Superman, arguably the world’s most iconic comic book superhero, was created writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster and first appeared in Action Comics #1, published April 18, 1938. It was just a few short years later that Superman made his first appearance in animated shorts or cartoons, produced by Fleischer Studios in 1941.

There were a total of 17 episodes, each 8-10 minutes long. The first nine were published under Fleisher Studios, while the next eight were published by Famous Studios. Superman was voiced by Bud Collyer and the animated visuals were closely based on Joe Shuster’s model sheets giving the cartoon a close resemblance to the comic book artwork.

All the episodes are now in the public domain; and here they are collected for your viewing pleasure:

Fleischer Studios Episodes

Ep. 1 – Superman – September 26, 1941

Ep. 2 – The Mechanical Monsters – November 28, 1941

Ep. 3 – Billion Dollar Limited – January 9, 1942

Ep. 4 – The Arctic Giant – February 27, 1942

Ep. 5 – The Bulleteers – March 27, 1942

Ep. 6 – The Magnetic Telescope – April 24, 1942

Ep. 7 – Electric Earthquake – May 15, 1942

Ep. 8 – Volcano – July 10, 1942

Ep. 9 – Terror on the Midway – August 28, 1942

Famous Studios Episodes

Ep. 10 – Japoteurs – September 18, 1942

Ep. 11 – Showdown – October 16, 1942

Ep. 12 – Eleventh Hour – November 20, 1942

Ep. 13 – Destruction, Inc. – December 25, 1942

Ep. 14 – The Mummy Strikes – February 19, 1943

Ep. 15 – Jungle Drums – March 26, 1943

Ep. 16 – The Underground World – June 18, 1943

Ep. 17 – Secret Agent – July 30, 1943