Was Superman a Spy?: And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed

Fascinating and often bizarre true stories behind more than 130 urban legends about comic book culture.

Was Superman a Spy? demystifies all of the interesting stories, unbelievable anecdotes, wacky rumors, and persistent myths that have piled up like priceless back issues in the seventy-plus years of the comic book industry, including:

• Elvis Presley's trademark hairstyle was based on a comic book character (True)
• Stan Lee featured a gay character in one of Marvel's 1960s war comics (False)
• Wolverine of the X-Men was originally meant to be an actual wolverine! (True)
• What would have been DC's first black superhero was changed at the last moment to a white hero (True)
• A Dutch inventor was blocked from getting a patent on a process because it had been used previously in a Donald Duck comic book (True)

With many more legends resolved, Was Superman a Spy? is a must-have for the legions of comic book fans and all seekers of “truth, justice, and the American way.”

Brian Cronin is the writer and producer of the Comics Should Be Good blog at Comic Book Resources (www.cbr.cc). He has been writing the online column "Comic Book Legends Revealed" since June 2005. He has a JD from Fordham Law School and is a member of the New York State Bar.