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ACTION COMICS #1 is published by National Publications (later DC Comics, after their popular DETECTIVE COMICS title.) This was the first magazine to be comprised of completely original material (previous comic books were reprints of newspaper strips,) and featured the debut of SUPERMAN. Superman was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and immediately struck a chord with Depression-era readers.
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in the pages of DETECTIVE COMICS #27. Inspired by Johnston McCulley's aristocrat-by-day/masked avenger-by-night, Zorro, and the success of Superman, artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger create a character right out of pulp lore: BATMAN.
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[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn8PJ4AEhmY](THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL (1941) Trailer) Artist C.C. Beck and writer Bill Parker's CAPTAIN MARVEL character becomes the first superhero to make the leap into live action film, thanks to a 12-chapter serial produced by REBUBLIC PICTURES. Long before Henry Cavill or Robert Downey, Jr., western star TOM TYLER became cinema's first man in tights.
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SUPERMAN: THE MAD SCIENTIST (1941) Legendary FLEISCHER STUDIOS and Paramount team up to release the first of several, critically-acclaimed animated shorts starring SUPERMAN. These films are widely-praised for their high production value and quality.
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WONDER WOMAN debuts in DC's ALL-STAR COMIC #8, and becomes the first major, female superhero to sustain her own longrunning series.
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Psychiatrist FREDRIC WERTHAM effectively kills the superhero. In his book SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT, Wertham attacks the comic book industry and claims superhero fiction is responsible for violent behaviour in young people.
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Writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby bring superhero comics back to their former glory and forced them into a bold new direction with FANTASTIC FOUR #1.
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Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko create a star, teenage superhero with problems, in and out of the mask. SPIDER-MAN swung unto the pages of ACTION COMICS #15 in 1962 and became one of Marvel's most beloved characters.
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Original Trailer Director Richard Donner's SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, starring Christopher Reeve, became the first big-budget, Hollywood film to take the comic book seriously.
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Writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbon's WATCHMEN and Frank Miller's THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS elevate the comic book (or "graphic novel") to the level of critically-lauded, existentialist literature.
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DC Comics sold record issues when they decided to kill off SUPERMAN at the hands of the monster, DOOMSDAY. Meanwhile, IMAGE COMICS is formed, dedicated to giving rights back to artists and creators. With the creation of new characters such as SPAWN, they quickly become strong competition for the Big Two, DC and Marvel.
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After BLADE (1998) renews interest in Marvel properties, director Bryan Singer's X-MEN takes Marvel's team of mutants and turns them into box office gold. This effectively starts the superhero movie renaisance that continues to this day.
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The MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE, beginning with IRON MAN (2008) and culminating in THE AVENGERS (2012), and IRON MAN 3 (2013) grosses over $5 billion worldwide, Figures show there's still interest in these dime-store pulp characters, yet.
