<P> Looking to comics as a vehicle for their ideas, they formulated a different take on the concept of the superman, with the character being a physically powerful hero . They pitched this unsuccessfully to newspaper syndicates as a comic strip . Siegel sent it to National Comics in New York where it languished in a drawer . When a publisher had difficulty deciding on an appropriate cover for a new magazine called Action Comics, someone pulled out the Superman proposal, showing him lifting a car with his hands . The publisher allegedly called it "ridiculous", but still decided to later put it on the cover . He wrote Siegel and Shuster and asked them if they could put together a 13 - page story for Action Comics #1 . </P> <P> Siegel and Shuster hurriedly cut and pasted their newspaper strip into comic book form and sent it off . In the summer, Action Comics hit the newsstands . Sales figures were not as immediate as today, but when Action #4 hit the stands, sales were off the charts . Astounded by this, the publisher is reported to have gone down to his local newsstand and asked a kid, "Why are you reading this one?" pointing to Action Comics . "Because it's the one that has Superman in it, mister ." </P> <P> The revised Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1, June 1938 . Siegel and Shuster sold the rights to the company for $130 and a contract to supply the publisher with material . The Saturday Evening Post reported in 1960 that the pair was being paid $75,000 each per year, still a fraction of DC's Superman profits . In 1964, when Siegel and Shuster sued for more money, DC fired them, prompting a legal battle that ended in 1967, when they accepted $200,000 and signed away any further claim to Superman or any character created from him . DC soon took Siegel's and Shuster's names off the byline . Following the huge financial success of Superman in 1978 and news reports of their pauper - like existences, Warner Communications gave Siegel and Shuster lifetime pensions of $35,000 per year and health care benefits . In addition, any media production which includes the Superman character must include the credit, "Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster". </P> <P> Throughout the decade of Superman's existence, DC sued several competing comic book publishers for introducing superheroes with similar powers . Among these companies were Fox Feature Syndicate for its character Wonderman, and Fawcett Comics for its character Master Man . In 1941, DC filed a lawsuit against Fawcett over the top - selling character of the time whom DC perceived as a Superman clone, Captain Marvel . During the National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications case, Fawcett fought the lawsuit, and continued publishing Captain Marvel, who surpassed Superman and the other superheroes in sales in the mid-1940s . By 1953, the case had been in litigation for twelve years, and in court for five . The case was decided in DC's favor . Fawcett paid DC a fine and ceased publication of all Captain Marvel - related comics . DC would acquire the rights to Captain Marvel in the 1970s and the former rival characters would be presented as allies, with Captain Marvel often serving as the Kryptonian's substitute in emergencies . </P>

When was the first superman comic book published