Superman was introduced to the world 75 years ago today, April 18, 1938. I was planning on writing up a heartfelt review of my personal history with the character but Kyle Orland over at ArTechnica.com did it better in his article, “Why Superman is still interesting on his 75th birthday“
My history with Superman is very similar – even if it’s clear that I have quite a few years on Kyle – although I did stick it out through the bizarre “Red and Blue” phase (really, DC, what were you thinking?!) In my case I began to lose touch with ‘Supes when my son was born and my time just wasn’t my own anymore. But I continued to collect the issues only having stopped a short time ago when it finally sank in that I wouldn’t ever have the time to catch up.
One of the most profound, for me, moments, is a simple sequence and I can’t even remember the story it appeared in. Clark and Lois are cooking dinner and the overhead light burns out. As Lois turns to fetch the step-stool Clark rises softly up to replace bulb. When she turns back to see the job completed the look they share is priceless. This simple exchange epitomizes how quietly powerful Superman is while also highlighting how humanly accessible Clark is.
Superman is something special. He means something; something worth understanding.
