MEN OF STEEL Siegel and Shuster and the Birth of the Superhero

Superman is one of the most recognizable pop culture icons in the world, and the story of his creation has been written about extensively. Yet, amazingly, none of these accounts have told the full story - nor a completely accurate one. For the first time this book chronicles the secret history of Superman's invention and evolution from a New Deal/Popular Front hero of the common man to the humanized American icon of the '50s and '60s. It also looks at Siegel's fierce behind-the-scenes battles with editors and publishers over control of the character and their attempts to rein in an independent-minded author and an unruly Superman. Author Thomas Andrae interprets Superman stories in light of their historical context: Depression, war, shifts in masculinity and femininity, ethnicity, the Bomb, and the generation gap. The book offers a rich visual history of the largely unknown influences behind the Man of Steel's creation and new insights into it, gleaned from unpublished manuscripts, correspondence, and personal interviews with Superman's creators and collaborators. The fruit of decades of research, this book offers the definitive account of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's careers.