Few people have heard of the Bruns Publications Inc. hero called Wonder Man. There’s a reason for that. In 1939 Wonder Man was ruled to be a copyright infringement of DC’s Superman by the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals. This was the first time in US copyright history that a comic book hero was taken to be an idea created by an artist and so an intellectual property.
Wonder Comics #1 (May 1939) subsequently, has gone on to be a cult classic since it features Wonder Man’s first and only comic book appearance.
Although Wonder Comics did release another issue, and their sophomore effort featured two new heroes: Yarko the Great and the Master Magician - this time with no lawsuits - the comic was nonetheless summarily cancelled. Today both of the extant issues of the Golden Age title regularly sell for huge amounts of money. The case of Wonder Comics therefore presents an interesting lesson in the value of collectibles.
We know that novelty can lend great appeal to collectibles, but what about controversy?
Sure, the occasional controversial cover or story can, by word of mouth or media hype, lead to a boost in prices. Still, it’s not often that the higher value is maintained. In this post I want to talk about the Wonder Comics examples, since they were controversial in the late 1930s but have maintained their value. Furthermore, the Superman vs. Wonder Man case also set a precedent that would be repeated when Fawcett publications’ Captain Marvel was ruled a copyright infringement of Superman years later.
Wonder Comics was originally published under the aegis of Victor Fox for Bruns Publications. Fox, who started his career publishing astrology magazines, decided to change the format of his books when he read about the sales figures accompanying DC’s Action Comics from publishing Superman stories.
Not leaving anything to chance, Fox solicited no less a comic talent than Will Eisner to develop a super-hero for a new comic book. Since the comic would be called Wonder Comics, Eisner created Wonder Man and the rest, we can say, is infamy.
Wonder Comics #1 (May 1939) – First and Only Appearance of Wonder Man
In many ways the judgment of the court was unfair. Wonder Man is a lot like Superman, but so are hundreds of super-heroes. In actual fact, when we read the origins of Wonder Man, the Superman clone aspects are very hard to discern. For one thing, Wonder Man (the alter ego of Fred Carson) is shown by Eisner to get his super powers right here on earth, in Tibet. For another, Carson is fully human and the source or his powers is a ring bestowed upon him by a Tibetan monk. This makes the origin of his powers out to be clearly of magical origin. Anyone who knows anything about Superman knows that magic is one of his weaknesses – not the source of his strength.
The controversial status of having been accused of stealing another company’s idea and getting called out, therefore, is what makes this comic valuable. It’s also a rare Golden Age book, which doesn’t hurt. In November of 2016, a 9.4 certified copy of Wonder Comics #1 sold for a record $54,970.00. Not at all bad for an obscure, and barely remembered, hero. It’s the controversial legacy no doubt. Subsequent sales have seen a drop in that number. In December of 2017 the same grade sold for a mere $31, 979.00. Still, with only 21 of these comics on the CGC census and almost half of those either qualified or restored, this comic should remain valuable well into the foreseeable future.
