In Action Comics #20 (November 1939), Superman discovers that Hollywood actress Dolores Winters is acting rather strangely the day after acting so nicely to Clark Kent. After Dolores gives him the stink eye, Superman makes the intuitive leap that the Ultra-Humanite has placed his brain inside Dolores’ body. But it’s comforting to know that Superman […]
Read More »
In Action Comics #18 (September 1939), Superman used his x-ray vision for the first time (his super-hearing had been hinted at in a previous story). I picture what is happening with Superman’s powers here as a sort of “arms race”, since I’m sure Jerry Siegel had constant pressure to make Superman more exciting than other […]
Read More »
Superman‘s powers continue to expand, as indicated in this panel from Action Comics #17 (August 1939). Thanks to his invulnerability to fire, he nearly single-handedly foils an arson attempt on a steamliner ship, arranged by the Ultra-Humanite.
Read More »
The third superhero introduced in Marvel Comics #1 (August 1939), was The Angel, created by Paul Gustavson. The Angel that would not see success beyond the Golden Age of Comics, though he did give his name to one of the original X-Men, much like The Human Torch was reborn as a different character in the […]
Read More »
In May 1939, DC decided to publish a comic book dedicated entirely to a single character, Superman #1. It reprinted the Superman stories from Action Comics #1-4, but added 6 pages to the first story that told a 2-page Superman origin story, introducing the Kents. Not Martha, but apparently Mary here.
Read More »
In Action Comics #13 (May 1939), Jerry Siegel introduced the first super-villain to the Superman mythos with the Ultra-Humanite. A “paralysed cripple” who was also a genius bent on world domination. He is revealed to be the mastermind behind the “cab protective league”, a corrupt cab company that shakes down smaller cab companies for protection […]
Read More »
In April 1939, DC also published a 96-page one-shot, the New York World’s Fair Comics. This featured stories of several established characters like Superman and Zatara promoting the 1939 World’s Fair. This was also the first time that Superman’s vision powers were mentioned as Superman stood atop the Trylon looking for Lois Lane.
Read More »
Fox Feature Syndicate published Wonder Comics #1 in March 1939. Wonder Man was Fred Carson, a timid radio engineer and inventor. While in Tibet, a yogi gave him a ring which granted him super strength and invulnerability. He was created by Will Eisner. You can already see Eisner’s innovative layouts with Wonder Man’s arm extending […]
Read More »
In early Superman stories like Action Comics #10 (February 1939), Jerry Siegel made sure that Clark Kent was the mask, cooking up situations where Clark had to appear cowardly or have less integrity. In this story, Clark gives up his source, an escaped convict from a brutal prison where the superintendent tortured the inmates. In […]
Read More »
The idea that Superman may be hiding in plain sight as a regular guy is voiced for the first time in Action Comics #9, January 1939. I like how Jerry Siegel seems to be building this world that Superman inhabits month-by-month, even if the story ideas themselves are sometimes a bit ludicrous. I also love […]
Read More »