Joe Shuster's Fetish Art

[Tanner]

Have just finished going through Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman's Co-Creator Joe Shuster. I highly recommend this book.
Seems that in the early 50s after Shuster and Siegal had lost the rights to their most famous creation through some lega; shenanigans on the part of DC Comics, Shuster was apparently in a bad financial situation.
So Shuster turned to drawing for something called Nights of Horror, a publication featuring what was then called "perversion"- lots of bondage, whippings, lesbianism, interracial sex(although little nudity or no actual sex shown). And also lots of violence.
What is of interest to us is that there are lots of women getting spanked, either bare, or over skimpy panties. There is also F/M, both spankings and whippings.
An article in USA Today about the book's content spoke of "politically incorrect spankings"(as opposed to "politically correct" ones-whatever they are)?
Another interesting thing is that a lot of the people bear a very striking resemblance to such Superman characters as Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen.
The publication was banned back during the great crackdown on comics and "smut " in the 50s, and is very rare in terms of surviving copies.
Stan Lee writes in an Introduction that while Superman was "positive and morally uplifting" this work of Shuster's "catered to the basest of man's character and morals." Agreed, some of it is pretty brutal in terms of what it depicts, but I think we can agree that spankings are a different matter entirely.
Craig Yoe who edited the book speculates as to whether this work of Shuster's was done out of financial desperation. Or whether it was possible that this sort of material had an appeal to him on its own.
We do know that there were spankings in Superman comics, which may support the latter theory.
On the other hand at this time, spankings of women in the comics and in the movies and TV was accepted and not uncommon, so who knows?

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[Dave Wolfe]

Thanks very much, Tanner, for letting the folks know about this!

Now, I had some doubts originally about this really being Shuster's art, but I have several of Craig Yoe's other books and have come to respect his scholarship.

As to Shuster's attitude about the content, you're absolutely right, I think that must remain in doubt. When a guy needs a buck, he needs a buck, and will take whatever job he has to; or, some-- if not all-- of the fetish material may have actually appealed to him!


Meanwhile-- for more about Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel and their problems with DC, its partial resolution, and what's happening with their heirs now, I highly recommend Joe Simon's book "The Comic Book Makers." (Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created Captain America, the Boy Commandos. romance comics, and lots, lots more, for any of you who don't know.)

Another excellent source on the origin of Superman, with rare drawings and interviews with Joe and Jerry is in Jim Steranko's "History of The Comics," the first volume, from 1970.

Both of those books are at amazon-dot-com, but you can find them a lot cheaper elsewhere on-line, and maybe even at the library!!

AND-- There is an unpublished Siegel and Shuster story from 1940 that would have changed Superman as we know him! Two years into the thing, Lois would have known Clark was Superman, and they would have worked as partners, and "kryptonite" would have been done very differently! The story is "The K-Metal From Krypton," presented on the "Confessions of a Superman Fan" blog, with full credits for the original and restoration art! Here's a link to the story and its accompanying articles! You will dig it!

http://k-metal.nu/splash.php

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Here's another link (also on the CSR Links Page), to The Secrets Behind Secret Identity.