Changes

==History==

==History==

Superman is the creation of two teenagers from Cleveland, Ohio.  Jerry Siegel, the son of a Jewish immigrant from Lithuania, was the writer, collaborating with his friend Joseph Shuster, a recent immigrant from Canada, who did the artwork.  According to typical accounts, both boys had created Superman as a result of shyness in school; both were awkward and unpopular, and the creation of Clark Kent and his super alter-ego was meant as a way to correct the deficiencies.  However, recent authors had made a case for a more profound reason for Superman's creation: on June 2, 1932, Jerry's father died as a result of an armed robbery in Cleveland, either from gunshot wounds or a heart attack; Superman was the creation of a young man who wanted to have someone powerful enough to right all wrongs. <reF>[http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2008-08-25-superman-creators_N.htm ''USA Today'' Online]</ref>  The boys' first attempt at publishing their character would occur a year later, with a boast of "the most astounding fiction character of all time" on the cover, as Superman comes to the rescue of someone at the mercy of an armed robber.

Superman was the creation of two teenagers from Cleveland, Ohio: Jerry Siegel and Joseph Shuster, both children of Jewish immigrants.  They were students at Glenville High School when they met in 1931, a pair of shy, awkward and unpopular kids who shared an interest in the adventure and science fiction stories of the pulp magazines of the day, and comic strips, specifically a genre called the adventure comic, such as Phillip Nolan's ''Buck Rogers'', Alex Raymond's ''Flash Gordon'', and Edgar Rice Burroughs' ''Tarzan''.  Jerry was the writer, submitting articles for the school newspaper.  Joe was the artist, his illustrations complementing Jerry's work.  The pair not only developed into a good friendship, but into a powerful collaboration as well; one would go to the others house each night to discuss, plan, sketch, and hatch out new stories and refine current ones.  Their plan was to create a comic strip and live comfortably on the fame and fortune it would provide, but two events would curtail it considerably: the [[Great Depression]], which threw millions of Americans out of work, and the death of Jerry's father on June 2, 1932, as a result of an armed robber.

During that period of time comics were simply several-panel drawings presented in "strips", with such well-known titles as ''Blondie'' by Chic Young and ''Thimble Theater starring Popeye'' by Elzie Segar.  In addition to light-hearted "funnies", as most of them were called, there existed a genre called the adventure comic: Phillip Nolan's ''Buck Rogers'', Alex Raymond's ''Flash Gordon'', and Edgar Rice Burroughs' ''Tarzan'' were among the well-known and most popular of the titles which appeared daily in newspapers and pulp magazines, and Siegel and Shuster read them voraciously, getting inspiration for their own character.  Eventually, they decided on an alien from a doomed planet, who appeared on earth "Moses-like", with fantastic strength and abilities, who would fight for the common man. With the name "Superman" bestowed on him, they intended to follow in the same direction that other comic artists have done: do a daily and Sunday strip for syndication in newspapers.  Their efforts at soliciting the syndicates, however, met with rejection at every turn.

In 1932 the boys created a periodical, titled simply ''Science Fiction''.  An anthology magazine, it was by mail-order only, and was printed off a mimeograph machine the boys had access to.  The January, 1933 issue had a story called "The Reign of the Super-Man"<ref>http://archive.org/stream/ReignOfTheSuperman/RSM#page/n0/mode/2up</ref>, in which the central character was a bald villain who used his mental powers for personal gain.  "As a science-fiction fan, I knew of the various themes in the field," Siegel said.  "The superman theme has been one of the themes ever since Samson and Hercules; and I just sat down and wrote a story of that type—only in this story, the Superman was a villain."<ref>http://ohdannyboy.blogspot.com/2012/06/1933s-reign-of-superman-first-superman.html</ref>  

But one medium held some promise.  In the news stands at the time, alongside the papers and the magazines, was a new format: the comic book.  In it's original form, the comic was simply reprints of the daily and Sunday strips, and at 10 cents it was a cheap way for newspapers to gain additional money.  Among the early entrepreneurs who saw a potential was Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, who had by 1935 published ''New Fun'', a comic book with original material in it - possibly the first one of its kind - and had founded National Allied Publications, the precursor to D.C. Comics.  His intention was to continue creating original works, but wanted people who could work cheap, or were young and rather naive.  Siegel and Shuster were hired as storyboard artists, and the pair would create several characters for the company, among them "Slam Bradley", a private eye and the first star of ''Detective Comics'' #1 in 1937.

 

But one medium held some promise.  In the news stands at the time, alongside the papers and the magazines, was a new format: the comic book.  In it's original form, the comic was simply reprints of the daily and Sunday strips, and at 10 cents it was a cheap way for newspapers to gain additional money.  Among the early entrepreneurs who saw a potential was Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, the founder of National Allied Publications, the precursor to D.C. Comics.  In 1935 he had published ''New Fun'', a comic book with all-original material in it.  His intention was to continue creating original works, but there was a catch: he wanted people who could work cheap, such as struggling artists who were young and rather naive.  Siegel and Shuster were hired as storyboard artists, and the pair would create several characters for the company, among them "Slam Bradley", a private eye and the first star of ''Detective Comics'' #1 in 1937.

A year later, new management took control of National Allied Publications; ''Detective Comics'' was a hit and they wanted another one, and they decided to take a chance on Siegel and Shuster's creation.  ''Action Comics'', the company's fourth title and intended to be an anthology of multiple stories within one issue, was sent to the stands in April, 1938; on the cover was Superman, appearing before the public for the first time brandishing an automobile over his head, despite having been placed there by accident as a result of a publishing deadline.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/13/nyregion/jack-liebowitz-comics-publisher-dies-at-100.html</ref>  The initial printing of 200,000 had quickly sold out; the number sold would quickly rise into the millions within months.

A year later, new management took control of National Allied Publications; ''Detective Comics'' was a hit and they wanted another one, and they decided to take a chance on Siegel and Shuster's creation.  ''Action Comics'', the company's fourth title and intended to be an anthology of multiple stories within one issue, was sent to the stands in April, 1938; on the cover was Superman, appearing before the public for the first time brandishing an automobile over his head, despite having been placed there by accident as a result of a publishing deadline.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/13/nyregion/jack-liebowitz-comics-publisher-dies-at-100.html</ref>  The initial printing of 200,000 had quickly sold out; the number sold would quickly rise into the millions within months.