Publication history of Superman 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." 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
The Death of Superman speculated its sales were propelled by hopes it would become valuable. Gerard Jones, who wrote the "Green Lantern" tie-in story, theorized that the phenomenon may have been due in part to the then-relatively recent poor ending of the "Superman" film franchise. Sims recalled that when he worked in a comic book store in 2009, some customers were shocked that DC was still publishing Superman comics, as they did not read the story's conclusion. Generally, DC writers have denied "The Death of Superman" was a publicity stunt. Jurgens, for instance, stated he did not anticipate the attention, while Stern believed the