Superman was born on the planet krypton and was given the. Much later, shadow play and the magic lantern since circa 1659 offered popular shows with projected images on a screen, moving as the result of manipulation by hand andor minor mechanics. So, on april 18, 1938, superman first grazed the comics industry through the first issue of action comics, with a picture of the man of steel lifting a car over his head. Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive the man of steel fights a neverending battle for truth, justice, and the american way. Uncover the caped crusaders mysterious realworld origin and his evolution into a hugely successful tv and movie franchise in batman. The superman character described on this page was created by writer jerry siegel and artist joe shuster, high school students living in cleveland, ohio, in 1933. The blakely mine disaster, script by jerry siegel, art by joe shuster. There was a big drive behind this new comic, so all the various freelancers were trying out to get into this comic book. Historical and visual rhetorical analysis of superman. This thesis is an historical and visual rhetorical analysis of superman comic books from 1938 to 1945. The superpowered trilogy that captured the worlds greatest superhero triumvirate of all time is now available in paperback. In fact, they are among the older and more desirable comics on the market. Peppers lonely hearts club band released by the beatles, 1989 tiananmen square protests end when chinese troops kill hundreds, 1944 world war ii operation overlorddday, 1994 o. Superman sparked the creation of an entire industry based around the exploits of masked avengers and caped vigilantes, and he remains one of the worlds most recognizable pop culture icons.
Its goal is to examine how one of the nations most recognizable fictional characters both reflected and reinforced popular public opinion from the time period. The phantom was the kind of hero that despite his normal human. The comic books embodied the virtues of what it was to fight evil during world war ii. As a form of popular literature, superhero narratives have closely mirrored trends and events in the nation.
Even seasoned collectors may have problems attaining comics from this era. The cover of the january 1939 issue of action comics. It features the first appearance of several comic book heroesmost notably. Lets talk about the very first superman comic issue in 1938. Created by jerry siegel and joe shuster, superman is possibly the most recognizable comic book character to this. The history of comic books see you in the funny pages the early known comic has recently become an exciting, brand new field of research in the comic industry. Superhero, superhero, a fictional herowidely popularized in comic books and comic strips, television and film, and popular culture and video gameswhose extraordinary or superhuman powers are often displayed in a fight against crime and assorted villains, who in turn often display superhuman abilities. Back in 1977 author michael uslan stated the following about the nature of comic books. Action comics is the series that introduced superman, one of the first. The strip proved so popular that national launched superman into his own selftitled comic book, the first for any superhero, premiering with the cover date summer 1939. Great history of comic books rare superman covernm. In fact, the comic book still embodies the same virtues today. A good book on samurai culture is miyamoto murashi 1935, a novel by about a legendary swordsman by eiji yoshikawa.
Get the best deals on superman golden age comics 1938 1955 when you shop the largest online. From the 1930s through today comic books have expressed the trends, conventions, and concerns of american life. Comic book history comics part 44 1938 06 june superman dc. Superman collectible golden age comics reprints 1938 55 skip to page navigation. The superman we all know, created by writer jerry siegel and artist joe. Hoknes comics presents an in depth history looking at every single comic book published in usa since 1933 in order with details and history. The history of animation started long before the development of cinematography. Humans have probably attempted to depict motion as far back as the paleolithic period.
The precise era of the golden age is disputed, though most agree that it was born with the launch of superman in 1938. This was superman, the very first comic character to have. Publishers at eastern color printing were figuring out a way to efficiently use their printing equipment, which was frequently idle between jobs. Superman s june 1938 appearance in the first action comics gave birth to the superhero genre. Gaines told siegel and shuster what additional content aside from the action reprints to create for this issue in a letter dated 19390327.
The platinum age 1897 1938 the history of comic books. Yet, as superman, the complete history shows, the man of steel has also made a lasting impact in comic strips, film, toys, tv, radio, and even on broadway. Comic books in 1938 were definitely of a different size than they are today. From june, a mix of some of the june news 1938 superman appears for the first time in d. The story has been through many revisions through decades of publication in comic books and radio, television and film adaptations. After superman saves a group of miners from a cavein, clark kent senses a story that may mean that the mines owner, thorton blakely, is actually running unsafe mine operations and blaming accidents on the miners themselves. Prior to the release of this issue, comic books normally featured several characters and a variety of stories in one publication. In the less than eight decades since supermans debut in 1938, comic book superheroes have become an indispensable part of american society and the nations dominant mythology. Get the best deals on superman collectible golden age comics reprints 1938 55.
This comic is the first american publishing of the phantom, who is now a worldwide hero. Along with fawcett comics superhero captain marvel, dc. Superman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by dc comics, and is considered an american cultural icon. But the main problem is action comics 1 from 1938, for superman did not get his own title until 1939, has been reprinted many times in different formats, hence those seriously vary by size as well. The product of two teenage boys from cleveland, ohio, jerry siegel and joe shuster, superman was an overnight sensation and forever transformed the fledgling comic book industry. This landmark issue, the first comic to present allnew material, saw the first appearance of the man of steel, superman. If you are a fan of superman, or are buying for a fan, you cant go wrong. Tl191 uniform, weapons and equipment of the secondary combatants. The 80year history of action comics, aka the first. Published on april 18, 1938 coverdated june, by national allied publications, a corporate predecessor of dc comics, it is considered the first true superhero comic. Superman collectible golden age comics reprints 193855. The characters popularity led to the creation of other costumed crime fighters such as batman and captain. The man of steel is the ultimate symbol of truth, justice, and hope.
As more stories were published, more details about the original story were established. Their earliest joint appearance came during a 1945 episode of the adventures of superman, a radio serial. Cocreated by canadianborn joe shuster, superman first appeared in comic book form in the june 1938 first edition of a new comic book, action comics. Ninjas in japan and their history facts and details. In 1938, national allied publications had three other ongoing series, a humor comic more fun comics, an adventure comic adventure comics and a crime comic detective comics and wanted to do another new adventure series. Discuss, rate, and post links to ah sites on the web. In the less than eight decades since superman s debut in 1938, comic book superheroes have become an indispensable part of american society and the nations dominant mythology. Up until as recent as a years ago it was generally believed that the first comic book was a reprint collection of the first comic strip, best known as the yellow kid. They represent americas hopes, dreams, fears, and needs. The audit bureau of circulation files reveal that there were three printings of this issue in 1939 500,000 copies, 250,000 copies, and 150,000 copies. In this beautifully composed volume, les daniels collects rare and neverbeforeseen. Superman, american comic book character created for dc comics by writer jerry siegel and artist joe shuster.
A 1939 superman comic discovered among newspapers during a home renovation in. Relive the adventures of kryptons favorite son inside and outside the comic book world in superman. The film last samurai was based on bushidothe soul of japan, written by inazo nitobe in 1899. He was created by lee falk, who still today is working on his stories. Kids all across north america were eager to get their hands on a new comic book. The character regularly appears in comic books published by dc comics, and has been adapted to a number of radio serials, movies, and television shows. Rare superman comic found in a house wall goes up for. The golden age describes an era in the creation of comic books published between the. Superman used his extraordinary powers to fight for truth, justice, and the american way. Full text of europe since waterloo internet archive. The political influence of comics in america during. Soon enough, superman became one of the most renowned superheroes in the world. Ad for more fun comics, new adventure comics and detective comics.
The phantom made his debut on february 17th, 1936 and he was the first costumed hero. Action comics was started by publisher jack liebowitz. Created by jerry siegel and joe shuster, superman is possibly the most. Unless you are a hard corps nerd, and have been collecting since the 40s, you probably dont have all of these stories. The story described a scientist on an unnamed doomed planet placing his infant son into a hastily designed spaceship and launching it toward earth. Mayer found the rejected superman comic strips, and sullivan told siegel and. From his blue uniform to his flowing red cape to the s shield on his chest, superman is one of the most immediately recognizable and beloved dc super heroes of all time.