Superman at Fifty! The Persistence of a Legend!

Superman at Fifty! The Persistence of a Legend, edited by Dennis Dooley and Gary Engle was published in 1987 by Octavia Press of Cleveland, Ohio. This First Edition copy of the book is signed twice by one of the artists who contributed to the book, Gary Dumm. The first signature is with an inscription to a book dealer that reads “To Sue, Best wishes to another ‘Bookie’ - /s/ Gary Dumm. The second signature, on page 61, is associated with one of the books cartoons and is again inscribed “To Sue, Best Wishes, /s/ Gary Dumm”.

The book is described on the fly leaf as “Marking the 50th anniversary of the publication of the Action Comics issue in which Superman first appeared, Superman at Fifty is an affectionate tribute to an authentic American folk hero and the little-known Cleveland boys who created him...The book consists of four sections of essays – appropriately, all by writers with connections to Superman’s home town...”.

The book, which measures approximately 7 x 10 ¼ inches, is hard bound in red cloth covered boards with gold lettering on the spine and a gold Superman symbol on the front cover. The book itself contains 189 pages of text and accompanying illustrations. The book shows some indications of wear on the front free end-paper, but otherwise is in “like new” condition. The dust jacket (not price clipped) is likewise in “like new” condition, and is further protected by a plastic wrapper.

The illustrations show the front face of the dust jacket, the front cover of the book, the Title page, the Table of Contents, the two pages with the signed inscriptions, a typical first page from the many essays, and the text on the rear of the dust jacket.