Who was the first comic book superhero ever created

The mark of zorro 1940 is also streaming via amazon prime. Who was the first super hero in dc comic books answers. This was created by buzz dixon, mike decarlo and jose delbo a character named j pennington pennypacker who attends a selfesteem camp and ends up with a superpower from a mad scientist. The character is a hit, and many more superhero comics follow. The popularity of the character swiftly enshrined the superhero as the defining genre of american comic books. This guy first appeared in the 1940s not by marvel or. It was the birth of superman, the first comic book character to have powers greater than any human being, setting the. The first issue of a longrunning comic book series is commonly the rarest and most desirable to. Created by orrin cromwell evans, the comic book is the first to be produced, written and drawn by only africanamerican writers and artists. A superhero also known as a super hero or superhero is a fictional character of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derringdo in the public interest. In 1933, funnies on parade became the first color comic book printed in the now standard size of 6 58 x 10 14 inches. However, according to most sources, the first superhero ever was t he phantom. The strip proved so popular that national launched superman into his own selftitled comic book, the first for any superhero, premiering with the cover date summer 1939. Since the debut of superman in 1938 by jerry siegel and joe shuster, stories of superheroes ranging from brief episodic adventures.

Superhero, superhero, a fictional herowidely popularized in comic books. He can run faster than a train, leap over tall buildings, and block bullets with his chest, but isnt yet able to fly. Namor the submariner was the first marvel superhero and made his debut appearance in 1939. This comic is the first american publishing of the phantom, who is now a worldwide hero. Accompanied by his loyal african companion, lothar, prince of the seven nations, mandrake deployed clever methods of. Who was the first ever superhero in comic book history. The superhero as we know it, the whole package, is generally considered to be an american genre that started with superman. This video is not made for kids, this video is for adult collectors who was.

Before daredevil or nightcrawler, the first superhero ever was catholic the mask of zorro is newly available on amazon prime. Prior to the introduction of comic books, who is the first fictional super hero recognized by the public as being fictional. Film historians may dig deep into the vaults of saturday morning serials to discuss various heroes and villains who excited the movie audiences imaginations of the late 1930s through 1950s, but to date only one fulllength movie has been proposed as the first almost featurelength superhero movie. This made his mutant side manifest and he remained alive, in suspended animation, for 200 years. The phantom is officially the first superhero ever and is consequently the first costumed fiction character ever. The answer to this question should exclude exclude heroes from greek mythology, since at one time, those myths were believed to be factual. It recounted the adventures of kit walker, who donned a mask and purple outfit to become the phantom aka the ghost who walks. In order to capitalize on the growing popularity of comic books especially those starring superheroes goodman created timely comics. Batman is an ongoing american comic book series featuring the dc comics superhero batman as its main protagonist. Popeye, who made his first appearance in 1929, is probably the first comicstrip. The references in this article are unclear because of a lack of inline citations. If you mean the origin of the comic book superhero, im inclined to go. Who was the first publicly recognized super hero before.

The 20th century brought us dozens, if not hundreds of fictional super heroes. He didnt do it for his pulp magazines, and thus when he started a comic book line, he didnt care that much then, either. The movie, a quick cashin from the campy 1966 tv series starring adam west, it would be nearly three decades before a single comic book superhero made. It also depends on what your definition of superhero is.

The character was created by william blake bill everett and was first published by timely comics, the precursor to marvel comics. This comic book starts what is now called the platinum age of comics. Batman proved to be so popular that a selftitled ongoing comic book series began publication with a cover date of spring 1940. So martin goodman was not a big believer in having a consistent brand name. New fun was the first comic book series to consist entirely of original material.

Here at flights, tights, and movie nights, my goal is to seek out and watch every superhero and comic book based movie out there, this is my attempt at creating a comprehensive list of every single one i can find as well as the ones coming out in the near future. The first female comic book superheroes in history. He was one of the most gifted artists ever to work in comic books. The phantom made his debut on february 17th, 1936 and he was the first costumed hero. The mark of zorro 1920 is available for purchase on amazon video. As the men of tomorrow book makes clear, the precursors to superman and batman were doc savage and the shadow, created in the street and smith pulp magazines of the early 30s. Captain america is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by marvel comics. Action comics makes its first appearance, and features the first superhero ever. But it was two young men from cleveland who created the character who truly. A brief 75year history lesson on black superheroes in. Trouble is, it may not have been written by stan lee.

The comic publisher that would eventually become marvel comics released their first comic book, marvel comics. Comic book franchise universes also go through several reboots and resets. Black or africanamerican comic book superheroes were nonexistent in the two major comic book companies until the mid1960s. Coming just after the youn allies, in possibly third place is. Prior to the release of this issue, comic books normally featured several characters and a variety of stories in one publication. Someone was probably smoking spinach when they suggested that popeye was the first superhero. The massive commercial success of that character was responsible for creating the costumed superhero genre, which has been a mainstay for the comic book industry ever since.

What is the origin of comic books and superheroes in america. The genre lost popularity in the 1950s but reestablished its domination of the form from the 1960s until the late 20th century. Every superhero and comic book movie in chronological. He debuted in new fun 6 october 1935, by jerry siegel and joe shuster under the pseudonyms leger and reuths. Comic book collectors are often lifelong enthusiasts of the comic book stories, and they usually focus on particular heroes and attempt to assemble the entire run of a title. It was printed in color and appeared alongside the weather forecast. First superhero ever and oldest comic book youtube. Whatever they can pump out that would get some dude to buy them in 1938. Our movie theater curtains are bursting at the seams with superhero stories and fans are.

Namor was first created for a giveaway comic book that was never released. By far the best comic book superhero movie ever made. Generally superman is considered the first true comic book superhero. History of superheroes timeline timetoast timelines. The first monthly comic book, aptly titled comics monthly, began publication in 1922, though it also featured reprints of daily newspaper comic strips. Long before batman became the fearsome cowled avenger of gotham city and years before clark kent cruised faster than a speeding bullet as superman, a certain dashing caped wizard named mandrake the magician took the title of the worlds first comic superhero. Superman is the first comic book superhero, but that doesnt make him the first superhero to have ever existed. Created by lee falk usa, the first superhero was the phantom, who debuted in his own newspaper comic strip on 17 feb 1936. He debuted in his own newspaper comic strip on february. Its one of my favorite books of all time and a solid exploration of the.

Although this practice continued, it became the norm to have issues featuring just one superhero s story. The following is a list of the first known appearances of various superhero fictional characters. Has a comic book feel to it the book was pleasant to read and felt a like a novel rendition of all the events that would happen in a comic book, but from a first person. It was the birth of superman, the first comic book character to have powers greater than any human being, setting the stage for more superhero characters to follow.

With all the hullabaloo about superman and wonder woman in the last few weeks, its worth remembering that the longestsurviving superhero indigenous to a comic book appeared 75 years ago this summer. 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. When and where was the first superhero comic released. Then, in 1966, two white, jewish, firstgeneration american creators, stan lee and jack kirby, revolutionized comic books by introducing the first black superhero. See, jim steranko credits the black marvel to stan lee and bob hughes, but greg theakston says that lees first comic book story was in captain. Many consider wonder woman to be the first true heroine of comic books but, in reality, diana prince wasnt the first superpowered female hero on newsstands. The colorful history of comic books and newspaper cartoon. S, the first comic with a regular cast of characters, the little bears created by jimmy swinnerton, appeared in 1892 in the san francisco examiner. He was created by lee falk, who still today is working on his stories. Phantom lady, published by quality comics all the way back in august of 1941, is largely credited with being the first successful superheroine in comics. Created in new york by jewish immigrants, the first comic book superheroes. After a few days of wondering who the first superhero ever was, we decided to do our research. Affectionately called the house of ideas by the fan press, marvels bestknown comics titles include fantastic four, the amazing spiderman, the incredible hulk, iron man, daredevil, thor, captain america, and xmen.

The first superhero character was introduced in action comics no. Jazz and comic books are the two great american art forms. He is currently touring washington state as part of humanities washingtons speakers bureau program, and we spoke with him about his presentation, superhero america. How american history created the american superhero. Discover the 10 oldest superheroes that ever existed here. In 1899 a funny folks comic book came out, taking a close first stab at a format for many platinum age comic books. Superman was created by jerry siegal and joe shuster for action comics. Despite its short run, its seen as the earliest superhero fiction comic. Dc introduced many superheroes throughout the socalled golden age of comics, most. Marvel comics is an american comic book line published by marvel entertainment, inc. The comic was a big success and led to the creation of more famous timely characters. This picture is the first ever appearance of popeye. He debuted in his own newspaper comic strip on february 17, 1936.