28 August 2010

My Top 10 Comics #1: Where it all began....

Chello!

Over at the Villains and Vigilantes Forum, 8675309 Jenni started a thread for members to list their top ten comic issues of all time, "not bound editions of multiple issues...not...graphic novels..." Just single issues.

Top Ten Comics thread

Well, I decided that over the course of the next week and a half or so to post one a day. Then the idea struck me (since my blog has been languishing again) to expand my posts there here on my blog. So, without any further adieu, post the first.




This is it, the one that started it all. The first appearance of Superman. As I stated on the V&V Forum, it is Superman from which all the others flow. Yes, there were the early "mystery men" in the pulps, but it was Superman that started the Golden Age and four-color comics. It is hard to picture a world without Superman, although some have dared.

 


Sometimes it feels like Superman has become outdated, outmoded, that the world has passed him by and left his morals and ideals back somewhere before the assassination of JFK. People question his relevance, mock his politeness and his stand for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. At best he is seen as quaint, at worst as naive. To all this negativity I say: BALDERDASH!!!

As the movie Superman Returns shows, there is a need for Superman in the world. I would like to think that there is a little bit of Supes in each of us, that he reflects the kinder, gentler part of our natures. Like the knights of old who tried (and quite frequently failed) to live up to the tenets of chivalry, we can look up to Superman and try to go his way; each of us can make a difference in this world. Personally, I think this is the lesson of Superman and, t a lesser extent, all of those who have followed him.

Of course, there are always those who can say things way better than me. So, here's a clip from Just Some Random Guy on YouTube. The relevant section is from ~1:55 to 4:35 and 7:20-8:20.


So, go out there and make a difference!

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