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ow/w pgs; (Q) bc married; tape on cvr & int. cvr
4th Superman cover, classic Joe Shuster train cover; cf is ad for Superman #1
Scarcely a year after his debut, the Man of Steel had become such an undeniable sensation that DC capitalized on his fame by giving him his own title, Superman. The publishers weren't pulling him from Action Comics, mind you -- in fact, they featured him on the cover with increasing frequency, no longer relying on repurposed pieces from their other anthology titles or tried-and-true pulp-style covers. Superman was clearly a keeper, it's obvious with this legendary Shuster cover, a fine example of the strong imagery that typified these early adventures of the insanely popular hero. Not only notable for the announcement of the character's upcoming solo series, this issue also boasts the debut of Superman's first real arch-nemesis, the Ultra-Humanite. Clearly inspired by villains from Saturday serials and Republic B-thrillers, the wheelchair-bound mad genius proves a cunning rival for our super-protagonist. A truly historic issue no matter which way you slice it and, as with so many of these early Action issues, extremely rare.

Thanks to the scarcity of early copies of Action comics, particularly issues featuring the first appearances of the king of all heroes, the mighty Superman, condition is secondary to existence, as there are less than fifty copies of this book on the census. The front and back cover are married which accounts for the green label on this classic, but with such a limited amount of copies available, this comic should be the focus of plenty of rabid bidding. The colors remain vibrant despite the years, this copy is a good opportunity to pick up a rare treasure for a bargain.