New Adventure Comics #26
New Adventure Comics #26 (cover-dated May 1938) holds a singular place at the dawn of the superhero age: its inside front cover carried the house advertisement for Action Comics #1, making it one of the very first publications to put an image of Superman in front of the reading public — a full month before the Man of Steel's actual debut. Beyond that Superman adjacency, the issue marks the first inter-title crossover in DC history, as Sandy Keene from the More Fun Comics 'Radio Squad' strip crosses into the 'Federal Men' story here, both series the work of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. It is also the first issue of the title published under the Detective Comics, Inc. imprint, representing a meaningful shift in the corporate infrastructure that would shortly become DC Comics. As a time capsule sitting at the exact hinge point between the pre-superhero anthology era and the superhero revolution, it is a foundational artifact of the Golden Age.
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With this issue, the title transitioned from its previous publisher to Detective Comics, Inc., and Vin Sullivan (credited as Vincent A. Sullivan) assumed the editorial chair — the same editor who would shepherd Action Comics #1 into print just weeks later. The cover was produced by Creig Flessel, whom Heritage Auctions identified as DC's standout cover artist of the early era. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster contributed the ongoing 'Federal Men' strip starring Steve Carson, while Bob Kane — years before Batman — supplied gag-strip humor pages, giving the issue an extraordinary concentration of creative talent whose later work would define American superhero comics. The debut of the Captain Desmo adventure strip by Ed Winiarski also begins with this number.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date May 1938; published by Detective Comics, Inc. — the first issue of the title under that imprint, with Vin Sullivan installed as editor.
- The inside front cover carries the house advertisement for Action Comics #1, one of the earliest appearances of a Superman image in print, predating that issue's release by approximately one month.
- Contains what the DC Database documents as the first inter-title crossover in DC Comics history: Sandy Keene (from the 'Radio Squad' strip in More Fun Comics) makes a cameo in the 'Federal Men' story — both strips written and drawn by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
- Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster drew the 'Federal Men' feature starring Steve Carson; Bob Kane (future Batman creator) contributed humor/gag strips to the same issue.
- Cover art is by Creig Flessel, DC's primary cover artist of the late 1930s.
- First appearance of the Captain Desmo adventure strip, drawn by Ed Winiarski.
- In the Federal Men story, the character Larry Trent is mistakenly lettered as 'Larry Dugan' — a continuity error documented in the Grand Comics Database.
- The series continued its numbering from New Comics (#1–11) through New Adventure Comics (#12–31), before being shortened to simply Adventure Comics with issue #32 (November 1938).
Cast · 5 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Steve Carson gives a talk to students at a school on the importance of safety.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).