Jerry Siegel

Jerome (Jerry) Siegel (October 17, 1914 - January 28, 1996) was the co-creator of Superman, the first of the great comic book heroes and one of the most recognizable fictional characters from the 20th century.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Siegel was a fan of science fiction & fantasy, who in 1929 published a fanzine, sometimes called the first sci-fi fanzine. He published several other booklets over the next few years.

He and artist friend Joe Shuster created Superman, partly out of myths like Hercules and Philip Wylie's 1932 novel Gladiator, and used the character in short stories and a 1932 comic strip. In 1938 they managed to sell it to DC Comics, which put Superman on the first cover of Action Comics in June 1938.

In 1946 the pair had a contract dispute with DC over rights to Superman, and after a two-year fight relinquished claim to the character in return for about $200,000.

Siegel became comic art director for Ziff-Davis Company in the 1950s but eventually left the business.

In 1968 he worked for the Western Publishing: he writes, with Carl Barks, the stories of the Junior Woodchucks' comic book and in 1972 he worked for Mondadori Editore on the italian comic book Topolino, the local Disney's publication.

In 1975, the pair again sued DC Comics over Superman rights and received $35,000 a year each for the rest of their lives.