JOURNEY INTO COMICS: JONES' MEN OF TOMORROW

[MattBrady]

by Michael San Giacomo

Ever wonder what it was like in Cleveland in the 1930s when two kids created a superhero that would change literature, as well as the course of mighty rivers?

Gerard Jones does a beautiful job of answering that question in his tribute to Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster and a handful of comic book pioneers in Men Of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book (Basic Books, $26.)

Jones captures the texture, the feel of Depression-era Cleveland in his recounting of "two kids who followed a dream." Actually, he takes great pains to show that the creation of Superman was a lot more than two poor kids and a dream. There was a lot of pain involved.

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster didn't have time to fool around with fantasy stories, times were tough in Cleveland and these kids had to help support their families. It was through sheer will and determination that these two high school geeks hung in for four years to finally bring their superhuman creation into existence.

Jones also shows what the rest of the publishing world was doing at the time, how gangsters had taken over the magazine distribution market resulting in many killings of newsstand owners for selling the wrong titles. And we think things are tough today when Diamond shorts a shop owner.

Jones dipped into many published sources for some of his information, which he graciously acknowledges in great detail. Most writers skip this part of the process, but Jones included everyone and every book that helped him.

With the current heated litigation between the families of Siegel and Shuster against DC/Time/Warner over the rights to the Man of Steel, Jones was not able to get much cooperation from DC or the families, but he managed to make it through.

He interviewed some of Siegel's relatives in Cleveland along with Siegel's contemporaries to get a very clear picture of the times.

Fans of Michael Chabon's The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay will be amused to see that one section of the book where the fictitious writer and artist hunker down in a New York apartment during a snowstorm to produce a full 64-page comic over the weekend, actually occurred.

Lev Gleason told Charles Biro that he had just bought a ton a paper and had to produce enough art and story to fill a 64-page Daredevil comic book by Monday. It was Friday. So Biro enlisted Jerry Robinson, Bernie Klein, Mort Meskin and Bob Kane ghost artist George Roussos and others and they actually performed the superhuman feat. They finished the main feature starring the red and black costumed crusader and created new characters like "London" and "Blackout" to fill out the book.

The story was first related by Batman artist Jerry Robinson to Jules Feiffer for The Great Comic Book Heroes.

Jones has a clear, journalist's style that he uses to tell his stories. And don't expect Siegel and Shuster to be always right and humble, the guys had their faults and Jones tells it straight.

But in the end, they were both all too human.

It was only their creation that is immortal.

That's the end of the review, the rest is just me chatting about Jones and eventually ranting about Cleveland officials' refusal to acknowledge Superman.

Jones was nice enough to even credit me for helping out with his research. He called last year and said he was coming to town to do his research. As I have done with many other visiting comic enthusiasts, I took him on my patented Superman Tour of Cleveland.

The tour starts with the Beverly Street house (now painted very Supermanish blue, red and yellow) where Jerry grew up and actually created Superman.

I even pointed out the attic window where Jerry's room was.

Next is the vacant lot where Joe Shuster's house used to be. This was shown to me by the very gracious Joanne Siegel when I escorted her around Cleveland shortly after her husband's death.
Because Cleveland has so shamefully ignored Superman, Siegel and Shuster there is no monument to show off. Besides a modest tribute in the Glenville Hall of Fame (Siegel and Shuster's old neighborhood), the city has never seen fit to even put up a plaque to honor its most famous resident.

I showed Jones the apartment that Jerry and Joanne shared; the location of the Siegel and Shuster studio; the Terminal Tower building which served as a model for the Daily Planet, and the Plain Dealer newspaper where I work, which is an anagram for the Daily Planet (except for a letter or two.) That was easy since that's where I work as a mild-mannered reporter.

Then Jones started to wade through the old stories and newspaper clippings in the newspaper morgue, much of which showed up in the book.

Several years ago I went dizzy looking over microfilm trying to find the actual classified ad that a teenager named Jolan Kovacs put in the Plain Dealer offering to model for artists. The woman, who later changed her name to Joanne, posed for the nearsighted Joe Shuster and met his partner, the man she would marry a decade later to become Joanne Siegel.

Sadly, I was never able to locate the exact ad. Joanne was never exactly sure of the month or year and I finally gave up. But it's in the dusty archives somewhere.

Every year I get a call from someone who is astonished that Cleveland has done nothing to honor Siegel and Shuster. And every year that person, often a politician or someone in the comics field, vows to convince the city to embrace Superman.

And every damn time they fail.

I helped out several times. I talked to every politician in town but no one would accept the challenge.

How about a statue on Lake Erie? A mural downtown? How about turning the old Siegel house into a museum?

No, no and no.

It pisses me off that the one city in North America that can rightfully claim to be the birthplace of Superman is too cheap, stupid or short-sighted to do it.

The other day I got another call from a man who couldn't believe the city continues to ignore Superman. He wanted to get something going.

While trying to be encouraging, I told the outraged person that he had a real challenge to convince the city to do the right thing.

But he'll try, I'll help.

Again.

Maybe one of these days, it'll happen.

For those interested, Cleveland’s Mayor is Jane Campbell

Cleveland City Hall
Mayor's Office
601 Lakeside Avenue, Room 202
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
216-664-2220
e-mail: mayorcampbell@city.cleveland.oh.us

The Mayor's Action Center
Where You Can Send: Questions, Comments, and Requests for Service.
216-664-2900
e-mail: mayorsactioncenter@city.cleveland.oh.us

The Mayor's Press Secretary's Office
216-664-2220
e-mail: presssecretary@city.cleveland.oh.us

[Zadillo]

Great article, I think I'd like to check this out.

Btw, what's the connection between Cleveland and comic books? Seems like there's a tremendous amount of comic book talent that comes out of there, including a lot of guys today (I know I've heard Bendis talk about being from Cleveland a lot).

-Zadillo

[silogramsam]

I suggest also e-mailing the Cleveland Plains Dealer newspaper.

[shakey]

In the History Channel 2 hr special on comic book history, they mentioned the artist jam session to finish the 64 page book over the weekend as being a job to produce the first Human Torch vs Sub Mariner battle.

In this book , it's to make the original DD.

Which was it?

Or, were there two simliar jobs that differenrt artists are remembering?

[DrDoom]

Those flying men remind me of that "flick" the rocketeer

also consult the info on the book self

http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/bibli...2-0465036562-0

[GeorgeG]

I just wish 'Geeks' wasn't in the name of the title. I think that perception holds this industry down too much, and it doesn't help when it's used for book titles. I guess 'Heroes, Gangsters ...' would've been too hard to come up with.

[StefanDam]

Good luck trying to get Queen Jane to do anything that might actually benefit the city or acknowledge its legacy. If it doesn't directly benefit her or her family, it simply does not matter; no positive change necessary.

[mikesang]

Originally posted by silogramsam
I suggest also e-mailing the Cleveland Plains Dealer newspaper.

MIKE HERE
That's where I work. You can e-mail us but it wouldbe preaching to the choir.
M

[mikesang]

Originally posted by shakey
In the History Channel 2 hr special on comic book history, they mentioned the artist jam session to finish the 64 page book over the weekend as being a job to produce the first Human Torch vs Sub Mariner battle.

In this book , it's to make the original DD.

Which was it?

Or, were there two simliar jobs that differenrt artists are remembering?

MIKE HERE
I would bet that it happened many times. Comics were not very well-regarded as works of literature in those days.
M

[Posco]

Mike,

could you explain why the city has never done anything to honor Superman´s creators? Is there a particular reason? Because normally it would be a no brainer for local politicans to honor them. A statue or a plaque and afterwards you can put that in all those nice shiny image brochures your tourist department is distributing. There are so many possibilities they could use that as part of their communation / marketing.

An article about the lost fight for recognition of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in Cleveland would very interesting I think.

Christian

PS:How about trying to do this without the city? Couldn´t the newspaper start a sort of charity to get money fo a statue or so?They are not cheap but also not prohibitevly expensive. And if the city wouldn´t want it on public ground there might be other opportunities to put it up.

[AdamG1823]

Everyone, weather you live in Ohio or not, in the US or not, should e-mail the mayor, Press Secretary, and the Action group and let them know how comic fans all over feel about this. Make our voices heard.

[mikesang]

[quote]Originally posted by Posco
[b]Mike,

could you explain why the city has never done anything to honor Superman´s creators?
MIKE HERE

Not really. There is no good answer o it, at least not one I know of. No one ever explains why a tribute doesn't happen, every effort just dies quietly. The easy answer is money, Cleveland has the same problems as any other city. I know, I know, making Superman the official hero of Cleveland would bring in tourist revenue. I have never recovered from the shunning the city gave Joanne Siegel. Before he died, Jerry said he wanted his ashes to be interred in Cleveland. Joanne tried very hard to honor that wish, but we got nowhere. She came to town and we tried to convince the city, the city library, the historical museum, the new science center and the Rock Hall of Fame to allow an exhibit of Jerry's ashes, the typewriter Jerry used to write Golden Age Superman scripts and some original scripts. I believe she also had some things from Joe Shuster, including his glasses, as well.
Everyone said no.
I was shocked and embarassed for the city.
There were excuses, the library was being renovated. The museum said they would "accept the scripts and archive them" but they would not be available for people to view.
Jerry had insisted that his exhibit be free, which I applaud, so there was some talk about the expense of security, etc.
I don't know exactly where Mayor Campbell stands onthe issue, never heard her views on it, but there has been one, perhaps two, grass roots attempts at a memorial since she's been in office that went nowhere.
Maybe it's time for another one.
PS The last big attempt at a Superman statue was in 1988 (just before my time at the Plain Dealer) when a group of fans collected quite a bit of money. It turned into a real financial mess that, to this day, is hard to sort out. I would not attempt it. That may be part of the reason nothing gets done today. That attempt left a bad taste, it's probably better not to even bring it up.

[DrDoom]

Is this book full pages full of text or are there examples in it ?

[Dwight Williams]

Absolutely shameful.

At least we had that "Heritage Minute" up here on our TV screens in Canada to honour Joe Shuster's role. But then, even though the collaboration happened in Cleveland, he was born in Toronto, so we ignored that at our peril.

I wish the best of luck to the Siegel Monument Movement.

[TRaik]

Originally posted by DrDoom
Is this book full pages full of text or are there examples in it ?

I believe this book is predominantly text, with perhaps a dozen or so b&w illustrations as chapter opening illustrations or some such. It's definitely not an illustrated coffee-table book type thing if that's what you're looking for...

[mikesang]

Originally posted by TRaik
I believe this book is predominantly text, with perhaps a dozen or so b&w illustrations as chapter opening illustrations or some such. It's definitely not an illustrated coffee-table book type thing if that's what you're looking for...

MIKE HERE
It's a regular book with a dozen period photos of Siegel, Shuster and others in the center.

[Doctor Defiance]

Hey Mike,

Hope your are well!

I'll definitely check this S & S bio out. Have you read the Kirby bio "Tales to Astonish"? I found the "real" story of his life quite complelling although the style of writing was quite droll.

How's PJ going? I've been picking the book up at my shop (which keeps it in stock and on the shelves here in Boston), but I've been so busy with my own projects I haven't kept up with the boards and comic politics and haven't heard anything about how you feel it's going.

If you get a chance, shoot me your email (I lost it in a recent crash).

Thanks,

Sal

ultrasonic@rcn.com