Superman's original origin story, first published on the eve of World War II, has been compiled with other original 30s and 40s comics and artwork in Superman the War Years. Classic art featuring the first occurrences of widely known tropes is now available for long-time fans or people looking to learn a bit of art and the way it influenced the people during wartime. 

Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman! 

You can probably recite his seminal title sequence by heart. However, there was a time when the Man of Steel was struggling to become the star of his own comic strip (let alone comic book).  Pioneering his skills with bank robbers, corrupt business owners, and ruthless criminals, crooked football coaches, and natural disasters, after combating all this at home Superman was ready to take on more. In his earliest iterations, Superman was called 'the champion of the oppressed,' which basically mean that he was exactly the mascot that was needed for World War II. With real world problems bringing people down like the war and the Great Depression, it's no wonder Action Comics took off with the Man of Steel leading the way. Superman paved the way out of American isolationism and right into the World War II.

Earth's favorite Kryptonian is one of the most recognized characters in pop culture. Though he may not be from this planet, his dedication to protecting its people is inspiring. Superman: The War Years 1938-1945 shows how his introduction at the start of World War II lifted the spirits of a weary country and brought people the hero they so desperately needed.

Read all about all of these original adventures and more!

• Champion of the Oppressed
• Champions of Universal Peace
• Sinister Sagdorf
• Europe at War Parts 1 and 2
• X Alloy
• Peril on Pogo Island
• Superman Sunday Strips
• Rubber Band
• Meet the Squiffles
• Atoms for Peace?

Roy Thomas has been a comics writer since 1965, mostly for Marvel or DC. Among the thousands of comic books he has written are Conan the Barbarian, The Avengers, The X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Squadron, Sub-Mariner, The Invaders, Dr. Strange, Red Sonja, Wonder Woman, and The Savage Sword of Conan.  

Brush up on the history of the world's favorite farm boy turned international hero, with Superman the War Years.  Part of The DC Comics War Years trilogy that celebrates the Golden Age of Heroes.

Other titles in the DC Comics: The War Years series include: Batman: The War Years 1939-1945, Wonder Woman: The War Years 19-41-1945
 

Having co-founded the super-hero comics fanzine Alter Ego in 1961, Roy Thomas (b. 1940) became writer/assistant editor for Stan Lee at Marvel Comics in 1965 after a very brief stint as assistant editor of DC's Superman titles. From 1965-1980 and/or during the 1990s he wrote for Marvel The Avengers, The X-Men, Fantastic Four, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Dr. Strange, Daredevil, Sub-Mariner, Avengers West Coast, The Amazing Spider-Man, et al.--including The Invaders, a comic which spun near WWII-period adventures of Captain America, the Human Torch, and the Sub-Mariner. In the '70s he was the first writer and editor of Marvel's Conan the Barbarian, The Savage Sword of Conan, and Red Sonja, whom he again authored in the 1990s. At DC Comics in the 1980s he wrote All-Star Squadron (a super-hero comic set in 1941-42), Shazam!, Secret Origins (retelling WWII-era origins of DC's heroes), Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, and other top series. He served as a Marvel editor from 1965-80, as Marvel's editor-in-chief from 1972-74, and as a DC editor from 1980-86.

At Marvel he co-created Ultron and the Vision (both of whom will be prominently featured in the 2015 film The Avengers: Age of Ultron) and Iron Fist, the kung-fu super-hero who will be featured later this year by Netflix in both his own series and in The Defenders. He has written a number of graphic novels starring Conan, Spider-Man, Dracula, et al.

Also in the '80s, he co-scripted the films Fire and Ice (for director Ralph Bakshi and 20th Century Fox) and Conan the Destroyer (for Universal), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also provided scripts for the 1980s TV science-fiction series Super Force, for the 1990s TV series Xena - Warrior Princess, and for a bit of TV animation.

Since 1999 he has edited a professional Alter Ego magazine (130 issues so far and counting) and has worked with Stan Lee on the scripting of the Spider-Man newspaper comic strip. He currently also writes online strips of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars for Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.. For the German publisher Taschen he has written the humongous book 75 Years of Marvel: From Golden Age to Silver Screen, (released in late 2014) and is also writing an equally huge book about Marvel's Stan Lee. Besides winning numerous other fan and pro awards in the comics field over the years, he was elected to comics' Eisner Hall of Fame at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con.