Today in Comics History, July 10: Happy birthday, Joe Shuster!

Born on this day in 1914: Joe Shuster, who...well, without him, we probably wouldn't still have comic books today, period.


from Fifty Who Made DC Great one-shot (DC, 1985)



Yes, along with Jerry Siegel, he co-created this Super-Man character that all the kids seem to be crazy about. Lifting us cheerfully out of the Great Depression and sending us skipping merrily into World War II! He also created or co-created Jor-El and Lara, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Superboy, Lex Luthor, Doctor Occult, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Slam Bradley, the Ultra-Humanite, and Funnyman (well, not every concept is a winner).


from Superman (1939 series) #1 (DC/Detective Comics, Inc., Summer 1939)
Not that selling Superman to the industry was as easy as leaping over tall buildings. It was hard work, persistence, and serendipity that they placed Superman with National [National Allied Publications, Inc.], the publisher of the comparably tame New Fun Comics.




from Comic Book History of Comics #1-2 (IDW, November-December 2016), script and letters by Fred Van Lente, pencils and inks by Ryan Dunlavey, colors by Adam Guzowski
But seriously, consider this: minus the blockbuster success that Superman had upon the comic books in the late 1930s, would the medium have continued to produce Batman? Captain America? Spider-Man? Squirrel Girl? Jeff the Land Shark?



from Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics (Ten Speed, July 2020), script and art by Tom Scioli
Not only did Superman fight against untruth, injustice, and the un-American Way, he also completely saved the bacon of Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, founder of National Publications! For a pretty paltry payment!


from "October 4, 1938" in The Onion Presents: Our Dumb Century (Three Rivers Press, 1999)
This gag is only exaggerating is slightly: Siegel and Shuster were paid $130 each for the rights to Superman.


That's why it's only fitting that DC sent Joe tickets to see his creation try to beat up a black man. Can you find him (Shuster, I mean) in the crowd? Two hints: They didn't give him front row seats (boo!) and he's sitting directly beside Jerry Siegel.

cover of All-New Collectors' Edition #C-56 (DC, March 1978), layout by Joe Kubert, pencils by Neal Adams, inks by Neal Adams (?) and/or Cory Adams (?), logo design by John Workman
(Click top picture to GOAT-size)
And of course they invited Joe to Superman's wedding! But where's he sitting?

from Superman: The Wedding Album one-shot (DC, December 1996), pencils by Dan Jurgens, inks by Jerry Ordway, colors by Glenn Whitmore, letters by Bill Oakley
Click top picture to honeymoon-size
In this Simpsons "what if" scenario, Joe and Jerry visit Springfield, USA in the 1930s!




from Simpsons Comics #200 (Bongo, March 2013), script by Ian Boothby, pencils by Phil Ortiz, inks by Mike DeCarlo, colors by Art Villanueva, letters by Karen Bates
A Pre-Crisis story named a group of tiny displaced aliens who moved into a replica of the Bottle City of Kandor after Joe Shuster!



from Superman #371 (DC, May 1982), script by Len Wein, pencils by Curt Swan, inks by Dave Hunt, colors by Anthony Tollin, letters by John CostanzaD
But one of the sweetest homages DC ever gave Siegel & Shuster (I mean, short of giving them billions of dollars) was in the story aptly titled "If Superman Didn't Exist...":


cover of Action Comics #554 (DC, April 1984), pencils and inks by Gil Kane, colors by Anthony Tollin
The set-up: due to some briefly summarized time-wimey shenanigans, Earth has grown up as an agrarian society with no technology, no heroes, no drive for betterment, and no defense against a horde of invading aliens.



from "If Superman Didn't Exist..." in Action Comics #554 (DC, April 1984), script by Marv Wolfman, pencils and inks by Gil Kane, colors by Anthony Tollin, letters by Ben Oda
Earth's Only Hope™ lies in the creativity of two kids — aptly named Joe and Jerry — who put their creative fan fiction to work by Imagineering a hero to defend them. Say, who do you think that hero will be? I'm bettin' Iron Man. It's gonna be Iron Man, right?




AW YOU GUESSED IT





So, yes, Virginia, there must be a Superman — and we're all forever grateful to Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel for creating the Man of Steel and forever changing the course of American mythology.


Happy birthday, Joe!


from All Star Superman #10 (DC, May 2008), script by Grant Morrison, pencils by Frank Quitely, inks and colors by Jamie Grant, letters by Travis Lanham