American comics: I drew Superman during the Great Depression

Jimmy left.

He left the newspaper with Colin's discount guarantee and a new slogan.

Then, the "Courier" of this week was printed.

At the same time, on the streets of New York, the content of the newsboys' singing changed from the popular Hoover nursery rhyme to a new slogan.

"Is that a bird? Is that a plane? That's Superman!"

Although the content of the slogan did not resonate with the public as much as the original nursery rhyme, the Superman in the mouths of the newsboys could still attract the attention of passers-by.

After a few weeks of publication, the "Courier" has successfully attracted a small number of readers.

Most of them lost their jobs due to the impact of the Great Depression and were dissatisfied with the current situation, especially with President Hoover.

After buying the "Courier", I read the criticism of Hoover on the front page of the newspaper as usual. The spicy content gave these people who were struggling in the Great Depression an object to vent.

"...Yes, even if we choose a dog, it's better than Hoover. At least a dog can be fed with a bone. What Hoover eats in one meal is enough for a poor family to eat for a month..."

Complaining while flipping the newspaper in his hand, a four-frame cartoon soon appeared in front of the reader.

"What's going on?"

Looking at the cartoon serialized in the "Courier", the reader's eyes flashed with confusion.

"Why is there so little content scolding Hoover this time? Why are there cartoons serialized for no reason!"

Obviously, the practice of the "Courier" serializing cartoons did not receive the appreciation of readers, but on the contrary aroused their dissatisfaction.

After all, the reason why they bought the newspaper was to see the scolding of Hoover.

However, they have already spent money to buy the newspaper. If they don't read it, it will be a bit of a pity. Although the price of a copy of the "Courier" is not high, it is still an expense after all.

With this idea in mind, these people can only pinch their noses, suppress their dissatisfaction and complaints, and continue to read.

"...In the vast universe, a planet called Krypton is about to be destroyed because of its lifespan. A pair of scientist parents put their son into a newly designed spaceship and launched it to Earth!"

"The spaceship landed on a farm on Earth. A childless couple found and adopted the sleeping child on the spaceship and named him Clark Kent."

"The child's physiological structure is millions of years ahead of Earthlings, and he has shown amazing abilities since childhood."

"When he grew up, he found that he could easily do it: he could jump over a twenty-story building with a leap, faster than a flying bullet, stronger than a locomotive, and even an exploding bomb could not penetrate his hard skin. Soon Clark decided to use his god-like power to benefit mankind, so Superman was born!"

"The hero vowed to use his power to help those in need..."

Due to the length of the four-frame comic, the content of the comic is not complicated.

In the first episode, the birth of Superman was briefly described, especially in the last frame, Colin also tried to use a "scientific" method to explain the source of Clark's power.

This seemingly "scientific" explanation may not make sense to professional scientists.

However, it is very effective for readers, allowing them to better accept the setting of Superman in the comics.

Turning the newspaper down, the content of the second issue of "Superman" is presented to readers.

In this episode, the power of Superman is more clearly shown. When seeing him easily lift a car high and save the passengers in the car, even readers who originally complained about comics couldn't help but sigh.

This superhero setting is simply a creation of the world for readers of this era.

In particular, it is different from many comics serialized in newspapers on the market.

The background of Superman's story does not take place in a distant fantasy world, but a modern city-Metropolis.

This city is like any other big city, with well-dressed gentlemen and hard-working blue-collar workers; criminal gangs, police and soldiers...

It is almost a portrayal of the real world, which makes readers feel very involved, as if Superman exists in the world they live in.

"What, Superman's strength is so great that he can lift a car!"

"Superman can break such a thick chain with just one hand..."

Different from the serialized comic plots on the market, where the protagonist encounters a crisis and then breaks through, Superman's power in the comics is absolutely invincible, as powerful as a god.

Therefore, the plots of the comics are often about situations that are dangerous to ordinary people in reality, but they are easily resolved by Superman.

After three consecutive episodes, readers of the comics feel refreshed.

When seeing Superman solve a crisis and save a beautiful female reporter named Lois Lane, readers were imagining what would happen to Superman and the female reporter next. They turned the newspaper in their hands with great expectation, but found that this was the last page of the "Courier".

Printed on the back of the newspaper was a cover image of Superman wearing a tights, a cape, and a shield-shaped S mark on his chest, holding a car high above his head.

Due to the black and white printing of the newspaper, the Superman cover on the page was not in color.

However, looking at the man holding a car high in the newspaper, the reader's heart at this moment had a completely different feeling than before.

"Why don't you serialize more content of "Superman"!"

The final complaint changed from why the comics were serialized in the first place to why there were so few serials.

The discussion triggered by the comics did not only happen to the readers of this "Courier".

The settings of aliens, superpowers, and superheroes successfully attracted the hearts of readers and produced a chain effect.

After all, compared with the previous newspaper content, the plot of the Superman comics has a wider audience, so the promotion effect on the newspaper is greater. In this world, there are only a few extreme and hateful people after all, and most people still like to read some normal content.

With the help of the discussion caused by the comics, the circulation and sales of the Courier have successfully exceeded tens of thousands of copies, and this is just the beginning.