Superman is a comic book character.
Joseph `` Joe '' Shuster ( [ ˈʃuːstər ] July 10 , 1914 -- July 30 , 1992 ) was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman , with writer Jerry Siegel , in Action Comics # 1 ( cover-dated June 1938 ) . A superhero ( sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero ) is a type of heroic stock character who possesses supernatural or superhuman powers and who is dedicated to fighting crime , protecting the public , and usually battling supervillains . Superhero fiction is the genre of fiction that is centered on such characters , especially in American comic books since the 1930s . Superman is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics .