Celebrating 85 years of Superman
April 18 is marked as the debut date for the Man of Steel
As near as the folks at DC Comics have determined, April 18, 1938, marks the release of “Action Comics” #1, which means today is celebrated as the 85th anniversary of Superman. *
As previously noted on this Substack, among the celebrations going on for this date are theatrical screenings of 1978’s “Superman: The Movie,” itself celebrating 45 years in 2023. Check your local theaters for listings there.
As part of my celebration of the day, I thought I’d share a few Superman recommendations for readers of the newsletter.
Action Comics #1 (April 1938)
The first-ever comic featuring Superman kickstarted the comic-book industry and the superhero genre back in 1938. While an original copy would set you back potentially seven figures today, DC Comics released a facsimile copy of the original in 2022 (shown above). The much-reprinted first Superman tale changed the course of the comics industry, formalizing the concept of the superhero and leading to huge sales success. In all likelihood, every superhero comic since owes something to these pages.
Superman #199: Superman races the Flash (August 1967)
If you’re prepared for a bit of Silver Age silliness, this is a lot of fun.
Writer Jim Shooter, later to become editor-in-chief at Marvel, was a DC Comics writer at this stage of his career, at about 16 years old. The story is penciled by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein; the much-homaged cover is by Murphy Anderson and Carmine Infantino.
In the story, the secretary-general of the U.N. proposes a race between Superman and Flash for charity. But organized crime doesn’t let this chance pass them buy, with rival syndicates betting huge amounts on either Superman or the Flash.
The race has some caveats – Superman wasn’t allowed to fly, and a specific course with obstacles was set, since both Superman and Flash could otherwise travel faster than could be seen or perhaps even recorded.
The crime syndicates each try to replace the opposing racer with an imposter, leading to one humorous sequence when the false-Flash and the false-Superman are both trying to lose the race.
Superman: Panic in the Sky (1992)
I spoke about this action-packed storyline recently on the Unspoken Issues podcast.
This 1992 storyline crossed over through the Superman titles. Brainiac is heading to Earth with the massive Warworld battle station with his eyes on conquest. Superman must gather a team of heroes to stop Brainiac and his forces; one team heads to space to take on the battle station, while another team attempts to thwart Brainiac’s forces on Earth. This storyline overall is a good one for fans who like Superman taking a leadership role with the DC heroes facing a cosmic-level threat.
These are just a few Superman tales that I like to revisit. There are many, many great Man of Steel stories from the past 85 years, and no doubt there will be plenty of opportunity to discuss those in the future as well!
What are some of your favorite Superman tales? Let me know in the comments!
*There’s some fuzziness over the actual date that “Action Comics” #1 was released, but the April 18 date is noted in National Comics’ records as to when the company received a copyright on the contents of “Action” #1, and various hand-written receipts put the book on sale by the end of April, so, for purposes of having a date to celebrate, April 18 has been chosen!
More info:
https://www.cbr.com/superman-action-comics-actual-release-date/