"That's not necessary, Mr. Doug."
It's over!
Hearing Colin's reply, a trace of despair flashed through the factory owner's heart.
Just when Doug thought it was all over, Colin's tone changed. "This machine, I'll take it."
"Wha... what?"
Hearing Colin's words, Doug couldn't react for a moment.
After a while, he came to his senses and said with a hint of surprise, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you clearly, Mr. Colin. What do you mean?"
"I mean, if the price you offer is reasonable, Mr. Doug, I'm willing to buy this color rotary press."
In fact, from the very beginning, Colin hadn't held high expectations for color printing technology.
After all, the times were what they were.
In this current era, it had only been twenty to thirty years since color printing technology first appeared and was applied to newspapers. With the onset of The Great Depression, the development of printing technology seemed to have entered a period of stagnation. In an age where people were starving, one could hardly expect any major technological advancements.
Although Doug's color rotary press was purchased before The Great Depression, it still used the mainstream four-color printing technology, a relatively mature method of color printing.
It worked by continuously layering four colors—yellow, red, cyan, and black—to apply coloring to the characters.
Once the purchase of the color rotary press was decided, the remaining details were left for Jack and Doug to discuss.
Perhaps because he was eager to sell it, the factory owner didn't haggle much over the price of the rotary press. The two sides quickly settled on a 'reasonable' price that satisfied them both.
He bought the printing machine through an installment payment plan.
...
"So, sir, from now on, will The Messenger really only publish in color?"
At the Messenger Newspaper office, gathered around the newly purchased Four-color Rotary Press, Little John couldn't help but ask Colin.
"To be precise, the serialized Superman comic will be switched to color printing. The rest of The Messenger will remain in its original black and white format."
A dedicated page for a color comic strip—this was a publishing method first adopted by the World Daily News, which Colin was now just 'borrowing'.
Just as the World Daily News had 'borrowed' his idea for Superman.
Buying the machine was just the preliminary preparation.
The real counterattack was only just beginning.
...
"Extra, extra!"
"The latest installment of the color edition of Superman is out!"
On the streets of New York, Jimmy ran through the avenues and squares, waving a newspaper.
"Give me a newspaper..."
Hearing the newsboy's cry, a passerby quickly stopped him, pulling a two-cent coin from his pocket. His face held a hint of doubt. "Are you sure this is a real color edition of the Superman serial?"
"Of course!"
Faced with the passerby's skepticism, Jimmy immediately flipped open the copy of The Messenger in his hand, briefly flashing the image of the color edition of Superman from the newspaper's comics section.
"Mr. Colin from The Messenger believes that only a Superman in color can truly let readers feel his charm. That's why, even in these hard economic times, he was willing to spend a fortune on a new machine just for coloring the comic. He even decided to keep the price the same, all so he could publish the paper and let more people see the color edition of the Superman comic..."
"I'll take a newspaper!"
It was hard to say whether he was moved by Jimmy's touching story about Mr. Colin, the owner of The Messenger, or simply captivated by the color comic in the newsboy's hands.
In any case, after hearing Jimmy's explanation, the passerby bought a copy without any further hesitation.
"It really is Superman in color."
Flipping through The Messenger, he looked at the comics page. Seeing Superman in his Blue Bodysuit and Red Cape, with a large "S" on the Shield Symbol on his chest, the passerby felt an inexplicable sense of excitement welling up inside him.
Suppressing his excitement, he continued to read.
As the first installment since The Messenger switched from Black and White Printing to Color Printing, this issue of Superman also seemed to have a distinctly different story.
In the new issue of the color Superman comic.
A Supervillain, a Knock-off Superman, made his debut.
This Knock-off Superman had a similar appearance to the real Superman and was using it to wreak havoc in Metropolis.
Metropolis. The Daily Planet.
Reporter A: "What? Superman is destroying public property?!"
Clark: "Destroying public property? Superman?"
Inside the Daily Planet office, Clark was confused hearing his colleague's report about Superman, because he—the real Superman—was right there in the office.
Lois: "No, I don't believe Superman would do that."
Clark: "I don't believe it either."
Two Supermen?
The appearance of the Knock-off Superman instantly captured the passerby's attention.
He looked at the panels of the comic strip, at the figure whose silhouette was eighty to ninety percent similar to Superman's, and couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.
Could there really be another Superman? Was he not unique, but one of many?
Filled with this doubt and unease, the passerby continued to read.
In the following panels, the Daily Planet, where Superman worked, also seemed to be in crisis. A newspaper agency called the Metropolis World appeared, capturing the attention of Metropolis's citizens with a flood of Yellow Journalism. The rampant spread of Yellow Journalism had a huge impact on the entire news industry of Metropolis.
Metropolis World? Yellow Journalism?
Looking at the two familiar yet slightly altered names in the comic, the passerby gradually began to understand.
"Interesting. This Metropolis World must be referring to the real-life World Daily News, and Yellow Journalism is exactly what the World Daily News popularized."
This connection between reality and the comic deepened the passerby's sense of immersion.
In the rest of the comic, facing a dual crisis with his job and his identity as Superman, our protagonist Clark didn't give up. He infiltrated the Metropolis World and discovered the connection between the Knock-off Superman appearing in Metropolis and the newspaper agency. In the end, this troublemaker wreaking havoc in Metropolis was found and unmasked by Superman. It turned out the Knock-off Superman was an imposter: a man with sparse hair, missing front teeth, and dressed in an oversized yellow nightshirt.
"The Yellow Kid, haha!"
Seeing the guy in the comic, who reverted to his true form after being exposed by Superman, the passerby couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Although the story had exaggerated the character disguised as the Knock-off Superman, the iconic yellow nightshirt and sparse hair immediately reminded readers of the most famous comic character ever serialized in the World Daily News—The Yellow Kid.
(end of chapter)