Strange Visitors From Cleveland
ENTRY #31
0812.23
Book Review
BOYS OF THE STEEL: THE CREATORS OF SUPERMAN
by Marc Tyler Nobleman
Illustrated by Ross MacDonald
(Alfred A. Knopf, 2008)
Everyone knows Superman's origin story.
It has been told and retold many times in the 70 years since Action Comics #1 first hit the newsstands. Writers have added things to the story, and other writers have taken out things, but the story has remained essentially the same: As the planet Krypton is being destroyed in a planetary cataclysm, a scientist sends his infant son to Earth in a rocketship, where he develops amazing powers in Earth's environment; powers that he uses for the good of his adopted planet as Superman, the Man Of Steel.
As I said, most of you, if not all of you, know that story. But how many of you know Superman's other origin story? The story of how two kids from Cleveland created what they described would be "the greatest superhero of all time." (And as it turns out, they were right.)
Marc Tyler Nobleman tells that story in Boys Of Steel. He is writing it for a young audience (probably first grade level), so he is telling the story of Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, and their creation in a very simple manner. But he is telling it in a way that should also hold the interest of parents (or other adults) who might be reading it to kids who are still learning to read.
Ross MacDonald's illustrations are an homage to Shuster. They capture the style of the art of Superman's early years perfectly, almost as if MacDonald had Shuster's spirit guiding his hand as he was drawing them. (I think my favorite illustration in the book is one of the last ones, where the cover of Action Comics #1 was lovingly recreated.)
The main story takes Siegel and Shuster from high school to their first success with Superman. A text-only afterword tells of what happened to them later, from the shameful treatment they received at the hands of DC Comics to how DC eventually provided them with pensions.
I know that various parts of the story have been told in other places, and it's quite likely that the entire story has been told more completely in one place. But Boys Of Steel tells it in a way that might capture the attention of my six-year-old niece, or even my nine-year-old nephew -- and just maybe give them a little more insight into how the man in the big red S made it to the page.
-30-
0812.23
Book Review
BOYS OF THE STEEL: THE CREATORS OF SUPERMAN
by Marc Tyler Nobleman
Illustrated by Ross MacDonald
(Alfred A. Knopf, 2008)
Everyone knows Superman's origin story.
It has been told and retold many times in the 70 years since Action Comics #1 first hit the newsstands. Writers have added things to the story, and other writers have taken out things, but the story has remained essentially the same: As the planet Krypton is being destroyed in a planetary cataclysm, a scientist sends his infant son to Earth in a rocketship, where he develops amazing powers in Earth's environment; powers that he uses for the good of his adopted planet as Superman, the Man Of Steel.
As I said, most of you, if not all of you, know that story. But how many of you know Superman's other origin story? The story of how two kids from Cleveland created what they described would be "the greatest superhero of all time." (And as it turns out, they were right.)
Marc Tyler Nobleman tells that story in Boys Of Steel. He is writing it for a young audience (probably first grade level), so he is telling the story of Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, and their creation in a very simple manner. But he is telling it in a way that should also hold the interest of parents (or other adults) who might be reading it to kids who are still learning to read.
Ross MacDonald's illustrations are an homage to Shuster. They capture the style of the art of Superman's early years perfectly, almost as if MacDonald had Shuster's spirit guiding his hand as he was drawing them. (I think my favorite illustration in the book is one of the last ones, where the cover of Action Comics #1 was lovingly recreated.)
The main story takes Siegel and Shuster from high school to their first success with Superman. A text-only afterword tells of what happened to them later, from the shameful treatment they received at the hands of DC Comics to how DC eventually provided them with pensions.
I know that various parts of the story have been told in other places, and it's quite likely that the entire story has been told more completely in one place. But Boys Of Steel tells it in a way that might capture the attention of my six-year-old niece, or even my nine-year-old nephew -- and just maybe give them a little more insight into how the man in the big red S made it to the page.
-30-