Sale 10% Off Your First Order

This meticulously researched 500+ page volume by Michael J. Hayde provides the most comprehensive examination of Superman's radio and television history ever published. The book documents the complete evolution of The Man of Steel across broadcast media, offering unprecedented access to production materials and behind-the-scenes insights.
The book includes detailed episode logs for both radio and television Superman productions, providing researchers and fans with accurate broadcast histories. Two complete storylines for unproduced TV episodes are presented in full, offering a glimpse into what might have been during Superman's Golden Age television era.
Dozens of deleted scenes taken directly from original scripts appear throughout the text, revealing content that never made it to air. These script excerpts provide insight into the creative process and editorial decisions that shaped the final broadcasts audiences experienced.
Hayde explores the real-life individuals who worked before microphones and cameras to bring Superman to life. The book examines the backgrounds of actors, writers, directors, and producers who contributed to the character's mid-20th century success. Production stories and trivia illuminate the technical and creative challenges of bringing a superhero to radio and television.
While focusing primarily on radio and TV manifestations, the book weaves in relevant connections to Superman's appearances in newspaper strips, comics, books, film, and other formats. The prosperous merchandising trade that accompanied Superman's broadcast success is also documented, showing how one character in a cape became a cultural phenomenon.
Radio historian Jim Cox praises Hayde's work for broadening understanding of Superman through profound revelations and meticulous research. Martin Grams, Jr., author of The Twilight Zone reference guides, calls it "a must-have" that consolidates everything readers want to know under one cover.
Published by BearManor Media in paperback format, this reference book serves as an essential resource for scholars of television history, Golden Age TV enthusiasts, and Superman fans seeking authoritative documentation of the character's broadcast legacy.
Includes episode logs for radio and television, complete storylines for two unproduced TV episodes, and dozens of "deleted scenes" taken right from the scripts "Michael J. Hayde significantly broadens our empathy for The Man of Steel through his profound revelations surrounding an imposing figure based on popular myth. In a meticulously researched discourse, he supplies the gaps about a character that became a mid 20th century hero to the nation's boys and girls. Hayde probes the backgrounds of the real-life individuals behind-the-scenes and before the microphones and cameras that intensified that aura. In breezy, comprehensive style, he focuses on the radio and TV manifestations while interweaving timely inferences from the newspaper strip, comics, books, film and other formats plus a prosperous merchandising trade. Lovers of the genre of juvenile adventures are rewarded by the author's efforts to expose how one man wearing a cape and bearing incredible strength could pervade an impressionable younger generation and a society that pursued his exploits intensely." - Jim Cox, author of Radio Crime Fighters "With so many books about Superman out there, it's pleasing to know that one book has everything you'd want to know under one cover. Trivia, background production and numerous behind-the-scenes stories make this a must-have for everyone's shelf. An enjoyable read." - Martin Grams, Jr., author of The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic Over 500 pages of intense research.