FICTION

The Joe Shuster Story: The Artist Behind Superman

by Julian VOLOJ
illus. by Thomas Campi. 180p. bibliog. Papercutz/Super Genius. Apr. 2018. Tr $19.99. ISBN 9781629917764.
COPY ISBN
This title serves as a chronicle of the history of the superhero comics industry as well as a cautionary tale for artists and their intellectual property rights. It's fitting that Superman cocreator Joe Shuster's story has been presented in graphic novel format, since the character was responsible for shaping the comics industry. The work is framed as Shuster telling his life story circa 1975, and the art has an old-fashioned, nostalgic look, but the story is not at all sugarcoated. The well-paced narrative touches on the fights to regain even some legal rights to Superman, which Shuster and partner Jerry Siegel sold for $130 in 1938; the complicated relationship between Shuster and Siegel; Shuster's health problems; and even his work on the fetish comic "Nights of Horror."
VERDICT Older teen comics readers, especially those who enjoyed Marc Nobleman's Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman when they were younger, should appreciate this compelling work. A must-buy for libraries with Superman fans or that are in need of nonfiction graphic novels.
Reviewed by Kacy Helwick, New Orleans Public Library , Jul 01, 2018

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