Today, it seems surprising how many early Action covers did not feature Superman. Apparently, it took some time for sales figures to prove that issues with Superman on the cover sold better. Since the other strips in Action were run-of-the-mill Westerns, detective stories, and jungle safari adventures (imitations of series that had been running in pulp magazines and newspaper comic strips for years), the answer now seems obvious.
There is even a story (although it sounds too good to be true) that the publisher thought Superman was ridiculous and forbade showing the character on covers until sales figures proved him wrong. After #19, Superman had one of the longest uninterrupted runs as the cover feature for an anthology comic. By the time I started reading comics (1966-67), Action was no longer an anthology and was strictly a "Superman family" title.
Yeah, seeing this title logo without Supes makes me do a double take. I sure like these covers, though. Same guy did a lot of the pre-Batman issues of Detective Comics.
Thanks for sharing all these amazing comic-book covers. These Action Comics are absolutely new to me.
ReplyDeleteToday, it seems surprising how many early Action covers did not feature Superman. Apparently, it took some time for sales figures to prove that issues with Superman on the cover sold better. Since the other strips in Action were run-of-the-mill Westerns, detective stories, and jungle safari adventures (imitations of series that had been running in pulp magazines and newspaper comic strips for years), the answer now seems obvious.
ReplyDeleteThere is even a story (although it sounds too good to be true) that the publisher thought Superman was ridiculous and forbade showing the character on covers until sales figures proved him wrong. After #19, Superman had one of the longest uninterrupted runs as the cover feature for an anthology comic. By the time I started reading comics (1966-67), Action was no longer an anthology and was strictly a "Superman family" title.
ReplyDeleteYeah, seeing this title logo without Supes makes me do a double take. I sure like these covers, though. Same guy did a lot of the pre-Batman issues of Detective Comics.
ReplyDeleteThese are great. I love the detail of the lines in the drawings. I'm sure the stories are pretty derivative, but the art is great.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff, these are new to me too. Great post!
ReplyDelete