Superman Collection, including Action Comics No.1

Superman Archive, including Action Comics No. 1

Here are highlights from the “Superman Wall” and collection that is key to the overall design and content of the Glassy Science Fiction Archive.

The Superman montage art piece is an original done by Shelley Moldoff, the man who bought the original Superman story by Siegel and Schuster.

The Superman one-sheet serial poster is signed by Kirk Alyn, the first person to play Superman.

The large painting is an original of the poster, and also is a Jerry Siegel signed piece.

The Superman figure is a resin kit done by yours truly.  On the base of that piece is an image of the red “S” and Action #1.

The diorama of the Mole Men was also done by yours truly.  The Mole Men ‘ray gun’ used in the film is a converted Electrolux vacuum cleaner.

The George Reeves doll is custom made and the back of his cape is signed by Noel Neil, aka, Lois Lane.

The display case contains the first 10 issues of Action (maybe 2 or 3 people can say that) from my collection, displayed at the 2016 Comicon.  Along with those was my original Shuster art piece. comics #1. The grail of grails. Wanting one and finding one are two entirely different animals. I did search for a while but nothing was available. As it eventually turned out, during the 2008 San Diego Comicon, I visited the booth of Bob Underwood, a producer and writer, most famous for writing and producing the 1980s TV show, Night Court. On his table, sort of hidden amongst other items, and not singled out, was just what I was looking for…Action comics #1. Forcing myself to keep cool I nonchalantly inquired about that particular issue. As soon as I held it in my hands I could actually feel the electricity and goose bumps were aplenty. We negotiated a price and as it turned out we both had accounts at the same bank so it took just a couple of minutes to transfer the money to his account. Immediately after the successful transfer, Bob said to me, “The book is yours.” Believe me, that was magic to my ears and instantly washed away many years of longing and dreams. The actual price is not important but I will say, it was the last Action #1 that has sold for under $100,000. I would grade this copy in the 6 to 7 range.

I have not slabbed my copy of Action #1, nor do I intend to. Every couple of years I put on the cotton gloves and actually read the issue! The thrill and excitement in turning the cover and seeing the first page is a joy beyond words. I now have the pleasure and honor of saying I have a complete run of Action comics, THE pinnacle of comic books and the Superman saga. Truth, Justice, and the American way.

Details on Action Comics No. 1

Original copy of Action Comics No. 1 (June 1938)

As a baby boomer I grew up on Superman. I watched the original George Reeves TV show when it first aired and have been hooked ever since. Though I remember the TV show, to this day, I still do not remember the first Superman comic I saw, though it must be from the 1950s. That is buried in the strata of time. And I still vividly remember the morning a long time ago when my dad broke the very sad news to me…”Superman is dead”, screamed the newspaper headline. I was crushed.

Since those fondly remembered 1950s I have been a fan and collector of the Man of Steel. Throughout my formal education, which ended in a Ph.D. in biochemistry, my tenure on the UCSD faculty (which I still am), and my forays into the world of cancer immunotherapy I still enjoyed my journeys into the land of Superman. After founding a few biomedical companies along the way I had the resources to realize my dream, a complete run of Action comics. Slowly I began to dig deep into the run and was able to add issues #2 to #10 to the collection; I had all the other issues prior to that.

Then I focused on the real target, Action comics #1. The grail of grails. Wanting one and finding one are two entirely different animals. I did search for a while but nothing was available. As it eventually turned out, during the 2008 San Diego Comicon, I visited the booth of Bob Underwood, a producer and writer, most famous for writing and producing the 1980s TV show, Night Court. On his table, sort of hidden amongst other items, and not singled out, was just what I was looking for…Action comics #1. Forcing myself to keep cool I nonchalantly inquired about that particular issue. As soon as I held it in my hands I could actually feel the electricity and goose bumps were aplenty. We negotiated a price and as it turned out we both had accounts at the same bank so it took just a couple of minutes to transfer the money to his account. Immediately after the successful transfer, Bob said to me, “The book is yours.” Believe me, that was magic to my ears and instantly washed away many years of longing and dreams. The actual price is not important but I will say, it was the last Action #1 that has sold for under $100,000. I would grade this copy in the 6 to 7 range.

I have not slabbed my copy of Action #1, nor do I intend to. Every couple of years I put on the cotton gloves and actually read the issue! The thrill and excitement in turning the cover and seeing the first page is a joy beyond words. I now have the pleasure and honor of saying I have a complete run of Action comics, THE pinnacle of comic books and the Superman saga. Truth, Justice, and the American way.

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