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A 15% BUYER'S PREMIUM WILL BE ADDED TO THIS ITEM AT CONCLUSION OF THE AUCTION
cream to off-white pages
4th Superman cover, classic Joe Shuster train cover; cf is ad for Superman #1


Action Comics #13 sports a legendary cover by Superman co-creator Joe Shuster, in what's only the Man of Steel's fourth cover appearance after nearly a year of shaking up the industry. There's also the announcement of the upcoming Superman #1, plus the first appearance of Superman's first real arch-nemesis! The Ultra-Humanite was clearly inspired by villains from Saturday serials and Republic B-thrillers, with the wheelchair-bound mad genius proving to be a cunning rival for our super-protagonist. (The Ultra-Humanite also addressed concerns from DC's business associates that Superman couldn't just keep beating up mobsters all the time.)

The start of the Superman solo title didn't mean that DC was pulling him from Action , however. In fact, the company would start featuring Superman on the cover with increasing frequency, no longer relying on pulp-style imagery or repurposed pieces from other anthology titles. Superman was clearly a keeper, as established by this truly historic issue that — like so many early Action issues — remains extremely rare.