Superboy #0

Oct 1994 · DC · 1.50 USD; 2.10 CAD; 0.70 GBP

📊 ~31,840 copies sold its debut month

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“Sidearm -- One! Superboy -- Zero!”

★ 1st appearance — King Shark

About this Issue

Superboy #0 holds a dual significance in DC history: as a tie-in to the publisher-wide Zero Hour 'Zero Month' initiative of October 1994, it used the format prescribed for every mainstream DC title — revealing a previously unseen chapter of its protagonist's background — to deliver a tight, self-contained origin recap for the post-Death of Superman Superboy (Kon-El). More crucially for long-term continuity, its closing pages contain the cameo debut of King Shark (Nanaue), a Polynesian-mythology-rooted humanoid shark villain who would go on to become a recurring presence in Superboy, the Suicide Squad, Secret Six, and Aquaman stories, and who has since been adapted into live-action film, multiple animated series, and video games. The issue also marks the first in-continuity meeting between Superboy and Professor Emil Hamilton, an encounter that seeds the X-ray goggles Superboy uses to defeat King Shark in the very next issue. As part of the first canonical Post-Crisis Superboy series — itself the first Superboy comic whose title character is someone other than Clark Kent — the #0 issue crystallizes the unique Hawaii-set, street-level identity that made Kesel and Grummett's run distinctive.

writer Karl Kesel · artist Tom Grummett · inker Doug Hazlewood · inker Dennis Janke · colorist Tom McCraw · letterer Richard Starkings · letterer Comicraft · cover Tom Grummett, Karl Kesel

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $3

CGC 9.8 · 53 in census $43*

CGC 9.6 · 47 in census $20*

CGC 9.4 · 26 in census $20*

CGC 9.2 · 30 in census $20

CGC 9.0 · 20 in census $20

CGC 8.5 · 16 in census $20*

Show all 19 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 7 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 7.0 · 4 in census $20

CGC 6.5 · 6 in census $20*

CGC 6.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 5.5 none in existence

CGC 5.0 none in existence

CGC 4.5 none in existence

CGC 4.0 none in existence

CGC 3.5 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 3.0 none in existence

CGC 2.5 none in existence

CGC 2.0 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

More listings for this title

VF/NM $2.5 VF/NM $2.79 FN · Variant $2.9 Variant $2.97 Variant $2.97 VF $3.99 NM- $3.99 VF/NM $4.99

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History

The issue was produced by the series' launch creative team of writer Karl Kesel and penciller Tom Grummett, with inks by Dennis Janke and Doug Hazlewood, lettering by Richard Starkings and Comicraft, colors by Tom McCraw, and editing by Frank Pittarese. It was released on-sale August 18, 1994, with an October 1994 cover date, slotting it into 'Zero Month' — DC's line-wide initiative in which every active mainstream title published a #0 issue immediately after the conclusion of Dan Jurgens's Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! crossover. The mandate for each #0 was to illuminate an unseen aspect of the title character's past rather than simply retell an existing origin, which Kesel fulfilled by structuring the story as a memory examination conducted by Professor Hamilton. Three editions were released: a direct-sale edition, a newsstand edition, and a 'Zero Hour logo' collector's set variant in which the standard barcode was replaced by the Zero Hour logo.

Trivia · 8 facts

First cameo appearance of King Shark (Nanaue), created by Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett; his first full appearance follows one month later in Superboy (Vol. 4) #9 (November 1994).
Written by Karl Kesel with pencils by Tom Grummett, inks by Dennis Janke and Doug Hazlewood — the same creative team that launched the series with issue #1 in February 1994.
Part of DC's 'Zero Month' initiative tied to Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! (1994); every active mainstream DC title published a #0 issue in October 1994 with the mandate to reveal a previously unknown aspect of the title character's background.
Contains the earliest chronological appearance of recurring Superboy villain Sidearm, shown in flashback as Kon-El's very first super-villain encounter after breaking free of the Cadmus cloning tanks.
Marks the first in-continuity meeting between Superboy and Professor Emil Hamilton; Hamilton gifts Superboy a pair of X-ray glasses that become a plot device in the immediate next issue (#9) during the King Shark battle.
Includes a flashback recap of scenes originally presented in Adventures of Superman #500, anchoring Kon-El's origin within the 'Reign of the Supermen' storyline; a behind-the-scenes cameo of Lex Luthor in flashback is also present, consistent with later Teen Titans retcons establishing Luthor's role in Project Cadmus.
Published in three editions: Direct Sale, Newsstand, and a Zero Hour Logo collector's set variant (barcode replaced by the Zero Hour logo).
Reprinted in: Superboy (Editora Abril, 1996) #0 (Portuguese edition); Superboy (DC, 2018) #1 — Trouble in Paradise trade paperback; and Superman: Zero Hour (DC, 2018) trade paperback.