48 (opposite page) Detail from Superman CHAPTER TWO (Columbia, 1948) Three Sheet (41˝ X 81˝) SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL

he year is 1938. e place is Cleveland, Ohio. Two young men, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, sons of Jewish immigrants, have just transformed the American cultural landscape with their latest cre- ation, a man who can: T“…leap one-eighth of a mile… hurdle a twenty-story building… raise tremen- dous weights… run faster than an express train… and… nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin!” Sound familiar? It should. is was the original concept for a strange visitor from another planet who came to earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. By now, everyone knows his origin. When it became apparent that the planet Krypton was doomed to die a ery death, its leading scientist, Jor-El, rocketed Action Comics #1 (DC Comics, 1938) The origin and rst appearance his infant son to earth where he became a “champion of the oppressed, the of Superman. physical marvel who had sworn to devote his existence to helping those in need.” In a word, Superman. In retrospect, getting e Man of Steel before the public wasn’t as easy as it should have been. e idea for an all-powerful Übermensch1 was born in a fan- zine2 produced by Siegel and Shuster in 1933. e Reign of the Superman, pub- lished in four chapters, was the story of a super-villain intent on conquering the world. A year later, the pair would rework the concept in heroic terms and turn it into a newspaper strip. Armed with what would eventually be one of the most popular and inuential characters of the twentieth century, the team began approaching newspaper syndicates, hoping for a shot at publication.

1 Literally, “overman” in German. e term is also commonly translated as “superman.” 2 A fanzine, or zine, is an amateur-publication consisting of artwork and articles contributed by fans Superman #1 (DC Comics, 1939) – hence the term – of a particular genre. Originally conceived and created in the early 1930s by fans of the emerging science ction genre, and continuing well through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, many suc- cessful artists and writers got their start in these small publications, originally reproduced on mimeo- graph machines and distributed to a membership of like-minded fans who contributed either content or cash to the publication. e fanzine is alive and well today, although the Internet, particularly online blogs, have largely taken the place of the old mimeo machine.

49 Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster – “Reign of the Superman” Science Fiction Fanzine V1#3 (1933)

And nothing happened. Superman proved so popular that he received his own syndicated comic strip in January 1939. Originally It took several years, and more rejections than either drawn by co-creator Joe Shuster, the artistic chores creator cared to remember, until they nally sold the were quickly turned over to members of Shuster’s stu- strip to Jack Liebowitz at DC Comics for what was, dio, including Jack Burnley, Al Plastino, Curt Swan, even at the time, a paltry sum. DC was already publish- and Wayne Boring. Incredibly popular, the strip had a ing strips by Siegel and Shuster, such as Slam Bradley long run, appearing daily and Sunday until 1967. and Dr. Occult, but in 1938 Liebowitz was looking for material to ll a new anthology book, Action Comics. On Monday, February 12, 1940, Superman ew into With nothing else to lose, Siegel and Shuster brought the homes of a new audience with the debut of his ra- Superman out of mothballs and presented it. dio show. With a strong cast of voice actors, includ- ing Clayton “Bud” Collyer as Clark Kent/Superman, Liebowitz obviously liked the strip well enough to fea- the radio show introduced many characters and con- ture it on the cover of the rst issue. For the rst year cepts that eventually found their way onto the pages or so, such second stringers as Zatanna the Magician of the comic book, including Daily Planet editor Perry and Tex ompson shared cover honors, but it quickly White, cub reporter Jimmy Olsen, Police Inspector Bill became apparent who the star was in the DC rma- Henderson, green kryptonite, and the rst team-ups ment. “Supes,” as he was oimes aectionately called, between Superman and the Dynamic Duo, Batman took over the covers for good with issue #19. and Robin.

50 But it was on the Silver Screen that Superman cemented his fame and fortune, initially in the wonderful cartoons pro- duced by the Fleischer (later Famous) Studios. Utilizing many of the same voice actors who had inaugurated the roles on radio, these cartoons were some of the most lavishly pro- duced of their day. e rst of the series, titled Superman (or, alternately, e Mad Scientist), released on September 26, 1941, cost $50,000 to produce. Later episodes were bud- geted at $30,000 (by contrast, a typical Disney cartoon from the same period generally had a budget of approximately $25,000). ese landmark episodes were extremely well received, and are still revered by animation acionados to this day. In fact, the initial release was actually nominated for an Academy Award in 1941 under the category Best Short Subject (Cartoon).

Superman Cartoon Stock (Paramount, 1941) One Sheet (27” X 41”)

Superman Cartoon (Paramount, 1941) Pressbook

51 Superman (Columbia, 1948) One Sheet (27˝ X 41˝)

52 Superman (Columbia, 1948) Pressbook

It was in 1948 that Superman, in the esh, rst ap- hidden wire, but the producers of Superman wanted peared on movie screens around the country in something more. ey experimented with suspending the eponymously-titled Superman from Columbia Alyn from a wire harness and lming him in front of Pictures Corporation. Starring Kirk Alyn as the Man a screen showing images of moving clouds, but the re- of Steel and Noel Neill as Lois Lane, this 15-parter be- sults were less than eective. Aer seeing the footage, came the most popular serial of all time. Based on the producer Sam Katzman decided to simply animate blockbuster radio show rather than the comic books, the ying sequences (the animation was provided by this chapter play told the story of Superman’s origins Fleischer), so audiences saw Kirk Alyn leap into the on the doomed planet Krypton and featured an epic air, turn into a cartoon, y around a bit, land behind battle against the villainous Spider Lady and her pow- a bush (or some other convenient piece of concealing erful disintegrator ray gun. scenery), and step out, revealed as Superman in the esh, fresh from his ight. Although the transition Most of the Man of Steel’s super-feats were fairly easy to from live-action to animation and back is glaringly bring to the screen, but what would Superman be with- obvious, the eect somehow still works, and perfectly out the power of ight? e problem Columbia faced captures the spirit of both the character and the source was not only making the audience believe a man could material. Obviously pleased with the results, Katzman y in those days before the advent of CGI, but doing would later use the same technique to bring the ying it on a budget. Certainly, Republic had conquered this saucers to life in Bruce Gentry (1949). problem in e Adventures of Captain Marvel in 1941 by lming a life-sized dummy sliding down a well-

53 Kellogg’s Superman Crusader Ring (Kellogg’s, circa 1940)

Superman (Columbia, 1948) Three Sheet (41˝ X 81˝)

54 Superman (Columbia, 1948) promotional photo autographed by Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill

KIRK ALYN (October 8, 1910 – March 14, 1999) was Superman was a major success, and Alyn’s place as the born John Feggo Jr., in Oxford, New Jersey. His father King of the Serials seemed solid, although he went harbored hopes that his son would become a carpen- on to appear in such forgettable Republic vehicles as ter, but the young man had other ideas. Aer gradu- Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc. (1949) and Radar ating from Columbia University and changing his Patrol vs. Sky King (1950). It didn’t take much for name to the more marketable Kirk Alyn, he began his Columbia to realize that the public wanted more of career in the chorus on Broadway and as a vaudeville the Man of Steel, so in 1950, Atom Man vs. Superman entertainer. Alyn soon made the move to Hollywood debuted. where he began appearing in motion pictures in 1930 Aer Atom Man vs. Superman, Alyn had his last great in an uncredited role in Fast and Loose. His rst credit role, as comic’s premiere aviator, Blackhawk (1952), was as Kirk Allen in 1937’s Rooop Frolics, but steady one of Columbia’s last major serials. Whether he found work still eluded him. It would be ve years until his himself typecast, or whether he was just tired of acting, next screen appearance, another uncredited role in My Alyn’s roles were few and far between in the years fol- Sister Eileen (1942). e rest of the 1940s were more lowing his serial days. He performed a few minor roles successful (although many of his parts were still played here and there throughout the 1960s, and appeared as without credit), with roles in such pictures as You Were Lois Lane’s father in a cameo role in 1978’s big budget Never Lovelier (1942), Action in the North Atlantic Superman: e Movie, but mostly he was retired. (1943), Broadway Rhythm (1944), and Goodnight, Sweetheart (1944). SERIALS: t
Daughter of Don Q, Republic, 1946 In 1946, fame nally found Alyn, with the lead role in t
Superman, Columbia, 1948 the 12-chapter Republic serial e Daughter of Don t
Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc., Republic, 1949 Q. Not one of the classics of the genre, it nonethe- t
Atom Man vs. Superman, Columbia, 1950 less opened doors for Alyn at the leading serial stu- t
Radar Patrol vs. Spy King, Republic, 1950 dio of the day, which led to his casting in Columbia’s t
Blackhawk, Columbia, 1952 Superman (1948).1

1 Rumor has it the casting process was rather bizarre. According to legend, Alyn showed up at the audition with long hair and a beard he had cultivated for a Western he was currently lming. To see what he looked like clean-shaven, the producers requested stills of the actor. Aer passing that test, Alyn was asked to remove his shirt so his physique could be judged. Satised that Alyn’s torso was in reasonable shape, the actor was asked to remove his pants so the producers could make sure his legs, which would be clad in tights as Superman, were muscular enough. Eventually, of course, he won the role.

55 Atom Man vs. Superman (1950) guest-stars the won- Lyle Talbot, who also had major roles in such cult derful Lyle Talbot as Lex Luthor (and as Atom Man, classics as Untamed Women (1952), Glen or Glenda for whom Talbot adopts a pronounced Russian ac- (1953), and Jail Bait (1954), and who also played cent, a provocative choice in those early Cold War Commissioner Gordon in 1949’s e New Adventures days), and proved a tour-de-force for Columbia. e of Batman and Robin, portrays the nest Lex Luthor ying eects were much improved here, with actual ever brought to the screen, with a blend of restrained close-ups of Superman in ight to supplement the ani- menace and suave charm that captures the character mated sequences. In this 15-chapter epic, Lex Luthor perfectly. Later directors of Superman lms could discovers the mysterious Phantom Zone (although it’s learn a lot from watching this classic. called the Empty Doom, we all know what it really is) Since then, Superman has been a mainstay on television, and Lois Lane, again brought to life by the lovely Noel with a number of live-action and cartoon series, as well Neill, briey works as a reporter for Lex’s TV station. as several big-budget motion pictures, chronicling his Luthor’s plot was to blackmail the city of Metropolis adventures. Not bad for a character that everyone once by designing various deadly death devices, all of which rejected. were, of course, foiled by Superman. Without a doubt,

Atom Man vs. Superman (Columbia, 1950) Pressbook

56 Atom Man vs. Superman (Columbia, 1950) One Sheet (27˝ X 41˝)

57 COLLECTING SUPERMAN SERIAL PAPER e movie posters for Superman’s screen adventures are some of the most collectible in the vintage poster hobby. For the rst of his screen appear- ances in the Fleisher Studio’s cartoon series, Paramount released a stock one sheet in which the theater owner could write or paste in each new cartoon title as it was released. e most rare and valuable of these posters, the cartoon stock one sheet, is seldom found in very good condition as it was used week aer week for an on-going series of cartoons. For Superman (1948), as always, Columbia produced a stock color one sheet and replaced the inset pho- tos for each chapter. A nice condi- tion copy with a good inset (“good,” of course, means one that features Superman himself) is particularly desirable. e other formats pro- duced for this title, such as the three sheet and six sheet, were stock im- ages in larger scale and are rarer than the one sheets. For Atom Man vs. Superman (1950), Columbia once again produced a wonderful array of promotional papers. e one sheet was again a full-color stock with changing inset photos. As is commonly true, the three and six sheets for this title are far rarer than the one sheet. Additionally, lobby card sets of four were produced for all chapters of both Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs. Superman (1950). Printed in a two-color process called duo- tone, the cards that actually feature Superman in costume are particu- larly desirable.

Superman (Columbia, 1948) ??? One Sheet (27” X 41”)

58 Superman (Columbia, 1948) Six Sheet (81” X 81”)

Superman (Columbia, 1948) Lobby Card (11˝ X 14˝)

59 Atom Man vs. Superman (Columbia, 1950) Six Sheet (81˝ X 81˝)

Superman (Columbia, 1948) German Herald (7” X 10.5”)

60 Atom Man vs. Superman (Columbia, 1950) Lobby Cards (11˝ X 14˝)

Atom Man vs. Superman (Columbia, 1950) One Sheet (27˝ X 41˝)

Superman (Columbia, 1948) Atom Man vs. Superman (Columbia, 1950) Superman Cartoon Stock (Paramount, 1940s) Argentinean Poster (29” X 43”) One Sheet (27˝ X 41˝) Swedish One Sheet (27˝ X 37.5˝)

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