Superman Summary
Superman is a fictional superhero. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and first appeared in the comic book Action Comics #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and published April 18, 1938).The character regularly appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and has been adapted to a number of radio serials, movies, and television shows.
Superman was born on the planet Krypton and was given the name Kal-El at birth. As a baby, his parents sent him to Earth in a small spaceship moments before Krypton was destroyed in a natural cataclysm. His ship landed in the American countryside, near the fictional town of Smallville. He was found and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who named him Clark Kent. Clark developed various superhuman abilities, such as incredible strength and impervious skin. His foster parents advised him to use his abilities for the benefit of humanity, and he decided to fight crime as a vigilante. To protect his privacy, he changes into a colorful costume and uses the alias "Superman" when fighting crime. Clark Kent resides in the fictional American city of Metropolis, where he works as a journalist for the Daily Planet. Superman's supporting characters include his love interest and fellow journalist Lois Lane, Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen and editor-in-chief Perry White. His most well-known villain is Lex Luthor. Superman is part of the DC Universe, and as such often appears in stories alongside other DC Universe heroes such as Batman and Wonder Woman.
Although Superman was not the first superhero character, he popularized the superhero archetype and defined its conventions. Superheroes are usually judged by how closely they resemble the standard established by Superman. He was the best-selling superhero character in American comic books up until the 1980s
Since 1938, Superman stories have been regularly published in periodical comic books published by DC Comics. The first and oldest of these is Action Comics, which began in 1938. Action Comics was initially an anthology magazine, but it eventually became dedicated to Superman stories. The second oldest periodical is Superman, which began in June 1939. Action Comics and Superman have been published without interruption (ignoring changes to the title and numbering scheme). A number of other shorter-lived Superman periodicals have been published over the years. Supermans is part of the DC Universe, which is a shared universe of superhero characters owned by DC Comics, and consequently he frequently appears in stories alongside the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman, and others.
Superman has sold more comic books over his publication history than any other American superhero character.Exact sales figures for the early decades of Superman comic books are hard to find because, like most publishers at the time, DC Comics concealed this data to deny competitors, but given the general market trends at the time, sales of Action Comics and Superman probably peaked in the mid-1940s and thereafter steadily declined.Sales data first became public in 1960, and showed that Superman was the best-selling comic book character of the 1960s and 1970s. Sales rose again starting in 1987. Superman #75 (Nov 1992) sold over 23 million copies, making it the best-selling issue of a comic book of all time, thanks to a media sensation over the supposedly permanent death of the character in that issue. Sales declined from that point on. In March 2018, Action Comics sold just 51,534 copies, although such low figures are normal for superhero comic books in general (for comparison, Amazing Spider-Man #797 sold only 128,189 copies).The comic books are today considered a niche aspect of the Superman franchise due to low readership,though they remain influential as creative engines for the movies and television shows. Comic book stories can be produced quickly and cheaply, and are thus an ideal medium for experimentation.
Whereas comic books in the 1950s were read by children, since the 1990s the average reader has been an adult.A major reason for this shift was DC Comics' decision in the 1970s to sell its comic books to specialty stores instead of traditional magazine retailers (supermarkets, newsstands, etc.) -a model called "direct distribution". This made comic books less accessible to children.
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