DC released their latest round of solicitations earlier this week, which included not one but two volumes of material reprinting, among other things, Silver Age Superman stories written by Jerry Siegel. With “Man of Steel” due to hit theaters in June, hopefully this will be only the beginning of Siegel-written reprints hitting bookshelves in 2013.
Coming March 20 is SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SUPERMAN FAMILY Vol. 4. According to the solicitation, the softcover collection will contain several Siegel stories:
“Jimmy Olsen, Orphan” from SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #46. This story features the first meeting of Supergirl and Jimmy Olsen — and is Supergirl’s first significant appearance outside of ACTION COMICS.
“The Monsters from Earth” from SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #47. (Never before reprinted!)
“Alias, Chip O’Doole” from SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #49.
“The Lord of Olsen Castle” from SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #50. (Never before reprinted!)
“Jimmy Olsen, Wolf-Man” from SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #52. This story, while not Jimmy’s first lycanthropic transformation, does contain another milestone with the first appearance of Mr. Mxyzptlk’s Fifth Dimensional gal-pal, Miss Gzptlsnz!
“The Boy in the Bottle” from SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #53.
“The Giant Turtle Man” from SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #53. The first of the famous (or is that infamous?) transformations by Jimmy Olsen into a giant turtle man.
“The Black Magician” from SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #53. (Never before reprinted in the U.S.)
Next up is SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF TOMORROW ARCHIVES Vol. 3, coming our way July 24. According to the solicitation, this hardcover volume picks up one issue before Siegel’s return to DC in 1959. So, it will be chocked full of stories from the beginning of his second run with the character. All of these stories were reprinted previously in SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SUPERMAN Vols. 1 and 2, but some are being reprinted here in color for the first time.
“The Revenge of Luthor” from ACTION COMICS #259. I won’t spoil why, but this is a really underrated story. It is also Siegel’s first use of Luthor in the Silver Age.
“Superman’s Fortresses of Solitude” from ACTION COMICS #261.
“The Captive of the Amazons” from ACTION COMICS #266.
“How Perry White Hired Clark Kent” from SUPERMAN #133. This is Siegel’s first-published story upon his return to the character. It is presented as an “Untold Tale” and reveals how Clark got his job at the Daily Planet.
“Superman Joins the Army” from SUPERMAN #133.
“When Lois First Suspected Clark Was Superman” from SUPERMAN #135. This is also presented as an “Untold Tale of Superman.”
“Superman’s Mermaid Sweetheart” from SUPERMAN #135. This is the second appearance of Lori Lemaris and features the first appearance of Lori’s husband, Ronal (though he’s not named until “The Mermaid From Atlantis” in SUPERMAN #138, also written by Siegel).
“The Trio of Steel” from SUPERMAN #135.
“The Super-Clown of Metropolis” from SUPERMAN #136.
“The Two Faces of Superman” from SUPERMAN #137. A 26-page (book-length as originally published) story detailing a strange incident where baby Kal-El’s rocket collided with a space ship, which created a duplicate of the rocket and its contents. This second ship landed on Earth also, where it was found by two criminals who raised the child to become a Super-Menace!
“Superman’s Black Magic” from SUPERMAN #138. Featuring a cameo appearance by Bruce Wayne (a.k.a. Batman).
“The Mermaid from Atlantis” from SUPERMAN #138. This is Lori Lemaris’s third appearance and features a cameo by Aquaman!
“The New Life of Super-Merman” from SUPERMAN #139. It seems Siegel was quite enamored with the character of Lori Lemaris. This is the character’s fourth appearance.
No work from Joe Shuster is included in these volumes, unfortunately. Shuster did his last work for DC in the mid-’40s and was out of comics entirely by the time Siegel returned to DC in the late ’50s. With luck, however, we’ll be getting some Shuster reprints — Superman, likely, given the anniversary… but, hey, maybe some other work, too — next year.
