Joe Shuster
Siegel & Shuster Society campaigns for Superman license plates
The Siegel & Shuster Society's concept of what the Superman plate might look like
A Cleveland group dedicated to celebrating the city as the “Birthplace of Superman” is leading a campaign to get the familiar “S” insignia emblazoned on Ohio specialty license plates.
The Plain Dealer reports that the nonprofit Siegel & Shuster Society, founded in 2008 to commemorate the creation of the Man of Steel in the city’s Glenville neighborhood by a teenage Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, has to collect 500 names on a petition as the first step toward the plate. A state senator has agreed to propose the plate in the Ohio legislature once the signatures are gathered.
The organization hopes to have the plates available by 2013, the 75th anniversary of Superman’s debut in Action Comics #1. Specialty plates, sold by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, typically cost anywhere between $25 and $35 more than standard plates. A portion of sales would go to the Siegel & Shuster Society to fund Superman projects.
- July 27, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Quote of the day | Grant Morrison on Siegel, Shuster and Superman
Action Comics #1 by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales
[CBR:] From Siegel and Shuster through later chapters on Kirby or Jim Starlin, you cover a lot of the creative life of the people behind comics and how one informs the other, and you make some particular observations about Siegel and Shuster’s desires as artists as well as professionals. There’s so much chatter over the lawsuits over Superman and what not, but for you, did you feel like the characters transcend some of those debates on their own terms, or is that creative personality something that informs how our whole industry works even to today?
[Grant Morrison:] Well, to me it’s never been honestly what’s interesting about this stuff. I think the stories outlast all of those complications. You look at the people who created those characters, and they’re all dead. But the characters will still be around in 50 years probably – at least the best of them will. So I try not to concern myself with that. These are deals made in times before I was even born. I can say from experience that young creative people tend to sell rights to things because they want to get noticed. They want to sell their work and to be commercial. Then when they grow up and get a bit smarter, they suddenly realize it maybe wasn’t so good and that the adults have it real nice. [Laughs] But still, it’s kind of the world. I wouldn’t want to comment on that because it was something I wasn’t around for. I can’t tell why they decided to do what they did. Obviously Bob Kane came in at the same age and got a very different deal and profited hugely from Batman’s success. So who knows? They were boys of the same age, but maybe some of them were more keen to sell the rights than others. It all just takes a different business head.
– All-Star Superman and Action Comics writer Grant Morrison takes a hands-off approach to the conflict over the rights to Superman between Warner Bros. and the heirs of the character’s creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, in conversation with CBR’s Kiel Phegley. Well, sorta hands-off: First he says he’d prefer not to comment because he wasn’t there, but then he points out that Bob Kane secured a much better deal for himself (though not for Bill Finger) at around the same time.
Interestingly, even as the costume changes and potential origin tweaks of the upcoming Superman reboot leave industry observers wondering if they’re a form of insurance should WB and DC lose the Siegel/Shuster legal battle, Morrison has repeatedly gone on record saying that his new Action Comics #1 is directly inspired by Siegel & Shuster’s original, from Superman’s more limited power set to his emergence as something of a street-level social crusader to the constant sense of forward motion the young writer and artist brought to the Man of Steel’s first adventure — an adventure Morrison close-reads to insightful effect in his new book Supergods. If Morrison could once again talk to Superman about himself, what might he say about all this?
- July 21, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Sean T. Collins
Comics A.M. | Marvel’s ‘fathers of invention’; Gaiman, Tan win Locus Awards
Jack Kirby
Legal | Brent Staples pens an editorial for the New York Times on the legal battle between the Jack Kirby estate and Marvel: “The Marvel editor Stan Lee sometimes offered general ideas for characters, allowing the artists to run with them. Mr. Kirby plotted stories, fleshing out characters that he had dreamed up or that he had fashioned from Mr. Lee’s sometimes vague enunciations. Mr. Lee shaped the stories and supplied his wisecrack-laden dialogue. And in the end, both men could honestly think of themselves as ‘creators.’ But Mr. Kirby, who was known as the King of Comics, was the defining talent and the driving force at the Marvel shop. Mr. Lee’s biographers have noted that the company’s most important creations started out in Mr. Kirby’s hands before being passed on to others, who were then expected to emulate his artistic style.” [New York Times]
Awards | Writer Neil Gaiman (Sandman, The Graveyard Book) and artist Shaun Tan (The Arrival, Tales from Outer Suburbia) are among the winners of the 2011 Locus Awards. Gaiman’s “The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains” won for best novelette, while “The Thing About Cassandra” won best short story. Tan won for best artist. [Locus Online]
Legal | Jeff Trexler reviews the legal battle between Warner Bros. and the heirs of creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster through the filter of the Neil Gaiman/Todd McFarlane decision, where a judge ruled Gaiman has copyright interest in Medieval Spawn, Angela and other Spawn characters. [The Beat]
- June 27, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Judge grants Warner Bros. access to stolen Superman documents
Action Comics #1
A federal judge has denied an appeal by the attorney representing the heirs of Superman’s creators, clearing the way for Warner Bros. to gain access to documents the studio contends will demonstrate he “orchestrated a web of collusive agreements” that led the families to reject longtime deals with DC Comics.
The documents, which were stolen from the law offices of Marc Toberoff and delivered anonymously to Warner Bros. in December 2008. Although a judge at the time ruled that the documents were privileged and ordered them returned, it was determined that the attached seven-page cover letter was not protected by attorney-client confidentiality. That letter, dubbed the “Superman-Marc Toberoff Timeline,” became the basis for the studio’s 2010 lawsuit against the attorney, in which it claims he acted improperly to convince the heirs of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster to seek to reclaim the original copyright to the Man of Steel. Warner Bros. also alleges tht Toberoff schemed to secure for himself “a majority and controlling financial stake” in the Superman rights.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Ralph Zarefsky ruled late last month that those documents aren’t protected by attorney-client privilege because Toberoff didn’t fight a grand jury subpoena issued in the investigation of their theft, thus waiving privilege. However, the judge deferred the decision to presiding U.S. District Judge Otis Wright who, according to Hollywood, Esq., on Monday rejected Toberoff’s argument that he had no choice but to cooperate with prosecutors in the burglary investigation.
Barring another appeal, Warner Bros. will finally get unfettered access to the documents that it hopes, at the very least, will force Toberoff, long a thorn in the studio’s side, to resign as the Siegel family’s attorney. Whether the papers are the legal hand grenade that Warner Bros. attorneys have made them out to be, demonstrating improper and even illegal, behavior, of course remains to be seen. Wright could look at the evidence and decide Toberoff’s actions were merely those of an attorney aggressively soliciting clients and (just as aggressively) representing their interests.
If that’s the case, it would make this lawsuit only the latest detour in the decade-long fight for Superman — one that became even more bitter in 2008 following a ruling that Siegel’s widow Joanne Siegel and daughter Laura Siegel Larson had successfully recaptured half of the original copyright to the Man of Steel. The window will open in 2013 for Shuster’s estate to do the same.
Deadline’s Nikki Finke offers spirited commentary on the Warner Bros. lawsuit against Toberoff, focusing on the stolen documents and the studio’s controversial tactics.
- June 15, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Car damages Superman tribute fence surrounding site of Shuster home
The plates on the fence surrounding the site of the Shuster family home (via CapedWonder)
A month after thieves stole a historical marker near the Cleveland house where Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created the Man of Steel, a man drove through the fence surrounding the site of Shuster’s former home on Tuesday night, damaging large metal plates that reprint the first Superman story.
According to The Plain Dealer, the driver is believed to be a neighbor, who’s offering to pay the estimated $2,600 to replace the seven plates he destroyed. The panels, which reprint pages from Action Comics #1, were installed two years ago by the Glenville Development Corporation and the Siegel and Shuster Society.
There is good news, though, at least regarding the historical marker: The newspaper reports that the plaque, stolen in April from the intersection of St. Clair Avenue and East 105th Street, was left at the Glenville neighborhood fire station, presumably because of the intense publicity surrounding the theft. It’s thought that the aluminum sign was taken by scrap-metal thieves who mistook it for bronze because of its coloring.
- May 26, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Thieves steal sign marking Superman’s Cleveland birthplace
Home of Superman historical marker
A historical marker near the Cleveland home where a teenage Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman has been stolen.
The likely culprits, The Plain Dealer reports, are scrap-metal thieves who mistook the plaque for bronze because of its coloring. It’s actually made of aluminum.
The sign was installed by the city at the intersection of St. Clair Avenue and East 105th Street in 2003, the 65th anniversary of the release of Action Comics #1. The nearby house where the Siegel family lived until 1950, and where the young collaborators dreamed up the Man of Steel, was restored in 2008 through efforts spearheaded by the nonprofit Siegel and Shuster Society. Two larger markers created by that group hang on a fence outside the Glenville neighborhood home.
If there’s a silver, or aluminum, lining to the theft, it’s that it provides officials with the opportunity to make a correction on the replacement: Siegel’s last name was misspelled on one side of the original marker.
- April 28, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Warner Bros. dealt a setback in Superman legal battle
Action Comics #1
A federal judge on Monday denied an effort by Warner Bros. to gain access to sensitive documents that are alleged to show an agreement between the heirs of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster not to strike further copyright deals with the studio, Hollywood, Esq. reports.
The documents, which were at the center of Warner Bros.’ May 2010 lawsuit against Siegel family attorney Marc Toberoff, also purportedly contain a formula for how the two estates, and Toberoff, would divide the Superman assets once they successfully terminate the studio’s rights to the property.
Although Toberoff had convinced the judge in the first trial that those documents were protected by attorney-client privilege, Warner Bros.’ new outside counsel Daniel Petrocelli argued in the 2010 lawsuit that the consent agreement violates the U.S. Copyright Act and, therefore, can’t be insulated from discovery. However, U.S. Magistrate Judge Ralph Zaresky ruled this week that the studio’s assertion that the documents are illegal doesn’t necessarily make them illegal.
Zaresky’s decision is a setback for Warner Bros., which has been waging an increasingly bitter legal battle to hold onto Superman following a 2008 ruling that Siegel’s widow Joanne Siegel and daughter Laura Siegel Larson had successfully recaptured half of the original copyright to the Man of Steel. The door will open in 2013 for Shuster’s estate to do the same. (Last month Toberoff asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to determine exactly what elements from Superman’s mythology his clients can reclaim as a result of the 2008 decision.)
The tone and tactics of the dispute were the subject of a letter written in December by Joanne Siegel to Time Warner Chairman Jeffrey L. Bewkes, just two months before her death.
- April 13, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Joanne Siegel’s posthumous appeal to Warner Bros.
Superman
Joanne Siegel, widow of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, passed away on Feb. 12 with her family’s prolonged legal battle with Warner Bros. over the Man of Steel still unresolved.
Although a judge ruled in 2008 that the Siegels had successfully recaptured half of the original copyright to Superman, paving the way for the estate of co-creator Joe Shuster to do the same in 2013, Warner Bros. has continued its increasingly bitter fight for the property. In May the studio went so far as to sue the attorney representing the two families in an effort to force him to resign.
Noting the recent changes in tone and tactics, Joanne Siegel prepared a letter to Time Warner Chairman Jeffrey L. Bewkes just two months before her death asking for an end to such “mean-spirited tactics” as the lawsuit against attorney Marc Toberoff and multiple depositions of herself and daughter Laura Siegel Larson, both of whom were in poor health.
“My daughter Laura and I, as well as the Shuster estate, have done nothing more than exercise our rights under the Copyright Act,” Siegel wrote in the letter, obtained and published by Deadline. “Yet, your company has chosen to sue us and our long-time attorney for protecting our rights. [...] The solution to saving time, trouble, and expense is a change of viewpoint. Laura and I are legally owed our share of Superman profits since 1999. By paying the owed bill in full, as you pay other business bills, it would be handled as a business matter, instead of a lawsuit going into its 5th year.”
The latest turn in the case came just last week, when it was reported that Toberoff had asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to determine exactly what elements from Superman’s mythology his clients can reclaim as a result of the 2008 court ruling.
Read the full text of the letter after the break.
- March 28, 2011 @ 07:15 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | Banned Egyptian GN to be published in English
Metro
Graphic novels | Metro, the graphic novel by Egyptian cartoonist Magdy El Shafee that was banned in 2009 under Hosni Mubarak’s regime, will be published in English next year by Metropolitan, a division of Macmillan. El Shafee who, along with his publisher Mohammed al Sharqawi was convicted of disturbing public morals, has appealed to Egypt’s new Ministry of Culture to have the ban lifted. “I’m waiting to hear if the minister of culture will allow it to be published again,” El Shafee says. “They will have to consult with the courts. I’m hoping there may be some kind of apology.” [CNN.com]
Legal | In an article that’s heavy on background and light on new information, Matthew Beloni reports that the attorney representing the heirs of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster has asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to determine exactly what elements from the Man of Steel’s mythology his clients can reclaim as a result of the 2008 court ruling. [THR, Esq.]
Retailing | Barnes & Noble stock fell 16 cents following a report that bookstore chain, the largest in the United States, will likely end its months-long search for a buyer. Although the auction isn’t over, initial interest from at least seven potential buyers is said to have waned following the first round of bidding. [Bloomberg]
- March 24, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Copyright Comics: The swindling of Siegel and Shuster
Comic Book Comics, by Ryan Dunlavey and Fred Van Lente, chronicles the history of comics in comic-book form. Their latest story, posted in full at their blog, is a short history of copyright grabs by comics publishers, featuring Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Jack Kirby and Joker creator Jerry Robinson make appearances as well. It’s interesting history and a painless way to learn a bit about copyright law and its pitfalls.
(Via Comics Worth Reading.)
- December 8, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Increasingly bitter and complicated Superman lawsuit delayed by appeal
Superman
The ferocious fight for the future of Superman has been put on hold while a federal judge considers an appeal on a procedural ruling.
THR, Esq. reports that U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright issued the stay on Friday, on the eve of a scheduled hearing concerning Warner Bros.’ lawsuit against Marc Toberoff, attorney for the heirs of Superman co-creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
The studio sued Toberoff in May in a move designed to force him to resign as the lawyer for Siegel’s heirs, who in 2008 successfully terminated the original 1938 transfer of copyright for Action Comics #1. The 65-page complaint accused Toberoff of manipulating the Siegel family and the estate of Joe Shuster into rejecting “mutually beneficial” longtime agreements with DC Comics, and making arrangements that would give him “a controlling financial interest in the families’ collective claims.” Toberoff responded by accusing Warner Bros. of conducting “a smear campaign,” and in August filed motions to dismiss, citing California anti-SLAPP laws designed to curb lawsuits intended to intimidate the opposition through delays and legal expense.
In late September, attorneys for Warner Bros. filed five separate motions in an effort to keep its lawsuit alive, amending its complaint and accusing Toberoff of attempting to shield himself from liability for interfering with his clients’ contracts. The changes to the studio’s suit led Toberoff to file his motions again. However, Wright ruled the anti-SLAPP motion moot due to the amended complaint. Toberoff appealed that ruling, which brings us to the stay of the entire case.
THR, Esq. notes that Warner Bros.’ aggressive and controversial litigation against Toberoff could be on hold for as long as 18 months; the studio, however, could speed up the process by filing a motion to dismiss the appeal.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. pushes forward with its Zack Snyder-directed Superman reboot, which must begin production by 2011 or risk opening the door for Siegel’s heirs to bring action over the lack of a rights-reversion clause in the studio’s deal with DC Comics. Of course, another bigger deadline looms just over the horizon: In 2013, the Shuster estate will be eligible to reclaim its half of the copyright.
- October 19, 2010 @ 06:54 AM by Kevin Melrose
More legal maneuvers in brutal battle over Superman
Superman
Warner Bros. has filed another round of motions in its increasingly nasty legal battle with the families of Superman’s creators, and their attorney Marc Toberoff.
The studio sued Toberoff in May in a move designed to force him to resign as the lawyer for the heirs of Jerry Siegel, who in 2008 successfully terminated the original 1938 transfer of copyright for Action Comics #1. The 65-page complaint accused Toberoff of manipulating the Siegel family and the estate of Joe Shuster into rejecting “mutually beneficial” longtime agreements with DC Comics, and making arrangements that would give him “a controlling financial interest in the families’ collective claims.” Toberoff responded by accusing Warner Bros. of conducting “a smear campaign,” and in August filed motions to dismiss, citing California laws designed to curb lawsuits intended to intimidate the opposition through delays and legal expense.
Now, The Hollywood Reporter’s THR, Esq. blog reports, Warner Bros. has filed five separate motions in an effort to keep its lawsuit alive. The studio, represented by Dan Petrocelli — he successfully defended The Walt Disney Co. in a lengthy battle over merchandising royalties from Winnie-the-Pooh — and a team from O’Melveny & Myers, claims Toberoff is attempting to shield himself from liability for interfering with his clients’ contracts.
A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 18.
- September 28, 2010 @ 11:35 AM by Kevin Melrose
Superman attorney accuses Warner Bros. of ‘a smear campaign’
Action Comics #1
Marc Toberoff, the attorney representing the heirs of Superman’s co-creators, has responded to a lawsuit filed against him on Friday by DC Comics, calling it “baseless” and “clearly vindictive.”
The 56-page complaint, designed to discredit Warner Bros.’ legal nemesis, alleges that Toberoff “orchestrated a web of collusive agreements” with the heirs of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, leading them to reject “mutually beneficial” longtime deals with DC Comics and seek to recapture the Superman copyright.
Further, the lawsuit charges that Toberoff’s “scheme” is designed to secure for him “a majority and controlling financial stake” in the Superman rights and “preclude the heirs from freely entering into new agreements with DC Comics for the continued exploitation of Superman.”
In a press release issued Friday evening, Toberoff accuses Warner Bros. and DC of resorting to “a smear campaign disguised as a lawsuit.”
“Even before filing their new lawsuit, Warner Bros.’ press machine embarked on a well-coordinated campaign to assassinate Mr. Toberoff’s character,” the statement reads. “The baseless lawsuit and press campaign are clearly vindictive, given that Mr. Toberoff has handled a string of successful rights claims against Warner, including securing a preliminary injunction barring Warner’s infringing The Dukes of Hazzard movie in 2005.”
- May 15, 2010 @ 07:48 AM by Kevin Melrose
Warner Bros. sues Siegel family attorney [Updated]
Superman
The battle over the rights to Superman has taken a surprising twist, with Nikki Finke reporting that Warner Bros. aims to force Marc Toberoff to resign as the Siegel family’s attorney.
According to Finke, the studio’s new outside counsel Daniel Petrocelli filed a lawsuit today against Toberoff “raising questions about his alleged role as a financial participant in the Superman copyright and not as the attorney for the Shuster and Siegel families fighting their Superman cases.”
The lawsuit reportedly alleges that Toberoff, a longtime legal nemesis of Warner Bros., convinced the families of Superman co-creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster to reject “mutually beneficial” longtime agreements with DC Comics and seek to recapture copyright to the property. Further, the studio charges that Toberoff entered into agreements with the heirs that would give him and his companies “a controlling financial interest in the families’ collective claims — leaving him as the largest financial stakeholder (47.5%), while relegating the Siegel heirs (27.5%) and Shuster heirs (25%) to minority status.”
Finke asserts that the Warner Bros. case hinges on mysterious documents removed from Toberoff’s office by one his employees. She points out that when Petrocelli defended Disney in a lengthy battle over merchandising royalties from Winnie-the-Pooh, he succeeded in having the case thrown out because the plaintiffs based part of their argument on paperwork “stolen” from a dumpster in the Disney lot.
Warner Bros. faces a ticking clock: Siegel’s heirs were awarded his share of the copyright in 2008; in 2013, the door will open for a similar reversion of rights to the Shuster estate.
Update: According to Variety, the 65-page complaint accuses Toberoff of violating copyright laws and interfering with Warner Bros.’ contractual rights, and alleges he prevented the Siegel and Shuster families “from freely entering into agreements with DC Comics — even if it was in their respective economic interest to do so.”
- May 14, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Talking Comics with Tim: Greg Sadowski
Supermen!
Editor Greg Sadowski‘s new Fantagraphics book, Supermen! The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941, is a spectacular snapshot of a historical period long before comic book company events, crossovers and alternate covers or universes. As detailed by the publisher: “The enduring cultural phenomenon of comic book heroes was invented in the late 1930s by a talented and hungry group of artists and writers barely out of their teens, flying by the seat of their pants to create something new, exciting, and above all profitable. The iconography and mythology they created flourishes to this day in comic books, video, movies, fine art, advertising, and practically all other media. Supermen! collects the best and the brightest of this first generation, including Jack Cole, Will Eisner, Bill Everett, Lou Fine, Fletcher Hanks, Jack Kirby, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, and Basil Wolverton.” The book sports a foreword by Jonathan Lethem. My thanks to Sadowski for his willingness to discuss his editorial approach on this project and after learning some of what did not make the first volume, I look forward to seeing a second volume down the road as time and other logistics permit. Fantagraphics also offers folks the chance to download an “11-page PDF excerpt (7.4 MB) featuring an entire story by Will Eisner and Lou Fine starring The Flame!”
Tim O’Shea: How did the foreword by Jonathan Lethem come about?
Greg Sadowski: Someone at Fantagraphics approached him, and Jonathan really came thorough – his foreword starts things off beautifully.
- June 1, 2009 @ 02:25 PM by Tim O'Shea