Art by the always awesome Jess Kirby. She’s as creative as that other Kirby.
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Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman. They were poor kids living through the Great Depression. DC Comics (then known as National Comics) bought their idea, exploited it and turned it into a billion dollar franchise. Siegel and Shuster didn’t get jack shit. That’s fucked up. I think we can all agree with that. Even DC Comics can agree with that — just not publicly otherwise they’d lose the rights to Superman.
But here’s the thing that’s never mentioned and I wish someone would mention it, which is why I am mentioning it now: they were essentially one hit wonders.
What did Siegel and Shuster do of any value after Superman? Jack Kirby co-created Captain America in the early 40′s, not long after they created Superman. He got all sorts of screwed out of royalties on that one. His family ain’t getting shit from the Captain America movie whereas Stan Lee who jumped on the bandwagon 20 years later gets a cameo and I’m sure a sweet-ass royalty paycheck.
Yet 50 years after he co-created Captain America, Jack Kirby was still making new, cool comics.
Siegel and Shuster… not so much.
Yes, by creating Superman, Siegel and Shuster literally changed the world of pop culture in a way few have since then… but that’s pretty much all they did. Unlike Kirby, they didn’t keep creating awesome stuff after their one big hit. They actually did nothing of note after creating Superman. And most of the stuff Superman is known for these days – flying, kryptonite, even Jimmy Olsen – didn’t enter the mythos until after they’d sold the idea to DC.
Am I the only one who’s ever thought “hey, these guys weren’t super talented or anything?”
I don’t define “talented” as having one good idea, no matter how good and how world-altering that idea may be. I define talent as continually innovating and changing the landscape. I define talent as more that hitting the nail on the head one time. If you can’t do something awesome twice, you’re not talented, you’re a one hit wonder.
Which is why I keep coming back to Jack Kirby. He c0-created Captain America. He got screwed. He co-created Thor and The Avengers. He got screwed. He created the New Gods. He got screwed. See where I’m going here? Dude kept getting screwed but he KEPT CREATING AWESOME STUFF. That’s talent.
Again, I’m not saying it’s okay to screw someone because they got lucky once like Siegel and Shuster. You need to pay them the way you need to pay a lottery winner. I’m just saying… one hit wonders.
Also, a new Blue Beetle & The Phantom strip from Jess Kirby and me:
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I really have to thank Jess Kirby for doing so many of these. I love writing them to the point where they’re some of my personal favorites. But they’re also helping me keep on top of my regular posting schedule here on the site. I’m doing lots of fun stuff right now that are more long term projects and don’t lend themselves to these short posts. But don’t you fret. In a few weeks we’ll be releasing Revenger #2 and, hopefully, a Revenger app! Plus I have some work coming up later this year on Shattered Myth. And, of course, you can catch me over at Fucked in Park Slope a couple of times a week. Enough plugs, though. Let’s get on with the comic strip:
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My comic book, REVENGER, is now a free app for the iPad! Download Revenger 1: Deluxe Edition today from the App Store.
