June 1
SUPERMAN DAY
The first issue of Action Comics was published on this day in 1938. In its pages was the world’s first super hero, Superman.
Jerry Siegel had a dream about the baby, Moses, who was abandoned by his parents in order that his life be saved. This dream prompted Siegel’s creation of the ‘Man of Steel’. Artist Joe Shuster made the comic book hero come alive. The first story, in this first issue, took place on the planet, Krypton, where baby Kal-El was born. The infant was shot to Earth in a rocket just before Krypton exploded.
We all know the rest of the story: the baby landed in Smalltown, U.S.A., was adopted by the Kent family and named, Clark. On Earth, Clark Kent had superhuman powers, “faster than a speeding bullet ... more powerful than a locomotive ... able to leap tall buildings at a single bound.” The only thing that could render him powerless was kryptonite, a green rock from the planet Krypton. Disguised as a timid, bespectacled reporter for Metropolis’ Daily Planet (with coworkers Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and boss Perry White), Superman was determined to fight the “never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way.”
Superman was born in a comic strip in 1938; but he continues to live in TV reruns, films starring Christopher Reeve and in the recent TV series, Lois and Clark.
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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