Posted in: Comics | Tagged: golden age, MLJ, Zip Comics

The Other Man of Steel: Steel Sterling in Zip Comics #1, at Auction

Steel Sterling was the other Man of Steel of the Golden Age, and his origin moment by Charles Biro and Abner Sundell explains why.

Published Thu, 04 May 2023 09:17:09 -0500

by Mark Seifert

Last updated Thu, 04 May 2023 10:43:43 -0500

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Reinvention has always been a part of comic book history, sometimes whether publishers like it or not. A phrase like "Man of Steel" used at one publisher can somehow become the genesis of a new character at another publisher. At a time when competition was so fierce to stake claims on superhero territory that lawsuits and legal threats were common, MLJ managed to launch a super strong, super durable, super fast, flying superhero with a red and blue costume who was soon boldly proclaimed the Man of Steel on covers, and there is no public indication at all that this ever became a legal conflict. For this reason and many others, the debut of Steel Sterling in Zip Comics #1 deserves much more attention than it gets. There's a beautiful high grade Zip Comics #1 (MLJ, 1940) CGC FN/VF 7.0 Light tan to off-white pages along with several other issues of the series up for auction in the 2023 May 4 The MLJ Heroes Showcase Auction #40222 at Heritage Auctions.

Zip Comics #1 (MLJ, 1940) featuring Steel Sterling.

For all those general Superman similarities, Steel Sterling has an origin more in the Batman mold. The character of Steel Sterling was brought to life by writer Abner Sundell and artist Charles Biro. John Sterling, a young man left orphaned by mobster violence, swore vengeance on crime and set out on a path to fight the underworld. His journey led to the creation of a scientific formula with which he coated his body, before immersing himself into a tank of molten steel. Miraculously, Sterling survived and emerged with "the resistance, the magnetism, and the strength of steel." Not unlike Marvel's Magneto, these abilities were leveraged into all sorts of other powers.

The term "Man of Steel" had been introduced as a way to refer to Superman in 1938 by Action Comics #6, and commonly used in association with Superman thereafter. Of course, the term was in common usage throughout the early 20th century to refer to a strong, tough individual. Notably, it had gained currency as a term of political propaganda during the 1930s as it was often noted in global media that Joseph Stalin's last name was commonly translated as "Man of Steel."

Even so, given the well-known Wonderman and Captain Marvel conflicts, it's curious that DC Comics and MLJ never came to conflict over the usage of the term, at least that there is any record of. DC Comics finally trademarked the term in 1986, around the time of the initial Man of Steel comic book mini-series.

Charles Biro, the man behind the artwork, would later find even greater success with the infamous Crime Does Not Pay publication for Lev Gleason, and work on Daredevil Comics among others as well. Meanwhile, Abner Sundell, who began his career writing and editing for pulp magazines and would be a prolific writer for MLJ's comic book line during this era, would also go on to contribute significantly to Victor Fox's comic book and magazine branches. Sundell's later years saw him as an editor for Pageant Magazine where he became entangled in a political controversy leading to a Senate Subcommittee hearing in 1964.

As a rare and significant artifact of comic book history, Zip Comics #1 remains a significant key of the Golden Age, and there's a beautiful high grade Zip Comics #1 (MLJ, 1940) CGC FN/VF 7.0 Light tan to off-white pages along with several other issues of the series up for auction in the 2023 May 4 The MLJ Heroes Showcase Auction #40222 at Heritage Auctions. For those new to bidding at Heritage Auctions, be sure to consult the auction house's FAQ section to familiarize yourself with the bidding process and auction event details.

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