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Issue: Superman #4
Publication Date: January 1940
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Disclose Detail
Issues: #4 of 423 Issues (608 Printings)
Title:
Variant: unnamed
Rating: [no rating]
Publisher: FlagDC
Brand: none
Indicia Publisher: Superman, Inc.
On Sale Date: 02/15/1940
Volume: none
Pages: 68
ISBN: none
UPC/EAN: none
Price: $0.10 USD
Indicia Frequency:
Content Items: 19 (10 stories, 1 cover)
Editor(s): Whitney Ellsworth (uncredited)
Disclose Notes: The publication date of January 23, 1940, was reported in the U. S. Copyright Office filing in the Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 2, Periodicals, New Series, Volume 35, 1940, Number 2. Class B Periodical. Copyright number B 452451.

However, a house ad in Action Comics (DC 1938 series) #22 states the issue would be on sale on February 15, 1940.
  Does this data need corrections? Become an editor.
Disclose Format
Publication Type: Comic Book
Color: color
Dimensions: standard Golden Age US; then standard Silver Age US; then standard Modern Age US
Paper Stock: glossy cover; newsprint interior
Binding: saddle-stitched (squarebound #183, 187, 193, 197, 202, 207, 212, 217, 222, 227, 245, 252, 272, 278, 284)
Publishing Format: was ongoing series
Format Notes:  
Disclose Reprinted In31
Disclose Reprinted From0
There is currently no data for this Issue being reprinted from anywhere.
Disclose Images2
Cover, Front
Original Artwork
Digital Edition
Adult Image
Title Page
Indicia on this Page
 
 
Cover, Front
Original Artwork
Digital Edition
Adult Image
Title Page
Indicia on this Page
 
 
Assets1
Indicia
 
 
spacer
Disclose Content Items (19 total)
Disclose Issue Images
[untitled]

Illustration  on  Cover, Front
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Genres: superhero
Character(s): Superman
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman from the Thirties to the Eighties #[nn] published January 1983
as Superman in the 1940s [Cover Reprint (on Interior Page) on Interior Page(s)]
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as Superman #4 [Cover Reprint (on Interior Page) on Interior Page(s)]
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as Back Cover [Illustration on Interior Page(s)]back cover; 1/4 page
In Content Item: FlagSuperman: The Golden Age Omnibus #1 published August 2013
as Superman #4 [Cover Reprint (on Interior Page) on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: Joe Shuster hand drew Superman logos until the classic Ira Schnapp logo appears with Superman (DC, 1939 Series) #6 (September-October 1940).

Joe Shuster's signature is at the bottom left corner of the cover and is usually cut off in part or in full on many copies of this issue.
Disclose
[untitled]

Advertisement  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ? (ad copy)
Penciller(s): ?
Inker(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as [untitled] [Advertisement on Interior Page(s)]inside front cover; 1/4 page
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #2 published November 1990
as [untitled] [Advertisement on Interior Page(s)]inside front cover; 1/4 page
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #2 published November 1990
as [untitled] [Advertisement on Interior Page(s)]inside front cover; 1/4 page
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: Inside front cover.
Disclose
Superman, America's Greatest Adventure Strip Character!

Illustration  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: superhero
Character(s): Superman
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as Superman, America's Greatest Adventure Strip Character! [Illustration on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
Superman versus Luthor

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: superhero
Character(s): Superman [Clark Kent]; George Taylor; Professor Martinson; phony Professor Martinson (villain, death); Luthor (villain, with red hair, second appearance)
First Line: For the first time in its history, the City of Metropolis is ravaged by a terrible earthquake!
Synopsis: When Clark Kent begins to investigate a new weapon being tested by the Army that artifically causes earthquakes, little does he know that Lex Luthor is hot on the trail of securing the plans for that invention, one way or the other.
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman from the Thirties to the Seventies #[nn] [Original Edition] published January 1971
as Luthor's Earthquake Machine [Story on Interior Page(s)]black and white
In Content Item: FlagThe Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told #[nn] published March 1987
as Superman versus Luthor [Story on Interior Page(s)]
In Content Item: FlagThe Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told #[nn] [First Printing] published May 1987
as Superman versus Luthor [Story on Interior Page(s)]
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as The Challenge of Luthor [Story on Interior Page(s)]
In Content Item: FlagSuperman: The Golden Age Omnibus #1 published August 2013
as The Challenge of Luthor [Story on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 13
Disclose Notes: The first story with Luthor was in Action Comics #23 (cover date April 1940). Superman asks "Who is Luthor?"
This is the second Luthor story. Luthor says "We encounter each other once more".
However this issue may have gone on sale before Action Comics #23. In their copyright registration, Detective Comics, Inc. said Action Comics #23 was published Feb 23, 1940. An in-house ad said Superman #4 would go on sale Feb 15; the copyright registration said that it was published Jan 23. Officially, per DC Comics web site, Luthor's first appearance is in Action Comics #23.

One panel promotional advertisement for the Spectre series in More Fun Comics (DC, 1936 series) at the end of the story, with art by Bernard Baily.
Disclose
[untitled]

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: informational
Feature(s): Attaining Super-Strength
Character(s): Tommy Blake
First Line: Tommy Blake, because of his frail physique...
Synopsis: Author relates how a good breakfast and regular exercise can lead to better strength.
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as [untitled] [Story on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
[untitled]

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: anthropomorphic
Feature(s): This Doggone World
Character(s): Shorty (a dog)
First Line: Oil Paintings for Sale!
Synopsis: Shorty is standing outside an artist's studio and sticks his head in the window to watch him paint. When the artist leaves, Shorty goes in and eyes the picture: of a steaming turkey! When the artist returns, the turkey is missing from the picture and Shorty is licking his chops.
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as [untitled] [Cartoon on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
Bill Dickey

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: informational
Feature(s): From the 4 Corners
Character(s): Paul Muni (actor); Bill Dickey (baseball player)
Synopsis: Some of the facts related in these filler include: 1) New York Yankee catcher Bill Dickey loses about 8 pounds duiring a game; 2) a law in Nebraska states it's illegal to give away a cigar; 3) actor Paul Muni was once fired by a studio because he said he didn't know how to act; and 4) an usher, devoted to the stage, donated his skull after death to be used as the skull of Yorick in the play "Hamlet".
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as [untitled] [Story on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
Luthor's Undersea City

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: superhero
Character(s): Superman [Clark Kent]; George Taylor (cameo); Lois Lane; Luthor (villain, with red hair); Luthor's henchmen (villains, some die)
First Line: Bedlam reigns in the editorial office of the Daily Planet as a startling news flash comes over the wires....
Synopsis: Superman faces off once again with the evil Luthor, who first has tapped oil from oil wells all over the world for his purposes, then inundating the western coast of the U.S. when he raises a glass-enclosed city of ancient weird design from the murky depths.
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as Luthor's Undersea City [Story on Interior Page(s)]
In Content Item: FlagSuperman: The Golden Age Omnibus #1 published August 2013
as Luthor's Undersea City [Story on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 13
Disclose Notes: One panel promo for the Sandman, appearing in Adventure Comics, is found at end of the story, with art by Creig Flessel.
Disclose
Supermen of America

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ? (promo copy)
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Character(s): Superman
Synopsis: Editor's page in which the editors tell the readers that the Great DC Comics Contest was now over, and that winners would be announced in a forth-coming issue of Action Comics. There is also a coupon for readers to join the Supermen of America Club.
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as Supermen of America [Promotional Material (from Publisher) on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
Changer of Destiny

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Genres: crime
Character(s): George Rankin (death); the Crime King [Spurnelli] (villain, death); the President of the United States (unnamed)
Synopsis: George Rankin had invented a serum that speeded up his time rate, living 31,536,000 times faster than the rest of the world. What to everyone was a mere second was actually a year to him! But the effects of the formula would only last one year, and Rankin had something important to accomplish before that year was up.
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as Changer of Destiny [Text Story on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 2
Disclose
The Economic Enemy

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: superhero
Character(s): Superman [Clark Kent]; George Taylor; Paul Dorgan (cameo, death); Barney Calhoun (introduction, death); J. F. Curtis (villain, introduction, death, killed by Superman); Louie (villain, death)
First Line: Paul Dorgan eminent Soci-ologist is completing a book manuscript entitled 'Prosperity's Foe'.
Synopsis: The suicide of the author of a manuscript, which states that sinister forces seek to retard this nation's return to prosperity, prods Superman to dart from place to place, averting the disasters that have been planned by these forces to disrupt vital aspects of national industries.
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as The Economic Enemy [Story on Interior Page(s)]
In Content Item: FlagSuperman: The Golden Age Omnibus #1 published August 2013
as The Economic Enemy [Story on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 13
Disclose Notes: One panel ad for Batman appearing in Detective Comics appears at the end of the story, with art by Bob Kane.
Superman logo is a one-off hand-drawn version by Joe Shuster, though now very close in design to the one on the cover of Superman #1.
Disclose
Superman Says

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Character(s): Superman [Clark Kent]
Synopsis: Editor's page in which Superman recommends a reading list of many great reading books to the readers, and tells them which books will be reviewed in up-coming DC comic magazines.
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as Superman Says [Promotional Material (from Publisher) on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
[untitled]

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: informational
Feature(s): Fantastic Facts
Character(s): Ed Barnett (one-armed football player); Mrs. D. Beach
First Line: The original 'Popeye'
Synopsis: Some of the facts covered in this filler include: 1) a Santa Barbara grapevine, the largest in the world, which yields ten tons of grapes per year; 2) the common slug has 30,000 teeth; 3) a Mrs. Beach walked from New York to Chicago in 42 1/2 days back in 1912; 4) the "popeyed chameleon" is capable of looking in different directions at the same time; and 5) in 1930, one-armed football player Ed Barnett caught four forward passes and intercepted three others in a game.
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as [untitled] [Story on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
Six Big Headline Features for the 'Big Six' Comic Magazines!

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ? (promo copy)
Penciller(s): various
Inker(s): various
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Genres: superhero
Character(s): Superman; The Sandman; The Batman; Ultraman; The Spectre; The Flash
Synopsis: House promotional ad touting the Big Six comics published by DC: Action, Adventure, Detective, All-American, More Fun, and Flash Comics.
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as Six Big Headline Features for the 'Big Six' Comic Magazines! [Promotional Material (from Publisher) on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
Pioneer Into the Unknown

Text Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Genres: science fiction
Character(s): James Rolland (death); Professor Greystroke (scientist-inventor); Bixby (press agent)
Synopsis: Actor James Rolland, upon leaving Mammoth Studios, is approached by an inventor, who tells him that he owes everything to the actor for his invention of a giant crystal-like globe he calls the space-folder! He furthers states that Rolland will be the first person to use that invention to travel to a distant spot in the universe. Rolland steps into the globe and disappears, but, unfortunately, re-appears in the center of the sun...and perishes! As a footnote, in the future of 1982, in the Museum of Interstellar History, Rolland is honored for paving the way for interplanetary space travel.
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as Pioneer into the Unknown [Text Story on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
Terror in the Trucker's Union

Story  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: superhero
Character(s): Superman [Clark Kent]; George Taylor; Carlson; Amy Carlson; Gus Snide (villain, introduction); Nick (villain); Pete (villain)
First Line: I've a tip that there may be some excitement tonight at the truck driver's union meeting!
Synopsis: Superman pretends to join a group of racketeers who want to control the city's truck drivers' union so that they can paralyze food distribution and demand blackmail.
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as Terror in the Trucker's Union [Story on Interior Page(s)]in this form
In Content Item: FlagSuperman: The Golden Age Omnibus #1 published August 2013
as Terror in the Trucker's Union [Story on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 13
Disclose
Superman Appears in Action Comics!

Promotional Material (from Publisher)  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Genres: superhero
Character(s): Superman
Synopsis: House promotional advertisement for Superman appearing in Action Comics (DC, 1938 series).
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as Superman Appears in Action Comics! [Promotional Material (from Publisher) on Interior Page(s)]
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose
[untitled]

Advertisement  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ? (ad copy)
Penciller(s): ?
Inker(s): ?
Letterer(s): typeset
Subject Matter
Feature(s): Wilson Chem. Co.
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as [untitled] [Advertisement on Interior Page(s)]inside back cover; 1/4 page
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: Inside back cover.
Disclose
Boys! I'll Help You Get a Daisy for Your Birthday

Advertisement  on  Interior Page(s)
Credits
Writer(s): ? (ad copy)
Penciller(s): ?
Inker(s): ?
Colorist(s): ?
Letterer(s): ?
Subject Matter
Genres: superhero
Feature(s): Daisy Air Rifles
Reprinting
In Content Item: FlagSuperman Archives #1 [Standard Edition] published February 1989
as 3 Ways to Git a Carbine fer Christmas [Advertisement on Interior Page(s)]back cover; 1/4 page
Reprint Notes:  
Miscellaneous
Pages: 1
Disclose Notes: Back cover.

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