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July 26, 2015: Superman Radio Show's 75th Anniversary Celebrated at Comic-Con

Superman on Radio On Thursday, July 9 at 10.00am at San Diego Comic-Con, a panel consisting of former DC Comics president Paul Levitz (World's Finest), Len Wein (creator of Swamp Thing and Wolverine), Mark Waid (The Flash, Captain America), and moderator Anthony Tollin (Smithsonian Superman on Radio) got together for "Up, Up and Away: 75th Anniversary of the 1940 Premiere of the Superman Radio Series", a panel which discussed the legendary radio program that introduced Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, Kryptonite, and the Superman-Batman team into the Superman mythos, and its importance in expanding the Man of Steel's popularity.

    Tollin said that the radio show's opening had defined Superman for many that grew up listening to the show. Jimmy Olsen aside, the Superman radio show also introduced Perry White, Kryptonite, and was the first medium to bring Superman and Batman together for their first team-up.

    Tollin and Waid both credited the radio show in Superman's meteoric rise in pop-culture, with Tollin adding that the Man of Steel was the first superhero to move beyond comic books; he appeared in 30 million daily newspaper strips and five million people listened to the radio show.

    "There's no pop-culture precedent for this," said Waid. "If you can imagine that Superman first appeared in the summer of 1938 and by the end of 1939 and 1940, he was everywhere. In newspapers, the New York World's Fair, at Macy's doing appearances, toy stores... on radio, everywhere." Waid chalked it up to smart, calculated marketing that made the character's presence felt everywhere immediately.

    Bud Collyer - the voice of Clark Kent and Superman - was called the "forgotten Superman" by Tollin, who noted that Collyer played The Man of Steel for a remarkable 1,500 radio episodes for almost 10 years, versus George Reeves' better-remembered television portrayal that would follow in the 1950s; that show, titled "The Adventures of Superman," lasted 104 episodes.

You can read the full report on this panel at ComicBookResources.com.


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