More Fun Comics , originally titled New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine , is a 1935–1947 American comic book anthology that introduced several major superhero characters and was the first American comic book series to feature solely original material rather than reprints of newspaper comic strips . It was also the first publication of National Allied Publications , the company that would become DC Comics .
53-494: More Fun may refer to: More Fun Comics , one of the earliest American comic-book series More Fun , a defunct webcomic by Shaenon K. Garrity See also [ edit ] More Fund Comics , a benefit publication by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund More Fun Than an Open Casket Funeral , an album by the band The Accüsed More Fun in
106-578: A "Superboy" character was originally made by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel (without fellow Superman co-creator Joe Shuster ) in November 1938. The idea was turned down by Detective Comics, Inc. , and the publisher again rejected a second pitch by Siegel two years later. After the appeal of kid superheroes had been demonstrated by the success of Robin, the Boy Wonder and similar characters, Detective Comics reversed itself in late 1944 and started publishing
159-472: A 1952 story, Lana Lang participated in a "Miss Smallville of 1952" contest. In the late 1950s, Superman comic editor Mort Weisinger decided to place all of Superboy's adventures in an early-to-mid-1930s setting, in light of Superman's first comic appearance being in 1938. In 1970, the Superboy writing staff decided to "update" Superboy by setting his book always about 15 years behind Superman. This resulted in
212-622: A Superboy feature, in an effort to expand the Superman franchise by presenting a version of the character to whom younger readers could easily relate. Superboy first appeared in More Fun Comics #101 (January/February 1945, published in late 1944). Though Joe Shuster supplied the art, the Superboy feature was published without the input or approval of Jerry Siegel, who was serving in World War II . This fact increased an already-growing rift between
265-621: A Superboy story called "The Legion of Super-Heroes" in Adventure Comics #247 changed all that. The story features three super-powered teenagers from the 30th century who offer Superboy membership in their superhero club, the Legion of Super-Heroes . Although this was intended as a one-shot tale, the three future teens returned as guest stars in late 1959, and over the next three years, the Legion appeared periodically in Superboy, Supergirl (who also joined
318-516: A Superboy story in Superboy #5 (1949) and would continue to draw Superboy stories, on and off, for twenty years. The primary Superman artist of the 1950s, Wayne Boring , also contributed to Superboy. Cameron was the primary Superboy writer for the first few years after the character's debut. One of the earliest additional writers was Superboy/Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel , who wrote his first Superboy story in 1947 and would continue to contribute to
371-460: A cardstock, non-glossy cover, it was an anthology of humor features, such as the talking animal comic "Pelion and Ossa" and the college-set "Jigger and Ginger", mixed with such dramatic fare as the Western strip "Jack Woods" and the " yellow peril " adventure "Barry O'Neill", featuring a Fu Manchu -styled villain, Fang Gow. The first issue also featured humor strip "Caveman Capers", an adaptation of
424-592: A history as Superboy, and never donned a costume until after he finished college. Because of the importance of Superboy to the history of the Legion of Super-Heroes, the 1987 storyline " The Greatest Hero of Them All " revealed that the Legion's Superboy came from a "pocket universe" created by the Legion foe the Time Trapper , rather than the main DC Universe. This version of Superboy dies after saving his parallel Earth. Only one year after Superboy's comic-book "death",
477-418: A man pinned under an automobile and subsequently decides to become the costumed hero Superboy. Clark appears to be a preteen in this story, and in his first story in Adventure Comics , he actually celebrates his tenth birthday. In the first couple years of the Superboy feature, Superboy remained a boy close to that age. The character gradually aged, however, and by the time Superboy #1 was published, Superboy
530-444: A member of the Legion in the first story arc scripted by Paul Levitz in that series since its revival in 2009. Superboy/Superman's co-creator Joe Shuster had the initial responsibility for the artwork for the first couple years of the Superboy feature. Shuster himself pencilled the first story, and Shuster and artists from his studio pencilled and inked every story until 1947. The art graced stories written largely by Don Cameron ,
583-408: A nemesis of Clark, became the last major addition to Clark's supporting cast with his debut in Superboy #157 (1969). Early on, the Superboy feature became a platform for backdating first meetings between Superman and members of his supporting cast, nearly always contradicting previously established continuity. Thus, Superboy first meets Perry White in a 1947 story ( Adventure Comics #120), and in
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#1732852219675636-500: A regular cast of supervillains. Some of these villains first made their appearance in the Superboy feature, and would later go on to plague Superman. Superboy first meets another human survivor of Krypton, Klax-Ar, a villain who claims he destroyed the planet, in Superboy #67 (1958). Three years later, both the Phantom Zone and its most infamous occupant, General Zod , make their first appearances in Adventure Comics #283 (1961), in
689-597: A story that features Superboy accidentally trapping himself in the Phantom Zone after a cache of dangerous Kryptonian weapons arrives on Earth. Zod and other Phantom Zone villains would become recurring villains in Superboy stories, and go on to plague Superman. The first Bizarro , in Superboy #68 (1958), is an imperfect copy of Superboy. The Kryptonite Kid and his dog, aliens who could project Green Kryptonite radiation, start bedeviling Superboy and Krypto in 1960 ( Superboy #83). Superboy's cosmic heroics also earn him
742-507: A teenage Hal Jordan ( Green Lantern ); his Earth-Two counterpart, Clark Kent ( Kal-L ) as a teen; and Toby Manning (the villain Terra-Man ) as a boy in the Old West, all years after his first "adult" meetings with them were published. In a backup feature entitled "Superboy's Secret Diaries'", the new series also explored Clark's first couple years as Superboy. Another milestone for young Clark
795-596: A trip to the Moon, intercept a comet in outer space, and fly back in time to the American Revolutionary War . After the debut of the Superboy comic, Superboy's mythos and supporting cast expanded as well. His home town finally received a name, Smallville, in the second issue. The town's location was never specified, although it was usually placed close to Metropolis . Superboy's foster parents, previously only Mr. and Mrs. Kent in their infrequent appearances in
848-506: Is a superhero that appears in American comic books published by DC Comics . The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Don Cameron and is based on the character of Superman that Siegel co-created with Joe Shuster . Superboy first appeared in the comic book More Fun Comics #101 in 1945. Superboy is Superman in his preteen and teenage years. Most of his adventures take place in the fictional town of Smallville . The first pitch for
901-459: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages More Fun Comics In the latter half of 1934, having seen the emergence of Famous Funnies and other oversize magazines reprinting comic strips, Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications and published New Fun #1 on January 11, 1935 ( cover-dated February 1935). A tabloid-sized, 10-inch by 15-inch, 36-page magazine with
954-522: Is the young Lex Luthor . In a story in Adventure Comics #271 (1960) that purported to reveal the origin of the enmity between Luthor and Superman, Lex is revealed as a brilliant Smallville teen who is a friend of Superboy until Lex blames him for a lab fire that destroys a critical experiment and causes Lex to lose his hair. Superman's first encounters with his mineral nemesis, Kryptonite , were also backdated to his boyhood. The first Superboy story with Kryptonite, in Adventure Comics #171 (1951), followed
1007-419: The Legion of Super-Heroes and into his arrival and introduction to Metropolis as Superman. We've included the first three covers with the interview and you can see a pretty big part of Clark Kent's history is being reintroduced as well - namely, Superboy. But with a bit of a twist." The first issue of the miniseries depicts teenage Clark first suiting up shortly after learning that he is from Krypton. In
1060-768: The 1819 novel Ivanhoe , spy drama "Sandra of the Secret Service", and a strip based on an early Walt Disney creation Oswald the Lucky Rabbit . Most significantly, however, whereas some of the existing publications had eventually included a small amount of original material, generally as filler, New Fun #1 was the first comic book containing all-original material. Additionally, it carried advertising, whereas previous comic books were sponsored by corporations such as Procter & Gamble , Kinney Shoes , and Canada Dry beverages, and ad-free. The first four issues were edited by future Funnies, Inc. , founder Lloyd Jacquet ,
1113-459: The 1970s stories featuring Superboy being set in the 1950s. Starting with the debut in 1980 of a new Superboy comic, the Boy of Steel's era was moved up again, to take place in the late 1960s/early 1970s. This also explained Superman's shifting age within his own comic books. In 1953, Mort Weisinger became the editor of Superboy and Adventure Comics , and under his guidance, Superboy began to acquire
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#17328522196751166-455: The Legion (usually without Superboy) took over Supergirl's spot as the backup in Action Comics . In 1971, the Legion moved over to Superboy as a semi-regular backup. History repeated itself as the Legion backup feature quickly became more popular than the title feature. Beginning with Superboy #197 (1973), the cover logo was changed to read Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes , and
1219-426: The Legion displaced Superboy as the lead feature in Adventure Comics , and soon forced original Superboy stories out altogether. Superboy's last consecutive original story in Adventure Comics #315 (1963) ended a run of 213 original Superboy features in the series. Superboy still appeared in nearly every Legion story through Adventure Comics #380 (1969). In the next issue, the Legion was replaced by Supergirl, while
1272-571: The Legion in The Legion of Super-Heroes #259, as well as the one-shot Superboy Spectacular #1. Much as Superboy's debut in Adventure Comics depicts Clark celebrating his tenth birthday, The New Adventures of Superboy #1 features Clark celebrating his sixteenth birthday and includes a flashback to Clark's first days as Superboy at the time of his eighth birthday. Later issues of the series continue themes from Superboy's earlier runs in Adventure Comics and Superboy. For example, Superboy first meets
1325-422: The Legion of Super-Heroes from #231-258. With Legion of Super-Heroes (vol. 2) #259 (1980), an issue in which Superboy leaves the Legion, Superboy's name was ousted from the title altogether. Though he still sometimes appeared in the series that once bore his name, the series remained a Legion comic until its last issue, #354 (1987). After the Legion took over Superboy's own title, the solo Superboy feature itself
1378-451: The Legion), and even Superman stories. The team membership also exploded from the initial three members to nearly twenty. Finally, the Legion got its own feature, starting in Adventure Comics #300 (1962), with Superboy usually, but not always, appearing as part of the team. The popularity of the Legion of Super-Heroes soon rivaled that of Superboy himself. Nine issues after their feature debut,
1431-406: The Legion, including Superboy, took the lead spot in the comic. The Superboy backup in #197 was the last original Superboy feature to appear in his own title. With the next issue, Superboy became an exclusively Legion of Super-Heroes title, with Superboy appearing in every issue as a Legion member. The series title remained Superboy through #230 (1977), after which the series became Superboy and
1484-529: The New World , an album by the band X Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title More Fun . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=More_Fun&oldid=1147088795 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
1537-479: The Smallville police, Chief Douglas Parker , who first appears in Adventure Comics #225 (1956), is the first officer to become a regular supporting character. Pete Ross first appears in Superboy #86 (1961) and quickly becomes Clark's best friend—and just four issues later, the guardian of his secret identity after accidentally finding it out while witnessing him changing into his costume. Bash Bashford, bully and
1590-418: The Superboy feature, finally appeared on a cover ( Superboy #3), began appearing more frequently in the stories, and received permanent first names, Jonathan in Adventure Comics #149 (1950) and Martha in Superboy #12 (1951). Superboy #8 (1950) saw the first adventure of "Superbaby," a character which extends the "Junior Superman" concept to that of a super-powered toddler. The Superbaby stories are set in
1643-503: The Superboy story in Adventure Comics #252 (1958). Unlike his adult self, Superboy inhabits a world that is (in his time) largely devoid of other superheroes. Superboy occasionally meets heroes from other worlds, such as "Mars Boy", through both his visits to their worlds and their visits to Earth. Kal-El even meets time-traveling teen heroes of the future, including Robin and Supergirl . Mostly, though, Superboy lacks superheroic peers with whom he could regularly interact. In 1958,
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1696-527: The author of the first Superboy story in More Fun Comics #101. One of the artists from the Shuster studio, John Sikela, started drawing Superboy stories in late 1946, and in 1949, when Superboy #1 debuted, Sikela became DC's primary artist on Superboy, and he remained the primary artist until he retired in 1958. A frequent collaborator was fellow Shuster shop alumni Ed Dobrotka. Curt Swan , who would later dominate Superman artwork for nearly 30 years, first drew
1749-529: The deaths of his adoptive parents was explored in a backup feature called "Superman: The In-Between Years" that appeared in Superman in the early 1980s. This backup feature was followed by a 1985 four-issue miniseries called Superman: The Secret Years that examines Superboy's junior year, and how he starts calling himself Superman. Following Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985-1986), The Man of Steel (1986) modified Superman's backstory so that he no longer had
1802-406: The earliest Superboy stories was provided by Jack Schiff, one of Detective Comics' major editors in their early years, and he continued editing Superboy until 1953, when Mort Weisinger took over on both Superboy and Adventure Comics. Weisinger would later edit the entire Superman line. Over the course of the next few years, Weisinger brought in new writers and artists to work on Superboy. Perhaps
1855-622: The enmity of an alien criminal task force, the Superboy Revenge Squad starting in Superboy #94 (1961). Two months later, the Revenge Squad started showing up in Superman stories. Some of Superman's established foes were also backdated to his days as Superboy. Mister Mxyzptlk , the magical imp from the Fifth Dimension who had been Superman's bane since 1944, begins plaguing Superboy in Superboy #78 (1960). The most famous example
1908-401: The feature into the 1960s. Other early, notable Superboy writers included science fiction writer Edmond Hamilton and Batman co-creator Bill Finger . Finger left a permanent impression on the Superboy mythos when, in just the course of a few months, he introduced readers to Superbaby and Lana Lang, in stories illustrated by Curt Swan and John Sikela, respectively. Editorial guidance for
1961-499: The first Superman comic with Kryptonite by three years—and its use on the Superman radio show by eight years. Five years later, a Superbaby flashback in Adventure Comics #231 (1956) backdated Clark's first encounter with Kryptonite yet again. Though Green Kryptonite, the type that can kill Superman, originally appeared in Superman stories, Red Kryptonite, whose temporary effects on Superman are unpredictable, made its first appearance in
2014-412: The first team-up between Superboy and Aquaboy was also the first story that occurred in a " floating timeline ," with Superboy stories taking place perpetually 15 years or so behind the current year. In the earliest stories, the time period in which Superboy's adventures were set was never clearly defined, with some adventures seemingly taking place in the same year the story was published. For example, in
2067-1079: The following year, meets Lois Lane ( Adventure Comics #128), years after the adult Clark Kent had first met his fellow Daily Planet staffers in Superman stories. In a similar vein, Kal-El later meets toddler Jimmy Olsen ( Adventure Comics #216, 1955) while still Superboy, as well as meeting a time traveling teenage Jimmy Olsen ( Superboy #55, 1957). Superman's first meetings with a number of his fellow superheroes were also backdated to his adolescence. Thus, Superboy meets Bruce Wayne ( Batman ) in World's Finest Comics #84 (1956) and on three subsequent occasions; Clark befriends short-term Smallville resident Oliver Queen ( Green Arrow ) in Adventure Comics #258 (1959); Superboy teams up with Aquaboy ( Aquaman ) to fight polluters in Superboy #171 (1971); Superboy meets Barbara Gordon ( Batgirl ) in Adventure Comics #453 (1977) and Clark befriends Hal Jordan ( Green Lantern ) in New Adventures of Superboy #13 (1981). The story about
2120-408: The late 1940s. For example, the three stories published in Superboy #1 had elements of teen romance, juvenile delinquency, and teen humor. In the words of Robert Greenberger, "No costumed super-villains plagued Smallville." Not only are the earliest Superboy stories free of supervillains, Superboy himself is essentially earthbound and remains in the story "present." Not until 1949 does Superboy take
2173-479: The latter title through issue #32 (June 1938), following the magazine's retitling as More Fun (issues #7–8, Jan.-Feb. 1936), and More Fun Comics (#9-on). In issue #101 (Feb. 1945), Siegel and Shuster introduced Superboy , a teenage version of Superman, in a new feature chronicling the adventures of the Man of Steel when he was a boy growing up in the rural Midwestern United States . With issue #108 (March 1946), all
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2226-455: The limited series Infinite Crisis concluded in 2006, Superman's backstory has been modified again, and many elements of Superboy's history have been restored to his biography. The limited series Superman: Secret Origin (2009-2010) fleshes out many of the details of Kal-El's revised backstory. The writer of the limited series, Geoff Johns , describes the story as follows: "It goes from Clark's teenage years, through his first adventure with
2279-564: The live-action television series Superboy began its four-year broadcast. In late 1989, DC Comics began publishing a new Superboy comic book based on the TV series. As in the TV series, in the comic Clark Kent (Superboy) is in college, attending Shuster University in Florida. The new Superboy comic lasted 22 issues and one special, ceasing publication in 1992, just about the time the TV series itself came to an end. In recent years, particularly since
2332-471: The most significant new additions were writer Otto Binder , former Fawcett Comics and Marvel Family scripter, who started writing Superboy stories in 1954, and artist Al Plastino , who drew Superboy starting in 1957. Together, the two men wrote the story "The Legion of Super-Heroes" in Adventure Comics #247 (1958), giving birth to perhaps the most successful spinoff from the Superman family of comics. Three years earlier, Binder had also introduced Krypto in
2385-442: The next, after a three-month hiatus, by Wheeler-Nicholson himself. Issue #6 (Oct. 1935) brought the comic-book debuts of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , the future creators of Superman , who began their careers with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval" (doing the first two installments before turning it over to others) and, under the pseudonyms "Leger and Reuths", the supernatural adventurer Doctor Occult . They would remain on
2438-435: The publisher and Siegel and Shuster. After just seven issues of More Fun Comics , the Superboy feature moved to Adventure Comics , where he debuted in issue #103 (1946) as the cover and lead feature for the anthology comic. In a period when the popularity of superheroes was generally in decline, the adventures of Superboy became increasingly popular. Three years after the move to Adventure Comics , Superboy became only
2491-606: The second issue, Clark performs rescues and other super-feats in costume, but keeps his activities secret, giving rise to the myth of a "super-boy" operating in and around Smallville. He also joins the Legion of Super-Heroes under the identity of Superboy. Later in the same issue, Clark finds Krypto after the dog arrives on Earth. Clark does not go public with his superhero identity until after he has grown up and moved to Metropolis. Superboy (Kal-El) appeared in Adventure Comics from #12/#515 (August 2010) to #520 (January 2011) as
2544-455: The sixth DC superhero to receive his own comic book when Superboy #1 debuted in 1949. Superboy became the first new superhero title to succeed since World War II. The first Superboy story also updated the origin of Superman , and for the first time shows his father Jor-El as being aware that his son Kal-El would have powers on Earth that he does not have on Krypton. In this original story, years after his arrival on Earth, Clark Kent saves
2597-516: The superhero features were moved from More Fun into Adventure Comics . More Fun became a humor title that spotlighted the children's fantasy feature "Jimminy and the Magic Book". The series was canceled with issue #127 (Dec 1947). Superboy (Kal-El) Strength, Stamina, Endurance, Speed, Agility, Reflexes, Intelligence, Longevity, Hearing EM Spectrum Vision, Infra-red Vision, Microscopic Vision, Telescopic Vision, X-ray Vision Superboy
2650-505: The time just after the Kents adopt Clark. Superboy #10 (1950) featured the first appearance of Lana Lang , a character that would become a romantic foil for both Superboy and the grown-up Superman. Lana's debut also featured her first attempt to learn Superboy's secret identity. In Adventure Comics #210 (1955), Superboy acquires a superdog, Krypto , the first additional survivor of Krypton that he meets. Though Superboy regularly interacts with
2703-698: Was nearly moribund. For over three years, DC published no solo Superboy feature story. Then the strip was revived for a stand-alone story in DC Super-Stars #12 (1977). Several months later, the Superboy feature returned to a regular publication schedule when the strip returned to its second home. Superboy headlined Adventure Comics for issues #453-458 (1977-1978), and then moved to The Superman Family , appearing in issues #191-198 (1978-1979). Finally, in late 1979, DC Comics gave Superboy his own comic again. The release of The New Adventures of Superboy #1 (January 1980) coincided with Superboy's (temporary) departure from
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#17328522196752756-451: Was the introduction of Lisa Davis, a romantic interest who was attracted solely to Clark Kent, with no idea whatsoever of his secret identity (as opposed to Lana Lang's on-again, off-again suspicions of a Clark-Superboy connection); the two would appear as a couple until the series' end. The New Adventures of Superboy lasted 54 issues, with the final issue published in 1984. Superboy's life in college following his high school graduation and
2809-701: Was usually depicted as being in his early teens. Billed as "The Adventures of Superman When He Was a Boy", Superboy stories in both Adventure Comics and Superboy treat him as essentially a junior version of Superman. To that end, he wears the Superman costume and (beginning in More Fun Comics #107) his alter ego Clark Kent wears glasses as a disguise for his civilian identity. Superboy's powers are identical to those of Superman, including enhanced strength, speed, vision, and hearing, plus flight and invulnerability. Though clearly superhero stories, Superboy's earliest adventures shared features with non-superhero comics of
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