Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman

Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman
Co-Authors / Illustrators
Publisher
Genre(s)
Age Range
6+
Release Date
July 22, 2008
ISBN
0375838023
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JERRY SIEGEL AND Joe Shuster, two misfit teens in Depression-era Cleveland, were more like Clark Kent—meek, mild, and myopic—than his secret identity, Superman. Both boys escaped into the worlds of science fiction and pulp magazine adventure tales. Jerry wrote stories, and Joe illustrated them. In 1934, they created a superhero who was everything they were not. It was four more years before they convinced a publisher to take a chance on their Man of Steel in a new format—the comic book. The author includes a provocative afterword about Jerry and Joe’s long struggle with DC Comics when they realized they had made a mistake in selling all rights to Superman for a mere $130!

Marc Tyler Nobleman’s text captures the excitement of Jerry and Joe’s triumph, and the energetic illustrations by Ross MacDonald, the author-artist of Another Perfect Day, are a perfect complement to the time, the place, and the two young visionaries.

JERRY SIEGEL AND Joe Shuster, two misfit teens in Depression-era Cleveland, were more like Clark Kent—meek, mild, and myopic—than his secret identity, Superman. Both boys escaped into the worlds of science fiction and pulp magazine adventure tales. Jerry wrote stories, and Joe illustrated them. In 1934, they created a superhero who was everything they were not. It was four more years before they convinced a publisher to take a chance on their Man of Steel in a new format—the comic book. The author includes a provocative afterword about Jerry and Joe’s long struggle with DC Comics when they realized they had made a mistake in selling all rights to Superman for a mere $130!

Marc Tyler Nobleman’s text captures the excitement of Jerry and Joe’s triumph, and the energetic illustrations by Ross MacDonald, the author-artist of Another Perfect Day, are a perfect complement to the time, the place, and the two young visionaries.

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The Story Behind Superman
Overall rating
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
0.0
Learning Value
 
0.0
Reader reviewed by Julie M. Prince

Its a bird, its a plane, its (the boys who created) Superman! Comic book lovers everywhere find the story behind The Man of Steel fascinating, and this kid-friendly version sets out to show how two average joes brought their dream to life.

For kids who exercise their imaginations and kids who have big dreams, this book tells a tale worth knowing about Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, the artist and writer who brought about the most famous comic book hero in America.

Both unpopular and geeky, Jerry and Joe met in high school and teamed up to create a super alien who has more strength than Samson and Hercules, purposely making up a secret identity for him who would wear glasses like the two of them and appear bumbling and weak. Every kid in the country would identify with a guy like Clark Kent and be able to imagine themselves in his role as superhero.

This book, illustrated in the same old-fashioned comic book drawing style from the 1930s and 1940s, tells of Jerry and Joes perseverance and struggle to get their tales into the hands of the masses during a time when Americans most needed a hero.

While they succeeded in doing so, reality kept the duo from receiving the well-deserved credit for it, and the authors note at back tells in great detail about the ironic injustices suffered by Supermans creators.

Author, Marc Tyler Nobleman, and illustrator, Ross MacDonald, have created a super book of their own!

Off to turn another page&.
G
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