Superman

70-Year Anniversary: Not totally off topic; this weekend I watched this old serial once more. 70 years ago, in 1948, the Tower Theater in Wichita Falls ran the 15-chapter Columbia serial of the first screen Superman, featuring the first actor to play the Man of Steel, Kirk Alyn. I was there every Saturday for the Matinee, regardless of what features were playing to see this serial. I was 8-years-old, and had only just discovered Superman and Batman in comic books the previous year. The 1948 serial was one of the greatest thrills us kids had back then. It wasn’t the best serial, by far, as that honor must go to the great Republic serials, but for a kid of 8, it was the best at that time. As an adult I have collected almost 100 serials, and have enjoyed them again and again over the years. For those of you who remember the serials, what was your favorite, and what theater did you see it at?

DC Comics

DC Comics: Superman changed comic books forever. I remember discovering my first comic books when we moved to Wichita Falls in 1947. I was seven years old and had never seen such wonders before. Although Superman was fantastic, Batman and Wonder Woman became my early favorites – until Captain Marvel and The Marvel Family came along and I discovered Mary Marvel (Sigh). But those were wonderful days. I read comics for 33 years before finally giving them up. Either they had lost their appeal, or more likely I just didn’t care where they were going by 1980. Next year at this time, if I’m still around, I plan on watching the 1948 Superman serial with Kirk Alyn one more time, seventy years after first seeing the serial at the Tower Theater in Wichita Falls in 1948.

Superman Serial 1948

SUPERMAN, 1948 serial from Columbia, a 15-chapter cliffhanger starring Kirk Alyn as The Man of Steel and Noel Neill (who only recently passed away) as Louis Lane, with Carol Forman as the notorious Spider Lady. Not the best serial by any means, but the one that made an unforgettable impact on an 8-year-old boy in 1948. I had only discovered Superman and Batman comic books the year before when my family moved us to Wichita Falls, and for me, the day Superman began at the Tower Theater on Indiana Street was the beginning of my love for serials. It has remained one of my favorites since childhood. I was planning on waiting until 2018, the 70^th anniversary of its premiere, to watch it again, but this past week’s medical emergency taught me that we are not promised two more years, or indeed, even one more year, so I watched it again this past weekend. I still plan on watching it one more time in summer of 2018, if I’m still around.

Comic Book Super Heroes

Comic Book Super Heroes: I don’t think they got any better than these. Captain Marvel, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Yes, I read them all when I got the chance. Oh, there were literally hundreds of others, but poor kids had to be picky when I was young. I usually bought half price comic books at the magazine exchange in Wichita Falls when I had a dime to spare, then after reading them I swapped other kids for comic books I hadn’t read. We couldn’t afford to be collectors back then.

Jerry Siegel

Jerry Siegel. Remembering Jerry Siegel, co-creator of Superman, 1914-1996.  The world discovered Superman in 1938. I discovered him in 1947, at 7-years old through my first discovery of comic books when we moved to Wichita Falls that year. In 1948 I watched the 15-chapter serial with Kirk Alyn at the Tower Theater in Wichita Falls, Texas. I’ve been a fan ever since.

Superman

Okay, admit it, how many of you had a costume like this when you were young? I think my mother hid the ad from me. She knew I’d try to jump off buildings (lol).