Superman Adventures: This Ain't No Cartoon!
Superman Adventures
Reviewing the first ten issues of the best Superman series no one took seriously.
Superman Adventures Volume 1, from which much of this analysis draws, collects the first ten chapters of the series' full 66-issue run.
Superman: The Animated Series v. Superman Adventures
Superheroes are big business, and Superman is the biggest—the entire comic book industry, and the conception of the modern myth, all begin with this singular figure. No superhero as understood today existed before Superman’s introduction in 1938, but countless came thereafter. In serials and movies, on bed sheets and lunchboxes, as toys and pajamas…these larger-than-life characters are now inescapable and everywhere.
And this certainly includes cartoons; why not pop these figures from their flat, static pages and bless them will all the freedoms animation affords? And some, like the Fleischer Studios shorts of the early 1940s, were true spectacles to behold, depicting Superman snatching falling trains out of the air or reducing robots to glorious metallic scrap. Talented artists and generous budgets can indeed make a drawing breathe!
At least for film, anyway; TV was another matter. The superhero fare that filled the ‘60s and ‘70s television scene was passable at best and laughable at worst, often riddled with dodgy animation and even flimsier storylines. It took the seminal Batman: The Animated Series of the early ‘90s for the medium’s full potential to finally, truly be realized; this show alone recalled the true spectacle of animation so ably demonstrated in those early Fleischer shorts. And not surprisingly, Superman: The Animated Series followed a few years later.
What many don’t know, however, is the Superman Adventures sister-series that ran in tandem, a comic book offshoot that expanded on the TV show’s themes and storylines for 66 succinct issues. Zooming from 1996 to 2002, it was a remarkable work in its own right, featuring the talented likes of Scott McCloud, Mark Millar, Paul Dini, and other distinguished luminaries—individuals who infused the comic with a level of creativity that often surpassed even the TV series.
It’s a tragedy, then, that Superman Adventures remains so overlooked and underappreciated. Whether because it was deemed a “children’s book” or a “cheap” adaptation of a more “serious” work, the series was largely left stranded on the rack. It’s regained some respect in recent years, but still goes unnoticed by most—even DC Comics has yet to rerelease the full 66-issue run in physical form, stopping woefully short at volume four (issues 26-35). Sadly, most would-be readers will have to settle for Comixology’s digital conversions.
The good news is that, here at LN, we’ll be examining the initial 10-issue run of this aspiring classic. The legendary Scott McCloud is the scribe for the latter nine of these stories; Paul Dini takes the honors for the series opener. Some tales resonate more than others, but all are worth a read.
And, if this retrospective proves popular enough, perhaps we’ll consider exploring the entire series in due time!-D
