This week, my research was less text-based and more based on video presentation. One of the pieces that I watched was the 2006 documentary Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman! I have seen this documentary many times over the years. It was part of how I was introduced to the character and his expansive history. The focus of the documentary lies primarily with the media’s representation of Superman. It covers the films, various animated series, movie serials, television programs, and radio shows. The character’s comic book history is briefly touched on, hitting big events such as Superman’s first appearance, the 1986 reboot, his death, and his marriage to Lois Lane. During the credits, behind the scenes footage and clips from the various incarnations of Superman are played. Each time I have watched this film in the past, I always watched those clips and ignored the scrolling text. This time, I decided to look over and I found something interesting. In the “Special Thanks” and “Additional References” sections, Steve Younis’ name appeared. Younis is the owner and founder of The Superman Homepage. The documentary is an officially licensed film put out before the release of Superman Returns. I found it interesting that DC Comics and the filmmakers involved with the project used The Superman Homepage as a source.
I also continued with my re-read of Larry Tye’s Superman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero. The book chronicles the history of Superman, both in media and the comic books, as well as the lives of his creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. I am currently at the point in the book that discusses Superman’s popularity after the release of Action Comics #1. The book covers the frankly under-handed tactics utilized by Jack Liebowitz and Harry Donenfeld, the men in charge of DC Comics at the time, who managed to take Superman off of his creators’ hands for $130 and minimal pay. Because of this business deal, Siegel and Shuster were forced to eventually live in poverty despite creating one of the best-selling characters in the world. Donenfeld thought the character was ridiculous and ordered that Superman never appear on the cover of an issue of Action Comics again. That was until he saw how popular the character was and how much money the company made off of the books. Donenfeld also cheated Siegel and Shuster out of numerous ideas that they had pitched, with the most notable being Superboy.