Action Comics 1
Encyclopedia
Action Comics #1 is the first issue of the comic book
series Action Comics
. It features the first appearance
of several comic book heroes, most notably the Jerry Siegel
/Joe Shuster
creation Superman
.
, it is considered the first true superhero
comic; and though today Action Comics is a monthly title devoted to Superman, it began, like many early comics, as an anthology
.
Action Comics was started by publisher Jack Liebowitz
. The first issue had a print run of 200,000 copies, although sales of the series would soon approach 1,000,000 a month. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were paid $10 per page, for a total of $130 for their work on this issue. They effectively signed away millions in future rights and royalties payments. Starting in 1978, Siegel and Shuster were provided with a $20,000 a month annuity which was later raised to $30,000. Liebowitz would later say that selecting Superman to run in Action Comics #1 was "pure accident" based on deadline pressure and that he selected a "thrilling" cover, depicting Superman lifting a car over his head. Christopher Knowles, author of Our Gods Wear Spandex
: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes, compared the cover to Hercules Clubs the Hydra by Antonio del Pollaiolo.
." Siegel and Joe Shuster then created a comic book entitled The Superman later in 1933. A Chicago publisher expressed interest, but did not follow through, and in frustration, Shuster tore up all the pages of this comic except for the cover. Later, in 1934, Siegel had trouble falling asleep and decided to pass the time creating dramatic elements for a comic strip. Building on his previous ideas, he envisioned a child on a far-off planet named Krypton, where all the residents had super-powers. Because Krypton would soon explode, the boy was sent to Earth by his father, where he became Superman.
The Superman section of Action Comics was made up of a cut up comic strip. Siegel and Shuster had shopped Superman around as a comic strip, but were continually turned down. National Publications was looking for a hit to accompany their success with Detective Comics
, and did not have time to solicit new material. Jack Liebowitz, co-owner of National Publications, told editor Vin Sullivan
to create their fourth comic book. Because of the tight deadline, Sullivan was forced to make it out of inventory and stockpile pages. He found a number of adventurer stories, but needed a lead feature. Sullivan asked former coworker Sheldon Mayer if he could help. Mayer found the rejected Superman comic strips, and Sullivan told Siegel and Shuster that if they could paste them into 13 comic book pages, he would buy them.
The original panels were rewritten and redrawn to create the first page of Action Comics #1:
Siegel rewrote and extended the fourth panel into panels 4, 5, and 6 on the first page; and Shuster created three new drawings for them. Instead of racing the train in his costume, Siegel and Shuster decided that they would not show him in his costume until he had officially adopted his Superman alter-ego. Shuster also redrew panel 7. Two new panels offering a "scientific explanation of Clark Kent's amazing strength" were added. The panels do not identify Superman's home planet by name or explain how he was named Clark Kent.
The next 12 pages showed Superman attempting to save an innocent woman about to be executed while delivering the real murderess, bound and gagged, and leaving her on the lawn of the state Governor's mansion after breaking through the door into his house with a signed confession; coming to the aid of a woman being beaten up by her husband, who faints when his knife shatters on Superman's skin; rescuing Lois Lane
(who also debuts in this issue) from a gangster who abducted her after she rebuffed him at a nightclub (and after Clark had refused to stand up to him, earning Lois's ire) which leads to the cover scene with the car; and going to Washington, D.C.
, instead of South America
, to "stir up news" as his editor wants, to investigate a Senator that he suspects is corrupt, and prompting a confession by leaping around high buildings with the terrified man, which leads into the next issue. All the while, Clark tries to keep Superman out of the papers.
Action Comics #1 has set several sales records for comic books. On February 22, 2010, a copy of Action Comics #1 CGC
Grade 8.0 sold at auction
for US$
1 million. The sale, by an anonymous seller to an anonymous buyer, was through the Manhattan
-based auction company ComicConnect.com. On March 29, 2010, ComicConnect.com sold another copy for US$1.5 million, making it the most expensive and most valuable comic book of all time. The copy sold is currently the highest-graded copy from the CGC, which stands at 8.5 VF+ grade.
There are six known Comic Guaranty LLC (CGC)-graded copies with a grade above VG (CGC 4.0), with a single issue having the best grade of NM (CGC 9.0). There is one known uncertified copy in higher grade, the Edgar Church/Mile High
copy.EC
and Mad publisher William Gaines
, whose father was also a comic book publisher and had business dealings with DC Comics at the time Action Comics #1 was published, claimed in a Comics Journal
interview that he at one point had dozens of copies of the issue around his house, but they were probably all thrown out. Another copy, rated CGC 5 ("Very Good/Fine"), was discovered in July 2010 by a family facing foreclosure
on their home while packing their possessions. ComicConnect.com estimated the comic may sell as high as $250,000 once auctioned, saving the family's home.
One copy was stolen from American actor Nicolas Cage
, an avid comic book collector, in 2000. In March 2011, it was found in a storage locker in the San Fernando Valley
and was verified by ComicConnect.com to be exactly the same copy that they sold to him previously. Valued at more than $1 million, the comic is currently in the possession of the Los Angeles Police Department
. Cage had previously received an insurance payment for the item, so it is unclear if it will be returned to him. A copy which sold for $2.16 million on November 30, 2011 through ComicConnect.com is believed to have been this same one, having been noted as stolen in 2000 and recovered in 2011.
comics under the "Famous First Editions" series, including Action Comics #1 C-26. These reprints were oversized, roughly double the size of the original editions. A cardboard-like cover was placed over these copies, showing that they were a part of the Famous First Edition series. However, there have been many reports over the years of the outer cover being removed and these reprints being sold as legitimate first issues to unsuspecting buyers.
DC reprinted Action Comics #1 in 1988 as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of Superman that year. This edition reprinted only the Superman story, with a 50¢ U.S.A. cover price.
The complete issue was reprinted in 1998 with an additional half-cover featuring the Superman stamp from the U.S. Postal Service's "Celebrate the Century" commemorative stamp series along with a "First Day of Issue" cancellation. It was sold by the U.S. Postal Service, shrinkwrapped, for $7.95.
The complete issue, except for the inside front, inside back, and outside back cover, was reprinted in 2000 as part of DC Comics' Millennium Edition
series of reprints of famous DC comics.
Other Reprints known are the Unauthorized "Copied Edition" which has unknown origins and the famous Unauthorized "Exact Copy" which had every detection point as the Original 1938 issue but was too big until later cut down and put back up for auction.
. This included ending the original 73-year run of Action Comics with issue #904, October 2011 (on sale August 24, 2011). The first issue of the "rebooted" Action Comics, with a cover date of November 2011, went on sale September 7, 2011.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
. It features the first appearance
First appearance
In comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first occurrence to feature a fictional character.-Monetary value of first appearance issues:...
of several comic book heroes, most notably the Jerry Siegel
Jerry Siegel
Jerome "Jerry" Siegel , who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S...
/Joe Shuster
Joe Shuster
Joseph "Joe" Shuster was a Canadian-born American comic book artist. He was best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with writer Jerry Siegel, first published in Action Comics #1...
creation Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
.
Contents
Action Comics #1 was an anthology, and contained eleven features:- "Superman" (pp. 1–13) by Siegel and Shuster.
- "Chuck Dawson" (pp. 14–19) by H. Fleming.
- "ZataraZataraGiovanni "John" Zatara is a fictional character in the DC Universe. He first appeared in Action Comics #1 , and was created by writer and artist Fred Guardineer. He is a stage magician who also practices actual magic...
Master Magician" (pp. 20–31) by Fred Guardineer. - "South Sea Strategy" (text feature, pp. 32–33) by Captain Frank Thomas.
- "Sticky-Mitt Stimson" (pp. 34–37) by Alger.
- "The Adventures of Marco Polo" (pp. 38–41) by Sven Elven.
- "
'Pep' Morgan" (pp. 42–45) by Fred Guardineer. - "Scoop Scanlon Five Star Reporter" (pp. 46–51) by Will Ely.
- "Tex Thompson" (pp. 52–63) by Bernard Baily.
- "Stardust" (p. 64) by "The Star-Gazer".
- "Odds 'N Ends" (inside back cover) by "Moldoff" (Sheldon Moldoff).
Publication
Published on April 18, 1938 (cover-dated June), by National Allied Publications, a corporate predecessor of DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, it is considered the first true superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
comic; and though today Action Comics is a monthly title devoted to Superman, it began, like many early comics, as an anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
.
Action Comics was started by publisher Jack Liebowitz
Jack Liebowitz
Jacob "Jack" S. Liebowitz , was an American accountant and publisher, known primarily as the co-owner with Harry Donenfeld of National Allied Publications .-Early life:...
. The first issue had a print run of 200,000 copies, although sales of the series would soon approach 1,000,000 a month. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were paid $10 per page, for a total of $130 for their work on this issue. They effectively signed away millions in future rights and royalties payments. Starting in 1978, Siegel and Shuster were provided with a $20,000 a month annuity which was later raised to $30,000. Liebowitz would later say that selecting Superman to run in Action Comics #1 was "pure accident" based on deadline pressure and that he selected a "thrilling" cover, depicting Superman lifting a car over his head. Christopher Knowles, author of Our Gods Wear Spandex
Our Gods Wear Spandex
Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes is a book by Christopher Knowles, the former editor of Comic Book Artist, with illustrations by Joe Linsner....
: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes, compared the cover to Hercules Clubs the Hydra by Antonio del Pollaiolo.
Superman
In January 1933, Jerry Siegel wrote a story entitled "The Reign of the Super-ManThe Reign of the Super-Man
"The Reign of the Superman" is a short story written by Jerry Siegel and illustrated by Joe Shuster. It was the first published use by the writer/artist duo of the character name Superman, which they later applied to their archetypal fictional superhero. The title character of this story is a...
." Siegel and Joe Shuster then created a comic book entitled The Superman later in 1933. A Chicago publisher expressed interest, but did not follow through, and in frustration, Shuster tore up all the pages of this comic except for the cover. Later, in 1934, Siegel had trouble falling asleep and decided to pass the time creating dramatic elements for a comic strip. Building on his previous ideas, he envisioned a child on a far-off planet named Krypton, where all the residents had super-powers. Because Krypton would soon explode, the boy was sent to Earth by his father, where he became Superman.
The Superman section of Action Comics was made up of a cut up comic strip. Siegel and Shuster had shopped Superman around as a comic strip, but were continually turned down. National Publications was looking for a hit to accompany their success with Detective Comics
Detective Comics
Detective Comics is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics since 1937, best known for introducing the iconic superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 . It is, along with Action Comics, the book that launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series, and...
, and did not have time to solicit new material. Jack Liebowitz, co-owner of National Publications, told editor Vin Sullivan
Vin Sullivan
Vincent "Vin" Sullivan was a pioneering American comic book editor, artist and publisher.As an editor for National Allied Publications, the future DC Comics, he was responsible for buying Superman from creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and edited that archetypcal superhero in his first...
to create their fourth comic book. Because of the tight deadline, Sullivan was forced to make it out of inventory and stockpile pages. He found a number of adventurer stories, but needed a lead feature. Sullivan asked former coworker Sheldon Mayer if he could help. Mayer found the rejected Superman comic strips, and Sullivan told Siegel and Shuster that if they could paste them into 13 comic book pages, he would buy them.
The original panels were rewritten and redrawn to create the first page of Action Comics #1:
- Baby Superman is sent to Earth by his scientist father in a "hastily-devised space ship" from "a distant planet" which "was destroyed by old age".
- After the space ship lands on Earth, "a passing motorist, discovering the sleeping baby within, turned the child over to an orphanage".
- The baby Superman lifts a large chair overhead with one hand, astounding the orphanage attendants with "his feats of strength".
- When Superman (now named Clark) reaches maturity, he discovers that he can leap 1/8 of a mile, hurdle 20-story buildings, "raise tremendous weights", out-run a train, and "that nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin".
- Clark decides that "he must turn his titanic strength into channels that would benefit mankind, and so was created 'Superman', champion of the oppressed...."
Siegel rewrote and extended the fourth panel into panels 4, 5, and 6 on the first page; and Shuster created three new drawings for them. Instead of racing the train in his costume, Siegel and Shuster decided that they would not show him in his costume until he had officially adopted his Superman alter-ego. Shuster also redrew panel 7. Two new panels offering a "scientific explanation of Clark Kent's amazing strength" were added. The panels do not identify Superman's home planet by name or explain how he was named Clark Kent.
The next 12 pages showed Superman attempting to save an innocent woman about to be executed while delivering the real murderess, bound and gagged, and leaving her on the lawn of the state Governor's mansion after breaking through the door into his house with a signed confession; coming to the aid of a woman being beaten up by her husband, who faints when his knife shatters on Superman's skin; rescuing Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
(who also debuts in this issue) from a gangster who abducted her after she rebuffed him at a nightclub (and after Clark had refused to stand up to him, earning Lois's ire) which leads to the cover scene with the car; and going to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, instead of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, to "stir up news" as his editor wants, to investigate a Senator that he suspects is corrupt, and prompting a confession by leaping around high buildings with the terrified man, which leads into the next issue. All the while, Clark tries to keep Superman out of the papers.
Collectibility
Comic Guaranty LLC
Comics Guaranty LLC, also known as CGC, is a Sarasota, Florida comic book grading service. CGC is an independent member of the Certified Collectibles Group of companies. It is the first independent and impartial third party grading service for comic books...
Grade 8.0 sold at auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
for US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1 million. The sale, by an anonymous seller to an anonymous buyer, was through the Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
-based auction company ComicConnect.com. On March 29, 2010, ComicConnect.com sold another copy for US$1.5 million, making it the most expensive and most valuable comic book of all time. The copy sold is currently the highest-graded copy from the CGC, which stands at 8.5 VF+ grade.
There are six known Comic Guaranty LLC (CGC)-graded copies with a grade above VG (CGC 4.0), with a single issue having the best grade of NM (CGC 9.0). There is one known uncertified copy in higher grade, the Edgar Church/Mile High
Edgar Church
Edgar Church , born in Connecticut, was an artist who worked independently and eventually for the telephone company in Colorado illustrating commercial telephone book advertisements, precursors to Yellow Page ads....
copy.EC
EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series...
and Mad publisher William Gaines
William Gaines
William Maxwell Gaines , better known as Bill Gaines, was an American publisher and co-editor of EC Comics. Following a shift in EC's direction in 1950, Gaines presided over what became an artistically influential and historically important line of mature-audience comics...
, whose father was also a comic book publisher and had business dealings with DC Comics at the time Action Comics #1 was published, claimed in a Comics Journal
The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal, often abbreviated TCJ, is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels...
interview that he at one point had dozens of copies of the issue around his house, but they were probably all thrown out. Another copy, rated CGC 5 ("Very Good/Fine"), was discovered in July 2010 by a family facing foreclosure
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
on their home while packing their possessions. ComicConnect.com estimated the comic may sell as high as $250,000 once auctioned, saving the family's home.
One copy was stolen from American actor Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
, an avid comic book collector, in 2000. In March 2011, it was found in a storage locker in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
and was verified by ComicConnect.com to be exactly the same copy that they sold to him previously. Valued at more than $1 million, the comic is currently in the possession of the Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
. Cage had previously received an insurance payment for the item, so it is unclear if it will be returned to him. A copy which sold for $2.16 million on November 30, 2011 through ComicConnect.com is believed to have been this same one, having been noted as stolen in 2000 and recovered in 2011.
Reprints
In the mid-1970s, DC reissued several of its most popular Golden AgeGolden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
comics under the "Famous First Editions" series, including Action Comics #1 C-26. These reprints were oversized, roughly double the size of the original editions. A cardboard-like cover was placed over these copies, showing that they were a part of the Famous First Edition series. However, there have been many reports over the years of the outer cover being removed and these reprints being sold as legitimate first issues to unsuspecting buyers.
DC reprinted Action Comics #1 in 1988 as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of Superman that year. This edition reprinted only the Superman story, with a 50¢ U.S.A. cover price.
The complete issue was reprinted in 1998 with an additional half-cover featuring the Superman stamp from the U.S. Postal Service's "Celebrate the Century" commemorative stamp series along with a "First Day of Issue" cancellation. It was sold by the U.S. Postal Service, shrinkwrapped, for $7.95.
The complete issue, except for the inside front, inside back, and outside back cover, was reprinted in 2000 as part of DC Comics' Millennium Edition
Millennium Edition (DC Comics)
Millennium Edition was the umbrella title of 62 one-shot comic books published by DC Comics in 2000 and 2001. It reprinted key issues from the history of the company such as the first appearance of notable characters, the relaunch of existing characters, or the start of major storylines...
series of reprints of famous DC comics.
Other Reprints known are the Unauthorized "Copied Edition" which has unknown origins and the famous Unauthorized "Exact Copy" which had every detection point as the Original 1938 issue but was too big until later cut down and put back up for auction.
2011 version
In the spring of 2011, DC Comics announced plans to reboot and reset 52 of its ongoing titles, dubbed The New 52The New 52
The New 52 is a 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero books, in which all of its existing titles were cancelled, and 52 new series debuted in September 2011 with new #1 issues. Among the series being renumbered are Action Comics and Detective Comics,...
. This included ending the original 73-year run of Action Comics with issue #904, October 2011 (on sale August 24, 2011). The first issue of the "rebooted" Action Comics, with a cover date of November 2011, went on sale September 7, 2011.