Superman would become an instant hit, and within a few months, he would be featured in his own monthly publication and a syndicated newspaper comic strip. ![]() My young friends and I were all instantly hooked, and as soon as I was able to come up with a dime, I ran to the local candy store where comic books were sold and bought my own copy. He was not even identified by name.īut once inside the book and reading the story, we quickly found out he was Superman - “a champion of the oppressed” - and he would use his super powers only for the good of humanity. All we could see was he was smashing a car and people were fleeing from him. Simply glancing at the cover, we couldn’t decide whether Superman was a hero or a villain. We were looking at the first issue of a new comic book called “Action Comics,” which was featuring the next comic-strip hero - Superman. Over his head, his outstretched arms held a full-size automobile which he had lifted and was smashing against some large boulders, while the car’s several frightened occupants were scattering in all directions. On his shirt front was a large yellow emblem highlighted by the letter “S.” On the cover was a male figure clad in body-hugging blue tights with bright-red shorts, and a bright-red cape fluttering behind him. Joining the group, I quickly discovered they were all gathered around a new comic book that was spread out in front of them. On the steps of a front porch across the street from my row-house home in West Philadelphia, several of my boyhood friends had gathered.īased on the amount of chatter coming from them, I could tell they were obviously excited about something and I was going to scoot over there and find out what was going on. ![]() It was the summer of 1938 and I was a little more than 7 years old. Watching the TV previews and reading the news stories of the spectacular reaction of fans to the new Superman movie “Man of Steel,” my mind flashed back to the first time I ever saw that now-legendary character.
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