In December 1938, Action Comics #8 featured the first time Superman used his super hearing power, setting the stage for what was to be a gradual widening of Superman’s powers to god-like abilities. Action Comics #8 also featured Superman deciding that the right way to set a bunch of wayward kids straight was to demolish […]
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By October 1938, Superman’s fame is beginning to spread both in the real world and in the fictional world of the DC universe. The Daily Star dubs him the “Man of Steel”. It leads to a fun story where a promoter claims he is Superman’s manager and uses a fake Superman to garner promotional revenue. […]
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Lois kisses Superman for the first time in Action Comics #5 (September 1938) and their relationship shows some continuity as this is clearly their second meeting. With this story, Jerry Siegel beautifully sets up a trope that would power Superman’s supporting cast for 50 years: Lois is in love with Superman and can barely give […]
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Action Comics #4 (August 1938) brought the most unusual Superman story thus far. It seems clear that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were still experimenting with this character at this time. In it, Superman tries to capture a hit & run drunk driver, but in the process the driver has a heart attack as his […]
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Superman‘s powers grew over the years, but being bulletproof was one of the few that were there from the beginning (the other two being increased strength and speed). Above is a panel from Action Comics #2 (June 1938).
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The Golden Age of Comic Books begins in May 1938 with the single most important comic book ever published: Action Comics #1 and the debut of the first full-fledged superhero: Superman. Crime fighter for justice. Crazy costume. Super powers. Secret identity. A supporting cast of two Daily Star employees: his un-named editor and his romantic […]
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I usually avoid humorous comic strips, because this blog is mostly supposed to be documenting interesting superhero moments, but I couldn’t resist this panel of “Ginger Snap” from More Fun Comics #31, April 1938 by Robert Kane (future creator of Batman). This looks like the first thing that Bob Kane created for DC Comics. Speaking […]
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The science fiction angle continues for Siegel and Shuster in this Federal Men tale from December 1936. In it, this four page “imaginary tale” from the futuristic year 2000 shows federal agent Jor-L fighting bandit queen Nira-Q. The name Jor-L was of course re-used for Superman’s father on Krypton. This issue also shows the title […]
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