Appearing in "Superman, Champion of the Oppressed"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Lois Lane
(First appearance) - George Taylor (First appearance)
Adversaries:
- Bea Carroll (Single appearance)[1]
- Butch Mason (Single appearance)[1]
- Senator Barrows (Single appearance)[1]
- Alex Greer (Single appearance)[1]
Other Characters:
- Evelyn Curry (Single appearance)[1]
Locations:
- Krypton (First appearance)
- Earth-Two
- Ohio
- Cleveland
- Daily Star (First appearance)
- Governor's mansion
- Cleveland
- Washington, D.C.
- Ohio
Items:
- None
Vehicles:
- None
Synopsis for "Superman, Champion of the Oppressed"
- Synopsis not yet written
Appearing in "Chuck Dawson: The 4-G Gang (Part 1)"
Featured Characters:
- Chuck Dawson (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Blacky (First appearance)
Adversaries:
- John Burwell (First appearance)
- Butch (First appearance)
- "Trigger" Holt (First appearance)
- Notch Logan (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Dan Dawson (Single appearance)[1]
- Sheriff of Red Gulch (First appearance)
- Deputy sheriff of Red Gulch (First appearance)
Locations:
Items:
- Colt Revolver
Vehicles:
- None
Synopsis for "Chuck Dawson: The 4-G Gang (Part 1)"
- Synopsis not yet written
Appearing in "The Mystery of the Freight Train Robberies"
Featured Characters:
- Zatara (John Zatara)
(First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Tong (First appearance)
Adversaries:
- The Tigress (First appearance)
- Train Inspector Babcock
- Monk
- Spike
Other Characters:
- Detective Brady (Only appearance; dies)[1]
- Detective Brown
- State Police Captain Kennedy
Locations:
Items:
- None
Vehicles:
- Freight Train
Synopsis for "The Mystery of the Freight Train Robberies"
- Synopsis not yet written
Appearing in "South Sea Strategy (Part I)"
Featured Characters:
- Bret Coleman
- Cottonball
- Samuel Newton
- Merna Newton (behind the scenes, captive of "island natives"
Supporting Characters:
- Unknown
Adversaries:
- Unknown
Other Characters:
- Unknown
Locations:
- Unknown
Items:
- Unknown
Vehicles:
- Unknown
Synopsis for "South Sea Strategy (Part I)"
This is a two-page text story with spot illustrations.
Appearing in "Sticky-Mitt Stimson"
Featured Characters:
- Sticky-Mitt Stimson
Supporting Characters:
- Unknown
Adversaries:
- Unknown
Other Characters:
- Unknown
Locations:
- Unknown
Items:
- Unknown
Vehicles:
- Unknown
Synopsis for "Sticky-Mitt Stimson"
This is a humor story involving a produce thief and his efforts to elude police.
Appearing in "The Adventures of Marco Polo (Part I)"
Featured Characters:
- Marco Polo (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Niccolò Polo (First appearance)
- Maffeo Polo (First appearance)
- Niku (First appearance)
Adversaries:
- Babylonians
- The Bararri Men
Other Characters:
- King of Armenia's emissary (Single appearance)[1]
- King of Armenia (Behind the scenes)
- Pope Gregory X (Behind the scenes)
- The Khan of Tartary (Behind the scenes)
Locations:
Items:
- None
Vehicles:
- Armenian Galley
- Babylon Warships
Synopsis for "The Adventures of Marco Polo (Part I)"
- Synopsis not yet written
Appearing in "The Light Heavyweight Championship"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Pop Burkett (Single appearance)[1]
Adversaries:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
- None
Vehicles:
- None
Synopsis for "The Light Heavyweight Championship"
- Synopsis not yet written
Appearing in "The International Jewel Thief"
Featured Characters:
- Scoop Scanlon (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Rusty James (First appearance)
Adversaries:
- Arnold (Single appearance)[1]
Other Characters:
- Police Officers
Locations:
Items:
- None
Vehicles:
- None
Synopsis for "The International Jewel Thief"
- Synopsis not yet written
Appearing in "Murder in England"
Featured Characters:
- Tex Thompson (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Robert
- Betty
Adversaries:
- Sonja
- Chief
- Monk
Other Characters:
- Sheriff
- Sergeant Smith
Locations:
Items:
- None
Vehicles:
- None
Synopsis for "Murder in England"
- Synopsis not yet written
Notes
The first Superman character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster was not a hero, but a villain. Their short story "The Reign of the Superman" concerned a bald-headed villain bent on dominating the world. The story did not sell, forcing the two to reposition their character on the right side of the law. In 1935, their Superman story was again rejected by newspaper syndicates wanting to avoid lawsuits, who recognized the character as being similar to a lead character from Philip Wylie's 1930 novel. DC decided to take a chance with Superman, figuring if any lawsuits were filed, they would just drop the feature.
The revised Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1, June 1938. Siegel and Shuster sold the rights to the company for $130 and a contract to supply the publisher with material. The Saturday Evening Post reported in 1941 that the pair was being paid still a fraction of DC's Superman profits. In 1946, when Siegel and Shuster sued for more money, DC fired them, prompting a legal battle that ended in 1948, when they signed away any further claim to Superman or any character created from him. DC soon took their names off the byline. Following the huge financial success of Superman: The Movie in 1978 and news reports of their pauper-like existences, Warner Communications gave Siegel and Shuster lifetime pensions of $35,000 per year and health care benefits. In addition, any media production which includes the Superman character must include the credit, "Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster".
During a multimedia career spanning over sixty years, Superman has starred in nearly every imaginable situation, and his powers have increased to the point that he is nearly omnipotent. This poses a challenge for writers: "How does one write about a character who is nearly as powerful as God?" (Superman's Kryptonian name, Kal-El, resembles the Hebrew words for "voice of God") This problem contributed to a decline in Superman's popularity, especially during the 1960s and 1970s under the editorship of Mort Weisinger and then Julius Schwartz, when Marvel Comics brought a new level of character development to mainstream comic books. By the early 1980s, DC Comics had decided that a major change was needed to make Superman more appealing to current audiences. Writer-artist John Byrne joined Superman and re-started with his The Man of Steel retelling of his origin. This 1986 reboot brought substantial changes to the character and met huge success at the time, being one of the top-selling books. The re-launch of Superman comic books returned the character to the mainstream, again in the forefront of DC's titles.
- Superman, Champion of the Oppressed was reprinted with added material in Superman #1. The story was reprinted in its original form in Action Comics Archives, Volume 1, Superman in the Forties, Superman Chronicles, Volume 1, Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus, Volume 1, Superman: A Celebration of 75 Years and Lois Lane: A Celebration of 75 Years.
- The entire issue was reprinted in Famous First Edition #C-26 and Millennium Edition: Action Comics #1.
- "The A-Gang" is presented entirely in black and white.
- The inside cover of this issue directs the reader to use crayons to color the first page of this story, tear out the page, and send it into a contest where the best 25 submissions would win $1. The entry deadline was midnight, June 6, 1938.
- Although the Chuck Dawson story in this issue has been designated "The A-G Gang" by several sources (most notably the Grand Comic Book Database), the name of the gang is the 4-G Gang according to the second part of this story in Action Comics 2.
- Russell Cole is credited as Edwin Alger in this issue.
- Lois Lane is kidnapped for the first time in the first Superman story.
Trivia
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
- Read "Superman, Champion of the Oppressed" online
- Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics - Action Comics #1
- Action Comics series index at the Grand Comics Database
- Superman article at Wikipedia
- Zatara article at Wikipedia