The first true comic book , as considered by connoisseurs of this medium, is the 36 page release of the ‘Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics’ in 1933. It is not known if this was a free distribution or whether a price tag was added by Woolworth’s (the chain that distributed the comic) when it was in store. With the success that the publication experienced, a second book was released of 68 pages by the Eastern Colour publications and distributed by the American News Company throughout newsstands around the USA. This publication had an official price tag stamped onto the front of 10 cents. Although this release occurred during the great depression this had no effect on its popularity with 90% of its 200,000 editions selling. Even with this massive success the company published at a loss and it was not until their 12th issue that the Famous Funnies comic books started to show a profit for the company. The success of this publication really gave rise to the medium of the comic book and aspiring creators to experiment with new ideas. The Famous Funnies series continued in production for a total of 218 issues!
Some of these new developing entrepreneurs to the comic book world was Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson who would develop the world renowned DC Comics. His first comic book release was the ‘New Fun’ magazine in 1935. There were many regular characters that featured in these editions but perhaps the most important aspect was that it brought together the two creators of Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who together would be the main instigators of the action comic and usher in what was known as the Golden Age of comic books in the USA.
