Leaving the world a little better than I found it by sharing my passions and dreams, what inspires me,
and maybe you too, and furthering the discussion about how we can listen to our better angels.
You know my all-time favorite book is The Book of Lies by my good pal Brad Meltzer. Of course, one huge reason it's my favorite book is because of the super small part I had in it and the mention of me on page 9 of the Acknowledgements. Yes, really. (Read my previous posts here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).
Anyway, it's out in paperback now with a new cover. If you didn't buy it when it first came out last September (and you should have), now you have absolutely no excuse not to rush out to Barnes & Noble or Amazon or wherever and buy yourself a copy plus one for your dad for Father's Day. Dad will thank you. Frankly, since it's got a new cover, even if you have the hard cover book, you should buy the paperback because then you'll have the complete set.
Have you ever wanted to be part of a New York Times Best Selling Author's next novel? Well, you're in luck! New York Times Best Selling Author Brad Meltzer is looking to cast your life in his next novel!
As you'll recall, Brad featured parts of my life in his last novel, The Book of Lies. And it started just this way. I'll be honest with you, when I answered Brad's email, I didn't have any idea he would find anything interesting in the stories I told him. And I was nervous. What I shared with him, I really hadn't shared before. But he took good care of deep secrets and I know he'll take care of your story too.
So take a deep breath and write Brad an email. It could be the best thing you ever do! And you could be immortalized in his next novel!
Yes, it’s that treasured time again: when I offer to cast your life in a book, in the hopes that you’ll share something private, real, and most important, honest about your personal life for the benefit of this imaginary character I’m working on. In the past, some of the best details for characters have come from friends and readers, so before we go forward, let’s go through the usual disclaimer: if you reply to this (whether you post or send me a private message), I actually may use it in a book, so you waive your rights to sue me, hate me, or give me Indian burns. In fact, at least three readers/friends from this blog were in the last book (see the Acknowledgments, though a few more asked their names withheld).
Now onto the personal question:
Are you (or have you ever known) someone who grew up with an absent parent -- or more specifically -- without knowing who one of your parents was? (could be by death, abandonment, divorce or because they left or you never knew who they were) If so, how did it affect your life? (And I mean that specifically. Not just, “It made me insecure, or strong, or whatever.” How did that insecurity or strength actually manifest?) As always, personal examples (incidents/dreams/fears/stories) are always best. And if you want to send something private, please send to bradmeltzer27 [AT] gmail [dot] com. And again, thanks for the honesty -- that’s easily the most vital and appreciated part.
I keep getting tagged on Facebook with the “25 Random Things About Me” meme, even though I did it the other day. So in honor of my friends who missed my answers the first time, here are 25 more completely random things about me.
1. My favorite decadent treat is these amazing little individual caramels from Lake Forest Food and Wine. Whenever I’m in Lake Forest, I stop by and buy them 10 or more at a time. They’re huge, so I cut them in ½ when I get home, re-wrap them individually and then allow myself no more than 1 a day.
2. My house burned down when I was 10 and while it was horrible, I kinda enjoyed being a gypsy for 6 months. We mostly lived at the Hilton by Arlington Park (Sheraton now) though. Yep, I was Eloise.
3. I’m the one who discovered the fire in the back corner of the garage. No, I didn’t set it, although a fireman accused me and my brother of that.
4. And in a moment of absolute stupidity, I ran into house to get my favorite green stuffed rabbit that I couldn’t live without.
5. I’ll never forget watching the firemen on the roof with chainsaws and seeing the enormous ball of fire fly out of the garage causing all the firemen in the driveway to hit the ground. Luckily, no one was injured.
6. I’ve never had a speeding ticket (but fully realize that I will now, now that I’ve bragged about it).
7. Despite the fact that he’s not exactly my “type,” I have had a completely unhealthy crush on the character Josh Lyman (played brilliantly by Bradley Whitford) from The West Wing since it first aired in 1999. I just figured out why.
8. I’ve only been outside of the US once. I was 10 and we went to the Bahamas. I really want to go to Paris.
9. My friend Brad Meltzer interviewed me for his latest book, The Book of Lies, and used at least 1 story from my life in the book. He also mentioned me in the Acknowledgements, which was a huge and wonderful surprise.
10. I drank the Obama Kool-aid in 2002 when I met him.
11. If I don’t get to Watervale each summer, I feel incomplete.
12. I could eat Thai food every day.
13. I’ve kept all the love letters I ever received and enjoy sitting down and reading them every so often.
14. My brother Dave is one of my best friends.
15. My favorite time of day is sunrise. Despite this, I’m not a morning person at all.
16. I gave the graduation speech at my junior high graduation. My mom and Nana were also their high school valedictorians. It runs in the family.
17. I can’t stand horror films. I have horrible dreams after I watch them.
18. I also believe in ghosts and if you tell me a house or building is haunted, I won’t sleep all night because I’m scared.
19. I had my appendix out when I was 11. Luckily, my mom didn’t listen to my doctor who thought I just had cramps.
20. I am deathly afraid of needles.
21. I’m certain this irrational fear stems from the last time I gave blood in college and the person doing it couldn’t find a vein. I had bruises all over both arms and then bled really slowly so it took forever. I started to hyperventilate, but thanks to a very cute boy who came over and distracted me, I was fine.
22. My mother, however, would tell you I’ve been afraid of needles since I was a kid.
23. The last time I wrote a letter to Santa was in 2007. Yes, I was 36. And, yes, I know there’s no Santa, but I figured it couldn’t hurt. It didn’t work. The letter is on my blog.
24. I used to be a Republican and was the Secretary of College Republicans in college. I saw the error of my ways shortly after that.
25. I spent the last day I lived in DC touring the West Wing of the White House, thanks to my friend Karen. It’s not part of the regular tour. The only disappointment I had was that we weren’t allowed to take any pics except for in the press room or outside, but I love the picture of me standing behind the podium with the seal of the White House over my shoulder.
Tonight was Brad's book signing at The Book Stall in Winnetka, IL. And you know I was there. It was a rainy night, so I wasn't sure what the turnout would be, but the place was packed. I had about 15 books, including comic books, for Brad to sign, so my plan was to wait until the end because I hated to make others with fewer books wait for me.
Brad started out reading parts of Chapter 2, one of the most pivotal of the book, and then taking questions. Once the questions started, it became obvious that Brad knew at least half the room.
Finally, the signing itself started. One of the things I love about Brad is that he takes the time to have conversations with people and develop relationships. And as long as he's talking to you, you're the only person in existence. He doesn't see anyone else. There was a guy Brad met when writing The Millionaires who took him through the underground tunnels at Disney. And Brad remembered him from 2002. Another woman from Hogan (in addition to me). College friends. Grade school friends. Relatives. Some he hadn't seen in years and years. And all the folks he met for the first time tonight. He'll remember them. Really. Another thing I love is that he tells people to bring everything for him to sign. There were guys there with a box full of Brad's comics. And Brad was happy to sign it all.
Finally, the line fizzled down to just two other women and me. It turned out one of them he'd known since grade school. So the four of us sat and chatted for probably 30 minutes before he left for Ann Arbor. He signed all our books. I won't tell you what he wrote inside my personal copy of The Book of Lies. That's private. You get to read what he wrote about me in the Acknowledgements, but this is mine.
And then he did something for me that I'll absolutely never forget. And this is why Brad is the greatest guy ever. He called my mom and wished her a Happy Birthday. And he didn't just talk for 7 seconds. They chatted for a few minutes. It made her night. And it made mine.
Here are some pics.
First, is Brad wishing my mom a happy birthday. Second, Brad and Me.
In chapter four of the Bible, Cain kills Abel. It is the world's most famous murder. But the Bible is silent about one key detail: the weapon Cain used to kill his brother. That weapon is still lost to history.
In 1932, Mitchell Siegel was killed by two gunshots to the chest. While mourning, his son dreamed of a bulletproof man and created the world's greatest hero: Superman. And like Cain's murder weapon, the gun used in this unsolved murder has never been found.
If you were to only have read those two paragraphs, you might think the plot of The Book of Lies is about what these two murders have in common and the search to solve them.
And you'd be partly right. But only partly.
The Book of Lies is more about the relationships between our parents and us and us and our kids. It's about how our parents let us down and we let our own kids down. But more than that, it's about coming to terms with our pasts and reconciling the pain of our childhoods with the truth we find as adults. It's about seeing our parents completely broken and realizing, maybe for the first time, how much they love us. It's about forgiveness of them and ourselves. And it's about how ordinary people change the world.
My favorite line in the The Book of Lies is repeated a number of times, each time in a slightly different way: "There's the life you live and the life you leave behind. But what you share with someone else - especially someone you love - that's not just how you bury your past. It's how you write your future."
And if you pay attention, you'll learn the secret of immortality. It's right there. In black and white.
To say the least, I loved The Book of Lies. And not just because I had a strong bias in favor of it before I even cracked the spine. It was a page turner that I did not want to put down. It's well written, impeccably researched, and if you're a fan of Brad Meltzer, you'll find his passion on each and every page in a way it's not in his other books. This book is obviously much more personal for him and, in my opinion, much better than the others, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Can I be honest with you? Well, I'm always honest, but this is a little secret I'm going to share between just you and me. No one else.
The truth is when Brad Meltzertold me a week or so ago that I was in the Acknowledgements of The Book of Lies, while I was excited and shocked, I didn't entirely believe him. And that was about me. Not him. Brad is seriously the most upstanding guy I know. If he says something, he's not lying. So there really wasn't any reason for me to not believe him, but that's one of my insecurities in life.
So this morning, I ran over to Borders to pick up my copy of The Book of Lies (I was going to pre-order it from Amazon, but they said I wouldn't have it until next week and that wasn't good enough). As soon as I walked in the door, I was bombarded with a huge display of The Book of Lies. Seriously, it never gets old seeing my friends in the limelight.
As I picked up my copy from the table, I took a deep breath and prepared for what I might find. Would my name be misspelled? Would my name even be right or would I be mentioned as "Jennifer Gardner" (a mistake that happens at least once a day in my life)? Would it even be there at all? Again, these are my insecurities and not a reflection on Brad. Seriously. He's a perfectionist.
And then right there on the 3rd page of the Acknowledgements, in the center of the page, was my name. Spelled correctly and everything. I don't even know that I read anything but my name. And I cried. Standing right in the middle of Borders tears rolled down my face. Not a ton, but more than a few.
Here's what it actually says, "[a few other people] and Jessica Gardner trusted me with traits I truly hold dear, especially the ones you see in the characters."
Wow.
Thanks Brad. Thanks for making it easy that day to share parts of my life that I never discuss. Thanks for being one of the coolest guys I know. Thanks for your friendship. I truly treasure it and you.
No, I haven't read the book yet. I'm saving it for later tonight when I can savor each page. Then I'll post my review.
I can't wait to crack open the spine. Inhale that new book smell. Hear the pages turn. I just know it will be everything I've been anticipating for the last 2 years.
Why am I so excited you ask? Well, you see, this isn't just any book. And as I've mentioned before, Brad Meltzer isn't just any writer. He's my friend. I've known him for about 10 years and was at his first book launch party for The Tenth Justice at The Mansion on O Street during the summer of 1997. What a crazy and fun party. I'm still not sure how I finagled that invitation, but I'm sure glad I did.
I've been keeping a BIG secret about this book.
In January 2007, while working on the character development for The Book of Lies, Brad sent out the following, which he also posted on his blog:
What one word describes your relationship with you parents? When has your mom or dad let you down? Describe an incident where your mom or dad broke your heart. Describe an incident where your mom or dad made you feel strong. Extra credit: Best or worst memory of mom or dad.
As always, feel free to reply and post here, or send them directly to me at [Brad's email]. Yes, this may show up in a book (so goodbye to your rights), but of course, no names will be named. We're not that crazy. :)
Thanks for playing and sharing. It means more than you realize.
Love, B
I'll be honest, I looked at the email (which he sent to a ton of people) and wanted to respond because Brad's my friend and who doesn't like to help their friends, but I had a great deal of trepidation because the truthful answers to some of the questions were things I rarely, if ever, spoke about. And I just wasn't sure I could.
My memory is that I sat on the email for a day or so before finally responding, but I didn't think it would go anywhere, so I responded. Imagine my surprise when a day or so later, I received an email from Brad asking if we could talk in further detail about what I'd shared. I think I threw up a little in my throat imagining talking about things I just didn't talk about (and, no, I'm not going to share them here either), but told him to call me. And we had a great conversation and he made it easy for me to share some really difficult and painful parts of my life.
In the last 18 months, Brad has shared bits and pieces of the plot, but I really haven't known what part, if any, of what I shared, made it into The Book of Lies. And I haven't thought about it too much.
And then last week, I read the prologue and first chapter on Brad's website and I was floored. I'm in the book! And there's a rumor (from Brad, himself) that I'm in the Acknowledgements too! I haven't seen that for myself yet, so for now, I'm just calling it a rumor.
So go buy the book and enjoy it. I promise you will.
And go see Brad at one of his book signings. He'll sign anything. His comics, books, anything. Just do it. Oh, and tell him I sent you. He'll love it. And then you'll know just what an amazing guy he is too.
Author Gets Slammed by Grandmother, the Press, the World
Save the Superman House
From an email last night from Brad:
So, as you may know, The Book of Lies goes on sale today and in honor of that, we're officially unveiling OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld.com. This is my core belief. This is what I stand for. And this is what every project I've ever worked on has been about: To remind us that there is greatness inside all of us.
We are all ordinary. We are all boring. We are all spectacular. We are all shy. We are all bold. We are all heroes. We are all helpless. It just depends on the day.
The fact that you're reading this means (I hope) that you believe this too. So I put my dream in your hands. I put my book in your hands. And I appreciate anything you can do to share the above videos with the people you love and know. Some of you love Superman and will focus on the last one. Some love the novels, so you prefer the little kids and my grandmother. Some of you will love all three (hi, Dad!).
In this tough publishing world, where sales of ALL books are down in double digits, it does really matter if you can share these on the places you go (email, blog, myspace, facebook, message boards, etc).
And now it's midnight, which means we can let all of these loose on the world. Take a few minutes...share it with those you love. Then make an enemies list and share it with your foes. Wherever you put it is appreciated.
And for those who want even more details on Saving the Siegel House and the auction, please see below.
I'm headed off on tour, but please do come say hey so I can thank you personally. I know this sounds so pretentious, but I truly think we can change how books are sold. As I've said to many of you before, I know every author has family and friends, but they don't have our family and friends. Thank you for always being there. Always.
Much love,
Brad
ADDITIONAL SIEGEL HOUSE INFO
As you can tell from the video, the goal of The Siegel & Shuster Society is to save the house where Superman was created. It would be ideal to post something in your own words, but you can post this FAQ as-is if you would like. Your choice.
The most important thing to do is to mention and link to the auction, encourage people to buy a shirt, and post the video (see below for link) on all the places you frequent. The video shows the state of the house and tells people about the auction starting today. As you'll see from the list of people involved, this isn't about DC or Marvel. This isn't about competition. It's about the comic community as a whole, pulling together for a place that launched so many of our best dreams.
I just hope you know how much I and everyone working on this project appreciate you being involved with it. And while we know it's just a house, it matters.
Attached are also two signatures for people to download or see on your sig. Feel free to share them. Below, is the full FAQ. And of course, lemme know if you have any questions.
FAQ (feel free to edit as you need)
What's this all about again? Today is the official launch of The Siegel & Shuster Society, with a celebrity charity auction that'll raise money to preserve the home of Jerry Siegel, creator of Superman. When you go to Brad Meltzer's charitable website OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld.com, you can: - bid online for original Superman and comic book art and items by top writers and artists - buy a Siegel & Shuster Society t-shirt (designed by the legendary graphic designer Chip Kidd) - or just donate to the good cause. The best way to show it is here: Save The Superman House. All proceeds of the auction go to the restoration of the Siegel house.
Who's involved in the auction? This is a coming together of an entire community. The full list includes: Stephen Colbert, Jim Lee, Brian Michael Bendis, Brad Meltzer, Geoff Johns, Richard Donner, Joe Quesada, Neil Gaiman, Alex Ross, Dave Gibbons, Jeph Loeb, Murphy Anderson, Ed Brubaker, John Cassaday, Gene Ha, Greg Rucka, George Perez, Michael Turner, Adam Kubert, Andy Kubert, Judd Winick, Frank Cho, Eric Powell, Tim Sale, Walt Simonson, Joe Staton, Eric Wight, Dave Mandel, Mike Mignola, Rags Morales, Bill Morrison, Ivan Reis, John Romita Jr., Jason Palmer, Amanda Conner, Geoff Darrow, Ron Garney, Renato Guedes, Heroes, Dave Johnson, Chris Bachalo, Mike Bair, Allen Bellman, Dan Brereton, Ernie Chan, Travis Charest, and Ian Churchill, YOU, and even Jerry Siegel (see below).
How did this come about? While researching his new novel, The Book of Lies, Brad Meltzer visited the boyhood home of Jerry Siegel in Cleveland, Ohio, where Superman was created. As Meltzer says, "The house where Google was founded is preserved. The garage where Hewlett Packard was founded is protected. But the house where Superman was born? I was in shock." After contacting dozens of comic book creators -- and thanks to the hard work of many in the city of Cleveland -- The Siegel & Shuster Society was created and is dedicated to commemorating and celebrating the creation of Superman in Cleveland by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. "I think sometimes people take things like this for granted because it started in cartoon form, but this is a house were modern mythology was created," Brain Michael Bendis adds. "Mythology that will never die away or disappear. There is no difference, to me, between this house and Mark Twain's house. We have to honor and exalt such creation."
What are the items in the auction? You can win a walk-on part on Heroes, VIP seats to the Colbert Report, original Superman art (go see the art!), have your name in Bendis or Brubaker or Rucka's comic, or Meltzer's next novel. There's a rare original pre-Superman movie script from Geoff Johns, signed by Richard Donner. And Joanne Siegel told Meltzer that before Jerry Siegel died, he signed six Superman t-shirts that no one ever knew existed -- and then told her that if their family ever needed money, she should sell the shirts. Instead, she donated one of them to be auctioned off here. The signature is on a Superman: Quest For Peace(!) t-shirt. C'mon, baby, it's Jerry Siegel on a Quest for Peace shirt!
What can you do? Forward and digg the video. Go buy a Siegel & Shuster Society t-shirt. They're cool. They're designed by Chip Kidd. They can't be bought anywhere else. Bid on some of the auctions and spread the word by sharing the video, sigs, and OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld.com auction with your facebook, myspace, and live-breathing friends.
How much is the Siegel And Shuster Foundation trying to raise? Depends on how successful we are. Phase 1 involves working on the exterior of the house: securing the roof, making sure the paint isn't rotting, doing the concrete work. That will hopefully protect the place from the outside. Joe Shuster's house (a few blocks away) was in such disrepair, it was torn down. The first goal is to collect $50,000 to deal with the outside. If we do that, then we'll go and tackle the much-needed-repairs on the inside.
Who lives there now? The house is located in one of the tougher neighborhoods of Cleveland and is currently occupied by an African-American couple who have lived there for approximately 20 years, who have put up with all of us who have come visiting, but who don't have the money to do these repairs. Rather than kick anyone out on the street, the goal is to repair this place for them. Why? It's the right thing to do. In return, The Siegel & Shuster Society has the right to buy the house when it eventually goes up for sale.
Is there a long-term goal to make a museum? The long-term goal is still being decided, and that's why you're invited to join The Siegel & Shuster Society and help us with those plans. Meetings are held monthly in Cleveland -- when you buy a shirt, they'll have your name. But one of the dreams is that one day, buses full of students will drive from all over Ohio, from Michigan, from any nearby state, and come to the fully-restored house -- covered and decorated with children's artwork inside -- and see where one of the world's greatest dreams was born. Go to OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld.com to make it happen.
As I was sitting down waiting to meet a client for lunch this afternoon, I picked up today's USA Today and saw a blurb about the creation of Superman in the upper right corner. I thought, "huh, that's interesting, Brad Meltzer has a book about this exact topic coming out in a week." And then I opened the paper and found a huge above-the-fold story on the cover of the Life Section all about Brad's new book. Yeah Brad!
The USA Today story is below, but here's what you need to know: this book is AWESOME. I can't tell you exactly how I know this yet (I'm in the Cone of Silence until Sept. 2nd), but just trust me.
"Think about it. Your father dies in a robbery, and you invent a bulletproof man." Author Brad Meltzer, on the origins of Superman. Pic from DC Comics.
Prototype: Unpublished 1933 Superman proposal by Siegel and Shuster shows hero foiling a robbery. Pic from Superman: The Complete History by Chronicle Books.
Superman settlement: Artist Joe Shuster, left, artist Neal Adams, writer Jerry Siegel and Jerry Robinson, who invented The Joker in 1939, celebrate Siegel and Shuster's agreement in 1975 with Time Warner. Photo provided by Jerry Robinson.
On the night of June 2, 1932, the world's first superhero was born — not on the mythical planet of Krypton but from a little-known tragedy on the streets of Cleveland.
It was Thursday night, about 8:10 p.m., and Mitchell Siegel, a Jewish immigrant from Lithuania, was in his secondhand clothing store on the near East Side. According to a police report, three men entered. One asked to see a suit of clothes and walked out without paying for it. In the commotion of the robbery, Siegel, 60, fell to the ground and died.
The police report mentions a gunshot being heard. But the coroner, the police and Siegel's wife said Siegel died of a heart attack. No one was ever arrested.
What happened next has exploded some of the longest-held beliefs about the origins of Superman and the two teenage boys, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who invented America's best-known comic-book hero.
Past accounts suggest Siegel and Shuster, both 17, awkward and unpopular in high school, invented the meek Clark Kent and his powerful alter-ego, Superman, to attract girls and rise above their humble Cleveland beginnings.
But now it appears that the origin might have been more profound — that it was the death of Jerry Siegel's father that pushed the devastated teen to come up with the idea of a "Superman" to right all wrongs.
"In 50 years of interviews, Jerry Siegel never once mentioned that his father died in a robbery," says Brad Meltzer, a best-selling author whose novel, The Book of Lies, due Sept. 2, links the Siegel murder to a biblical conspiracy plot.
"But think about it," Meltzer says. "Your father dies in a robbery, and you invent a bulletproof man who becomes the world's greatest hero. I'm sorry, but there's a story there."
The first 'Superman' The evidence for such a psychological underpinning is strong.
It was just a year after Mitchell Siegel's death, 1933, that writer Siegel and artist Shuster came up with "The Superman," a grim, flying avenger they tried to sell to newspaper syndicates and publishers for five years. In the oldest surviving artwork, this early Superman, whom they call "the most astounding fiction character of all time," flies to the rescue of a man who is being held up by a masked robber.
Was it Jerry's alter-ego flying to rescue his helpless father?
"America did not get Superman from our greatest legends, but because a boy lost his father," Meltzer says. "Superman came not out of our strength but out of our vulnerability."
The more Meltzer looked, the more intriguing things became. A letter published in The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer on June 3, 1932, the day after the robbery, denounces the need for vigilantes in the harsh days of the Depression. The letter is signed by an A.L. Luther.
"Is that where (Superman foe) Lex Luthor came from?" Meltzer says. "I almost had a heart attack right there. I thought, 'You have to be kidding me!' "
In search of answers Meltzer was not the only one looking. Comic-book historian Gerard Jones first disclosed the fact of the robbery in 2004 for his book, Men of Tomorrow, after interviews with Siegel's cousins.
"It had to have an effect," Jones says. "Superman's invulnerability to bullets, loss of family, destruction of his homeland — all seem to overlap with Jerry's personal experience. There's a connection there: the loss of a dad as a source for Superman."
Although they never went public, the father's side of the family was told for decades that the elder Siegel had been shot in the robbery. That's the dramatic angle Meltzer takes in his conspiracy novel. Siegel was shot twice in the chest at his store, he writes, and "a puddle of blood seeped toward the door."
In an afterword to his work of fiction, Meltzer concedes that the facts remain murky. In an interview, Meltzer said that some in the family were told "since they were little kids" that Siegel died by gunfire. Others were told he had a heart attack. "It was probably a heart attack," Meltzer said.
And yet Meltzer is not ready to embrace either answer as final.
More definitive is Marc Tyler Nobleman, author with artist Ross MacDonald of this year's illustrated book Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman, who concludes that Mitchell Siegel died of a heart attack during the robbery. The coroner, he notes, reported "no wounds" on Siegel's body, and the gunshot might not have been related to the robbery.
"I spent a long time going after this," Nobleman says. "I believe I have the first accurate account. Jerry's father wasn't shot and robbed. He had a heart attack during a robbery."
A fortune sold for $130
The rest of the saga of Siegel and Shuster is better known, but no less tragic. It wasn't until 1938 that the familiar red-and-blue-garbed Superman appeared on the cover of Action Comics No. 1. The creators got a check for $130. In return, DC Comics acquired rights to the character "forever."
Siegel and Shuster bristled as Superman grew in popularity — on radio, in wartime cartoons and serials in the 1940s. They went to court several times, winning settlements but never rights to the character. By the 1970s, Siegel had been working as a mail clerk for $7,000 a year, and Shuster was almost blind.
"A shameful legacy," says Blake Bell, author of The World of Steve Ditko, a biography of the co-creator of Spider-Man. Comic-book creators "had no pensions, no contracts, no health benefits, and companies didn't even pay for the artists' supplies. When these artists tried to negotiate greater rights for themselves, they were either collectively cast out or made false promises."
After hearing that Warner Bros. had paid $3 million for the rights to make Superman the Movie in 1975, Siegel and Shuster tried again to reap some benefits. This time, though, they had help from the artistic community and from fans who knew their work.
In a landmark settlement, DC Comics agreed to pay the two men $20,000 a year for life. More important, friends say, DC agreed to add "Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster" on all printed and filmed material in the future.
"Having their names listed as Superman's creators was the biggest victory of all," says Steve Younis, editor of SupermanHomepage.com. "It's worth more than any kind of monetary reimbursement."
The man who helped negotiate the Siegel and Shuster deal was artist Jerry Robinson, who co-created The Joker in 1939 but who received little recognition for decades. (He's now a creative consultant for DC Comics in the wake of The Dark Knight film.)
Robinson says he threw a party in his Manhattan apartment when the Siegel and Shuster settlement was announced.
"Kurt Vonnegut, Jules Pfeiffer, Will Eisner, Eli Wallach and his wife were there," Robinson, 86, says. "Walter Cronkite came on, and they showed Superman flying, and he described what had happened. At the end, he said, 'Another triumph for truth, justice and the American way.'
"We opened Champagne. Jerry and Joe were there, and it was a very emotional moment. There wasn't a dry eye in the place."
The struggle goes on Michael Uslan, executive producer of the six Batman movies since 1989, including The Dark Knight, says there has been a "sea change" in how corporations view comic books and their creators. "Here you have people in their 80s and 90s seeing their comic-book work being taken seriously," Uslan says. "They are deriving economic benefits now either directly or through consultancies."
Shuster died in 1992 and Siegel in 1996, but their legal battles have been never-ending. In March, a court ruled that Siegel's heirs (wife Joanne and daughter Laura) were entitled to parts of the billion-dollar Superman copyright. Because of the ongoing litigation, neither the families nor DC Comics would comment, not even about Mitchell Siegel's death 76 years ago or its implications.
But in an e-mailed response, the Siegel family did say, "It is gratifying to know people want to know about Jerry Siegel, and that he is getting recognition for his creativity."
I am truly on pins and needles here. Three weeks. Three L.O.N.G. Weeks. Until my favorite author (and friend) Brad Meltzer's new book, The Book of Lies, is released on September 2nd. There are so many reasons I'm excited about this book, and I will share them as September 2nd draws closer. But for now, just know that The Book of Lies is a must-read. Just trust me.
You can pre-order it at Amazon.com (that link takes you right to the page), along with the Companion Soundtrack. And you can also see the video about the companion soundtrack here. Again, trust me, the video is very cool.
Just got the very first hardcover of the novel. Still looks fake -- like something a buddy made on PhotoShop (and believe me, I'm still waiting for Candid Camera to jump out and tell me the past decade has been a joke on me). But I love the Acknowledgments in there. Best part of the book.
Also, if you want to win a free copy, see below -- and thanks to Robert for doing it.
You know my all-time favorite book is The Book of Lies by my good pal Brad Meltzer. Of course, one huge reason it's my favorite book is because of the super small part I had in it and the mention of me on page 9 of the Acknowledgements. Yes, really. (Read my previous posts here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).
