and Eliot S! Maggin
>It'd be nice to recommend single issues/stories but they can be hard to find online.
Only if you can't navigate the internet. Everything is on DC hubs like Perfection

Obviously it's in black & white but the Showcase Presents: Superman start up at the perfect point for wonderful Silver Age Superman. The first volume alone has the first appearances of Supergirl, Metallo, Brainiac, Lori Lemaris, Titano, etc.

It's a shame that Eliot S Maggin got to write Superman in an age where comic book narrative wasn't as developed as it is now.

He talked about this once, he wanted to express his big ideas for the character but had to simplify the stories back then because the medium back then was exclusively for children.

His best Superman work are his overlooked novels. He should make comic book adaptations of them.

now we just have to wait for the mainstream comic book industry to stop conflating mature with dark and gritty (not that that tone doesn't have its place) and then we'll be good

and of course there's still always room for lighthearted well-written stories as well

I think it's the best time to read comics in a way because now we have an acceptance for a variety of tones.

I agree. Comics are more diverse and the best they've ever been, but it's sad to see mainstream publishers having to be dragged along to catch up with the times instead of embracing them. Though I do understand that they're trying to make a profit first and that makes them wary of experimentation at the risk of alienating their core demographics.

not to say that there aren't well-written books from mainstream publishers either, but the vast majority of titles seem to be mediocre. Which is sad, because these companies can afford much better talent.

We have everything except for good comics.

The Avengers movie made more than probably every comic books sale in history combined.

Quality is gonna take a back seat to putting asses in seats for the newest capeshit for at least the next decade at the big 2.

>Maggin will never get to be editor of superman line

Read complete Superman and action comics post O'Neil's run where Maggin and Cary Bates write him for most of the time. Pasko's issues are good as well.

Superman is a filthy liberal.

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