Superman #72
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSuperman #72 (Sept./Oct. 1951) holds a durable place in Superman's publishing history primarily because its second story, 'The Private Life of Perry White,' written by Edmond Hamilton with art by Al Plastino, delivers the first comic-book introduction of Perry White's home life — including the debut appearances of his wife Alice White and their son Will White. By fleshing out the gruff Daily Planet editor as a fully realized private citizen with a family, the issue expanded the supporting-cast infrastructure that writers would draw on for decades. The issue also carries a charming piece of cross-media history: a physical copy of it appears on screen in Season 1, Episode 7 of the 1952 live-action television series The Adventures of Superman, making it one of the very few Golden Age comics whose exact issue can be confirmed as a prop in a concurrent TV production.
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The issue was edited by Mort Weisinger, DC's dominant Superman-line editor of the era, and features work from two of the title's most prolific early-1950s contributors. Alvin Schwartz — a workhorse writer who simultaneously scripted Superman newspaper strips throughout the period — wrote the lead Prankster story, pencilled by Wayne Boring and inked by Stan Kaye, the core artistic team that defined Superman's visual identity in the late Golden Age. The Perry White family story was scripted by science-fiction veteran Edmond Hamilton and drawn by Al Plastino. The cover was provided by Win Mortimer. Attributional research by historian Martin O'Hearn has since clarified that the third story in the issue, long credited to Bill Woolfolk, does not appear in Woolfolk's pay records, leaving its writer currently unverified.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: September–October 1951 (Superman Vol. 1 #72); on-sale date derived from copyright registration records.
- First appearances of Alice White (Perry White's wife) and Will White (Perry White's son), both introduced in the story 'The Private Life of Perry White!' — the earliest comic-book glimpse into Perry's domestic life.
- 'The Private Life of Perry White!' was written by Edmond Hamilton with art by Al Plastino; it also provides origin/background details on Perry White himself.
- The lead story, 'The Unfunny Prankster,' was written by Alvin Schwartz with pencils by Wayne Boring and inks by Stan Kaye; it features the Prankster working as an enforcer for a mob financier.
- Cover art by Win Mortimer; the issue runs 52 pages in full color at the standard 10-cent cover price.
- A copy of this exact issue is visible on screen in The Adventures of Superman (1952 TV series), Season 1, Episode 7, 'The Birthday Letter,' making it a documented piece of Golden Age comics appearing in the concurrent live-action Superman television universe.
- Alvin Schwartz was simultaneously writing the Superman newspaper daily and Sunday strips during this period, and Wayne Boring — who pencilled the lead story — was the dominant Superman artist of the 1950s, having taken over full art duties from Joe Shuster's studio.
- Authorship of the issue's third story is disputed: it was formerly credited to Bill Woolfolk, but historian Martin O'Hearn's research found no corresponding entry in Woolfolk's pay records, leaving the writer unidentified.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Superman #53 (1951), Superman #57 (1952), Super Adventure Comic #26 (1952), Stålmannen #12/1955
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