Fans of comics and comics history have long awaited a book about Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman and Brad Ricca's Super Boys is, for better or worse, the best one we might ever get. It details their lives, delves into their families' pasts and, awkwardly, explains some of what happened after their deaths.
From the first page of the prologue, Ricca, in an attempt to tell a compelling story, dramatizes what may have happened. Ricca describes and presents feelings and actions he wasn't privy to: "He glanced at the black typewriter on his desk..."; "Joe was yawning a lot lately."; "He walked into the store, his peripheral vision on overdrive."; "Across town, a girl pins her hair back...". This made-for-TV docudrama-like technique is annoying and not appropriate for a serious work of non-fiction.
I did learn much from Ricca's research, such as that most of Siegel and Shuster's run on the fun Slam Bradley series was created for DC before Action Comics No.1. I didn't know Jerry Siegel had created The Spectre. The author goes into great detail concerning the duo's high school experiences and Siegel's published pulp magazine letters and gleans a lot of information from local newspapers during the boys' time in Cleveland. In one amazing exploration, Ricca points out the many connections between what was published in an edition of a Cleveland newspaper and plot elements from Superman around the time Siegel was conceiving of the series. Even if Siegel hadn't read that particular copy of the paper, it demonstrates how much of the series' ideas were in the air, as if the character had to exist, or as if Siegel had plucked the ideas out of the cultural ether. Much is also made (and rightly so) of the many autobiographical themes in Siegel's Superman. The book's notes are nearly a hundred pages long and contain much fascinating information.
For all the book's formidable research, though, one wishes Ricca had a deeper knowledge of 20th century pop culture, for the book is marred by many easily verifiable mistakes. It was Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. who the duo saw on screen as Zorro, not Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. The Dragon Lady was created by cartoonist Milton Caniff, not Roy Crane. Contrary to what Ricca states, Joe Simon created no work for Marvel Comics in the '60s, and stating in the same paragraph that Stan Lee was a genius, while only an opinion, is an extraordinarily misguided one. These kinds of statements make me reconsider - or distrust - other items presented as facts in the book.
The last section of the book is the most problematic, dealing with Siegel and Shuster's survivors' lawsuits with Superman's corporate parents and a myriad of sometimes dubious lawyers. The scenarios feel blurry and rushed, with not enough context for the reader to be able to understand or appreciate what transpires. Dialogue from many depositions are quoted, almost as if Ricca had worked hard to research them, so thought they needed to be included. One paragraph continually jumps back and forth between past and present tense, even in the same confusing sentence.
At the end, this reader is left with many questions unanswered by the text. Why didn't the duo consider a way of getting legal advice before they signed the rights to Superman away? Considering the duo's success with Slam Bradley, Superman and other series, why didn't they create other new series to sell after DC fired them beyond the abysmal Funnyman? There were many comic book companies out there. Since the '70s Superman movie was such a big event, what did the two think of it? Why did Jerry Siegel make no effort to contact or build a relationship with his son? In his long life, what did Joe Shuster do for decades (other than the couple of projects the book describes)?
Siegel and Shuster were in the unique and ironic position of being disregarded when they were alive, but now highly regarded now that they're gone. Their most famous creation, in the meantime, becomes more famous (and financially valuable) as each year goes by. The injustices the men suffered as detailed here are of a cautionary nature for creatives everywhere.
