Superman

Publication history

Superman volume 1

Due to the Superman character's popularity after his premiere in Action Comics #1, National Allied Publications decided to launch an entirely new magazine featuring a single character, which at that time was unprecedented. Superman #1 appeared on the shelves in the summer of 1939. Superman now also had the distinction of being the first ever hero-character featured in more than one comic magazine. By issue #7, Superman was being hailed on the covers as the "World's Greatest Adventure Strip Character". Perry White, a supporting character who had originated on the Superman radio program was introduced into the comic book in issue #7 (October 1940). Editor Mort Weisinger began his long association with the title with issue #11 (July–August 1941). Jimmy Olsen first appeared as a named character in the story "Superman versus The Archer" in Superman #13 (Nov.–Dec. 1941). In the early 1940s, Superman was selling over a million copies per month. By 1942, artist Wayne Boring, who had previously been one of Shuster's assistants, had become a major artist on Superman. Superman #23 (July–August 1943) featured the first Superman comic book story written by someone other than Jerry Siegel. The story "America's Secret Weapon!" was written by Don Cameron despite bearing Siegel's signature. Siegel introduced Mister Mxyzptlk in issue #30 (September 1944). A more detailed origin story for Superman was presented in issue #53 (July 1948) to mark the character's tenth anniversary. Another part of the Superman mythos which had originated on the radio program made its way into the comic books when kryptonite was featured in a story by Bill Finger and Al Plastino.

Superman was the first DC title with a letters column as a regular feature beginning with issue #124 (September 1958). In the view of comics historian Les Daniels, artist Curt Swan became the definitive artist of Superman in the early 1960s with a "new look" to the character that replaced Wayne Boring's version. Writer Jim Shooter and Swan crafted the story "Superman's Race With the Flash!" in Superman #199 (Aug. 1967) which featured the first race between the Flash and Superman, two characters known for their super-speed powers.

Julius Schwartz became the title's editor with issue #233 (January 1971) and together with writer Denny O'Neil and artist Curt Swan streamlined the Superman mythos, starting with the elimination of Kryptonite. Elliot S. Maggin began his long association with the title with the story "Must There Be a Superman?" in issue #247 (Jan. 1972). Writer Cary Bates, in collaboration with Swan, introduced such characters as the supervillain Terra-Man in issue #249 (March 1972) and the superhero Vartox in issue #281 (Nov. 1974). Issues #272 (Feb. 1974), #278 (Aug. 1974), and #284 (Feb. 1975) of the series were in the 100 Page Super Spectacular format. Superman #300 (June 1976) featured an out-of-continuity story by Bates and Maggin which imagined the infant Superman landing on Earth in 1976 and becoming a superhero in 2001. The tale was an inspiration for Mark Millar's Superman: Red Son limited series published in 2003. DC's parent company Warner Communications reinstated the byline for Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster which had been dropped decades earlier, and the first issue with the restored credit was Superman #301 (August 1976). Martin Pasko and Swan created the Master Jailer character in issue #331 (January 1979). The shrunken city of Kandor, which had been introduced in 1958, was restored to normal size in a story by Len Wein and Swan in Superman #338 (August 1979).

Superman volume 4

As part of the DC Rebirth relaunch, Superman Volume 4 began with issue #1 in June 2016 (cover dated August 2016), including a one-shot DC Rebirth special Superman: Rebirth #1. Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason are the creative team, with the Superman series shipping twice-monthly. This volume's 34th issue was also the 800th issue of the Superman series as a whole, with a variant cover done by Tony S. Daniel to commemorate the occasion. The series ended its run with issue #45 (April 2018).

Superman volume 5

A fifth series under the direction of Brian Michael Bendis was released in July 2018 and ended its run in June 2021 with issue #32.

Superman: Son of Kal-El

Superman: Son of Kal-El, written by Tom Taylor and art by John Timms, replaced the Superman title in July 2021. The monthly series concluded in December 2022, with 18 issues and one annual. The series followed the adventures of Jon Kent, the son of Superman and Lois Lane, as he is entrusted with the protection of Earth.

Superman volume 6

A new ongoing Superman comic book series launched in February 2023 from writer Joshua Williamson and artist Jamal Campbell.

Annuals

The Superman series had Annuals published since 1960. Eight issues of Superman Annual were published starting in winter 1960. An additional four issues were published from 1983 to 1986 and the numbering continued from the 1960 series. Superman Annual #11 (1985) featured the story "For the Man Who Has Everything" by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

Legacy

A copy of the first issue of the original series from 1939 was discovered in an attic in California in 2024. Its quality was assessed by the Certified Guaranty Company as 9.0 out of 10.0, the best known copy of the issue at that time. It was sold at auction in November 2025 at $9.12 million, the largest price a comic book had sold at auction, beating the previous record of $3.2 million for Action Comics 1 sold in 2014.

Collected editions

Superman

Superman Archives

Vol. 1 collects Superman #1–4, 272 pages, 1989, ISBN 1-4012-0630-1

Vol. 2 collects Superman #5–8, 272 pages, 1990, ISBN 0-930289-76-5

Vol. 3 collects Superman #9–12, 272 pages, 1991, ISBN 1-56389-002-X

Vol. 4 collects Superman #13–16, 224 pages, 1994, ISBN 1-56389-107-7

Vol. 5 collects Superman #17–20, 224 pages, March 2000, ISBN 1-56389-602-8

Vol. 6 collects Superman #21–24, 216 pages, July 2003, ISBN 1-56389-969-8

Vol. 7 collects Superman #25–29, 240 pages, April 2006, ISBN 1-4012-1051-1

Vol. 8 collects Superman #30–35, 256 pages, October 2010, ISBN 1-4012-2885-2

Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus

Vol. 1: includes Superman #1–7; 784 pages, June 2013, ISBN 978-1-4012-4189-6

Vol. 2: includes Superman #8-15; 750 pages, July 2016, ISBN 978-1-4012-6324-9

Vol. 3: includes Superman #16–24; 720 pages, December 2016, ISBN 978-1-4012-7011-7

Vol. 4: includes Superman #25-33; 768 pages, May 2017, ISBN 978-1-4012-7257-9

Vol. 5: includes Superman #34-42; 768 pages, January 2018, ISBN 978-1-4012-7476-4

DC Rebirth

Vol. 1: Son of Superman collects Superman (vol. 4) #1-6 and Superman: Rebirth #1, 176 pages, January 2017, ISBN 978-1-4012-6776-6

Vol. 2: Trials of the Super Son collects Superman (vol. 4) #7-13, 168 pages, April 2017, ISBN 978-1-4012-6860-2

Vol. 3: Multiplicity collects Superman (vol. 4) #14-17 and Superman Annual #1, 144 pages, August 2017, ISBN 978-1-4012-7154-1

Vol. 4: Black Dawn collects Superman (vol. 4) #20-26, 176 pages, November 2017, ISBN 978-1-4012-7468-9

Vol. 5: Hopes and Fears collects Superman (vol. 4) #27-32, 144 pages, April 2018, ISBN 978-1-4012-7729-1

Vol. 6: Imperius Lex collects Superman (vol. 4) #33-36 and #39-41, 168 pages, August 2018, ISBN 978-1-4012-8123-6

Vol. 7: Bizarroverse collects Superman (vol. 4) #42-45 and material from Superman Special #1, 156 pages, November 2018, ISBN 978-1-4012-8524-1

Superman (vol. 4) has also been released in four deluxe hardcovers:

Superman: Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 1 collects Superman (vol. 4) #1-13 and Superman: Rebirth #1, 336 pages, September 2017, ISBN 978-1-4012-7155-8

Superman: Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 2 collects Superman (vol. 4) #14-26 and Superman Annual #1, 360 pages, May 2018, ISBN 978-1-4012-7866-3

Superman: Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 3 collects Superman (vol. 4) #27-36, 240 pages, December 2018, ISBN 978-1-4012-8451-0

Superman: Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 4 collects Superman (vol. 4) #37-45, Superman Special #1 and a story from Action Comics #1000, 280 pages, May 2019, ISBN 978-1-4012-8935-5

DC Universe

Vol. 1: The Unity Saga: Phantom Earth collects Superman (vol. 5) #1-6, 168 pages, February 2019, ISBN 978-1-4012-8819-8

Vol. 2: The Unity Saga: The House of El collects Superman (vol. 5) #7-15

Vol. 3: The Truth Revealed collects Superman (vol. 5) #16-19, Superman: Heroes #1, Superman: Villains #1

Vol. 4: Mythological collects Superman (vol. 5) #20-28

Vol. 5: The One Who Fell collects Action Comics (vol. 1) #1029, Superman (vol. 5) #29-32