Superman: Deadly Legacy

From Hey Kids Comics

Superman: Deadly Legacy
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English-language cover of Superman: Deadly Legacy (1996).
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
Format Ongoing series
Genre Superhero
Publication date 1996
Main character(s) Superman
Creative team
Creator(s) Jerry Siegel
Joe Shuster

Superman: Deadly Legacy is a special-edition “humanitarian comic book” featuring Superman[1] that promotes “landmine awareness” among children, particularly from countries where there are active landmines after war. The Superman comic book was published by DC Comics, the United States government, and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in 1996.[1] In Superman: Deadly Legacy, Superman – a well-known superhero in the United States and Europe – acts as a teacher educating children about the dangers of landmines. The target countries for disseminating copies of the comic book include Bosnia,[2] the Former Yugoslavia, and Kosovo.[3]

In Bosnia, the free comic book was distributed by a peacekeeping force led by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Mine Action Center located in Sarajevo.[2]

Plot[edit | edit source]

In Superman: Deadly Legacy, Superman rescues two Bosnian boys from a minefield and from a booby-trapped house. During one of the events, a dog was wounded by the explosion and did not survive.[2]

Languages[edit | edit source]

Superman: Deadly Legacy was published in English, Serbian, and Croatian. The Serbo-Croatian comic book had two versions, namely in Latin/Roman and Cyrillic scripts. The Latin script was geared towards Bosnian Muslims and Croats, while the Cyrillic script was for the Serbs.[2]

According to DC Comics president Jenette Kahn, there were plans of publishing a Portuguese version of Superman: Deadly Legacy and Superman and Wonder Woman – the Hidden Killer for dissemination in Angola and Mozambique. Superman and Wonder Woman – the Hidden Killer is a "companion" comic book title published in English and Spanish for Superman: Deadly Legacy for promoting landmine safety. The Superman and Wonder Woman – the Hidden Killer comic book was distributed in Central American countries such as Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua.[1][3]

History[edit | edit source]

One of the initiator of the idea for using the comic book medium as a tool for promoting landmine awareness was then First Lady of the United States Hillary Clinton, after visiting Bosnia and after reviewing a mine awareness coloring book for younger children. Superman became the feature character for the comic book because of his status as a “citizen of the world”.[3] Another initiator of the concept of publishing Superman: Deadly Legacy as a mine-awareness project was Madeleine Albright, a former chief of delegates of the United States at the United Nations. Albright contacted American singer Judy Collins, then a special envoy of UNICEF. Collins, in turn, reached out to DC Comics through Warner Bros.. DC Comics is a division of Warner Bros.[2]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "To Walk the Earth in Safety" (PDF). United States Department of State. Retrieved 11 July 2011.  (Quickview)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Crosette, Barbara. "Familiar Hero to Warn Bosnian Children About Mines". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 July 2011. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Friedman, Herb. "Mine Awareness, The Humanitarian Comic Books". Comic Book Psyop (Psywarrior). Retrieved 11 July 2011.