Jewish Life Digital Edition September 2015 | Page 41

Young Jewish writers and artists who were desperate to work for advertising firms and major publishers, found every door shut on them by an institutionalised anti-Semitism that permeated their chosen industries… headed towards their last and only real hope: comic books. It led to a new movement to create (cheaper) brand new content to fill these 64-page ‘comic books’. Despite the medium’s massive growth throughout the next half-decade, though, it was only in April 1938 that the comic book truly came of age. The Dawn of the Supermen As the Great Depression forced young people to go out and make whatever money they could for their families, young Jewish writers and artists, who were desperate to work for advertising firms and major publishers, found every door shut on them by an institutionalised anti-Semitism that permeated their chosen industries. Locked out of the big leagues, they were forced to rely on their own ingenuity, and headed towards their last and only real hope: comic books. Comic books were still seen as the lowest of all art forms; a cheap laughing stock that hadn’t yet come close to shedding its reputation as nothing more than a novelty product and the lonely, unwanted cousin of newspaper comic-strips. But, it was one place that these young, hungry (in both senses of the word) writers and artists could be all but guaranteed to find work. In the same way that it took the Beatles to knock the doors down for the British Invasion of the 1960s and the seismic shift in popular music that came with it, it took two nerdy Jewish teenagers to do the same for the comic book. Clevelandnative Jerry Siegel and Toronto-born Joe Shuster met when they were just 16 years old, and bonded over their mutual love for science fiction and the pulps. They were no doubt further united by their common backgrounds as children of Jewish immigrants. Together, the duo created science fiction fan magazines and even contributed a new character, Slam Bradley, to the first issue of Detective Comics in 1937 – the comic book that would soon give DC Comics its name (and be home to Batman for 75 years and counting). And then... well, and then they created Superman. Making his first appearance in Action Comics #1, Superman was a character that Siegel and Shuster had been refining for years, and, along with being by far the duo’s biggest creation, he was also pretty clearly their most personal. Though the Man of Steel draws heavily from a rich tradition of heroic supermen, from Samson to Hercules, as well as everything from the circus strongmen of the time to pulp heroes like Doc Savage, his most obvious roots lie in the lives and culture of his two creators. On an obviously conscious level, Superman is a reflection of Siegel and Shuster’s experiences as Jewish immigrants; a saviour for the downtrodden and disadvantaged on the one hand and the ultimate Premier Hotels & Resorts offers you the perfect place to start your travel journey. With a choice of 12 properties nationwide you can plan the perfect getaway. Whether you stay with us for business, leisure or a family holiday, Premier Hotels & Resorts’ wide range of quality destinations offer you the best of all worlds. Cape Town | Knysna | East London | Port Edward Pinetown | Drakensberg | Pretoria | Midrand Johannesburg O.R. Tambo Airport We would like to wish all our Jewish friends and clients a Happy and Prosperous New Year and wish you well over the fast. May you be inscribed for a good year. Samuel Nassimov & Family and the Team at Premier Hotels & Resorts Central Res: 086 111 5555 [email protected] www.premierhotels.co.za