Myanmar is not a popular subject for philatelists outside the country, but there is a dedicated community, based mainly in the UK, who follow developments in the field closely. Most are members of the Burma (Myanmar) Philatelic Study Circle, which produces an illustrated quarterly journal called The Burma Fantail. The journal publishes short reports on new stamp issues, interesting historical items and philatelic curiosities. It even runs the occasional tonguein- cheek story, like the one below.

Not many philatelists know that, in 1962, the Burmese government issued a commemorative postage stamp to honour the world's most famous superhero, Superman. At least, that was the story told by the American publishing giant DC Comics.

In August 1954, the comic book Superman No. 91 included a story entitled “The Superman Stamp”. It was later revised and republished under the title “The Secret of the Superman Stamp” in Superman No. 153, issued in May 1962. The first story was set in the fictional city of Metropolis, but in the second some of the action took place in Rangoon.

It is unclear why Burma was chosen as the setting for the revised version of this story. Apart from its role in the Second World War, the country was poorly known. It may have had something to do with General Ne Win's coup d’etat on 2 March 1962, which for a brief period thrust Burma into the world's headlines. It is more likely, however, that it was simply because the country's capital was then called Rangoon.

The plot of the second Superman story was as follows:

After an earth tremor, Rangoon was threatened by a geyser of boiling water that erupted in the middle of the city. Its citizens were rescued by Superman, who tapped the geyser to provide the city with a permanent supply of hot water. Out of gratitude, the mayor of Rangoon decided to issue a commemorative postage stamp, honouring the Man of Steel.

In order to obtain appropriate artwork, the mayor and a photographer went to Metropolis. The latter took a full-face shot of Superman holding a giant globe, which the mayor felt was ideal for his purposes. However, when he saw the photo, Superman asked the mayor not to use it and offered to perform another super-feat just for him, to use on the stamp.