American comics: You're asked to fish, but you catch a Superman template?

Page 783

"Shh, shh, I can't hear the TV, I'm 593!" (Slums)

Crowds filled the entire street in front of the television, and even the nearby traffic was affected to some extent. Due to the long traffic jam, the New York Police Department had to organize the evacuation of these people, but a large number of people were still unwilling to leave the scene.

...

"At the time, the animated television series *Superman* caused an unimaginable sensation. It could be said that the entire city of New York was gripped by a *Superman* craze: people flocked to stores, hotels, and pubs, not to buy anything, nor to stay in hotels, but to watch the *Superman* cartoon... ...The pubs were also packed with people who had come to drink because of Prohibition, but tonight their eyes were more focused on the television than on the drinks in their glasses..."

"It's said that crowds often gathered so large that the NYPD had to send patrol officers to the scene, but many of those officers subsequently joined the crowd. That's the magic of television and Superman animation." - Documentary "Above the Clouds": The Amazing Story of Superman.

Chapter 966 Green Lantern

"Let's go, let's go!"

"Excuse me, people in front, I can't see the TV screen..."

"So, what programs are on TV this time?"

I heard it's a superhero animated film.

"Cartoons, what are they?"

"This is a movie that brings animated films to life. According to what I heard on the radio, it was also the world's first animated film to be shown on television..."

"Comics, you mean carefully appreciating how they bring those pictures to life in newspaper comic strips!"

"Who knows? Maybe it's some kind of technology. Science is advancing so fast these days. I suspect it might be the work of aliens. After all, who would have thought you could watch cartoons in a box like this a year ago?"

"Quiet down, everyone! Can't you see? The animation has already started. If you don't want to watch, please leave..."

On a New York street, amidst the noise, a large "S" appeared on a television screen in a shop window, followed by the roar of an airplane and terrified screams from the television.

"Is that a bird? It's Superman Pla! Is that an airplane? It's Superman!"

Accompanied by that classic line familiar to New Yorkers, Superman's figure appeared on the television screen. Although it was only a black and white image, most people in front of the television subconsciously imagined Superman's red cape, wearing a blue tight-fitting suit, with an "S" logo printed on his chest.

And the animated adventure of Superman begins in this episode.

...

[Faith (578,300/1,000,000)].

The animated television series "Superman" caused a sensation in New York.

Compared to the comic book version, the animated Superman is more in line with the public's image of a superhero because he can move. Previously, Xu Fu had presented a Superman screen image in the animated short film "Superman and Mickey," which was also a collaboration with Disney. However, the audience for this short film was relatively small, and many people felt it was unnecessary to spend so much money on tickets.

However, animation can solve this problem very well.

After all, television was free, and thanks to Xu Fu's propaganda, it was more or less visible in any not-too-remote neighborhood in New York City.

Anime that can be watched for free obviously has a huge appeal to people in this era.

At the same time, the influence of the animated TV series Superman was amplified by The Courier World, almost beyond people's imagination.

In terms of media prominence, The Courier World, as the undisputed number one newspaper in New York City, almost dominated the city's discourse, and the natural consequence of all this was that Xu Fu's [Face] revenue increased significantly.

However, in this day and age, due to advancements in animation technology, even Disney cannot maintain the same smooth production speed as in recent years. Moreover, Walt himself devoted most of his energy to the feature-length animated film "Snow White".

Currently, the fastest animation production speed Disney can guarantee is one episode per month, not including film shipping; the slower the speed, the lower the quality of the final product.

However, Xu Fu himself is not too worried about this. After all, even if Disney creates a good animated film, the visual effects will not be so good when it is broadcast on television.

However, Walt himself did not slack off in production. Perhaps it was his insistence on animation that laid the foundation for Disney's later status in the animation industry, even though Walt could not have imagined that Disney would go to two different extremes with him in making movies.

It directly destroyed the magical fairytale world he created for Disney, replacing it with an unyielding pursuit of a nightmare world.

"Perhaps I should try to set some rules for Disney, such as absolutely no live-action adaptations of fairy tales..."

Xu Fu thought of a certain street cleaner princess who was obsessed with princess dreams, wore dreadlocks, and ruined the childhoods of people all over the world. He felt that he had to do something.

This is not just about saving the world, but about saving everyone's eyes.

Xu Fu secretly wrote this down, intending to tell Walter when he saw him next time, because in addition to monitoring the two Disney brothers, he also had to monitor a third Disney shareholder. Xu Fu felt a sense of mission rising inexplicably.

Of course, Disney had not yet achieved the success that awaited it at this time, and even the animation of the first princess was still being produced in a studio that was far removed from these things.

...

"According to reader feedback, *The Messenger* comics are currently experiencing a steady upward trend in sales, with each issue exceeding one million copies. Besides *Superman*, Charles Adams' *The Addams Family* has also attracted a large readership due to its unique style, followed by William Steiger's *Children's Comics*, which are similar to *Superman*, except..."

Pulitzer Building Top Floor

Jack Leibovitz did indeed report to Xu Fu on the latest issue of "Messenger Comics." The overall sales of the comic were relatively stable, and a series of comic promotions were coming at Superman like a flood. In addition, the previously recruited comic artists were gradually gaining a foothold and attracting their own readers.

However, some problems gradually emerged in this environment.

William Steiger and Charles Adams' styles were so incompatible that many Messenger Comics readers often wrote to request the cancellation of each other's comics after reading both.

In fact, the conflict between Adams and Stagg's readers had become a headache for Jack at this point.

For readers, Gothic novels and fairy tales have almost nothing in common; you can't see Steiger's fairy tale world because you like graveyard skeletons, and vice versa.

"In this situation, this is a special problem for them."

Drawing on his experience with Superman's independent editions, Xu Fu quickly provided Jack with a solution to the problem.

"This is a way to both share the reader market and generate new revenue for comic book publishers."

Xu Fu's proposed solution was actually the same as Jack's, except that it all required Xu Fu's approval as the supervisor.

"I understand, I'll organize a special edition right away."

The so-called special edition is essentially a reorganization of a comic that was previously published as a series in Messenger Comics, and then released as a separate edition. Jack is very familiar with this approach; after all, that's how they treated Superman before.

Xu Fu inquired about the comic book publishing situation and asked Jack some questions about the publishing, then naturally turned the conversation to the Superman series.

As the newspaper grew and expanded, the "Profession" section, under Xu Fu's leadership, also increased to several times its original size.

Chapter 967 Adventure

Therefore, the employees no longer enjoy the same "idyllic scenery" as before. Apart from John Sr. being transferred to San Francisco to expand his business, John Jr. is now mainly in charge of the news for the Courier World, while Jack has taken over the comics.

"Wonder Woman and The Flash have both received widespread support from readers, and the publisher is currently receiving a steady stream of letters suggesting the serialization of other superhero stories."

To be honest, Jack didn't quite understand why Xu Fu wasn't in a hurry to reprint or serialize other superheroes besides Superman. In his view, these comic book characters were all very popular, and any one of them, even if eliminated, could become a superhero no less than Superman.

However, Xu Fu never agreed with this view and continued to introduce these well-defined superheroes as supporting characters in the Superman series.

If it were another comic book publisher, it would have already forced the comic book company to create other superheroes.

But as everyone knows, Xu Fu is not only the creator of Superman, but also the owner of a newspaper, his main boss.

Therefore, even if Jack had countless questions in his mind, he could keep them to himself, only occasionally letting Xu Fu know the readers' thoughts in a subtle way.

"Whether it's Batman, Wonder Woman, or The Flash, they will all have their own solo versions, but that will take some time, not now."

Xu Fu naturally understood what Jack or the readers were thinking.

However, judging from [Face's] collection, he clearly does not intend to separate these superheroes, but rather to collect more superheroes from among the superheroes, thereby increasing Superman's popularity on the one hand, and accelerating [Face's] collection on the other.

"My current plan is to bring together more superheroes to create a brand new team within the ongoing Superman storyline."

"A completely new team?"

Jack looked puzzled, because he clearly didn't understand what Xu Fu was talking about.

But that didn't matter; he quickly found out everything from the latest newspaper serial.

...

The following day, a new superhero made his debut in an episode of The Courier World.

Green Lantern Alan Scott

In the original comics, Green Lantern was a railway engineer who encountered an accident while traveling on a train when it derailed. In the critical moment, a panicked Alan grabbed a green railway lantern, which contained magical powers and saved him. Everyone else in the entire carriage survived except for him.

From then on, Allen became a superhero who upholds justice and began his Green Lantern adventure.

In the comics, Green Lantern's backstory wasn't as rich as it became later. Even the ring on Green Lantern's hand was created by a mysterious voice from the Rising Lamp, who commanded Alan to take materials from the lamp's base and make the ring.

There's even a device about a green elevator light. It's a meteorite that fell in the Dragon Kingdom, withered, and was carved into the shape of a palace lantern. After changing hands several times, it ended up in the Beautiful Country and fell into the hands of a mental patient, who then transformed it back into the shape of a train elevator light.

Alan Scott chanted the Green Lantern's incantation: "I will appear as three green flames, one to take my life, one to return, and one to become a sacred flame!" and unleashed his power.

The origin story of the first Green Lantern, Alan Scott, was interesting, but it didn't fit Xu Fu's vision. So he changed the plot in the comics serialized in Messenger World, combining Alan's origin story with that of the second Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.

Alan Scott (bbfh) was destined to be this kind of person; he was involved in an accident while riding a train and was once again chosen by Green Lantern to become a superhero.

It also incorporates the background of the Green Lantern Corps into the story, giving the character of Alan Scott a grander backstory.

Although Xu Fu did not develop the Green Lantern Corps story in the same way as Superman, and even the origin of Alan Scott was simply omitted in two comics, the appearance of the Green Lantern character was immediately loved by a large number of readers.

Meanwhile, reader emails about publishing solo versions of other superheroes flooded not only the newspaper's inbox but also the publisher's.

Of course, Xu Fu also orchestrated the emergence of Green Lantern, a superhero who not only enriched the Superman comics and the worldview of previous superheroes, but also began to develop the previous solo superheroes into teams.

Alan Scott plays Green Lantern, who acts as a cosmic policeman while protecting his home planet, Sector 2814. He also brings Superman news that a supervillain from another universe is about to attack Earth. This powerful enemy, Starro, cannot be defeated by Green Lantern alone, so he needs Superman's help.

Superman responded to Green Lantern's request without hesitation, and at the same time rallied his former superhero friends to unite and protect the Earth together.

The name Justice League also appeared in comics for the first time, making it the first superhero team in comic book history.

As for the team name, Xu Fu did hesitate when choosing one.

Besides the Justice League, he also considered the American Justice Society because, according to the original work, the Justice Society was the first true superhero team, even though the Justice Society initially took the form of a women's superhero club where they would meet, have tea, tell their stories, and exchange their heroic lives.