A former Long Beach Mayor, who will soon be one of the newest members of the U.S. House of Representatives, will make history as the first Congressman to be sworn in on a comic book.
Robert Garcia (D) of California will be sworn in on various documents, including a copy of the first “Superman” comic book.
A member of the media first noticed the classic comic book among the many religious books and other documents over which members of Congress had chosen to take their oaths and made inquiries about it.
DEVELOPING: A member of the House of Representatives is taking their oath on a classic Superman comic book pic.twitter.com/MUJIv8VIlA
— Matt Laslo (@MattLaslo) January 3, 2023
Possibly in response, Garcia, the Democrat representative-elect from Long Beach, California, tweeted that he was the person to be sworn in on the comic book.
“Will be proudly sworn-in to Congress on the U.S. Constitution. Underneath the Constitution will be 3 items that mean a lot to me personally,” Garcia tweeted.
Will be proudly sworn-in to Congress on the U.S. Constitution. Underneath the Constitution will be 3 items that mean a lot to me personally. A photo of my parents who I lost to covid, my citizenship certificate & an original Superman #1 from the @librarycongress. 🇺🇸😊 pic.twitter.com/YGW43OLsIp
— Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) January 3, 2023
Garcia was elected as mayor of Long Beach in 2014, becoming the first immigrant and LGBTQ mayor in the city’s history. According to his office, he will also be the first LGBTQ immigrant to serve in Congress.
In an interview with Buzzfeed News, Garcia explained that comic books and superheroes had a significant impact on him growing up as an immigrant.
Superman #1 was published by DC Comics in the spring of 1939 when it was sold for ten cents a copy. Although the character of Superman had previously appeared in Action Comics the previous year, Superman #1 was the launch of the Superman series.
Due to its historical significance in the world of comic books, Superman #1 is an extremely sought-after collector’s item. In Jan. 2022, a CGC-graded copy of Superman #1 sold for $5.2 million. The sale caused record-breaking ripples in the comic book world, shattering the previous most expensive comic book record of $3.6 million.
Garcia, along with other new members of the House, was supposed to be sworn in on Tuesday. However, due to the inability of Republican lawmakers to vote in a new speaker, his swearing-in is temporarily on hold.
