(Spring 1940)

DC, 1939 Series
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Price
0.10 USD
Pages
68
Indicia Frequency
quarterly
On-sale Date
1940-02-15
Indicia / Colophon Publisher
Superman Inc.
Editing
Whitney Ellsworth (uncredited)

Issue 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.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents)

Superman / cover / 1 page (report information)

Pencils
Joe Shuster (signed as Shuster) (see notes)
Inks
Joe Shuster (signed as Shuster) (see notes)
Colors
?
Letters
Joe Shuster (logo design, see notes); typeset
Genre
superhero
Characters
Superman
Reprints

Indexer 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.

Cover Thumbnail for Superman (DC, 1939 series) #4
Edit cover
Cover gallery

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 1)

Johnson Smith & Co. Catalog / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Script
? (ad copy)
Pencils
?
Inks
?
Letters
typeset

Indexer Notes

Inside front cover.

[Superman, America's Greatest Adventure Strip Character!] (Table of Contents: 2)

Superman / illustration / 1 page (report information)

Pencils
Joe Shuster; Paul Cassidy
Inks
Joe Shuster; Paul Cassidy
Colors
?
Letters
?
Feature Logo
Superman [over-lapping P, fat letters]
Genre
superhero
Characters
Superman
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Frontispiece. Paul Cassidy art credits added by Craig Delich.

[Superman versus Luthor] (Table of Contents: 3)

Superman / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script
Jerry Siegel (credited, signed)
Pencils
Paul Cassidy (ghosted for Joe Shuster) (signed as Joe Shuster); Bernard Baily (see notes)
Inks
Paul Cassidy (ghosted for Joe Shuster) (signed as Joe Shuster); Bernard Baily (see notes)
Colors
?
Letters
?
First Line of Dialogue or Text
For the first time in its history, the City of Metropolis is ravaged by a terrible earthquake!
Feature Logo
Superman [over-lapping P, skinny letters]
Genre
superhero
Characters
Superman [Clark Kent]; George Taylor; Professor Martinson; phony Professor Martinson (villain, death); Luthor (villain, with red hair, second appearance)
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.
Reprints
Keywords
Daily Planet

Indexer 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.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 4)

Attaining Super-Strength / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script
Jerry Siegel
Pencils
Joe Shuster
Inks
Joe Shuster
Colors
?
Letters
?
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Tommy Blake, because of his frail physique...
Genre
non-fiction
Characters
Tommy Blake
Synopsis
Author relates how a good breakfast and regular exercise can lead to better strength.
Reprints

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 5)

This Doggone World / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script
Fred Schwab
Pencils
Fred Schwab
Inks
Fred Schwab
Colors
?
Letters
Fred Schwab
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Oil Paintings for Sale!
Genre
anthropomorphic-funny animals
Characters
Shorty (a dog)
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.
Reprints

[Bill Dickey] (Table of Contents: 6)

From the 4 Corners / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script
Sheldon Moldoff (signed)
Pencils
Sheldon Moldoff (signed)
Inks
Sheldon Moldoff (signed)
Colors
?
Letters
Sheldon Moldoff ?
Genre
non-fiction
Characters
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".
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Lettering credit and information by Craig Delich.

[Luthor's Undersea City] (Table of Contents: 7)

Superman / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script
Jerry Siegel (credited, signed)
Pencils
Joe Shuster (credited, signed); Creig Flessel (see notes)
Inks
Paul Cassidy (ghosted for Joe Shuster) (signed as Joe Shuster); Creig Flessel (see notes)
Colors
?
Letters
?
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Bedlam reigns in the editorial office of the Daily Planet as a startling news flash comes over the wires....
Feature Logo
Superman [over-lapping P, skinny letters]
Genre
superhero
Characters
Superman [Clark Kent]; George Taylor (cameo); Lois Lane; Luthor (villain, with red hair); Luthor's henchmen (villains, some die)
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.
Reprints
Keywords
Daily Planet

Indexer Notes

One panel promo for the Sandman, appearing in Adventure Comics, is found at end of the story, with art by Creig Flessel.

Supermen of America (Table of Contents: 8)

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Script
? (promo copy)
Pencils
Joe Shuster (spot illustration)
Inks
Joe Shuster (spot illustration)
Colors
?
Letters
typeset
Characters
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.

Indexer Notes

Sequence, information and credits added by Craig Delich.

Changer of Destiny (Table of Contents: 9)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script
Jerry Siegel (credited as Hugh Langley)
Pencils
Fred Guardineer
Inks
Fred Guardineer
Colors
?
Letters
typeset
Genre
crime
Characters
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.
Reprints

Indexer Notes

At the bottom of the first column on page one is an advertisement for "The Genuine Junior Guitar for You!" and at the bottom of the last column on page two is an advertisement for "Real Live Canary for You" both from selling seeds for the Lancaster County Seed Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Information and art credits by Craig Delich.

[The Economic Enemy] (Table of Contents: 10)

Superman / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script
Jerry Siegel (credited, signed)
Pencils
Joe Shuster (credited, signed); Bob Kane (see notes)
Inks
Paul Cassidy (ghosted for Joe Shuster) (signed as Joe Shuster); Bob Kane (see notes)
Colors
?
Letters
Joe Shuster (logo design, see notes); ?
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Paul Dorgan eminent Soci-ologist is completing a book manuscript entitled 'Prosperity's Foe'.
Genre
superhero
Characters
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)
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.
Reprints
Keywords
Daily Planet

Indexer 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.

Superman Says (Table of Contents: 11)

Superman / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Pencils
Joe Shuster (spot illustration)
Inks
Joe Shuster (spot illustration)
Colors
?
Letters
typeset
Genre
superhero
Characters
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.

Indexer Notes

Sequence, information and credits added by Craig Delich.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 12)

Fantastic Facts / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script
George Papp (signed as Geo. Papp)
Pencils
George Papp (signed as Geo. Papp)
Inks
George Papp (signed as Geo. Papp)
Colors
?
Letters
?
First Line of Dialogue or Text
The original 'Popeye'
Genre
non-fiction
Characters
Ed Barnett (one-armed football player); Mrs. D. Beach
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.
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Some information added by Craig Delich.

Six Big Headline Features for the 'Big Six' Comic Magazines! (Table of Contents: 13)

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Script
? (promo copy)
Pencils
various
Inks
various
Colors
?
Letters
typeset
Genre
superhero
Characters
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.

Indexer Notes

Sequence and information added by Craig Delich.

Pioneer Into the Unknown (Table of Contents: 14)

text story / 1 page (report information)

Script
Bert Lexington (credited)
Colors
?
Letters
typeset
Genre
science fiction
Characters
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.
Reprints

[Terror in the Trucker's Union] (Table of Contents: 15)

Superman / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script
Jerry Siegel (credited, signed)
Pencils
Joe Shuster (credited, signed)
Inks
Paul Cassidy (ghosted for Joe Shuster) (signed as Joe Shuster)
Colors
?
Letters
?
First Line of Dialogue or Text
I've a tip that there may be some excitement tonight at the truck driver's union meeting!
Feature Logo
Superman [over-lapping P, skinny letters]
Genre
superhero
Characters
Superman [Clark Kent]; George Taylor; Carlson; Amy Carlson; Gus Snide (villain, introduction); Nick (villain); Pete (villain)
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.
Reprints
Keywords
Daily Planet

Superman Appears in Action Comics! (Table of Contents: 16)

Superman / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
Joe Shuster
Inks
Paul Cassidy
Colors
?
Letters
typeset
Feature Logo
Superman [fat S, sloping u]
Genre
superhero
Characters
Superman
Synopsis
House promotional advertisement for Superman appearing in Action Comics (DC, 1938 series).

Indexer Notes

Sequence, information and credits by Craig Delich. Superman figure traced or pasted up from the cover of Superman #2.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 17)

Wilson Chem. Co. / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Script
? (ad copy)
Pencils
?
Inks
?
Letters
typeset

Indexer Notes

Inside back cover.

[Boys! I'll Help You Get a Daisy for Your Birthday] (Table of Contents: 18)

Daisy Air Rifles / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Script
? (ad copy)
Pencils
?
Inks
?
Colors
?
Letters
?
Genre
superhero

Indexer Notes

Back cover.

Editing
Issue at my.comics.org
Related Scans
Series Information
Table of Contents
  1. 0. [no title indexed]
    Superman
  2. 1. [no title indexed]
    Johnson Smith & Co. Catalog
  3. 2. [Superman, America's Greatest Adventure Strip Character!]
    Superman
  4. 3. [Superman versus Luthor]
    Superman
  5. 4. ["Tommy Blake, because of his frail physique..."]
    Attaining Super-Strength
  6. 5. ["Oil Paintings for Sale!"]
    This Doggone World
  7. 6. [Bill Dickey]
    From the 4 Corners
  8. 7. [Luthor's Undersea City]
    Superman
  9. 8. Supermen of America
  10. 9. Changer of Destiny
  11. 10. [The Economic Enemy]
    Superman
  12. 11. Superman Says
    Superman
  13. 12. ["The original 'Popeye'"]
    Fantastic Facts
  14. 13. Six Big Headline Features for the 'Big Six' Comic Magazines!
  15. 14. Pioneer Into the Unknown
  16. 15. [Terror in the Trucker's Union]
    Superman
  17. 16. Superman Appears in Action Comics!
    Superman
  18. 17. [no title indexed]
    Wilson Chem. Co.
  19. 18. [Boys! I'll Help You Get a Daisy for Your Birthday]
    Daisy Air Rifles
This issue was modified by, among others
  • Katie
  • Ray Bottorff Jr
  • Pat Conolly
  • Steve Dasinger
  • Craig Delich
  • Matthew Head
  • Jerry Hillegas (R.I.P.)
  • R. S. Martin
  • Mike Nielsen
  • Tony R. Rose
  • Daniel Thingvold
  • Jim Van Dore
  • Sean Williams
  • Jon Wilson
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