Superman has had many alterations by American artists throughout the years. In the year 1938, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel sold the well known American Icon Superman to DC Comics. They created this character as high school teens in 1933. In a short period of time Superman was being seen from newspaper strips to television programs, films and video games. Siegel grew up loving science fiction to the point of writing stories and submitting them to publishers only to be denied; this did not make him give up. Shuster also had a passion for science fiction stories and when he met Siegel in 1931 they instantly connected as they both had a very strong taste for the genre. One might portray Superman differently than the other but Shuster and Siegel originally created him to wear a blue costume, red cape, and a red and yellow “S” shield on his chest. Some changes made by artists include modifying of his costume by adding gloves and sometimes short sleeves and differences of his face and body structure.
Ed McGuinness is an American comic book artist eminent for his work on a few different books, particularly Superman. McGuinness graduated high school in Stoughton, Massachusetts determined to be a comic book artist and that’s exactly what he did. Early in his comic book career he drew for books such as Wildcats and Mr. Majestic only leading up to much bigger titles such as Superman and Hulk. McGuinness draws his characters with a powerfully built physique which works well with the meaningful faces he also gives them. Some modifications he has made to Superman’s physical appearance include a much stronger body structure. In the original comic drawn by Joe Shuster, Superman has less of a muscular build. Unlike the first, McGuinness made Sup...
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... an impact on people all throughout America. From having 130,000 people visit the Superman panel at comic-con to having an original Action Comic Book being sold at more than $2,000,000. Superman is known for wearing his blue suit with a red and yellow ‘S’ but many artists have their own color tones and facial and body features.
Works Cited
"The Artwork of Ed Mcguinness." Ed McGuinness. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
"Dan Jurgens." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 Oct. 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
"Dan Jurgens." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 Oct. 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
"Ed McGuinness." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Jan. 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
"Siegel, Shuster and Superman." Siegel, Shuster and Superman. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Weldon, Glen. "Truth, Jawlines And The American Way: The Changing Face Of Superman." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Somewhere around 1939 and 1941 Detective Comics and its sister organization, All-American Publications, presented well known superheroes, for example, Batman and Robin, Wonder Woman, the Flash,
Rathnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South and Madonna Enthroned are very similar images that were produced by very different cultures. Both images were produced during the 13th Century. The image of Rathnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South was produced in Tibet during an interesting period of the country’s religious history. The branch of Tibetan Buddhism is led by a religious and sometimes political leader called the Dalai Lama. It was during the 13th Century during the reign of Kublai Khan, around the time of the production of this painting, that Tibet experienced the first incarnation of the Dalai Lama. One has to wonder if this painting is somehow related to that occurrence. According to one source, the reincarnation system for the Living Buddhas is the main point distinguishing Tibetan Buddhism from other forms of Buddhism.
With reference to “Man of Steel” and “Superman 1”, Superman is much taller than Lois resulting in her constantly having to look up at him and having him shot with a low angle from the point-of-view shot of Lois Lane, having the effect of Superman seeming more powerful. Superman’s adoptive mother is also a stereotypical, stay at home mother while his adoptive father
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman! In 1938, Action Comics #1, released the first Superman comic to the public. Superman, also known as Kal El, has shown many different powers since his first debut in 1938. This paper will discuss various topics about four of his major powers and explain why they are all impossible for anyone to achieve in real life. Superman’s four major powers that will be discussed in this paper are X-ray vision, being able to fly, super strength, and invulnerability.
One way he influenced the comic book world was by revolutionizing the way characters behaved in his stories. Many of the characters in the older comic books were given makeovers to make the audiences like them more because they were flat and lacked emotion. This was called the Silver Age of Comics. The older characters lacked a personality. Stan Lee was an office assistant at Timely Comics in 1939 and soon after that he became an interim editor in the 1940s (Stan). When Martin Goodman, the publisher of Marvel Comics, Timely Comic’s new name, since 1939, asked Stan Lee to create a team of superheroes better than the Justice League of America, their rival in comic books, Stan Lee had his doubts. Mr. Goodman thought that comic books should be dumbed down because they were for “stupid children.” Stan Lee did not agree with Martin Goodman’s idea. Stan Lee already wanted to quit, so his wife advised him to go ahead and write the story the way he wanted to write it. If Goodman fired him it would be okay since he already was contemplating quitting. Lee decided to write a story about four people who got superpowers after an accident in space. They were completely different from other superheroes because they did not wear costumes. The story was also based in New York City instead of Metropolises or Gotham City like Superman and Batman. These characters also had a real personality along with a real job, no secret identity, or alter egos. This story was known as the Fantastic Four. It was extremely different than many other comic books. (Garcia)
In Superhero Worship by Virginia Postrel published in The Atlantic explores the glamour of comic heroes coming to live, and what that glamour really is. From paper to screen superheroes have caught the wonder of the American people. The most wellknown superheroes were introduced in the 1930s through the late 1950s, during the time of warfare and national pride. Superman was welcomed in America in 1937 to keep spirits alive during the breakout of WWII, fighting Nazis or the Japanese Imperial Army. These heroes that were created used propaganda
Let’s discuss a little bit of comic book history for starters. The most iconic superhero in all of American comic book history has got to be Superman. He was created near the beginning of superhero comic books and debuted in Action Comics #1 in 1938[1]. He would remain as the blueprint for many superheroes for years to come as the atypical white American male. But as the years go by there were comic book heroes that came out that go against this archetype such as Wonder
Crooked Beak of Heaven Mask is a big bird-figure mask from late nineteenth century made by Kwakwaka’wakw tribe. Black is a broad color over the entire mask. Red and white are used partially around its eyes, mouth, nose, and beak. Its beak and mouth are made to be opened, and this leads us to the important fact in both formal analysis and historical or cultural understanding: Transformation theme. Keeping that in mind, I would like to state formal analysis that I concluded from the artwork itself without connecting to cultural background. Then I would go further analysis relating artistic features to social, historical, and cultural background and figure out what this art meant to those people.
Alexie, Sherman. "Superman and Me." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 1998. Web. 14 May 2014. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/19/books/bk-42979
On one end of the spectrum lays Superman, an alien who from birth is comparable to god, and on the opposite side lays Lex Luthor, a genius human who comes from nothing and created a financial empire. Superman
The core of American myth is Superman consists of a few basic facts that remain unchanged throughout the infinitely varied ways in which the myth is told – facts with which everyone is familiar, however marginal their knowledge of the story. Superman is an orphan rocketed to Earth when his native planet Krypton explodes; he lands near Smallville and is adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who inculcate in him their American middle-class ethic; as an adult he migrates to Metropolis there he defends America – no, the world! no, the universe – from all evil and harm while playing a romantic game in which, as Clark Kent, he hopelessly pursues Superman, who remains aloof until such time as Lois proves worthy of him by falling in live with his feigned identity as a weakling. That’s it. (Engle, 678).
Shortly after Superman made his appearance in 1939, a noted psychologist by the name of William Moulton Marston wrote an article in Family Circle magazine, praising comic books. According to Les Daniels in Wonder Woman: The Complete History (Chronicle Books, 2000, pp. 22-24), his article caught the eye of M.C. Gains of DC Comics. Gains was so impressed by the article, he hired Marston into a new position at DC Comics. Within a year, at the urging of his wife, Marston set out to create a female superhero. By February 1941, Marston handed in his first script for ‘Suprema: The Wonder Woman.’ (We owe a debt of thanks to whoever dropped the Suprema.) Marston created a unique heroine, based loosely on Greek Mythology. Diana was the Princess of Paradise Island, a mystical place inhabited by Amazons. Her mother, Hippolyte (sometimes referred to as Hippolyta), Queen of the Amazons, wanted a child and petitioned the Goddesses of Olympus to give her one. She was instructed to sculpt a child from clay. When she was done, the...
Society favors the outlaw hero because we relate with that character more. We see ourselves more so in the outlaw hero than in the official hero. The outlaw hero has the child like talents that most of us wish we had as adults. To civilians it may seem that the outlaw hero lives more of a fantasy life that we all wish to have. Superman’s image has remained unchanged over the years. A blue suit accompanied by boots, a belt and cape have always been the Superman style, along with the Superman emblem on his chest. Superman’s real name is Kal-El, a descendant of the Kryptonian family of the house of El, with his father known as Jor-El and mother Lara. Krypton was discovered to be in the last seconds of life due to the coming supernova of its sun by Kal-El’s father. The other members of Krypton did not believe Jor-El could not tell others of his answers and examinations. Jor-El promised that neither he nor his wife would leave and with every last possible choice eliminated, Jor-El would send his newborn son to the planet Earth. Kal-El then crash landed into the care of Jonathan and Martha Kent, two farmers in Kansas. He then adopted the Kent family name,...
Batman was created after Detective Comics (D.C.) wanted a new super hero to follow-up after Superman. In May of 1933, Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman. Bob was born on October 24, 1915 and died November 3, 1998. Bill was born February 8, 1914 and died January 1974. Bill always loved comics as a child and still when he went to high school at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx New York. He and Bob went to the same high school but never socialized because they were in different classes. Bob meet Bill when Bill was working as a shoe salesman. They worked on many comics together for kids comic books and local newspapers. When they found out that Detective Comics (D.C.) wanted a new super hero they went to work. One day Bob came to Bill with a character, Batman. Bill liked the idea but said it looked too much like Superman. The original illustration had a Robin style mask and red outfit. So Bob took a Webster’s Dictionary and found a picture of a bat. He added bat ears to the mask, giving the full mask a more mysterious look. He changed the colors to black and yellow and added a cape that was cut like bat wings. When writing the comics Bill made Batman’s personality a...
“The precise era of the Golden Age is disputed, though most agree that it was born with the launch of Superman in 1938.” (PBS) The tremendous success that Superman had created many spinoff superheroes such as Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Flash, who had superpowers and secret identities. One of these spinoffs was Captain America. Part of Timely Comics and created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America ended up being arguably the most popular superhero during the Golden Age.