It’s the season finale. By the mid-1960s, Jerry Siegel was seeking work outside his uncredited scripting on Superman. He briefly landed an assignment for Archie Comics’ revival of their superhero line, but the work didn’t last. When Jerry sued in 1966 to renew the copyright on Superman, DC Comics fired him once again. Unable to adapt to a rapidly changing comics industry, Jerry moved to California and took an entry-level job as a mail clerk with the California Public Utilities Commission, earning $7,000 a year. Back in New York, Joe Shuster was barely getting by, taking whatever menial work he could find... when he could find it at all.

It took nearly a decade for Jerry’s copyright appeal to wind its way through the system, and he remained publicly silent as his circumstances grew more desperate. When the appeal was rejected in 1975, Jerry was told he might still receive some sort of financial settlement from Superman’s owners... but nothing came. Instead, he learned that Superman was about to become the subject of a multi-million-dollar blockbuster film.

Jerry then issued a nine-page press release placing a “curse” on Superman and the upcoming movie. The resulting publicity brought him to New York, where artists Neal Adams and Jerry Robinson launched a public campaign on behalf of Siegel and Shuster. They negotiated with Warner Communications, who were now the owners of Superman. to grant the creators a lifelong pension and restore their names to the character after decades of anonymity. Just before Christmas 1975, a deal was struck. In 1978, Siegel and Shuster’s names appeared in the opening credits of Superman: The Movie, which both men saw at its premiere.

Finally, Graeme Burk travels to Cleveland to visit the new monument to Jerry and Joe and to the neighborhoods where Superman’s creators grew up. There, he reflects on Jerry and Joe's lives, their legacy... and the immense cost of their contribution to American popular culture.

Featuring interviews with Brad Ricca, Elliot S. Maggin, Brian Cronin, Bonnie Siegler and Helene Stapinski.

Historical readings were by Jason Miller (Jerry Siegel), Warren Frey (Joe Shuster), Andy Hicks (Jack Liebowitz), Bill Evenson (Bob Greene), Drew Meyer (Jim Warren), Shannon Dohar (Joanne Siegel), Julie Hopkins (Mary Murphy), Michael Powell (John Sherwood) and Chip Sudderth (Neal Adams).

Sound design, music and music editing for this season was by Andy Hicks. Graphic design and our logo was by Graham Kibble-White (Both of whom co-produced this series).

Our theme song and additional scoring for this episode was by Jack Kibble-White.

Special thanks to our supporters: David Matthewman, Francis Bradley, Julie Hopkins, Jim Sangster, William Hopkins, Chip Sudderth, Deborah Stanish and Michael Powell.

Season 2 of The Comics Code is coming in 2026.

After losing their battle for the rights to Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster watched their lives begin to unravel. Their next venture, Funnyman, arrived with great fanfare... but was cancelled within a year. Jerry briefly became editorial director for Ziff-Davis’ comics line, but he was unprepared for the role and was dismissed quickly. By the end of 1951, he was in dire straits. Claiming he had been blackballed from the industry and unable to find work, Jerry spiraled, firing off angry letters to Superman’s owners... and his anger and desperation nearly landed him in serious legal trouble.

Joe fared no better. Work was scarce, and at one point he resorted to illustrating the fetish zine Nights of Horror. Eventually, he was barely scraping by, reduced to menial jobs. Jerry, meanwhile, found a lifeline thanks to the intervention of his wife, Joanne, who convinced DC Comics to bring him back as an uncredited writer in the late 1950s. There, Jerry helped shape one of the first modern super-teams, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and penned some of the most memorable Superman stories ever written, including "Superman’s Return to Krypton" and "The Death of Superman."

Featuring interviews with Brad Ricca, Mark Millar, Brian Cronin, Elliot S. Maggin and Bonnie Siegler

Historical readings were by Jason Miller (Jerry Siegel), Warren Frey (Joe Shuster) Andy Hicks (Jack Liebowitz), Shannon Dohar (Joanne Siegel), Joy Piedmont (Virginia Sheward) and Drew Meyer (Joe Simon)

Special thanks to our supporters: David Matthewman, Francis Bradley, Julie Hopkins, Jim Sangster, William Hopkins, Martin Hajovsky and Tom Dickinson

⁠You can read our sources for this episode on our website⁠⁠.

In the 1940s, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster found themselves battling increasing editorial pushback from Superman’s owners—who criticized Joe’s artwork and bristled at Jerry’s story ideas. Tensions peaked when editorial spiked a story in which Superman reveals his secret identity to Lois Lane… though they later repurposed its key plot element, a meteorite that robs Superman of his powers, to introduce Kryptonite years later on the Superman radio show.

As Superman begins to his film career in a series of revered animated films, an interview in the Saturday Evening Post soon thrust Siegel and Shuster’s financial disputes with the publishers into the public eye. While Jerry was serving in World War II, Superman's owners went ahead and used his pitch for a “Superboy” series without his permission... or compensation. After the war, Jerry returned determined to fight back, suing Superman’s owners over Superboy and over their original Superman contract. But when the legal battle failed, Siegel and Shuster found themselves cut off from the hero they had created.

Featuring interviews with Brad Ricca, Brian Cronin, Bonnie Siegler and Helene Stapinksi.

Historical readings were by Jason Miller (Jerry Siegel), Andy Hicks (Jack Liebowitz), Warren Frey (Joe Shuster), Tom Dickinson (Whit Ellsworth), Drew Meyer (John Kobler) and Francis Bradley (Judge Addison Young).

You can read our sources for this episode on our website⁠.