Let me begin by saying I loved reading these old superhero origin stories. I love origin stories in general and I'm glad to be learning more about superheroes and the superhero genre in general since I feel like I know virtually nothing about it (and I really need to for my paper!)

First, I read the origin of Superman. I thought the first page was hilarious--is this old couple SO old they don't realize the baby they're looking at is in a weird rocket capsule?

The rest of this comic was also fun to read. On page 61 Lois tricks Clarks so she can steal his story...I thought this was pretty clever and I was glad to see she went out and did something after her boss's sexist comment ("This is no job for a girl" p.60). Throughout the comic there are other small actions/lines tossed in that are entertaining. For example, Superman whizzes past a speeding train, saying "Hello...and--goodbye!" (62)

The dialogue was also pretty funny in some places, though perhaps it wasn't intended to be. I noticed a lot of exposition going on in this and all the other Great Comic Book Heroes stories; characters would simply state what was happening, how they were feeling, etc. Instead of the pictures SHOWING the reader what is happening, the characters TELL us what's going on through mono/dialogue, often comedically directly.

The Captain Marvel strip certainly won the prize for most interesting origin story. Shazam tells the young Billy, "Merely by speaking my name you can become the strongest and mightiest man in the world--Captain Marvel!"

Powers just from saying some old guy's NAME? Too cool. It feels very tied to mythology and I'd like to do some research on that.

As for the Batman strips, I enjoyed them a lot but can't compare them to later Batman since this was my first time ever reading a Batman comic! I heard some other students found it to be weird and totally unlike modern Batman comics.

I thought the Joker was the typical evil villain in this, stating his plans very clearly and expecting no one to interfere (if he could just keep his mouth shut, maybe he'd get away with it).

Just as in the Superman strip, the artwork is supplemental to the dialogue and written parts of the story because characters are always blatantly stating their feelings and what is going on in the world around them. Makes it easy to follow, but it also feels a little dumb.

Also: forgot to mention this last night but of all the readings we've had so far, I definitely want to recommend the Smithsonian Book of Comic Strips to the rest of the class. I really liked this collection because it had so many different and interesting things in it. It's quick and fun to read; if there's a strip you dislike, it's not so bad because you don't have to read too much of it and you can move on to a strip you might enjoy more.