DC SUPER-STARS SOCIETY APPLICATION FORM

 

Click on image for a colored-in version.

 

IT was a poorly-designed house advertisement that ran in DC Comics’ December 1977 issues. Looking like a statement of ownership and circulation more than a major announcement, the memo-style document outlined the formation of The DC Super-Stars Society fan club, in type so small you could forgive readers for accidentally ignoring it.
     But if they took a second look, their hearts would have surely skipped a beat when the fine print was fully digested. DC Comics were offering an avalanche of goodies for fans, and best of all, so it seemed, designed specifically for their characters of choice.
     The ad mysteriously asked for applications for 12 chapters of the Society, of which the Legion was one.  After sending in an expression of interest, readers received detailed application forms for each chapter they asked for.
     Each application form consisted of the same format: four pages comprising an introductory page, a quiz page, another outlining what the membership kit contained, and then  the actual application coupon, which fans had to fill in and return along with payment of $4 for each kit.
    Promised with the packs were a DC cloth patch; a glossy DC Super-Stars Society insignia decal in color; an insignia transfer for a t-shirt; a membership certificate; a membership card; discount coupons for comics and merchandise; and best of all, a huge color poster of DC’s Super Stars, which included some Legion members.

 

 

   The application kit for the Legion came adorned with panels drawn by Mike Grell and Jim Starlin, and a quiz to test knowledge of the team.
   But as history has recorded, a series of unfortunate events forced DC’s planned expansion of 1978 to  spectacularly implode upon itself, resulting in a reduced number of titles, loss of jobs, severe economic cutbacks, and termination of various projects, including the Super-Stars Society.
    DC did manage to send out copies of the poster a couple of years later when it introduced the Superman Club.
    Apart from the membership card which would have printed the chapter the fan had applied for, all the other paraphernalia, including promised regular updates and bulletins, were essentially the same for all chapters. In effect, someone who had applied to join multiple chapters would  simply receive the same items each time, and would have every right to feel aggrieved.