Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen (1954) 107

Whether you enjoy your job or not, today is Labor Day and for those who work for a living, we salute you.

Labor Day is celebrated the first Monday in September to honor the American labor movement. By the late 19^th century, trade unions and labor movements were on the rise. Unionists championed a day to celebrate the working man. The Central Labor Union and Knights of Labor organized the first parade, which marched through the streets of New York in 1887. Oregon was the first state to make it a public holiday and the notion was celebrated in 30 states by the time it became a federal holiday.

In the past we’ve had Superman do his share of heavy lifting to keep the site going. Today we call upon the Man of Steel once more with his appearance in Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen (1954) issue 107.

The short and sweet of the story is Superman must perform menial jobs as commanded by an alien court for stopping an alien bounty hunter from killing the destroyer of his world until the killer is caught.

Or, something like that.

Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen was a bi-monthly begun in September-October 1954. The title ran until March of 1974, publishing a total of 163 issues.

All thanks to the popular Adventures of Superman television series that began airing in 1952.

Olsen was played by Jack Larson during the shows’ run. He was offered a solo series in 1959 after George Reeves was found dead. Old footage of Reeves and a stunt double would have been used for additional footage, but the show was to focus on Olsen and his career as a photo journalist. Larson refused to cash in on the dead and the idea never materialized.

The book spent much of its history knocking around the absurd with writers and artists offering imaginary tales featuring Olsen in improbable situations.

Some of those adventures involved Jimmy turning into a werewolf, a woman, morbidly obese, a human porcupine, a gorilla, radioactive, etc.

Jack Kirby changed all that when he took over in 1970 with issue 133. His universe expanded the consciousness of Superman’s buddy and the world around him. Literal New Gods were introduced and old memories brought back like the Newsboy Legion and the Guardian.

So, enjoy the day with a little rest – if possible – and, check out Scott’s take on the title at Nerdsync.