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Superman Day

Published Mon, 12 Jun 2017 10:15:00 -0500

In 2013, DC Entertainment declared June 12 as Man of Steel day "in celebration of the summer's most eagerly anticipated film". The date seems to have stuck, with a name change to "Superman Day" because I've seen a whole lot of #supermanday hashtags in my twitter feed this morning. I know that Metropolis, IL just held their Superman Celebration over the past 4 days (gonna try to have to make it down there one of these times…), and in Ohio, State Representative Bill Patmon (D) recently introduced a Bill that reads as follows:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 5.49 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: Sec. 5.49. The twelfth day of June is designated as"Superman Day" to recognize the Ohio birthplace of one of thecreators of the superhero who stood for "truth, justice, and theAmerican way." For on this day, let it be known that Superman isfaster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive,able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Superman!

I see that Representative Patmon was also recently removed from the Ohio State House floor for refusing to to take off his Cavs hat, and while it's hard not to admire his passion in these matters, I only hope that such action won't hamper his ability to guide the Superman Day Bill through to passage.

That aside, this has me thinking back on noteworthy Superman posts we've done on Bleeding Cool over the years. Let's see if I can come up with 12:

1: Action Comics #1 CGC 8.0 Kansas City copy sells for $1,000,000

The first comic book to cross the million dollar barrier. By no means the last (as we'll soon see).

2: For Sale At Auction: The Check That Bought Superman

In October 2011, the comics industry was stunned by the news that an unimaginably important artifact of our history had surfaced nearly 75 years after it had been issued: The check used by Detective Comics, Inc (the company which was to become DC Comics, of course) to buy the rights for Superman from Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster for $130 had surfaced in the hands of auction house Comic Connect. And it would soon be put up for sale.

3: Superman Vs The KKK

Superman versus the Ku Klux Klan tells the tale of the post-WWII storyline from the Adventures of Superman radio show titled Clan of the Fiery Cross. In the wake of World War II, with Nazis on the decline both in reality and as fictional villains, the producers of the popular Superman radio show needed new challenges for their hero to battle against, and they unearthed such a challenge from the newspaper headlines of the day, in the form of the again-ascendant Ku Klux Klan.

4: Charlie Sheen's Copy Of Action Comics #1 Is A Winner

It's hard to believe we live in a world in which Charlie Sheen can have owned and sold a very nice copy of Action Comics #1, and for that to have remained a virtually unknown event outside of vintage collecting circles. But Action Comics #1 has gained quite a bit of stature in the mainstream news since that 2004 sale due to a pair of recent $1 million+ sales, and Charlie Sheen… wasn't yet a warlock with Adonis dna.

5: When Jerry Siegel Wrote To The FBI About Superman In 1951. And J Edgar Hoover Wrote Back.

In response to concern about the contents of current comic books in the fifties, Siegel alleges that Superman publisher National Comics, which would become DC Comics, is bribing journalists to write positive articles, and both a communist and a pornographic history of comics publishers. As well as pleading his own destitute position while Superman is a massive financial success.

6: Now You Know: The Car On The Cover Of Action Comics #1 Is A 1937 DeSoto

But what was Shuster's original intent? I think a commenter to the Jalopnik article is even more correct than he knows. Looks like Shuster may have had the 1937 Plymouth Deluxe in mind. What do you think?

7: Joe Shuster, Penniless In 1952

It's generally known that Superman creators Siegel and Shuster had fallen on hard times by the 1950s, but the attached letter from 1952, auctioned at Hake's yesterday, illustrates this rather starkly. Jerome Capp, who had loaned Shuster money and was trying to recover it here, was the brother of famous cartoonist Al Capp, of Li'l Abner fame.

8: Superman, DC Comics v. Pacific Pictures Corp, And The Toberoff Timeline

What's in this so-called "Superman – Marc Toberoff Timeline"? It is attached as Exhibit A in the original DC Comics v. Pacific Pictures Corp. filing, and it's a fascinating read, to say the least:

9: Up For Auction: Jerry Siegel's Hair

But just when you think you've seen everything there is to see in comic-related… memorabilia, there's this

10: A Decade Later, Nicolas Cage's Stolen Action Comics #1 Is Recovered

It's probably the most notorious comic book heist ever. In 2000, high grade copies of Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #27 were stolen from Nicolas Cage's home.

11: Action Comics #1 CGC 9.0 Sells For Record $3,207,852.00

We have a new record: A copy of Action Comics #1, graded CGC 9.0 with white pages and the best graded copy ever evaluated by grading service Comics Guaranty Corporation, has sold for the highest price ever paid for a comic book. The auction for the 1938 comic, featuring the first appearance of Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, closed just moments ago at the price of $3,207,852.00.

12: Fred Guardineer Action Comics #15 Superman Cover Original Art Sells for $286,800

The original art for the cover of Action Comics #15 has sold at Heritage Auctions today for $286,800. The 1939 piece by Fred Guardineer was just the 5th Superman cover ever created (behind Action Comics #1, 7, 10, and 13), and is the earliest Superman cover known to still exist today.

And there we have it. I sure have written a lot about Action Comics #1 over the years (and there are many, many others not listed here), but it's an important book for the same reason people want to note Superman Day today.

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