The Superman #1 by Joe Shuster first cover from 1933

I was the very first person to ever publish what has turned out to be the very first proposed cover to the very first Superman comic book attempt by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster way back in 1933 done for Humor Publishing Company

In 1970 I drove to early mentor Russ Cochran's house then in Adel Iowa. Living in Fremont Nebraska as a then high school student, it was about a two hour trek. He was just getting back from New York City, concluding deals with Bill Gaines for the first EC reprint projects as well as Frank Frazetta concerning the hand-coloring jobs the master was to soon perform on Weird Science Fantasy #29. I got one, treasured it for a long time.

When our vintage comic book dealing was concluded, Russ motioned me to come over to a folio he had sitting on his pool table in the basement which contained therein four ripped up pieces of art which went to one single scene, the edges slightly singed by fire, which, when put together, formed the cover you see here saying,

THE SUPERMAN; A SCIENCE FICTION STORY IN CARTOONS

Further, the cover stipulates this was

THE MOST ASTOUNDING FICTION CHARACTER OF ALL TIME

Russ proceeded to tell me a tale that this came out of the desk of early comic book promoter and publisher, Max (Charlie) Gaines, found by his son William in 1969 crumpled up in the back of a drawer in his father's desk which had sat untouched since the boating accident in August 1947. Russ said that Bill said he wasn't that much into Superman, then Russ said to me he wasn't that much into Superman either, and did I want to trade him a hundred dollars worth of vintage comic books for it. He remains a consummate salesman, I came home with these four torn. fire singed pieces. I did not know what i had then back summer of 1970, but I knew I had something, thinking to myself how best to preserve for posterity what may be something very important to the annals of comics history.

Back in Fremont a short time later II went down to a local printer asking him queries. He suggested we make up a printer's negative upon which he taught me how to use red opaque paint to clear off all the ripped paper marks. Then we printed 300 copies of what you see here. I began offering them in the pages of Stan's Weekly Express as well as GB Love's Rocket's Blast ComiCollector.

Sold a few to equally curious like-minded souls such as Gary Coddington and Charlie Roberts who went on to make a smaller size version which Joe Shuster signed 50 of them as I got caught up with being a partner in Comics & Comix as we expanded from one store to four spread out a hundred miles.

Many years later most of the story behind the mystery of this cover has been uncovered, brought to light, a decent synopsis written by me in each annual edition of long-running Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide fronting their main price index section titled, Origin of the Modern Comic Book; They have asked me to relate some of the comics history I have uncovered over a lifetime of studying the art form known as the comic strip in all its myriad arcane styles and formats combining the powerful force of words with pictures, sequential art story telling some of us call it.

So the story goes this first incarnation of The Superman was rejected by a Chicago publisher named Humor Publishing, Joe, so the legend goes, in a fit of depression, threw the entire book into the fireplace. Jerry reached in to save the ripped into four pieces of cover, somehow it got to be crushed behind a drawer in Max Gaines desk until son Bill was cleaning out his father's study in late 1969, who then the next year gave it to Russ Cochran, who within a week of that happening, traded it to me. I then had a small number printed up. There are only a few left.

Now look closely at the weird rip line in Superman's rump plus his forehead. I left that part unchanged by the red opaque paint when the printing negative was being prepped for printing to show at least a portion of what it originally looked like all over before being lovingly restored to see what impact it originally had as devised by the creators of arguably the most popular fiction character of our time to date.

Here is your rare chance to enjoy a true piece of American Popular Culture History. I have just a very few left

SHARP CORNERS MEASURES A WHOPPIN' 14 X 22.5 INCHES double up from the size of the original art