Chapter 25: The Birth of Superman
May 2, 2023 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
Superman.
As the first superhero in American comics history, he was undoubtedly a monumental presence.
He was also the cornerstone for a series of superheroes later born from comics. The name Superman established the fundamental concept of a superhero: someone far superior to ordinary people, possessing superpowers.
The character of Superman perfectly aligned with all of Colin's imaginings for consolidating his Mark.
...
"Can The Messenger Newspaper serialize comics?"
After making his decision, Colin immediately asked Old John.
"Comic strips are generally only published in daily newspapers."
Old John wasn't overly surprised by the question. In fact, ever since he saw Colin ask Little John about Dick Tracy earlier, he had a faint premonition.
"However, The Messenger Newspaper has recently received a steady stream of submissions from cartoonists, inquiring if the newspaper office would be willing to serialize their comic works. If you are interested, I can contact these cartoonists to send their work to the newspaper office..."
Until now, Old John still thought Colin merely intended to serialize comics in The Messenger Newspaper.
"Submissions? No, we don't need them."
Shaking his head, Colin rejected Old John's suggestion.
"No submissions, then..."
Hearing this, Old John looked up, somewhat puzzled.
Meanwhile, under the bewildered gaze of the two men in the newspaper office, Colin slowly but confidently declared, "I will personally create the comic serialized in The Messenger Newspaper."
Luckily, I learned how to draw before transmigrating, otherwise, I really wouldn't have been able to say that.
As he spoke, Colin thought this, a fleeting idea crossing his mind.
...
"...So, this is the main character of the comic you've created, Supe... hmm, Super..."
At The Messenger Newspaper, Old John looked at the peculiar figure Colin had drawn on the manuscript paper, dressed in something resembling a circus bodysuit and cape, and spoke hesitantly.
"Superman."
Twirling the fountain pen in his hand, Colin fully outlined Superman's image on the manuscript paper, and added:
"Alright, Superman."
Pushing up the brass reading glasses perched on his nose, Old John examined the 'Superman' Colin had drawn, then looked up at Colin and pressed further: "So, what's the main storyline of the comic? Is it also a story about a private detective solving cases, like Dick Tracy?"
Detective comics were the mainstream of serialized comics during this period, and many newspapers were publishing this type of content.
However, Old John secretly glanced at 'Superman' on the manuscript paper; no matter how he looked at him, he didn't resemble a private detective.
"No."
Shaking his head and retracting the fountain pen, Colin pointed at 'Superman' on the manuscript paper and laid out the comic's premise: "Superman was born on Krypton, his birth name is Kal-El. When he was still an infant, his parents placed him alone in a spaceship. As he flew away, his home planet experienced a massive explosion..."
"...After arriving on Earth, the infant Superman landed on a farm and was discovered and adopted by the farm owners, who renamed him Clark Kent. After growing up, Superman came to Metropolis and became a news reporter for The Daily Planet..."
"So, the comic tells the story of Superman working as a news reporter at The Daily Planet!"
Unlike his father, Old John, Little John, who usually enjoyed reading comics, more readily accepted Colin's background setting for Superman. Especially after hearing that Superman became a reporter just like himself, he couldn't help but exclaim.
"Reporter is just Superman's public identity."
Colin wasn't displeased by Little John's interruption. Looking at the slightly excited Little John, he smiled and reminded him, "Don't forget, Superman is an alien from Krypton. Although outwardly he's no different from us, in reality, he possesses very unique powers and a certain identity?"
"Identity? What is it?"
Successfully drawn in by Colin's words, Little John couldn't help but press further.
"A superhero."
Seeing this, Colin didn't keep him in suspense for too long and immediately revealed Superman's 'secret identity'.
"A superhero?!"
Although Little John had never heard this name before, for some reason, he felt that the title 'superhero' seemed to possess a strange, captivating appeal.
Compared to Little John's fascination, Old John, standing nearby, appeared much calmer. Perhaps due to the age difference, the appeal of a superhero was greatly diminished for him.
"I admit that your character setting for Superman—be it alien, news reporter, or superhero—is very attractive and surprisingly complete. However, the mainstream comics currently serialized in major newspapers are still predominantly humorous 'four-panel comics' or detective comics..." Here, Old John deliberately avoided another major category of comics.
"Even horror comics have become less popular with readers in recent years, and for a comic theme like 'Superman', which is entirely science fiction-based with an alien background, whether its release will be accepted by readers is still a question mark."
What Old John raised wasn't meant to intentionally cause difficulty.
Rather, these were existing practical issues.
The birth of the original Superman comic also went through several twists and turns.
At the time, the comic's creators visited many newspaper offices with Superman's manuscript, but they were all rejected. Clearly, the newspaper offices' view at the time was the same as Old John's; they were hesitant about a comic theme like Superman.
However, unlike the impoverished creators of Superman back then,
Colin was not only the comic's creator but also the owner of the newspaper office.
Therefore, even if Old John expressed his concerns about a science fiction-themed comic like Superman, the final decision rested with Colin himself.
After carefully listening to the advice of the newspaper staff,
Colin still decisively decided to serialize the Superman comic next week.
However, under Old John's strong arguments, he did make a slight concession. Instead of directly using all of The Messenger Newspaper's page layout for the Superman comic, he decided to test the waters by serializing three chapters on the back page of The Messenger Newspaper, to see if this comic theme could capture readers' attention.
As for the remaining page layout, it would still feature President Hoover's 'cordial' greetings.
As The Messenger Newspaper's sales increased over the past few weeks, the nursery rhyme Colin had given to the Newsboys also gradually spread, with many people who hadn't even bought the newspaper starting to hum it spontaneously.
Reportedly, even Hoover became aware of the nursery rhyme's content.
It was unknown what kind of expression appeared on his face as he listened to this nursery rhyme in The White House.
(end of chapter)