MORE FUN COMICS #101 came out Nov. 18, 1944! The Boy of Steel doesn’t look a day over 15…
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.
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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.
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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.
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4. Superboy #2 (May-June 1949). Superboy’s adopted hometown gets a name for the first time: Smallville.
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5. Superboy #10 (Sept.-Oct. 1950). First Lana Lang.
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6. Adventure Comics #210 (Mar. 1955). First Krypto.
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7. Adventure Comics #247 (Apr. 1958). First Legion of Super-Heroes.
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8. Superboy #68 (Oct. 1958). First Bizarro.
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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).
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10. Adventure Comics #271 (Apr. 1960). Luthor gets a first name, Lex.
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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.
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12. Adventure Comics #283 (Apr. 1961). First Phantom Zone and first General Zod.
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13. Adventure Comics #293 (Feb. 1962). First Legion of Super-Pets.
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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)
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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.
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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.
November 18, 2024
The cover to Superboy #2 is also by John Sikela.
November 18, 2024
Happy 80th anniversary to the Boy of Steel!
November 18, 2024
Happy Anniversary to Superboy! He was a fine young man, who would make any father and mother proud.
I think George Papp deserves a special acknowledgement on the occasion: a fantastic illustrator who contributed so much to the Smallville phase of our hero’s career.
November 19, 2024
I got to read some of the earlier Superboy stories in reprints 50+ years ago. And I loved a lot of the later stories too!
November 19, 2024
Wanted: A Superboy Onnibus!
November 19, 2024
Well, there is this! https://13thdimension.com/the-top-13-dc-finest-books-were-most-looking-forward-to/
November 20, 2024
Of course I remember Adventure Comics #247…little did I suspect (of course not!!!! ) that I would grow up and write the LSH!
And I remember all the ones following, #7 – 13. But that 1949 issue is a new one to me. (Hey, I wasn’t even born yet!).