Table of Contents

Introduction 1 1. "And So Begins ... " 5 2. Truth, Justice ... (1938--1941) 26 3... And the American Way (1942--1945) 53 4. "Strange ... I ... I Feel All the Strength Draining Out of Me ... " (1946--1949) 70 5. Powers and Abilities Far beyond Those of Mortal Men (1950--1959) 89 6. Not a Dream! Not a Hoax! Not an Imaginary Story! (1960--1969) 115 7. Kryptonite Nevermore! Briefl y! (1970--1977) 145 8. The Year of Superman (1978) 171 9. Superman Agonistes (1979--1986) 193 10. The Never-Ending Battle ... Ends. For a While. (1986--1993) 223 11. Faster Than a Speeding Mullet (1994--2001) 255 12. Secret Origin, Re-Redux (2001--2005) 278 13. All-Star (2006--2012) 294 Epilogue: Man of Tomorrow (2013 and Beyond) 327 Acknowledgments 331 Bibliography 333 Index 341

About the Author

GLEN WELDON is a freelance writer who for the past five years has served as NPR's go-to comic book guy, reviewing all things funnybook-related for their Monkey See blog, main website, Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, and national shows. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Book Review , the New Republic , Slate, Story , Washington City Paper , the American Literary Review , and many other publications. He has received an NEA Arts Journalism Fellowship, a Ragdale Writing Fellowship, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts for Fiction. You can find him at glenweldon.tumblr.com.

Reviews

"Weldon's years as a lifelong Superman fan give him superb insight into the character's central truths.... A reliable, witty, and informative guide." --NPR Books "Breezily written and compulsively readable." --A/V Club"An excellent portrait of the Man of Steel, managing to be fan-crazed and critical at the same time." --Publishers Weekly"[Gathers] the sprawling, complex, and occasionally contradictory history of Superman into a rich and deeply textured story." --New York Journal of Books