70 Super Years: Meet the Fakers 1

Okay, yesterday we talked about the guys who tried to steal Superman's limelight -- and were denied!! Through the modern miracle of the digital era...Here now is the first and only appearance of Wonder Man!!! Unfortunately, it's scanned from microfiche, which never gives a really clear picture. And the microfiche people scanned it from a low-grade copy, so it's equally thrashed. But you can still get the general idea!!

WONDER COMICS #1
(Fox, May 1939)

But wait there's more! On the last page, Wonder Man offers you a chance to win his ring!! The people over at Scoop (Where the Magic of Collecting Comes to Life!) have a picture of what has been accepted by collectors to be the Wonder Man ring!!! Go check it out!!

You can download WONDER COMICS #1
and lots of other awesome golden-age goodness
from Golden Age Comics Downloads!

70 Super Years: Don't Tug on Superman's Cape!

Given the sudden popularity that Superman achieved. It's no surprise that imitators began appearing almost immediately.

The first appeared less than one year later: Wonder Man in WONDER COMICS #1 (May 1939) from Fox Feature Publications. Supposedly, Fox publisher Victor Fox had been an accountant at DC (which is shorthand for all the various names the company has used over the years...), and when he saw the sales figures for ACTION COMICS, he rushed out and started his own company. Whether that's true or not, he did present a veritable Superman clone.
He hired Will Eisner and basically told him to create a character that was like Superman.
DC saw the first issue and brought a lawsuit against Fox. At the trial, Eisner testified against Fox about the creation of the character and DC won the case.
WONDER COMICS #1 was the first and only appearance of Wonder Man.
You can check out a fairly amazing side-by-side comparison of panels from Superman and Wonder Man that clearly establishes the similarities at Superman v. Wonderman
Judge Hand's Side-By-Side Comparison for Superhero Infringement.

More info on Wonder Man:
Wonder Man @ Toonopedia
Wonder Man @ Wikipedia
Wonder Man @ The Spirit Database

The next two "imitators" were a one-two punch delivered from Fawcett Publications: Captain Marvel in WHIZ COMICS #2 (February 1940) and Master Man in MASTER COMICS #1 (March 1940).
One year after filing it's lawsuit against Fox, DC filed a similar suit against Fawcett over Master Man. Rather than take it to court, Fawcett simply ceased publication of Master Man, removing him from MASTER COMICS after 6 issues, never to be seen again.
DC waited until June of 1941 to issue a letter of cease and desist to Fawcett over Captain Marvel. But this time, Fawcett fought back. Of course, by this time, Cap was on his way to becoming the most popular and top-selling superhero in the country. By the mid-40s, he was even out-selling Superman.
The lawsuits, trials and appeals lasted until 1952, when the courts decided that Captain Marvel was too similar to Superman, and cited Fawcett with copyright infringement. Fawcett and DC settled out of court, with Fawcett paying DC $400,000 and leaving the comics publishing business.

More info on Captain Marvel, Master Man and Fawcett:
National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications @ Wikipedia
Captain Marvel @ Wikipedia
Master Man @ Wikipedia
Fawcett Comics @ Wikipedia
The Marvel Family Web

It's interesting to note:
In the early 70s, DC licensed the rights to Captain Marvel (and the Fawcett universe of heroes) and have been publishing them ever since.
For the past 15-20 years, DC has been trying everything they can think of to make Captain Marvel relevant and serious and merge him into the DC Universe proper.
It seems they've forgotten, that when Captain Marvel was fun, light and comic...he was out-selling Superman!!

FINAL CRISIS Counseling

A new awesome blog!! Final Crisis Counseling!
Gives a blow-by-blow of the issue, helping catch details you may have missed. And follows up with annotated notes on who all the mysterious characters are!!

Check it out!!

70 Super Years: Those Homages Look Super!

Like ACTION COMICS #1, the iconic cover to SUPERMAN #1 has been the subject of many homages.

Here are a few:

ACTION COMICS #643 June 1989

SUPERMAN: 20TH CENTURY Alex Ross Giclee 1998

MAJESTIC #1 October 2004

You can see a bunch more SUPERMAN #1 HOMAGES @ Comic Vine!

70 Super Years: 1939 - One Year Later

Superman took off like a wild fire! -- Not only was he the first superhero character as the term is popularly defined, but in 1939 he became the first superhero to have his own newspaper comic strip, the first superhero to headline a comic featuring only his adventures, the first superhero to have a retconned origin and the first superhero written about in TIME Magazine!!!

On January 16, 1939, Superman made his debut as a newspaper comic strip. Which was appropriate, finally, as that was how Siegel and Shuster had originally envisioned him. The strip ran Monday-Saturday until November, when a Sunday color strip was added and continued until 1966.

Here's one of the first Superman Sunday strips:
Links:
The Speeding Bullet: An Archive of Superman Newspaper Strips
Superman (comic strip) @ Wikipedia

With a cover date of Summer 1939, SUPERMAN #1 made it's debut. It featured mostly reprinted stories from ACTION COMICS #1-4, adding pages to the beginning of his first appearance in ACTION COMICS #1.
This issue also featured the first superhero retcon. In the origin story told in ACTION COMICS #1, the baby from the doomed planet was found by "a passing motorist" and taken to an orphanage. One year later, in SUPERMAN #1, the baby from Krypton (first named in this issue) was found by "an elderly couple, the Kents," who took him to an orphan asylum, then proceeded to adopt him.
Since most of the material from this issue is reprinted from ACTION, there's not much need to list reprint sources. Basically, anywhere you find reprints for ACTION #1-4, now you have a reprint for SUPERMAN #1.
But here are a couple places where SUPERMAN #1 was reprinted in it's entirety.

FAMOUS 1ST EDITION #C-61 (1979)

MILLENIUM EDITION: SUPERMAN #1 (2000)

In the September 11, 1939 issue of TIME Magazine, they took notice of Superman, explaining how he could easily end the war:

How to end the war quickly seemed ridiculously simple to readers of the comic strips last week: send Superman to clean up Hitler. One reader wrote to the Philadelphia Inquirer suggesting precisely that solution.

Last word in adventure comics, Superman is rapidly becoming the No. 1 juvenile vogue in the U. S. A happy combination of Flash Gordon and Popeye the Sailor, Superman is an individual with the speed of an airplane, the strength of a locomotive, the leap of a cricket and the hide of a man of war...

You can finish reading the article over @ TIME.com.


Available at Amazon.com:

Superman: The Dailies 1939-1942

Superman: Sunday Classics 1939-1943

70 Super Years: Action-packed Homages!

The cover of ACTION COMICS #1 features such an iconic image, that it's not surprising artists over the years have "borrowed" the image to portray an equally powerful image. Or just as a wink and a nod to the first.

Check out a few:

SENSATION COMICS #51 March 1946

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #306 October 1988

ACTION COMICS #685 January 1993

Director Bryan Singer even got in on the act with a scene in 2006's SUPERMAN RETURNS:


You can see a bunch more ACTION COMICS #1 Homages @ Comic Vine!

70 Super Years: History Reprinting

Superman's first appearance from ACTION COMICS #1 (June 1938) is quite possibly one of the most reprinted stories in comics. And considering the immediate impact Superman created and the longevity of the character, I suppose that isn't too surprising. Here's a partial list of books where the story has been reprinted:

• 1973: SECRET ORIGINS #1
• 1974: FAMOUS FIRST EDITION #C-26 (full ACTION COMICS #1 reprint)
• 1976: SECRET ORIGINS OF THE SUPER DC HEROES (trade paperback)
• 1976: ACTION COMICS #1 - Safeguard giveaway (16pg, paper cover)
• 1983: ACTION COMICS #1 - Superman Peanut Butter giveaway (16pg, paper cover)
• 1987: ACTION COMICS #1 - Nestle Quik giveaway (16pg, paper cover)
• 1988: ACTION COMICS #1 - Fiftieth anniversary (50¢, 16pg, slick cover)
• 1990: ACTION COMICS #1 (50¢, 16pg, slick cover)
• 1992: ACTION COMICS #1 - Death of Superman Edition ($1 cvr, 16pg, slick cover)
• 1993: ACTION COMICS #1 - Reign of the Supermen Edition (10¢ cvr, 16pg, slick cover)
• 1998: SUPERMAN: THE ACTION COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 1 (hardback)
• 1998: ACTION COMICS #1 - US Postal Service with First Day Issue Superman stamp (full ACTION COMICS #1 reprint)
• 2000: MILLENNIUM EDITION: ACTION COMICS #1 (full ACTION COMICS #1 reprint)
• 2005: SUPERMAN IN THE FORTIES (trade paperback)
• 2006: THE SUPERMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 1 (trade paperback)
• 2007: SUPERMAN THROUGH THE AGES

Here are a few of the covers:

FAMOUS 1st EDITION C-26 1974	ACTION COMICS #1 Safeguard Edition 1976
ACTION COMICS #1 50th Anniversary 1988	ACTION COMICS #1 US Postal Service 1998

For more information on the various reprints, check out:
Guide to Action #1 Reprints @ BIP Comics
Action Comics #1 Variants @ Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics



Available at Amazon.com:

Superman Chronicles Vol. 1

Superman: The Action Comics Archives Vol. 1

Superman in the Forties

70 Super Years: 1938 - In the beginning...

Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined, made his debut in ACTION COMICS #1 in 1938. Although it was (reportedly) released in April, the cover date is June, and this is the month that Comics N Things is celebrating the 70th anniversary of SUPERMAN!!!

From Wikipedia:

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster saw their creation, Superman, AKA Kal-El (originally Kal-L), launched in Action Comics #1 in April 1938 (cover-dated June). Siegel and Shuster had tried for years to find a publisher for their Superman character (originally conceived as a newspaper strip) without success. Superman was originally a bald madman created by Siegel and Shuster who used his telepathic abilities to wreak havoc on mankind. He appeared in Siegel and Shuster's book Science Fiction. Siegel then commented, "What if this Superman was a force for good instead of evil?" The writer and artist had worked on several features for National Periodical Publications' other titles (Slam Bradley in Detective Comics, for example) and were asked to contribute a feature for National's newest publication. They submitted Superman for consideration, and after re-pasting the sample newspaper strips they had prepared into comic book page format, National decided to make Superman the cover feature of their new magazine. The dynamic "Man of Tomorrow" was an instant hit, and he permanently changed the medium of comic books and comic strips by formalizing a new fantasy subgenre. Action Comics was soon followed by the Superman comic book series in 1939, along with a wealth of other comics starring numerous costumed superheroes.

Check out some links:

• Action Comics @ Wikipedia
• Superman @ Wikipedia
• ACTION COMICS Index @ Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics
• Superman @ Don Markstein's Toonopedia
• Superman Super Site

Golden Age Hercules

Golden-Age heroes had the best costumes!!

From International Hero:

First Appearance: HIT COMICS #1 (July 1940)

Joe Hercules grew up in the North Woods, and by the time he reached adulthood, he was incredibly strong. Naturally he got himself a job working at a local circus. After criminals illegally foreclosed on his widowed mother's house, causing her to die of a heart attack from the shock of being told her home was to be repossessed, Joe sought revenge. He tracked the villains to New York, where he beat up some of the gang, only to be thrown into jail for his trouble. There he chanced upon a comic telling of the exploits of Doll Man, which inspired him to break out, put on a costume, track down the leader of the gang, and force him to confess his crimes. Using just his mythic surname, Joe decided to continue his newfound career as a crimefighter.

Now let's read a fun story. "Wheee!" You go boy!

HIT COMICS #12
(June 1941)
art by Reed Crandall - cover by Lou Fine

You can download HIT COMICS #12
and lots of other awesome golden-age goodness
from Golden Age Comics Downloads!