Supermen of America

Above, the official member pin of the Supermen of America Fan Club. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The topic of the Supermen of America Fan Club by National Periodical Publications (now DC Comics) came up on one of the Adventures of Superman Facebook groups. So I did some digging.

Several group members posted that they were members of the Supermen of American club, as was I. I joined in the mid-1960s.

According to the National Museum of American History:

Supermen of America, an official fan club for the DC Comics character Superman, was active from 1939-1965. Beginning with a call for “all young red-blooded Americans,” the club enrolled those who pledged to “increase his or her strength and courage” and “to aid the course of justice.” This packet, produced during the organization’s final years, contains two welcome letters, one from the club and one “signed” by Superman’s alter-ego Clark Kent. The kit also includes a code book with corresponding decoder ring, a club pin, a patch and a sound recording.

The character of Superman first flew into action in 1938. The costumed superhero was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two Jewish teenagers from Cleveland Ohio, who used, among other things, Classical mythology, philosopher Fredrich Nietzche’s concept of the “uber mensch,” and the era’s popular science fiction and adventure writing, for inspiration.

I don't remember the sound recording or the decoder ring, but I do remember the letters. The club pin (a pinback button) is the only item that I still have. As the club ended in 1965, I must have joined shortly before it folded.

The pins can be found on eBay and elsewhere for around $50.

To read more, go here.