Strange Visitor From ... Cleveland? - June 14, 2007

The citizens of Metropolis may have problems with identifying distant objects and abusing exclamation points ("Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird!"), yet their troubles are as nothing compared to the struggles Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster had in getting Superman published.  Siegel and Shuster, two teenagers from Cleveland, created the character in 1933, but couldn't find an interested publisher for five years, until DC Comics finally took a chance and published Action Comics #1 on this date in 1938.  The reaction was electric. Within months, costumed mystery men were all over America's funnybooks, and by 1941, Superman was starring on the radio and in one of the most expensive cartoon series ever created -- budgeted at $100,000 each, nearly the cost of a full-length feature . Unfortunately, Siegel and Shuster didn't fare as well as their creation, having sold their rights to the Man of Tomorrow for $130. While Action #1 sold for a dime in the Depression, to buy it now would cost you just slightly more than the ten cents it originally cost. Searching for a mint copy sounds like a job for Superman. Suggested Sites... Action Comics #1 - save yourself a bundle and read it online. Superman vs. The Mad Scientist and The Mechanical Monsters- watch Superman's big-screen debut and its follow-up. Superman Through the Ages - read stories from the '30s to the present and learn about creators and characters. Superman Home Page - history of the Man of Steel in comics, movies, TV, and radio series, with pictures, wallpaper photos, and icons. Superman Super Site - information about Superman comic books, movies, and TV shows, with a timeline and character bios.