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 of Steel" #1 became the bestselling comic book issue of 1986. Byrne also wrote and illustrated "Action Comics", and scripted "The Adventures of Superman" with artist Jerry Ordway after the previous writer Marv Wolfman left. Under Byrne, a new Superman comic was released every week and each series maintained continuity with each other. He spent two years on the Superman comics before leaving in 1988, becoming dissatisfied with DC's lack of "conscious support" for him and that the version of the character which DC licensed for merchandising contradicted Byrne's representation of him in comics. As a result of Byrne's departure,