American comics: I drew Superman during the Great Depression

"It's on the left, 10 cents a copy."

Hearing the inquiry, the boss sitting in the newsstand didn't think much, pointed to the location of "The Courier Comics" and replied casually.

"Okay."

Pick up a copy of "The Courier Comics".

The pedestrian didn't say much, just left 10 cents and turned away.

"What is this? Sold?"

"So simple?"

Looking at the 10 cents in front of him, the boss couldn't help showing a bit of surprise on his face.

"Boss, I want to buy "The Courier Comics"!"

However, before he could figure out what had just happened.

Another anxious inquiry came from the newsstand.

"No problem, 10 cents a copy."

After a morning, when the boss came to his senses.

The "The Courier Comics" in front of the newsstand had been sold out. Looking at the blank space on the bookshelf that formed a sharp contrast with the surrounding "The Courier Comics", the newsstand owner felt a bit annoyed in addition to joy.

"If I had known, I would have bought a few more copies of "Courier Comics" from the deliveryman."

And this annoyance became more obvious with the inquiries from time to time in front of the newsstand.

...

"Thank you, sir..."

In front of the Courier newspaper, a child wearing ill-fitting loose clothes and with a sallow face looked up at Colin in front of him and thanked him in a childish voice.

"You're welcome, child."

Colin smiled and wrapped a piece of bread with newspaper and put it in the child's hand. He patted his head and said softly.

Reaching out and firmly grasping the bread handed by Colin in his arms, the little boy walked out of the team in two steps, ran forward a few steps, turned his head and looked at Colin who was standing in front of the team distributing bread, and then hurriedly ran back to his parents at the corner of the street.

"Mom, Mom..."

Coming to his mother, the child held up the bread wrapped in newspaper in his hand, smiled on his tender face, and said in a boastful tone.

"I got the bread."

"Well done, baby."

Reaching out to take the bread from the child, the mother's thin face was a little ashamed.

In this era, there is actually only a fine line between begging and accepting charity.

For many people, visiting the soup kitchen on the street has become a commonplace and the only guarantee for them to survive a difficult life.

And in the face of charity, those parents who are too proud to accept charity will send their children there, because they know that the children's sense of shame is not so deep-rooted.

Even if they can't fill their stomachs, at least they can keep their children from starving.

Under normal circumstances, the soup kitchen on the street can only provide a small amount of food, and it cannot be taken away.

This time, Mr. Colin Luper of the Courier newspaper donated bread, which is obviously a rare food that can be taken home by children for poor families to share.

Although, the other party donated cheap pork liver bread.

However, for many families who can't even afford bread, such a piece of pork liver bread is still a rare food, and it can fill their stomachs better than the soup kitchen on the roadside.

"For tonight's food, maybe pork liver bread with mashed potatoes, and some wild vegetables dug before..."

Holding the child's hand on the way to the "Hoover Village", the woman was thinking about what kind of food to make for her family for dinner. A piece of pork liver bread greatly reduced the burden on the family.

"Mom, Mom..."

Just as the mother was thinking, the child beside her pointed to the figure wearing a cloak in the cartoon on the newspaper outside the bread and asked in a childish voice.

"What is drawn on it?"

Hearing the child's question, the mother's thoughts came back from dinner, and she looked down at the newspaper wrapped outside the bread in her hand, and barely recognized the identity of the figure from the blurred folds and words.

"It's Superman."

"Superman?"

Hearing the mother's answer, the child blinked his eyes and looked at the figure on the newspaper. A vague image of Superman gradually took shape in his mind.

…

“…In my childhood memories, reading Superman comics in old newspapers became the most anticipated thing in my childhood.”

“Clyde Burke was born on the eve of the Great Depression. He was only six years old when the Great Depression occurred. Before the Great Depression, his father was a bank clerk. He lost his job in 1929 and had to find a job at the dock to survive. But everyone had a hard time at that time, and so did Clyde Burke’s family.”

“Clyde Burke’s father often went out to work all day but didn’t make a penny. Because of this, Clyde Burke often heard Although their parents quarreled, they still lived together. At that time, divorce was still a social taboo and the economic cost was high. Either the husband abandoned his wife, or the couple continued to live under the same roof in a tense atmosphere. "

"... Later, as life became more and more difficult, Clyde Burke's family had to move to the "Hoover Village" with the neighbors. The "Hoover Village" was a shabby shantytown built with tin cans, cardboard and sacks during the Great Depression. After moving to the "Hoover Village", Clyde Burke's family quarreled more frequently, and his father became an alcoholic..."

"It was still during Prohibition, but obviously no one would care about the problem of Hooverville. Many bootleggers were hiding there and making wine 24 hours a day. These low-quality wines were very popular in Hooverville at that time. "Welcome by the local people, many people would rather not eat for a whole day just to have a sip of wine..."

"A requisite psychological journey for children is the realization that their parents are not infallible. But during the Great Depression, this realization tended to come much earlier, as young people discovered that their parents, too, were like babies helpless."

"Because of poverty, my mother had to take me to soup kitchens on the street to look for food. At that time, I didn't know the meaning behind it. I just felt that it could fill my stomach. Every time I asked my mother why When she doesn't go to eat with me, she always tells me with a smile that she has already eaten. Now that I think about it, this may be her last insistence as a parent. "

"...During those difficult days, the greatest pleasure for me and other children of the same age was to read the Superman comics from the Courier. Mr. Colin Looper of the Courier would read them every week On Monday morning, he used old newspapers from the Courier to bake bread. Therefore, every Monday has become the day I look forward to the most." - Excerpted from "Remembering My Days of the Great Depression".

Author: John Walker