Hitting shelves this week is SUPERMAN: THE SILVER AGE NEWSPAPER DAILIES, Vol. 1: 1959-1961.
Among the book’s contents are several Jerry Siegel-written stories, none of which have ever been reprinted. For a run-down of Siegel’s contributions to the book’s contents, see the post made when the book was solicited. (Also be aware that book’s contents have changed since the original announcement, but the Siegel-written stories all remain.)
When Jerry Siegel returned to writing Superman in 1959, his first published story detailed how Clark Kent came to work at the Daily Planet.
When DC Comics kicked off the third volume of THE SPECTRE in 1992, creators John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake gave a nod to the title character’s creators — writer Jerry Siegel and artist Bernard Baily.
It’s unfortunate that Baily’s name was misspelled. But, the sentiment of the tip-of-the-hat to the character’s creators — especially considering neither were credited in the book as such — was nice.
And things were never the same.
A month before the debut of Star-Spangled Kid in STAR SPANGLED COMICS #1, readers got a sneak peak of the new feature, created by Jerry Siegel and artist Hal Sherman, in the form of an original three-page teaser in ACTION COMICS #40.
The preview, while by its very nature a rarity (few new strips were given this kind of promotion in the Golden Age), is another example of using Siegel’s co-creation of Superman, hands down their most popular character, in an attempt to sell another strip. It had been just over three years since Superman’s debut and both strips launched by Siegel in the meantime, “Red, White and Blue” and “The Spectre,” were also promoted with Siegel’s and Superman’s names attached and had gone on to phenomenal success.
Also note the photo of Siegel himself in the ad, another rarity at the time, and an appearance by Blooey Blue, of the aforementioned “Red, White and Blue” strip, on the final page pitching in with the schill.
Like all of Siegel’s Star-Spangled Kid stories, save their chapter in LEADING COMICS #1, this preview has never been reprinted.
 AboutSiegel & Shuster: Mythmakers is dedicated to celebrating the collective and individual lives, works and legacies of writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster. |
