Superman: The Jewish Connection

"Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings at a single bound — look, up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's SUPERMAN!!" That cry is well known to most Americans who were children during the 1940s and 1950s.

Superman has also become a familiar subject in the collections of Judaica philatelists. In 1998, the United States issued a 32-cent Superman commemorative (3185f), as part of its series honoring milestones of the 20th century. Superman also appears on a recent stamp from Canada (1579), as well as issues by the Russian Republics of Tadjikistan and Kirgistan (though it is worth noting that many purists avoid these latter issues, as they are created solely for collectors and are not valid for use as postage). My collection also includes a cancellation from Metropolis, Illinois, a real town on that state's southern border that bears the name of the fictional home of Superman.

The creators of the comic strip "Superman" were two Jewish young men, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Siegel, who wrote the text, was born in October 1914 in Cleveland; Shuster, who did the drawings, was born in July 1914 in Toronto. The two met in Cleveland in the 1930s, where they started a local science-fiction magazine.

The bespectacled Siegel probably served as Shuster's model for Clark Kent, Superman's secret identity. The first installment of the comic strip was purchased for $130 and appeared in June 1938 in an issue of Action published by National Comics. Siegel and Shuster apparently sold their rights to the character at that time, and in the decades that followed, they did not share in the royalties amassed from the recent movie and related merchandising. When this sorry situation become known in the 1970s, a successful campaign was launched by fans of the original comic book to help Siegel and Shuster get the recognition they deserved. And a little bit of cash, too. The pair were granted a lifetime annual salary of $20,000.

Shuster died in 1992, Siegel in 1996. After decades of legal squabbling, in 1999 Siegel's family regained co-ownership of the rights to Superman.

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