NPR’s Glen Weldon takes a look at the constantly changing face of Superman, the iconic comic book superhero, over the 73 years since he debuted in Action Comics #1.
With the hideous exception of Tom Grummett’s bizarre 1990s take–and perhaps the hyper cartoonish version by Ed McGuinness a few years back–the character has evolved quite subtly over the years since Joe Shuster first drew him. Max Fleischer, Al Plastino, Wayne Boring, Curt Swan (twice, and quite differently each time), Kurt Schaffenberger, John Byrne, and Gary Frank drew easily recognizable variants of the hero, with the most notable differences relatively mild changes to the haircut to reflect contemporary styles.
Having come to the character in the mid-1970s, Curt Swan’s version is the one I grew up with and see as the most authentic. Neal Adams’ version, mostly relegated to covers, was perhaps the best.
via Paul Hsieh
