Ever since the Superman character burst upon the scene in 1938 and through the 1980’s, the copyright to the character and all things related thereunto was owned by National Periodical Publications.  National Periodical Publications published three monthly titles that featured Superman: Superman Comics, Action Comics, and World’s Finest Comics (the latter featured Superman teamed with Batman).  They also owned all rights to the Adventures of Superman as well.  At some point in the early 1960’s they allowed a bubble gum company (which was Topps, I believe) to issue Superman bubble gum cards, based on the TV show.

I will always remember the shock of delight I experienced when I went into the Five and Dime store on main street of my hometown (Hartley, Iowa) one sunny, summer afternoon in 1965 and discovered that they actually had some merchandise related to the TV show!  (Thanks to Chuck Harter for refreshing my memory as to the year these cards were released.)  In my neck of the woods, it was difficult enough to come by anything related to the Superman character at all in those days, let alone the TV show!  About the only Superman items available to a poor midwestern boy like myself were the comics.  Fortunately, the local drugstore had the wisdom to provide a magazine rack at the front of the store, on the bottom shelf of which were stocked the latest issues of various comic books.  So at least I was able to keep up with the exploits of my hero in his comic book incarnation.  But I had never seen any merchandise featuring George Reeves in my hometown until that fateful day.

Naturally, I immediately dug into my pocket to see if I had a nickel and thankfully, I did.  So, I grabbed a pack, went to the counter near the entrance to the store, and plunked down my 5¢.

As soon as the transaction was complete, I opened my treasure to see what was inside.  There was always something very magical about opening a pack of bubble gum cards.  There was the sweet aroma of the bubble gum (which lingered on the wrapping paper long after the gum itself was gone) and this time, it was extra special, because the cards inside featured George Reeves!

I have always regretted not having bought out their complete stock of Superman bubble gum cards that day.  Of course, I doubt if I would have had been able to afford it anyway -- after all, five cents was still a lot of money back then.  Sadly, I only have a few of those precious cards.

Incidentally, one thing that always drove me nuts as a kid was the announcement at the end of almost every episode of the Adventures of Superman which went like this: “Superman is based on the original character appearing in Superman magazine.”

Superman magazine?  What was that?  I knew there was a Superman comic book (as well as Action Comics and World’s Finest) but was there, in addition, an actual magazine that featured Superman?

For years I feared I was missing out on another Superman publication that my local drugstore had decided not to carry.  I imagined this large, glossy magazine (on the order of Look or Life) featuring Superman and all sorts of additional fascinating articles about the character.  It took me a long time to finally figure out that the announcer was just using the word “magazine” as a more sophisticated way of saying “comic book.”

But at least I had the presence of mind to save one of the wrappers as well as a few of the cards.

I don’t know if the wrapper itself is valuable to collectors, but I know the cards are.  And although I’ve seen a few of the cards featured in books and on the web, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the wrapper.

I believe it’s quite rare.

wrapper for Superman bubble gum cards circa 1960

On display inside a glass case at Jim Hambrick’s Superman Museum in Metropolis, IL: the box for the Superman bubble gum cards.  You can see the upper right corner of a wrapper in the lower left corner of the photo.

And so, presented for your viewing pleasure, here is what is left of my Superman bubble gum card collection.  I hope you enjoy it!