Happy 75th Anniversary of the Super-Hero!

[Bookery]

 

With all the fuss over million-dollar sales of Action #1, it's a bit surprising that no one here has celebrated the upcoming 75th Anniversary of the Super-Hero!

 

For it was sometime in June, 75 years ago, that the world first glimpsed the comic-art super-hero as we know it. Sure... one might make a case for Mandrake, The Phantom, or even Popeye. They have some of the qualifications, probably, but somehow it didn't all gel together until that fateful June, three-quarters of a century ago.

 

No... we're talking about an alien from another world who combined the remarkable assets of both super-strength AND x-ray vision and used them to fight for justice, throwing villainous adversaries about as if they were rag dolls.

 

Of course we're all aware of the empire that has grown up since that famous first appearance... the toys, the serials, the TV shows, the ubiquitous mass marketing and CGC-filled epic movies, the battle the character spawned over creator rights, the...

 

Oh, wait. Nothing in that previous sentence actually happened, come to think of it.

 

Because we're talking about Olga Mesmer-- The Girl with the X-Ray Eyes! (You surely didn't suppose I was talking about that copycat poser whose 75th Anniversary isn't until next year, did you?).

 

Olga premiered as a black-and-white comic strip series within the pages of the Spicy Mystery pulp in the issue dated August, 1937 (but likely on the stands in June... a full year before Superman). Olga, while born on Earth, was the daughter of a Venusian mother, who married an Earth scientist whose experiments gave her super-powers that she passed on to her newborn daughter before she died. Olga had super-strength and the ability to see through walls. (She also tended to lose her clothes whenever she battled, a trait that we can be thankful that Superman didn't duplicate).

 

So is Superman merely a copy of the long-forgotten Olga? No... that analysis would be unfair. Although it's known that Siegel & Shuster were pulp fans, they may or may not have been aware of Olga, and at any rate they had been toying with superman concepts since 1933. However, this does put to the lie the myth that had superman never been created there would never have been a super-hero industry... obviously the 1930s were a time ripe for super-heroes, and it's likely various such concepts were being worked out simultaneously. Had it not been Superman, sooner or later it would have been someone else.

 

Yet, does this mean Superman owes nothing to Olga? I don't think so. Though it probably can't be proven, I suspect Superman might never have been published were it not for Olga, as there are some suspicious coincidences that would have to be overlooked to believe there was no connection whatsoever.

 

For you see, the Spicy line of pulps (Spicy Mystery, Spicy Detective, Spicy Adventure and Spicy Western) were published by none other than one Harry Donenfeld, who in 1935, also became an investor in National (later DC) comics. When Olga appeared in 1937, she was drawn by artist Adolphe Barreaux, who had previously worked on the comic book titles New Fun and More Fun at... yep... DC Comics. When Donefeld took full control of DC in 1938, he also brought Barreaux and his art studio with him to his office building in NYC. So Donenfeld was well aware of the Olga character in his own publication.

 

One of the first things Donenfeld did in 1938 was approve the Superman strip for Action Comics #1. Now remember... Superman was turned down everywhere else. So why did Donenfeld alone give the strip by these unknown creators a chance? Might it not be because he was already open to the concept of a super-powered character who could see through walls, having published such a character for a full year? In fact, just four months after Superman premiered, Donenfeld abruptly cancelled the Olga strip in Spicy Mystery, a likely reason being he didn't want to dilute the Superman concept once that character began building steam with the public. After all... Superman, exploding onto the cover of Action #1, suddenly seems less impressive if it's realized he merely followed on the heels of another, similar, super-powered character... and by a woman no less! In 1938, that might well have proved embarrassing for the Man of Steel.

 

So for those of you who think that without Superman comic books wouldn't exist (absurd), or that super-heroes in comics wouldn't exist (only slightly less absurd), be advised that there's a fair chance Superman himself wouldn't exist if it weren't for a long-forgotten heroine named Olga, and her even more-forgotten artist Barreaux (who never got a legal settlement at all, belated or otherwise).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brian48]

Olga premiered as a black-and-white comic strip series within the pages of the Spicy Mystery pulp in the issue dated August, 1937 (but likely on the stands in June... a full year before Superman). Olga, while born on Earth, was the daughter of a Venusian mother, who married an Earth scientist whose experiments gave her super-powers that she passed on to her newborn daughter before she died. Olga had super-strength and the ability to see through walls. (She also tended to lose her clothes whenever she battled, a trait that we can be thankful that Superman didn't duplicate).

 

That was all I needed to hear

[PovertyRow]

This is the first time I'd heard of Olga. Doing some research and it is a pretty interesting storyline. Rather salacious!

[Bookery]

This is the first time I'd heard of Olga. Doing some research and it is a pretty interesting storyline. Rather salacious!

 

I became aware of her years ago while researching the pulp guides... I even had a couple of Spicy Mystery issues that had her comic strip in them (though I never had the first appearance). But it's only in the last few weeks that I thought more about the Donenfeld connection.

 

It's a fascinating bit of history-- and frankly, one that turns the prevailing mythology upside down. It should be of great interest to comic book fans. Alas, author and pulp historian Will Murray has written on the subject a couple of times over the years without generating any real interest, and even here, we have only 2 posts following my own at a site that should be especially interested in the subject.

 

Perhaps if Barreaux had drawn her with bigger breasts....?

 

 

[Scrooge]

I don't always reply to posts of interest to me, but then again, I've also seen Will's articles before so Olga was not a surprise to me. Thank you for the post :thumbsup:

[MedicAR]

Great read! Thank you!

[Bronty]

very interesting. thanks so much.

 

nice artwork in that panel you posted as well.