Gear Live Comic Book News: Articles Tagged Joe Shuster

Quote Of The Day: Laura Siegel Larson on Warner Bros. and DC Comics

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,

“Fighting for what’s right has not been easy. No one would want to endure what Warner Bros. and DC Comics has put my family, the Shusters and my attorney through. And that’s exactly what their executives and lawyers want. By filing frivolous lawsuits against my family, the Shuster family and our lawyer, by publicly revealing my private communications, by driving up litigation costs and refusing to negotiate fairly, these companies think that other creators will be afraid to stand up to them, and that lawyers will think twice before taking on their cases.”

-- Laura Siegel Larson
[The daughter of Superman’s co-creator Jerry Siegel in an open letter discussing her case against Warner Bros. and DC Comics]

Be sure to check out our other notable quotes!

[Artwork: Action Comics #1, © DC Comics]

Read More | Laura Siegel Larson

Joe Shuster Superman Original Art Auction!

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Collecting, Editorials, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,

If you’ve ever dreamed about owning an original piece of Superman artwork by co-creator and artist Joe Shuster, now’s your chance.

Longtime original art dealer Larry Shell is offering a rare piece of American comics history this week in a fast-paced auction.

It’s a full color Joe Shuster recreation to the cover of Action Comics #16 (the original issue went on sale in 1938). According to Shell, this recreation was drawn in 1983 and “is one of only a very few cover recreations that Shuster did and is 100% his work.” It was originally owned by Wendy and Richard Pini (Elfquest).

The original measures a large 15” x 20” in size and is rendered in lead and colored pencils, which gives the image the soft quality of pastels.

You can see a photo of Joe Shuster with the original piece here.

Click to continue reading Joe Shuster Superman Original Art Auction!

Read More | Joe Shuster Auction

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster: Funnyman

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics, Independent,

After many years of struggle, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster hit the comic book jackpot with their creation Superman, only to see it slip away from their control and for DC Comics to keep not just the rights but almost all the money as well. One of the many dark chapters in the building of the comics industry – businesses profiting by taking away the rights of creators.

Frustrated by their attempts to negotiate with DC, and out of work when DC dumped them for complaining (and filing suit), they did what creators do: created another property where they were determined to get a better deal for themselves.

The project was Funnyman, a red-headed TV comedian who fought crime. Unfortunately, the self-titled comic book, for Vince Sullivan’s Magazine Enterprises, lasted just 6 issues in 1948 and a companion newspaper strip defined the term short-lived.

Click to continue reading Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster: Funnyman

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Arie Kaplan: From Krakow to Krypton

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Interviews,

In the world of comics, Arie Kaplan has written for MAD Magazine, Tales From The Crypt (Papercutz), Cartoon Network Action Pack (DC Comics) and Speed Racer (IDW). For TV, he’s also written for MTV, Cartoon Network and PBS Kids. His book, Masters Of The Comic Book Universe Revealed! is still available from Chicago Review Press. His latest book From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books is an oral history that tracks how Jews created the modern comic book industry. It was published in 2008 by The Jewish Publication Society.

TOM MASON: How did the book From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books come about?

ARIE KAPLAN: Around 2001 or 2002, I was approached by one of my freelance writing clients, Reform Judaism Magazine, with an offer to write a series of articles on the history of Jews in comics. The editors of Reform Judaism figured that I’d be a good fit for this assignment since I’d been writing for MAD Magazine for a couple of years. And they were right. I immersed myself in research, and worked very hard on the series, which was called “Kings of Comics,” and which came out in 2002-2003 (Reform Judaism is a quarterly).

TOM: How was that received?

Click to continue reading Arie Kaplan: From Krakow to Krypton

SNEAK PEAK: Craig Yoe & Joe Shuster & Stan Lee

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Reviews,

Craig Yoe has a knack for putting out great books – the second you hear the title of one of his books, you’ve just gotta have it. From BOODY: The Bizarre Comics of Boody Rogers (which will be published by Fantagraphics Books on March 1) to Clean Cartoonists’ Dirty Drawings which was published last October by Last Gasp, you know that Yoe is dealing with fascinating lost, forgotten or secret aspects of comic book/comic strip/cartoon history. Yoe has the gift, yo.

His latest book is Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster, and the material inside is quite a find. You can read online about the financial difficulties Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster encountered once they sold Superman to DC Comics and pursued options to get a piece of the multi-million pie their creation was soon to become. But by the 1950s, artist Shuster needed money. He took a job doing fetish illustrations – bondage, S&M, you name it - for an under-the-counter magazine called Nights Of Horror. There’s a sneak preview available online which is probably NSFW.

The whole sordid enterprise involved not just Shuster and the magazine, but a murder trial and Fredric Wertham (author of Seduction Of The Innocent). Oh, what a tangled web Yoe has uncovered! And you know you’re in good hands. Yoe’s won the Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators, two Addys, the Mobius, and an Eisner Award and he’s got mad design skills as well.

The 160-page hardcover is scheduled for release on April 1 from Abrams ComicArts. Stan Lee wrote the introduction.

Q&A: Marc Tyler Nobleman on Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster and Bill Finger

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Interviews,

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…a children’s book about Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman. Marc Tyler Nobleman published his first book in 1996 and is the author of over 70 children’s books, including the recent Boys of Steel, the story of how Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster came to create Superman back in the 1930s. It’s the behind-the-scenes story of their struggle to create the Man of Steel and to get it published, all while never letting go of their dream. Best of all, Marc uses Siegel and Shuster’s own words, culled from interviews with both creators in fanzines, magazines and newspapers.

Published by Knopf, “Boys of Steel” just won the prestigious Kirkus Reviews “Best Children’s Book” Award for 2008. In addition to “Boys of Steel,” Marc’s current book is “What’s The Difference?” a whimsical reference for teens and adults that explains the distinctions between things we often confuse, such as geek/nerd, alligator/crocodile, vanilla/French vanilla, democracy/republic, and rap/hip-hop.

TOM: First off, how big a comics fan are you?

Click to continue reading Q&A: Marc Tyler Nobleman on Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster and Bill Finger