(Collected Editions is a listing of the various trade paperbacks, hardcovers, omnibuses, etc. that are in my Superman collection. The goal is to not only inventory my collection of trades, hardcovers, etc. but also to display said collection and produce something resembling a resource for other Superman readers, collectors and fans.)
Nuts and Bolts
- Released on November 11, 2006
- Original price is $19.99
- 208 pages
- Cover artist Jerry Ordway
Contents
- Introduction by Mike Carlin
- “To Laugh and Die in Metropolis” from Superman (Vol. 2) #9
- “Gang War Part 1: From the Streets to the Streets!” from Adventures of Superman #432
- “…A Walk on the Darkside!” from Action Comics #592
- “The Suicide Snare” from Action Comics #593
- “The Super Menace of Metropolis!” from Superman (Vol. 2) #10
- “Gang War Part 2: a tragedy in five acts” from Adventures of Superman #433
- “The Name Game” from Superman (Vol. 2) #11
- “Gang War Part 3: Shambles” from Adventures of Superman #434
- “The Circle Turns” from Adventures of Superman #435
- Cover Gallery
Notes
- The introduction by Mike Carlin details his own history with Superman (he and the big guy go way back) and how he came to edit the Superman titles. I have very few real life heroes but if I made a list Mike Carlin would be on it mainly for his contribution to Superman but also because he edited the books during my formative years.
- Leading off with the main story from Superman #9 was a strong way to open this trade. However…
- Metropolis 900 Milesis missing. For those that only read these issues in this trade there was this amazing Lex Luthor story in the back of Superman #9 called Metropolis 900 Miles. The story was pretty simple; Lex stops by a roadside diner and makes an indecent proposal to one of the waitresses. The ending solidified that this Lex Luthor was E-V-I-L. And that story is not in this book. Which is disappointing.
- I mean it would have fit nicely right before Superman #10.
- Seriously.
- It would have.
- Anyway…
- The placing of issues is once again eyebrow raising in this trade. I liked that they put Action Comics #592 and #593 one right after the other. It just makes sense. Again, however…
- Gang War, the three issue storyline that ran through Adventures of Superman #s 432-434 is not put one right after the other. I think this was a misstep. The story flows much better when read altogether and this was a good opportunity to do that. Not the worst thing that could happen but still.
- This collection contains the first appearance of Gangbuster. It is not the first appearance of Jose Delgado. Neither is Adventures of Superman #432, by the way. Two editions of Who’s Who got that wrong. Jose first appeared in a blink and you’ll miss him panel in Adventures of Superman #428. This might seem nit picky, but I produce a blog about Superman so this sort of thing is to be expected.
- This collection also contains the first Post-Crisis appearance of Mr. Mxyzptlk. It’s very keen.
- The final issue in this collection is Adventures of Superman #435, which not only has an amazing cover by Jerry Ordway but also marks the last issue in Marv Wolfman’s run on the title. It was kind of a lackluster end too but according to Wolfman he was burned out at this point so that makes sense. It’s a shame too because his Pre-Crisis Superman work was amazing and there were so many elements of his twelve issues that I liked quite a bit.
- The cover gallery is full sized this time out, which is also keen.
To follow the series as it progress check out the following links:
If I’m not mistaken, they included the 900 miles story in the Lois & Clark 90s trade. Which of course makes no sense either.
At least in the LOIS AND CLARK trade they were reprinting stories that inspired or could be considered an inspiration for the series. Here it’s noticeably absent but only to someone that read the original issue before picking up this trade.
Yeah, I just got this trade in the mail today and was very disappointed that “900 Miles” wasn’t included. I actually began to wonder if I was remembering it wrong and the story was in another issue so I got online, looked and ended up here finding out I wasn’t wrong and it just got left out.
From what I remember it was only a few pages and could easily have been placed among any of the early stories so if page count was an issue they could have put it in one of the volumes that less pages or something. I mean come one I’ve been itching to re-read this story for awhile now and I no longer have the issue itself (which is why I’m buying the trades in the first place).
Kind of cheeses me off.