Foreign Comic Collector issue#3 | Page 3

Supercomix! A History of Comic Book reprints in South Africa by George van der Riet M y father (Michael) thrilled to the Superman serials shown in cinemas in South Africa in the 1940s and 1950s. We have old 16mm films of him emulating the Man of Steel in his Superman costume at the time. Flash forward to 1979 when I was a youngster and thrilled to the spectacle of Christopher Reeve as Superman on the big screen! My father introduced me to the joy of comic books and collecting, and I had a similar Superman costume in 1979. Throughout the 1940s American comic books were popular worldwide. They reached the shores of South Africa in small numbers. When the government changed in 1948 – they introduced censorship laws, which significantly reduced the availability of superhero comics. At the time all imported magazines would be scrutinised by the censors. In the early 1950s mainly Classics Illustrated and humour titles were sold in South Africa. The first line of DC Comics reprints by Zebra Publications started in September 1954. Five titles were produced - each ran for only seven issues. The titles in English were: Action Comics, Superman and World's Finest Comics. The titles in Afrikaans were Mantelman (Batman) and Kongo Koot (Congo Bill). Colour covers, with black & white interior. Zebra Publications Superman # 2 (1954) Cover and house ad (in 1954 the publisher thought only boys would be interested in reading comic books!) Page 3