American Comics without Superman

On April 1938 Action Comics #1 is released, on the cover is an image of Marco Polo and his brave explorers traveling in the East Asian Steps. How does this change the direction of American Comic Books?
 
I've heard he really was something truly new and amazing in the comics industry, but prior ideas of the "super man" were culturally prevalent, seeing appearance in likable form in early speculative fiction (ala Hugo Gernsbeck) and less-than-noble form in Eugenics. So assuming some other Big Ass Hero doesn't arrive to fill a preexisting yet undiscovered market, we maybe see the continuation of western, adventure, cartoon and detective comics. Perhaps comics remain more a niche market and there's no or a later Golden Age. Or perhaps they see more SciFi through a Gernsbeckish crossover series.
 
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