Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman
Marc Tyler Nobleman and Ross MacDonald
Knopf Delacorte Dell/Random House

It's the "Summer of Superman" in Cleveland and while you might be hard-pressed to see much pomp and circumstance at the moment, a lot of great local related events are coming faster than a speeding bullet. Prime your kids for the Man of Steel's 70th Anniversary this summer with Boys of Steel" The Creators of Superman. As the book so eloquently details to young audiences, "Before Metropolis, Smallville and Krypton, Superman came from Cleveland." The book is the comic-illustrated story of Depression-era Cleveland teens Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who created the Man of Steel while growing up in Glenville and follows the creative process leading up to Superman's debut in Action Comics in June of 1938. The book shows the ups and downs of imagining and pitching this hero -- which both teens hoped would join the ranks of fictional characters like Tarzan, Buck Rogers, Doc Savage and The Shadow. Little did they know what impact on popular culture Supe would have.

Siegel and Shuster are appropriately characterized as mirrors that informed Superman's alter-ego Clark Kent -- shy, sci-fi kids with big dreams and imaginations. (Siegel's helpless bereavement over his father Mitchell's death at the hands of some store thieves appears to have steered their creation as well). Nobleman, an erstwhile comic illustrator, penned the text for the book with inspirations dating back to the mid-1970s and the discovery of photos in a building where Shuster once lived (a building demolished by the city in 1975 before anyone in the city knew of its significance). Nobleman left the pop art styles of the book to MacDonald -- a sharp kids' book illustrator known for titles like Bad Baby. Both grew up idolizing Superman; judging by the tone of this book, you can certainly tell. Pay particular attention to the insightful afterward of the book: Superman may have saved thousands of fictional characters, but in real life? Not so much. Siegel and Shuster struggled to hold on to their creation when they released the rights to DC Comics for a paltry sum, something that has shrouded (read: dogged) the mythology of Supe and their creators' families. It's good punctuation for the target audience: be creative and work hard to realize your dreams, but don't give it all away. A well done book for Cle kids (and their parents) Boys of Steel makes for interesting summer reading.
Learn more about the book by visiting the Random House website here.
From Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com

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