The Superhero’s Antecedent Genres,

Or,the popular superhuman hero

before the superhero became a genre

SUPER CROOKS &SUPER SLEUTHS

MOVIE SERIAL HEROESof the silent & early

sound era

CRIME PULPS

MASKED VIGILANTESin penny dreadfuls, dime

novels, pulps & film

OTHER HERO PULPS

SCIENCE FICTION & WEIRD FANTASY,as popularized and codified

by the pulps

NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS,especially continuity strips

Roy Crane is a major inspiration for Joe Shuster’s work on Superman.