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Jerry Siegel

Jerome (Jerry) Siegel a.k.a. Joe Carter (born October 17, 1914, Cleveland, Ohio; died January 28, 1996) was the co-creator of Superman, the first of the great comic book superheroes and one of the most recognizable fictional characters of the 20th century.

The son of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania, Siegel was the youngest of six children. His father Mitchell was a sign painter who opened a haberdashery and encouraged his son's artistic inclinations. Tragically, Mitchell was shot and killed in his store by a thief when Jerry Siegel was still in junior high school.

Siegel was a fan of movies, comic strips, and, especially, science fiction pulp magazines. He became active in what would become known as fandom, corresponding with other science fiction fans, including the young future author Jack Williamson. In 1929, Siegel published what may have been the first SF fanzine, Cosmic Stories, which he produced with a manual typewriter and advertised in the classified section of Science Wonder Stories. He published several other booklets over the next few years.

Siegel attended Glenville High School and worked for its weekly student newspaper, The Torch. He was a shy, not particularly popular student, but he achieved a bit of fame among his peers for his popular Tarzan parody, "Goober the Mighty". At Glenville he befriended his later collaborator, Joe Shuster. The writer-artist team broke into comics with Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's landmark More Fun Comics, debuting with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval" and the supernatural-crimefighter strip "Dr. Occult" in More Fun #6 (Oct. 1935).

Siegel and Shuster created Superman, believed to be slightly inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan and John Carter of Mars, Fleischer Studio's Popeye cartoons, the pulp magazine hero Doc Savage, and Philip Wylie's 1930 novel Gladiator (that last, according to Siegel, much less an inspiration than the fan press often asserts). They used an early version of the character in short stories and in a 1933 comic-strip proposal. In 1938, after that proposal had languished among others at More Fun Comics — published by National Allied Publications, the primary precursor of DC Comics — editor Vin Sullivan chose it as the cover feature for Action Comics #1 (June 1938). The following year, Superman became a newspaper strip to the delight of Americans across the country.

In 1946, Siegel and Shuster, nearing the end of their 10-year contract to produce Superman stories, sued DC over rights to the characters. After a two-year fight, they relinquished their claim in return for about $100,000. That severed their relationships with DC for a decade. Siegel became comics art director for Ziff-Davis Company in the early 1950s, and later returned to DC to write uncredited Superman stories in 1959. When he sued DC over the Superman rights again in 1963, his relationship with the hero he'd co-created was largely severed.

Siegel's later work would appear in Marvel Comics, where under the pseudonym "Joe Carter" he scripted the "Human Torch" feature in Strange Tales #112-113 (Sept.-Oct. 1963), introducing the teenaged Torch's high school girlfriend, Doris Evans; Archie Comics, where he created the camped versions of their superheroes under the Mighty Comics line; Charlton Comics, where he created a few superheroes; and even England's Lion, where he scripted The Spider. In 1968, he worked for Western Publishing, for which he wrote (along with Carl Barks) stories of the Junior Woodchucks comic book. In 1972, he worked for Mondadori Editore on the Italian comic book Topolino, the local Disney publication.

Siegel in 1975 launched a public-relations campaign to protest DC Comics' treatment of him and Shuster; ultimately Warner Communications, DC's parent company, awarded Siegel and Shuster $35,000 a year each for the rest of their lives and guaranteed that all comics, TV episodes, films and (later) video games starring Superman (including the popular Smallville show) would be required to credit Superman was "created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster."

In 1986, Siegel was invited by DC Comics' editor Julius Schwartz to write an "imaginary" final story for Superman, following the pivotal Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline and the miniseries The Man of Steel, which reintroduced Superman. Siegel declined, and the story was instead given to writer Alan Moore, and published in September 1986 in two parts entitled Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? (the story was published in Superman #423 and Action Comics #583).

Siegel died in 1996. In 2005, he was posthumously awarded the Bill Finger Award For Excellence In Comic Book Writing. He was placed in the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1993.

References

Jones, Gerard, Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book (Basic Books 2004)

External links

Superman Through the Ages (tribute site)
- Brief biography of Siegel
- The history of Superman (with links to some of Siegel's earliest work)

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 Siegel attended [[Glenville High School]] and worked for its weekly [[student newspaper]], ''The Torch''. He was a shy, not particularly popular student, but he achieved a bit of fame among his peers for his popular [[Tarzan]] parody, "Goober the Mighty".  At Glenville he befriended his later collaborator, [[Joe Shuster]]. The [[writer]]-[[artist]] team broke into comics with Major [[Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson]]'s landmark ''[[New Fun Comics|More Fun Comics]]'', debuting with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval" and the supernatural-crimefighter strip "[[Dr. Occult]]" in ''More Fun'' #6 (Oct. 1935).
-Siegel and Shuster created Superman, believed to be slightly inspired by [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]'s [[Tarzan]] and John Carter of Mars, [[Fleischer Studio]]'s [[Popeye]] cartoons, the [[pulp magazine]] hero [[Doc Savage]], and [[Philip Wylie]]'s 1930 [[novel]] ''Gladiator'' (that last, according to Siegel, much less an inspiration than the fan press often asserts). They used an early version of the character in short stories and in a 1933 comic-strip proposal. In 1938, after that proposal had languished among others at ''More Fun Comics'' — published by National Allied Publications, the primary precursor of [[DC Comics]] — editor [[Vin Sullivan]] chose it as the cover feature for ''[[Action Comics]]'' #1 (June [[1938]]).
+Siegel and Shuster created Superman, believed to be slightly inspired by [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]'s [[Tarzan]] and John Carter of Mars, [[Fleischer Studio]]'s [[Popeye]] cartoons, the [[pulp magazine]] hero [[Doc Savage]], and [[Philip Wylie]]'s 1930 [[novel]] ''Gladiator'' (that last, according to Siegel, much less an inspiration than the fan press often asserts). They used an early version of the character in short stories and in a 1933 comic-strip proposal. In 1938, after that proposal had languished among others at ''More Fun Comics'' — published by National Allied Publications, the primary precursor of [[DC Comics]] — editor [[Vin Sullivan]] chose it as the cover feature for ''[[Action Comics]]'' #1 (June [[1938]]).  The following year, Superman became a [[Superman (comic strip)| newspaper strip]] to the delight of Americans across the country.
 In 1946, Siegel and Shuster, nearing the end of their 10-year contract to produce Superman stories, sued DC over rights to the characters. After a two-year fight, they relinquished their claim in return for about $100,000.  That severed their relationships with DC for a decade.  Siegel became comics [[art director]] for [[Ziff-Davis]] Company in the early 1950s, and later returned to DC to write uncredited Superman stories in 1959.  When he sued DC over the Superman rights again in 1963, his relationship with the hero he'd co-created was largely severed.