Alternative versions of Superman establish a new continuity for DC, affecting not only Superman, but all of the DC Comics characters. The versions of Superman from this time period are traditionally divided into three main periods. The first version of Superman began being published by DC Comics in 1938 appearing in "Action Comics" #1. To explain discrepancies in the aging of Superman across several decades, his earliest stories were retroactively portrayed as having taken place on an alternative world called Earth-Two. These stories take place from 1938 until the late 1950s, although the exact dividing line is unclear and some stories happened identically to
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