Superman #180, “The Girl Who Was Mightier Than Superman”: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Superman No. 180 was published by DC Comics in October of 1965. The cover art by Curt Swan and George Klein depicts Superman being swung around by his arm by a woman named Orella. The 36 page issue sold for 12 cents and contained two stories written by Leo Dorfman, “Clark Kent’s Great Superman Hunt,” and the cover story—“The Girl Who Was Mightier Than Superman!” Superman first appeared in the June 1938 Action Comics No. 1, before the Superman title launched in May of 1939 and continued until 1986 when it was renamed Adventures of Superman.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1965-10
• publisher: National Periodical Publications, Inc.
• maker: National Periodical Publications, Inc.
• maker: Action Comics
• Object Name: comic book
• Physical Description: paper (overall material)
• Physical Description: ink (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 10 in x 6 1/2 in; 25.4 cm x 16.51 cm
• place made: United States: New York, New York City
• Subject: Superman
• Subject: Comics
• ID Number: 1988.3095.05
• catalog number: 1988.3095.05
• nonaccession number: 1988.3095
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.