2nd of an 8-part series. Click here for Part 1.
"I was mild-mannered, wore glasses, was very shy with women." - Joe Shuster
Hello "Super"-Nerds, and welcome to DAY TWO of The Real Heroes of Superman.
If you've lived in Canada in the last ten years, you probably remember this Historica Minute (although I could have sworn it was called "Canadian Heritage Moment") where a young Joe Shuster is getting on a Toronto bound train in Cleveland, saying goodbye to his fictional girlfriend Lois, showing her a picture of a crudely drawn Superman.
It's ends on such a obviously hopeful note... Joe Shuster heading off to visit his cousin Frank (of Wayne and Shuster) in Toronto... It's not really clear why... Frank Shuster had nothing (as far as I can tell) to do with the creation of Superman.
Anyway... I love that Heritage Moment... Historica Minute. I love that Joe Shuster is considered a Canadian Icon, despite the fact that he moved to Cleveland when he was nine.
So, he may have only been here for a few years, but Canada obviously had an influence on him.
He worked as a paperboy at the Toronto Star, and as you "Super"-Nerds know, The Daily Planet was actually called The Daily Star in the early years. It wasn't changed into The Daily Planet until the comic received international distribution.
As a child in Toronto, he would go from store to store, looking for bits of scrap paper or cardboard that he could draw on (he considered himself lucky when he found a roll of un-used wallpaper - he could draw on the back.)
He met Jerry Siegel at Glenville High School in Cleveland. They were both heavily into Science Fiction stories. Siegel was writing them, while Shuster was sketching them.
It was while working for Detective Comics that the pair came up with the idea for Superman. When they sold the character they didn't hold on to any ownership of the character. So in 1947, when Superman was the most famous comic book character in history, the pair un-succesfully sued and were promptly fired.
This is where Shuster's life gets sketchy. He stopped drawing completely. And in the mid 1970's was living in an apartment in Queens, NY... blind.
When Superman: The Movie came out, Siegel sued and won the pair 35,000 each for life.
He died in Los Angeles in 1992.
He gave one of his last interviews to The Toronto Star. In it, he said:
There aren't many people who can honestly say they'll be leaving behind something as important as Superman. But Jerry and I can, and that's a good feeling. We're very, very proud and happy and pleased.Canada has since named a group of awards after him. The Joe Shuster Awards are given for achievement in comic books by Canadians.
Joe Shuster was one of the real heroes of Superman, and he will never be forgotton.
Especially in Canada, where we are constantly reminded he was Canadian.
That, and the fact that Winnie The Pooh was a real bear... A Canadian bear.
Tune in tomorrow for Part 3!
