MORE FUN COMICS #101 came out Nov. 18, 1944! The Boy of Steel doesn’t look a day over 15…
Art by Maurice Del Bourgo
By PETER BOSCH
November 18 marks the 80th anniversary of More Fun Comics #101 hitting the newsstands in 1944. What makes this particular issue special is that, though not even mentioned on its cover and hidden 22 pages into the issue, it had the first appearance of Superboy!
In celebration of the Boy of Steel at 80, here are 13 SUPER-FIRSTS – including several that were tried out in Superboy and Adventure Comics before they appeared in the grown-up Superman comic titles.
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1. More Fun Comics #101 (Jan-Feb. 1945). The first Superboy story, by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Script by Jerry Siegel. Art by Joe Shuster.
Script by Jerry Siegel. Art by Joe Shuster.
Script by Jerry Siegel. Art by Joe Shuster.
Script by Jerry Siegel. Art by Joe Shuster.
Script by Jerry Siegel. Art by Joe Shuster.
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2. Adventure Comics #103 (Apr. 1946). First appearance of Superboy in Adventure Comics. After Superboy’s run in More Fun Comics #101 to #107, he was moved to the starring position in Adventure Comics, where he would remain the lead for more than 200 issues… until the popularity of the Legion of Super-Heroes forced him into becoming a supporting character.
Pencils by Shuster. Inks possibly by Stan Kaye.
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3. Superboy #1 (Mar.-Apr. 1949). In addition to appearing in Adventure Comics, Superboy graduated to his own comic in 1949.
Pencils by Wayne Boring. Inks by Kaye.
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4. Superboy #2 (May-June 1949). Superboy’s adopted hometown gets a name for the first time: Smallville.
Writer and artist: Unknown.
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5. Superboy #10 (Sept.-Oct. 1950). First Lana Lang.
Script by Bill Finger. Art by John Sikela.
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6. Adventure Comics #210 (Mar. 1955). First Krypto.
Pencils, Curt Swan. Inks, Kaye.
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7. Adventure Comics #247 (Apr. 1958). First Legion of Super-Heroes.
Script: Otto Binder. Art: Al Plastino.
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8. Superboy #68 (Oct. 1958). First Bizarro.
Art by Swan (pencils) and Kaye (inks).
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9. Colorful Kryptonite. Kryptonite first appeared in a 1943 episode of the radio show The Adventures of Superman. In comic books, it made its first appearance in Superman #61 (Nov. 1949) but was colored red instead of green. In Adventure Comics #255 (Dec. 1958) below, the first real Red Kryptonite, which affects Kryptonians in weird ways for 24-48 hours, was introduced. White Kryptonite, which kills plant life, made its way into the mythos in Adventure Comics #279 (Dec. 1960). Lastly, Gold Kryptonite, which can rob Kryptonians on Earth of their superpowers, was first shown in Adventure Comics #299 (Aug. 1962).
Top — Script: Binder. Art: George Papp. Middle – Script: Binder. Art: Swan (pencils) and John Forte (inks). Bottom – Script: Siegel. Art: Papp.
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10. Adventure Comics #271 (Apr. 1960). Luthor gets a first name, Lex.
Script by Siegel. Art by Plastino.
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11. Superboy #86 (Jan. 1961). First Pete Ross, destined to become Clark’s best friend and who would later discover that Clark is Superboy… but never let him know that he knew.
Script by Robert Bernstein and art by Papp.
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12. Adventure Comics #283 (Apr. 1961). First Phantom Zone and first General Zod.
Cover art by Swan (pencils) and Kaye (inks).
Script: Bernstein. Art by Papp.
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13. Adventure Comics #293 (Feb. 1962). First Legion of Super-Pets.
Script: Siegel. Art: Swan (pencils) and George Klein (inks).
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And to close out this salute, bonus “Superboy firsts that really were not the first”:
Superboy #5 (Nov.-Dec. 1949). First “Supergirl” (but she had no powers)
Possible Sikela pencils. Kaye inks.
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Superboy #30 (Jan. 1954). Before Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #53 (June 1961), the first Turtle Man (Turtle Boy, actually) was here… but it was actually based on a character on the cover of the July 1940 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories. Mort Weisinger was the editor of all three.
Art for: Superboy #30 – Win Mortimer. Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #53 – Swan (pencils), Kaye (inks). Thrilling Wonder Stories, July 1940 – Howard V. Brown.
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MORE
— FLASH COMICS #1: An 85th ANNIVERSARY Salute to a Comics Landmark With a Rich Legacy. Click here.
— THE BIG ALL-AMERICAN COMIC BOOK: An 80th Anniversary Salute to a Golden Age Treasure. Click here.
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13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was published by TwoMorrows. A sequel, about movie comics, is coming in 2025. Peter has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. He lives in Hollywood.
