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The Book of Steel: Edward Gross Chronicles “Superman: The Definitive History”
Monday, July 13th, 2026
Since his debut in June 1938’s Action Comics #1, Superman has accrued more history than many real-life figures. In addition to his comic book career, the Man of Steel has conquered all manner of media, so telling his complete story is no easy task. Fortunately, Insight Editions recruited noted Superman experts Edward Gross and Robert Greenbergerto write the mammoth Superman: The Definitive History, the Revised Edition of which is now in bookstores. We sat down with Gross to learn how this massive tome came to be, and he shared with us his own favorite Superman tales.
What does Superman: The Definitive History offer the Superman fan they may not have gotten in a Superman history book before?
I think it’s the depth of coverage. There have been lots of biographies and lots of histories of Superman. But this thing, both in terms of the text and in terms of the design, is just offering a package that I don’t think has ever been offered before. It just covers every aspect of Superman’s history between the visuals and the text. And the new edition expands on what was already there. Because that’s the joy of doing the definitive history—it’s constantly changing. So theoretically, you could update this thing every two years and keep going forever. The character just keeps going in new versions constantly.
We’ve added another 24 pages of content to the original edition, updating it with the James Gunn movie,Supergirl, the final season of Superman & Lois,My Adventures with Superman and, of course, the comics. We’re trying to bring everything as up to date as it can be until the next edition, if there is one
The James Gunn film has created a lot of new Superman fans. What do you think they will appreciate about the book?
For the uninitiated, I think what’s going to blow them away with this book is the incredible history of Superman. The fact that since 1940, this character has been in some form of production. Every decade since 1940, there’s been a radio show, a cartoon, a play, a movie, a TV show, whatever it may be. Not to mention the comics from 1938 onward. But I also think it’ll be interesting for them to see how pervasive the character was as a propaganda tool, as a merchandising tool, and how immersed in our society Superman has been since his debut in ‘38. I think that will blow people away.
This is the thing that blows me away about the character’s history. The fact that, my God, he’s been here for almost ninety years. I’m not saying there haven’t been ebbs and flows in terms of his popularity, but he has been here. He’s been a constant
How did you and your co-author Robert Greenberger divide the task of writing the book?
I was really good with the production history of Superman, in terms of all the different adaptations. I know that stuff really, really well, if I do say so myself. When you want to get to the minutia of the comic books—the comic book history that was such an integral part of this book—I didn’t feel I could deliver on that the way Bob could. Bob wrote the Superman Encyclopedia. He has that knowledge. So, it was the perfect match that way, where I was fully versed in the production aspect and he was fully versed in the comic book aspect. Between us, we were able to really cover the whole thing in the same kind of authoritative way. That’s how that ended up happening.
What are your own favorite iterations of Superman, both in print and on screen?
On screen, it’s a cliche, of course, but Christopher Reeve. But by the same token, I really do believe the adage, “Follow the S.” It’s like whoever’s wearing the S, I will be there. I love Superman. It doesn’t matter. I will always be there to check out that character because it’s the character itself that I really love, what he represents
In print, cliched as it is, Mark Waid’s Superman: Birthright is just a great, great retelling of Superman’s origin. I really do love it. Kingdom Come is another great one. But I really love Birthright. I’ll tell you the truth, the last page of that story made me cry and I’d never cried at a comic book in my life. It actually brought a tear to my eye. I’m also a big fan of John Byrne’s stuff. I really thought John Byrne did a good job of rebooting the character. Yet one of my all-time favorite storylines ever is Kryptonite Nevermore. I bought it when I was 11 years old. For some reason, it just always appealed to me.
Before Christopher Reeve’s first Superman movie and John Byrne’s post-Crisis reboot, that story was the first major attempt at humanizing Superman
Yeah! So those are some of my favorites. And I love the early stuff. I’m not saying it’s aged well, but it’s glorious to look back on those early days
There’s a primal energy to the raw idea of Superman in its pure, original form… Were there any nuggets of information that surprised you as you did your research for this book?
It’s not nuggets per se. But…even having known the story of Superman’s creation going in, digging deeper and connecting it all together, that was the amazing thing to me. Just as I was telling the story, watching it interlock and evolve over the decades. Even though I knew it on almost every level, actually linking it and telling the story from the perspective of the people I interviewed, that was the most fascinating thing. Just watching the cohesiveness of the world that was created around Superman, both fictionally and nonfictionally. I mean, it’s just an incredible story, you know?
Superman: The Definitive History – Revised Edition by Edward Gross and Robert Greenberger is now available in bookstores, libraries and digital retailers
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