Since I haven't purchased Superman Chronicles yet I decided to do my first blog about Richard Reynolds Masked Heroes essay.
The first two pages of Superman’s origins are breathtaking. The fact that it only took Siegel and Shuster 13 panels to tell Superman’s past astonishes me. In Richard Reynolds “Masked Heroes”, it mentions how throughout the years the artists eventually fill in the little gaps of Superman’s past such as naming the planet, town and the newspaper company he eventually ends up working for.
Reynolds’ essay gives us a great look of how Superman not only impacted other comics but society as well. He mentions that in those days, someone with tremendous strength and invulnerability was unheard of. But what really gave rise to some of those comics was WW II. WWII gave artists and writers so much gap for stories to tell, Captain America being one of them. It influenced how writers wrote. In those times Superheroes were law abiding citizens who were taking on evil villains just like the U.S. was taking one an evil regime.
Art always runs into trouble and Reynolds gives us a glimpse of how the Comics Code affected comics and their writers. With this Comics Code, comics didn’t have much free reign. One of the guidelines was that a cop couldn’t get hurt or that the antagonist couldn’t win. There was to be no blood or gore ever since the release of Tales of the Crypt and Seduction of the Innocent.
Reynolds also gives us a great look at some of the features established in Superman’s origins. Number one, being the loss of his parents and how it created a non-parent-to-child relationship. Every superhero deals with this subject in one way or another. Some superheroes become heroes because of their parents or because something tragic happened to them. Another one is how Superman is referred to the man-god. Justice is also another key feature. In one of Superman’s early stories, he goes to the governor’s bedroom to persuade him not to fry an innocent person after finding out the truth. This feature is a key to most superheroes. They may not always follow the rules but they want justice.
The major feature that Reynolds tells is of course a superhero’s secret identity. In Superman’s early stories, it mentions why he needs to hide his identity and it’s because the bad guys will hurt the people he loves. This is the central theme of why all superheroes wear masks and have a secret identity. Reynolds also makes a point of how a city affects a superhero whether it’s New York or Gotham City. In all Reynolds essay on Masked Heroes is a read for all even if they’re not into the superhero genre.
The first two pages of Superman’s origins are breathtaking. The fact that it only took Siegel and Shuster 13 panels to tell Superman’s past astonishes me. In Richard Reynolds “Masked Heroes”, it mentions how throughout the years the artists eventually fill in the little gaps of Superman’s past such as naming the planet, town and the newspaper company he eventually ends up working for.
Reynolds’ essay gives us a great look of how Superman not only impacted other comics but society as well. He mentions that in those days, someone with tremendous strength and invulnerability was unheard of. But what really gave rise to some of those comics was WW II. WWII gave artists and writers so much gap for stories to tell, Captain America being one of them. It influenced how writers wrote. In those times Superheroes were law abiding citizens who were taking on evil villains just like the U.S. was taking one an evil regime.
Art always runs into trouble and Reynolds gives us a glimpse of how the Comics Code affected comics and their writers. With this Comics Code, comics didn’t have much free reign. One of the guidelines was that a cop couldn’t get hurt or that the antagonist couldn’t win. There was to be no blood or gore ever since the release of Tales of the Crypt and Seduction of the Innocent.
Reynolds also gives us a great look at some of the features established in Superman’s origins. Number one, being the loss of his parents and how it created a non-parent-to-child relationship. Every superhero deals with this subject in one way or another. Some superheroes become heroes because of their parents or because something tragic happened to them. Another one is how Superman is referred to the man-god. Justice is also another key feature. In one of Superman’s early stories, he goes to the governor’s bedroom to persuade him not to fry an innocent person after finding out the truth. This feature is a key to most superheroes. They may not always follow the rules but they want justice.
The major feature that Reynolds tells is of course a superhero’s secret identity. In Superman’s early stories, it mentions why he needs to hide his identity and it’s because the bad guys will hurt the people he loves. This is the central theme of why all superheroes wear masks and have a secret identity. Reynolds also makes a point of how a city affects a superhero whether it’s New York or Gotham City. In all Reynolds essay on Masked Heroes is a read for all even if they’re not into the superhero genre.