Member Since January 2006
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Superman Strip (1291) from 1943-03-02 by Joe Shuster and Wayne Boring

Location: My Art Collection - Comic Strips
Artists: Joe Shuster (Layouts) , Wayne Boring (Finisher) , Jerry Siegel (Writer)

1740 Views - 24 Comments - 13 Likes

Location: My Art Collection - Comic Strips
Title: Superman Strip (1291) from 1943-03-02 by Joe Shuster and Wayne Boring*
Artist: Joe Shuster (Layouts) , Wayne Boring (Finisher) , Jerry Siegel (Writer)
Media Type: Pen and Ink
Art Type: Comic Strip
For Sale Status: NFS
Views: 1740
Likes on CAF: 13
Comments: 24
Added to Site: 12/19/2022

Superman was created by Jerry Siegel (writer) and Joe Shuster (artist). It was originally intended as a comic strip (because that's where the money was for comic artists in the 1930s and on), but they couldn't sell it.

Sheldon Mayer reached into the submittal pile and pulled out their Superman strip and put it in Action Comics #1 and, thereby, triggering the entire super-hero genre and making comic books famous.

The popularity of the comic book led to the team's real goal - comic strips in the paper! They had achieved their goal!

This is the 1291st strip and I don't know how much Joe did on this strip. It's early so it's possible that he did a lot, but it's also the case that he might have done only Superman or maybe only the pencils under Superman or even nothing.

Why I Bought It
I bought this strip because:

I loved the image of Superman (Note he's swimming. Superman was not a distance flyer in 1943)
The Nazi aircraft
The signature
The hope that Joe actually worked on it.

Who is Annie Laurie?
No, she wasn't a character in the strip. She's a Scottish woman about whom a famous song was written. How famous, you ask? Well, enough so that the she and the song are in the Wikipedia and Bing Crosby recorded it on an album.

My Original Thought Unencumbered by Facts!
However, it's signed by Joe to "Ike." The seller believed it was all Joe's work since he signed it. I believe he was involved in it since he signed it, but I doubt it is 100% him.

If anyone asks me, I'm going to say that "Ike" was General Dwight David Eisenhower who was well know as Ike.

Why do I say that? Well, EVERYONE was a Superman fan and Ike was busy fighting the villains in the strip. So, it was bound to be him, right?

Reality or Close to It
Mitch Itkowitz and Bruce Haley reached out to me about my post. Both of them pointed me to Ike Wilson as the Ike to whom the strip is signed. Sigh... There goes my story!

So, I wrote to Ike, an e-friend of long standing, and asked him about the strip. He wrote a few notes that I've combined here with minor edits:

Yeah, I used to own this daily over 30 years ago. When I first met Joe Shuster in 1983, I had him to sign and personalize it. I’m thinking that it is Joe Shuster and Wayne Boring. Actually, I bought this from Stu Reisbord at Cartoon Carnival. And yes, I did have a photo taken with Shuster. I would send you the pic, but I’m not sure where it is right now.

Conclusion
The signature is real.
The Ike is Ike Wilson, the Admin of the DICK SPRANG -- THE "GOOD" BATMAN ARTIST!!! Facebook Page (and not the 5-Star general :( ).
Joe probably did layouts and I suspect Superman's face.
Wayne did most (maybe all) of the rest.
The piece was sold twice publicly - once on Heritage and once on eBay.

P.S., this is not the only strip from the newspaper in which Superman swam to Europe and fought Nazi's. In fact, it's the second. I scanned the other strip from the reprint book and put it in the Additional Images section.

About The Owner

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Member Since: January 2006
Last Login: July 2026
Ebay Id: alxjhnsn
Country: UNITED STATES
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Steve Kro Member Since 2007

Posted On 12/19/2022

I like Ike...and this strip. WOW!

Mitch Itkowitz Member Since 2006

Posted On 12/19/2022

Shuster signed the Daily to Ike Wilson, long time collector.

Not much Shuster in that Daily. Possibly layouts.

Marcus Wai Member Since 2005

Posted On 12/20/2022

Beautiful artwork from the wartime era as we can see that even Superman has to give way in his own strip.

Rob Stolzer Member Since 2004

Posted On 12/20/2022

A wonderful example, Alex. I see Shuster's hand in the faces. The Craft-tint paper looks to be in fine shape as well. Congrats my friend.

artless artmore Member Since 2013

Posted On 12/20/2022

Wonderful!

Malcolm Bourne Member Since 2005

Posted On 12/20/2022

Absolutely SUPER!!!

Ruben DaCollector Member Since 2008

Posted On 12/20/2022

I don't care who drew it. Any involvement by Schuster is purely speculative anyway. It's already a treasure for what it is, an early Golden Age era daily featuring Superman fighting in WWII. Love it!

David Grisez Member Since 2009

Posted On 12/20/2022

Great piece...awesome story. Another gem amongst gems. Thanks for sharing.

* bronze-is-gold Member Since 2007

Posted On 12/20/2022

What a privledge to own an original Shuster Superman and what a fantastic image. Wonderful! Congrats! Well worth killing those comics to obtain this.

Ian Saint Member Since 2021

Posted On 12/20/2022

I love this strip. I totally thought Eisenhower and I still think its a perfectly fine story lol. I always loved the I like Ike pins in the antique shops. That is cool being able to find the person who previously owned it and possibly may see a picture one day with it. Congrats on a very cool piece.

Miki Annamanthadoo Member Since 2003

Posted On 12/20/2022

Historic!

Bob Kopman Member Since 2007

Posted On 12/20/2022

Great strip, Alex. I really like it.

Aaron N. Member Since 2009

Posted On 12/20/2022

Fine, but who is Annie Laurie?

Filmore W. Bedwick Member Since 2003

Posted On 12/20/2022

SUPERb!!!!!!

Steve Lipsky Member Since 2008

Posted On 12/20/2022

Alaex, color me jealous! This one has it all-Shuster layouts, Boring finishes, Superman, the Allies and Nazi planes gunning for Allied ships. Also, I will continue to beleive that this was dedicated to General Dwight David Eisenhower! Facts be damned! (As an aside, on this strip Superman is swimming because he is suffering from the effects of Plaid Kryptonite--it gives him the powers of Aquaman!)

Bill J Member Since 2009

Posted On 12/20/2022

What a fantastic strip! Do you also have the next strip where (I assume) Superman takes out those nasty Nazis?

Paul P Spiderversity Member Since 2011

Posted On 12/20/2022

Was Joe Shuster involved at all? Then I am in AWE, my friend. Really cool Superman strip from 1943!!

Andrew Buzzetta Member Since 2014

Posted On 12/20/2022

Golden Age Superman art. I am beyong impressed. Congratulations on the pickup in both its comic and historical legacy.

Steven biali001 Member Since 2005

Posted On 12/21/2022

Great strip!!

Rob L Member Since 2003

Posted On 12/21/2022

AWESOME! Congratulations!

Larry Wilson Member Since 2012
Forum Moderator

Posted On 12/21/2022

I am blown away. Big time congrats to you.

A N H Member Since 2018

Posted On 1/7/2023

Phenomenal war time era strip. Love the story and drawn beautifully.

Lee P Member Since 2011

Posted On 4/21/2023

This is a really nice strip with great images and a better background story. Thanks for sharing

Thomas Ward Member Since 2004

Posted On 7/12/2025

In the past couple of years I have become a huge Superman fan, and wow!!! This really knocks it out of the park! Great background story and acquisition, love it!

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Superman Strip (1291) from 1943-03-02 by Joe Shuster and Wayne Boring

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