Heading: Superman's First Flight?
Author:
Title: TRIUMPH * Lot of 19 Issues * Superman's UK Debut
Place Published: United Kingdom
Publisher:Amalgamated Press, Ltd.
Date Published: 1939
Description: Lot of 19 issues of Triumph, a British children's weekly containing early Superman reprints, representing the Man of Steel's first UK appearances. Each magazine-sized issue is 24 pages including wrappers, featuring a mixture of text and illustrations, with duotone covers and black & white interiors. Covers and pages are newsprint. Pages generally cream to off-white. "War cards" not present. Covers by Jock McCail and, possibly, others. Includes stories by Jerry Siegel and art by Joe Shuster. Lot comprises:

#771: Fair (1.0). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, spine tattered, spine of cover nearly split with cover barely attached, tape repairs to back cover, residue from removed tape, tears. Back cover ad promotes Superman's debut in the next ish: "This is the cover of next week's TRIUMPH. Stories about all your favorite characters, and a sensational new picture-serial starts."
#772: Fair/Good (1.5). Staples removed, spine tattered, edges nicked, tears, some finger soiling. Superman's UK debut. Superman is depicted flying thru space on the cover, making this mag's cover the first-ever depiction of the Man of Steel in flight (in the US comics, Superman was still leaping tall buildings in a single bound). A rare Superman mag, nearly unobtainable in any condition.
#773: Fair/Good (1.5). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, short tears to spine and edges, foxing and fingermarks, 3" tape repair to back cover, 3x4" chip to back cover.
#774: Good (2.0). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, short tears to spine, some edge nicks.
#776: Good (2.0). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, short tears to spine and edges, 1" tear to right edge of front cover.
#777: Good+ (2.5). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, mild spine roll, mild sun shadow to front cover.
#778: Good (2.0). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, bottom spine nicked, top right corner a bit toned, small pencil notation to front cover ("5 27 B").
#779: Good (2.0). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, mild spine roll, small chips to spine ends.
#780: Good (2.0). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, edges nicked and toned, small pencil notation to front cover ("0 23 E").
#781: Good (2.0). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, mild spine roll, corner creased, fingermarks.
#782: Good (2.0). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, mild edgewear.
#783: Good (2.0). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, short tears, edge toning, fingermarks.
#784: Good (2.0). Saples removed, rust residue from former staples, sun shadow to top edge of front cover, mild spine roll, short tears to spine. Superman cover.
#785: Good- (1.8). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, spine roll, 1" spine split, short tears to spine and edges, fingermarks.
#786: Good (2.0). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, corner crease, short tears to spine, edge nicks, fingermarks.
#787: Good (2.0). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, short tears to spine, 1" spine split, corners creased, fingermarks, sun shadow to bottom right corner of front cover.
#788: Fair (1.0). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, spine tattered and with several splits, 2" tear to all pages, bottom corner dogeared, penciled numbers to top margin of front cover, 2x2½" chip to back cover. Superman cover inspired by the cover to Action Comics #1.
#790: Good (2.0). Rusty staples, rust migration, short tears to spine, edge nicks, edges toned.
#791: Good- (1.8). Staples removed, rust residue from former staples, 2" tape repair to spine, short tears to spine and edges, mild fingermarks.

Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.The Action Ace in Albion: A rare, near-complete set of the UK children's weekly, Triumph, featuring the British debut of Superman. The Superman content is reprinted from the American newspaper comic strip by Siegel and Shuster, reformatted and with occasional newly-drawn panel illustrations interspersed. The first issue in this lot, #771, features an illustrated ad announcing Superman's imminent arrival, and issue #772 features a splendid cover illustration by "Jock" McCail depicting the Man of Steel in apparent flight high over the Earth, with Saturn looming in the distance. While some naysayers claim that Superman is merely taking a colossal leap, others insist that this cover is the very first depiction of the Action Ace in flight. Almost as significant is McCail's cover to #778, depicting Superman hefting a sedan overhead, a clear nod to the famous cover of Action Comics #1. This image appears to be the very first superhero cover homage in comics history.

"The Superman radio show is also traditionally credited with making us believe that a man could fly. While Superman was still simply leaping tall buildings in the comic books, the radio program which hit the airwaves on February 12, 1940 gave Superman the power of true flight, introducing famous phrases like 'Up, up and away!' and 'Look, up in the sky!' in the process.

"But it would appear there's more to this story. Superman was licensed for reprint publication in the British story paper Triumph beginning in Triumph #772, August 5 1939. Like most British story papers of the era, this series from publisher Amalgamated Press contained a mix of illustrated fiction and some comics.... Amalgamated used McClure Syndicate's Superman newspaper strips as a source, reformatting them into pages, often adding introductory half-splashes drawn by UK illustrator John 'Jock' McCail, who also did several Superman covers for this run. Triumph serialized Superman weekly in issues #772-792, 807-814.
"Superman's run in Triumph is noteworthy for several reasons. They are the first Superman comics to be published outside the United States, and because they are based on the comic strip source, they also contain the first more complete origin of the character to be published in comic book form anywhere in the world. And then there's that fascinating cover on the debut of the run, Triumph #772.

"This is clearly not Superman leaping tall buildings. He's flying up in the sky, high above the earth, using that now-familiar fist-first technique as he bursts towards us from the cover. Triumph #772 was published on August 5, 1939 — obviously well ahead of the debut of the Superman radio show on February 12, 1940. What happened here? Is it possible that the radio program writers were influenced by this cover from the UK? I think that's very possible — and perhaps even likely. — Mark Seifert, "Did a UK Publisher Make Us Believe Superman Could Fly in 1939?" Bleedingcool.com, June 15, 2019.****************************************
The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION comprises over 40,000 comic books, encompassing every single DC comic published for retail sale from 1934 to 2014. The collection was amassed by British music producer Ian Levine over the course of several decades, and it's been hailed as the single greatest collecting accomplishment in comic book history. This collection served as the basis for former DC Comics president Paul Levitz's monumental book 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking, published by Taschen in 2017. PBA is proud to present this epic collection in a series of themed sales, including The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION Part 3: The GOLDEN AGE, coming this summer. To join the DC Universe Collection notifications list, contact pba@pbagalleries.com.

Enjoying PBA's DC Universe Collection: Pre-Hero, Ashcans and Oddities sale? A very small number of softcover and limited edition hardcover auction catalogues are available for purchase. The catalogues are fully illustrated, thoroughly researched, and make excellent reference works for DC diehards. To order a copy, or to inquire about consignment opportunities, contact Ivan Briggs, PBA's Director of Comics: ivan@pbagalleries.com.