1940 Leader Novelty Superman trading card checklist

1940 Leader Novelty Superman Checklist

Release Year Archive: 1940

Manufacturer Archive: Leader Novelty

Tag Archive: Superman

Category Archive: Non-Sports Card Checklists

1940 Leader Novelty Superman cards predate the 1940 Gum Inc release by a few months and are considered the first Superman trading card ever. That said, these “trading cards” are actually back panels of boxes for candy and mystery toys released by Leader Novelty and not standalone cards as Gum Inc’s set was.

Of the 36 cards released, cards 25-36 are short prints and actually feature images that were also used in the Gum Inc release later that same year. The first 24 cards utilized images from panels of Superman #5 but with speech bubbles and other comic narration removed in favor of a simple card caption. Card fronts feature a much simpler color design than later releases with some printings using only black and red ink and others using black, red, and blue. The reverse of each card included fairly lengthy story notes.

Since these cards were actually perforated box panels, it is near impossible to find a card in mint condition making this one of the most rare and expensive Superman sets of all time.

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1940 Leader Novelty Superman Checklist

Base Set – 36 Cards

1Through the Flames
2Smashing the Gangsters
3The Race in the Sky
4The Armored Car Holdup
5A Lesson for Crooks
6Fumes of Doom
7Saving the Workmen
8Breaking the Racket
9Rescue of the Mayor
10Human Tenpins
11The Toppling Smokestack
12Peril in the Air
13The Bank Robbery
14The Yellow Mask
15The Bursting Bomb
16The Trap
17Millions in Gold
18The Fight for Peace
19The Shattered Press
20Through Granite Walls
21Snatched from Death
22Twisted Steel
23A Shot in the Night
24Cracked Skulls
25Fight in Mid-Air
26Trapped in the Glacier
27Trapped in the Air
28Capture of the Kidnapers
29The Averted Train Wreck
30Roller Coaster Rescue
31Superman at the Circus
32Disaster at the Circus
33Superman
34Attacked by Sharks
35The Runaway Ship
36Mountain Tragedy


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