1940 Superman Gum Adventure-Story Cards
Superman Gum first appeared in the autumn of 1940 with a series of
adventure-story cards printed by Bowman's Gum, Inc. in Philadelphia. The penny packs each contain one full-color picture
card and a slab of "super bubble gum."
The American Card Catalog reference is R145. The cards are
approximately 2.5 x 3.125 inches, smaller than a standard trading card. Cards
#49–72 received a shorter print run and limited distribution in 1941. Superman Gum is often credited as the first Superman trading card series, but
the Superman Candy & Surprise cards precede this release.
Superman Gum was announced on the second series of Play Ball cards released in the fall of 1940. The high-series Play Ball cards numbered #121–180 include six different Superman Gum ads. Newspaper advertisements for Downy Flake Donuts offered
free Superman Gum and cards as early as October 3, 1940.
Comic book advertisements for Superman Gum appeared in
Superman #8, on sale November 8, 1940, and Action Comics #32, on
sale November 22, 1940. The Superman premium prize brochure from Gum, Inc. is
dated November 1940.
Twelve images and stories from the Gum, Inc. series were first printed in
the Leader Novelty candy collection. The story text on card #1 contains the first
appearance of the name spelled as "Kal-el" [sic] and it is highly
sought-after by collectors. The same art and text was printed on card #33 in
the Superman Candy & Surprise series.
The card artwork is by Fred Ray, known for illustrating patriotic Superman
covers during
World War II. Fred Ray
began working at National Allied Publications in the fall of 1940, providing
artwork for a six-page "Radio Squad" script by
Jerry Siegel. The
panels are similar to Ray's work for "Superman's Super-Contest" featured in
Action Comics from May to July 1941.
According to the wrapper, "Super-gum is a good, big, husky chew with a
delicious flavor. Chewing it helps to keep teeth strong and healthy.
Dentists recommend this type of gum for young folks." The gum wrappers
could be exchanged by mail for premiums that included the Superman
Krypto-Raygun toy from Daisy, a wooden Superman doll from Ideal, and the
first Superman Playsuit. The premiums were previously sold at
Macy's Toyland.
Each wrapper contains a membership application to join the Supermen of America Club. For five wrappers plus the normal ten cent application fee, new members
could chose between a brass "Supermen of America Member" ring or a
cloisonné "Superman American" pin badge. The badge was rewarded for free for recruiting ten new
members.
During World War II, latex supplies were diverted to the defense effort, sugar was being
rationed to households, and paper scrap drives were held to salvage pulp.
Gum, Inc. temporarily suspended production and Superman cards moved to
bread products for the Superman Junior Defense League of America. In March 1944, Gum, Inc. rebranded as Bowman Gum, Inc. In June 1948, a former Bowman chemist announced a new brand of
Superman Bubble Gum with the Fo-Lee Gum Corp. The Bowman brand was acquired by Topps Chewing Gum in 1956.
In 1977, a perforated reprint of card #12, "Superman's Arch Enemy," was
included in a punch-out book published by Nostalgia Press. The Great Old Bubble Gum Cards and Some Cigarette Cards
by Woody Gelman and Len Brown includes reprints of other Gum, Inc. releases.
.png "1977 The Great Old Bubble Gum Cards : Superman Gum")
From 1983–1985, WTW Productions reissued popular card sets from Gum, Inc.
and Bowman. In 1984, WTW reprinted the entire 72-card Superman Gum series on modern white cardstock with red and blue text.
Since 1987, the Smithsonian Institution has archived items
from Superman Gum and the Supermen of America Club. Cards,
wrappers, and premiums are cataloged in the Entertainment collection of The
National Museum of American History.
Card #6, "Superman vs. Bank Robbers," was featured on the cover of
Non-Sport Update dated December/January 2019.
A corroded example of the "Supermen of America Member" ring appeared
on Pawn Stars in the March 8, 2010, episode "Big
Guns." The premium doll appeared in the Pawn Stars episode "Fender Bender" on October 29, 2015. The brass ring and doll are featured as
items in Pawn Stars: The Game, released for Android devices
in September 2018 by Fifth Column Games. Rick Harrison, owner of Gold &
Silver Pawn Shop, and the mobile game incorrectly state that the prize ring
is made of steel.
A partial collection of Superman Gum cards was appraised on an
episode of
Antiques Roadshow
that first aired on January 21, 2019.
| Superman Gum Checklist | |
| 1 | Superman |
| 2 | The Spy Trail |
| 3 | From the Jaws of Death |
| 4 | Peril in the Jungle |
| 5 | The Girl Reporter’s Danger |
| 6 | Superman vs. Bank Robbers |
| 7 | The Averted Train Wreck |
| 8 | Rescue at the Bank |
| 9 | Superman at the Circus |
| 10 | Fury of the Sea |
| 11 | Capture of the Kidnapers |
| 12 | Superman’s Arch Enemy |
| 13 | Teeth of Steel |
| 14 | Maniac at Large |
| 15 | Panic in the Subway |
| 16 | Mountain Tragedy |
| 17 | Death on the Speedway |
| 18 | Prison Break |
| 19 | Wings of Mercy |
| 20 | Peril at Sea |
| 21 | The Runaway Horse |
| 22 | Wolves at Bay |
| 23 | Hurtling to Destruction |
| 24 | Attacked by Sharks |
| 25 | Trapped in the Air |
| 26 | Log Jam Peril |
| 27 | Rescue from a Rocky Reef |
| 28 | The Flames of Doom |
| 29 | Death Dive |
| 30 | Trapped in the Glacier |
| 31 | Rescue Beneath the Sea |
| 32 | Danger on High |
| 33 | The Avalanche |
| 34 | Peril in the Oil Fields |
| 35 | Hurricane Horror |
| 36 | Facing the Firing Squad |
| 37 | Distress at Sea |
| 38 | Marooned in the Clouds |
| 39 | Disaster at the Mine |
| 40 | Racing the Shells |
| 41 | Roller Coaster Rescue |
| 42 | Danger in the Jungle |
| 43 | Fight in Mid-Air |
| 44 | Disaster at the Circus |
| 45 | The Runaway Ship |
| 46 | To the Rescue |
| 47 | Horror Beneath the Sea |
| 48 | Death in the Air |
| 49 | Danger at the Carnival |
| 50 | At the Bottom of the Sea |
| 51 | Superman vs. the Spies |
| 52 | Saving the Destroyer |
| 53 | The Girl Reporter |
| 54 | Rescue from the Flames |
| 55 | Superman Wins Again |
| 56 | Superman and the Killer-Whale |
| 57 | Battling the Hurricane |
| 58 | A Near-Tragedy |
| 59 | The Dive of Death |
| 60 | Menace in the Mine |
| 61 | Through the Mine Field |
| 62 | Peril in the Presses |
| 63 | Terror in the Tower |
| 64 | Adventure on an Iceberg |
| 65 | The Runaway Trolley Car |
| 66 | Danger at the Dam |
| 67 | Explosion in an Oil Field |
| 68 | Saved by Superman |
| 69 | Saved from Burial Alive |
| 70 | Danger in the North Woods |
| 71 | Trapped in Quicksand |
| 72 | Superman vs. Torpedo |