chapter 179 part 2
After all, no matter how much they objected, the Sales figures of The Messenger were right there.
And even if they tried to find fault with its News Report content, The Messenger also had impressive achievements to show. Simply reporting on the scandals of New York City and forcing the former mayor to step down was something these smaller papers could not accomplish.
"Can you really see a clearer Superman?"
A pedestrian stopped a Newsboy, asking doubtfully.
"Absolutely true, sir."
The Newsboy took out a newspaper from his stack, opened a page right in front of the pedestrian to let him see the clearly visible Serialized Story up close, and said, "They say it's all thanks to Mr. Colin. He invented a new printing technology that makes the newspaper's printing effect better, yet he's still willing to sell The Messenger at the same price, so everyone can see a clearer newspaper without a price increase..."
"Give me a newspaper!"
Whether what the Newsboy said was true or not, at the very least, the pedestrian could clearly see with his own eyes that the printing quality of The Messenger in the boy's hands was more than a cut above any newspaper he had ever seen before. Therefore, without any hesitation, he paid for a copy of The Messenger.
"Enjoy your reading, sir."
Taking the change from the pedestrian's hand and handing him a pre-folded newspaper, the Newsboy tightened the strap over his shoulder and continued his cries.
"It really is new printing technology."
Meanwhile, the pedestrian who had just taken the latest issue of The Messenger from the Newsboy looked at the crystal-clear comic strip and couldn't help but marvel, even though he had already glanced at it.
Such clear printing was a rare sight in this era.
After all, due to the impact of the Great Depression, most printed materials on the market opted for cheap paper and printing methods out of cost considerations, and the newspaper industry was no exception.
The pedestrian had only ever seen such clear printed images on film posters.
But one had to remember that posters were specially commissioned designs, something The Messenger clearly couldn't afford to do.
Besides marveling at the quality of The Messenger's printing, the serialized story in this issue was equally captivating.
In the new issue of `Superman`, two new villains made their appearance one after another.
The first half of the story told of an entomologist originally named Roderick Ross. He was obsessed with insect research and eventually transformed himself from a human into the form of an insect through a chemical experiment. After the experiment, Roderick Ross, or rather the Larval Winged Insect, was covered in a green exoskeleton, and his two pairs of eyes resembled the compound eyes of an insect. Only his mouth retained human features.
In his insect state, the Larval Winged Insect possessed immense Super Strength, capable of easily lifting a Locomotive.
At the same time, after becoming the Larval Winged Insect, Roderick Ross's evil purpose was exposed. He wanted to turn everyone in Metropolis into insect forms like himself, but as inferior slave larvae to his adult form.
Thanks to the effect of Colin's Four-Color Duplex Sheet-fed Offset Press, Jacob's finished Coloring was clearly printed on the newspaper. Looking at the Larval Winged Insect's grotesque half-human, half-insect design in the Serialized Story, the pedestrian felt a chill run down his spine, even though it was just a character in a Comic.
"This printing effect is a bit too realistic, isn't it?"
In previous Color Printing, limited by the coloring process, many villains, unlike the main character Superman, could only be filled in with a single color to avoid color bleeding.
But with the Four-Color Duplex Sheet-fed Offset Press, this problem was undoubtedly greatly reduced.
Jacob's meticulous outlining of the Larval Winged Insect character made its entire appearance more realistic, especially its red, insect-like compound eyes, which gave readers who saw this chapter the feeling that they were truly looking at an insect Monster.
Of course, it wasn't just the Villain character whose image quality improved.
As the protagonist of the Comic, Superman's clarity also saw a huge improvement.
In the Comic, during the scene where Superman fought the Larval Winged Insect, the red Cape on Superman's back was clearly visible; even the folds on it were distinctly depicted.
The resulting fight scene far exceeded any previous installment, making readers who saw it shout with excitement.
The end of this chapter's installment concluded with Superman's victory, as was customary.
Using Freeze Breath, Superman froze the Larval Winged Insect into an ice sculpture. It was also in this issue that Superman established his first Base, the Secret Citadel.
The setting of the Secret Citadel clearly piqued the readers' intense curiosity.
However, Colin, who drew this scene, deliberately only drew the exterior of the Fortress of Solitude, not giving readers a deeper look inside.
He would develop the storyline for the Secret Citadel, but he wouldn't reveal too much.
The more detailed introduction would be saved for the new season's quarterly issue of `Superman`.
The setting of the Secret Citadel left readers' curiosity hanging.
In the latter half of the comic strip, Colin had Superman display a new power—Super-Precognition.
In this issue, Superman, while working at the Daily Planet, vaguely sensed some kind of danger, and at the same time, the Villain Cavern Dweller appeared.
Thousands of years ago, a creature known as the 'Cavern Dweller' was born on Earth and struggled for survival. However, during a volcanic eruption, this primitive ancient creature was unfortunately sealed in an underground cavern, where it remains in a state of suspended animation to this day.
However, during an archaeological expedition, American archaeologists unexpectedly discovered this sealed cavern. They chiseled it open and found the Cavern Dweller in suspended animation inside.
The archaeologists were ecstatic, believing it to be a monumental discovery in archaeological history.
They brought the hibernating Cavern Dweller to Metropolis, intending to study it. However, during this process, the Cavern Dweller awoke and released terrifying ancient radiation.
It turned out that over the long passage of time, the Cavern Dweller had been affected by mysterious radioactive substances from the Earth and had mutated into a dangerous entity.
The archaeologists died painfully in the Cavern Dweller's radiation, and the awakened Cavern Dweller, driven mad by the completely different environment of Metropolis, began to wreak havoc on the city.
At the critical moment, Superman, having sensed the danger, appeared and stopped the Cavern Dweller's destruction.
At the same time, the radiation emanating from the Cavern Dweller didn't seem to affect Superman. Sensing the dangerous radiation from the creature, Superman used his Heat Vision to forge a massive containment device to trap it. Finally, he used his superhuman strength to send it into Outer Space, forcing the Monster awakened from ancient times back into a state of suspended animation.
Thanks to Zai Xia Shu Huang for the 100 Qidian Coin reward.
(end of chapter)