SUPERMAN WEEK! Cleveland rocked!
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It’s SUPERMAN WEEK! Because there’s a fancy new movie out! Click here for the COMPLETE INDEX of columns and features! Look, up in the sky! — Dan
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By PETER BOSCH
In June 1988, I made a train trip from Toronto, where I had been living at the time (and which had also been Joe Shuster’s birthplace), to my ultimate destination of Cleveland, Ohio, in which their city was about to hold a celebratory event — the International Superman Exposition. The exposition was to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Action Comics #1 and its introduction of the Man of Steel in 1938, with Cleveland laying claim to being Superman’s birthplace because both Jerry Siegel (a native-born son) and Joe Shuster (who had moved there as a teenager from Toronto with his family) came up with Superman there. (Today, the latest Superman movie — shot partially in Cleveland — comes out unofficially and it happens to be Shuster’s birthday).
Before the start of the exposition on June 16, I stopped for a few days in Washington, where there was also a special display at the Smithsonian: “Superman: Many Lives, Many Worlds.” It was a year-long tribute put on by the Smithsonian in honor of the 50th anniversary, featuring costumes, posters, Action Comics #1 and Superman #1, photographs, old phonograph records, toys and other items. Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Jon Cryer – who played Luthor’s nephew in the fourth movie – attended the exhibit at one point.
And then I was off to Cleveland. In addition to the exposition, the city was holding several events to mark the occasion (which can be found below, within the pages of an 8-page supplement to the June 16 Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper). The Superman convention (which I think of it as) featured guests Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill, Jack Larson, Curt Swan, George Pérez, Julie Schwartz, Jerry Ordway, Harlan Ellison, Roger Stern, Mike Carlin, and Marv Wolfman. Mark Hamill and Jonathan Frakes were both scheduled to attend but cancelled. Siegel and Shuster did not attend.
Here are several images from the exposition:
Just a portion of the dealer’s room
George Reeves’ black-and-white episodes costume in the memorabilia room
A Christopher Reeve costume in the memorabilia room
A small version of the statue they wanted to build in Cleveland
While there were special times for me at the convention, two things stood way above the rest in my mind.
The first was, I got to meet Curt Swan, to me the greatest Superman artist of all! As soon as I saw him at his table, I made a beeline for him and he was kind enough to sign several items I brought with me. (Later, I was close to Harlan Ellison’s table and I heard Ellison gently berating his fans for coming to him for autographs when they really should be lined up for Swan’s instead.)
The great Curt Swan
The other highlight, for me, was not only meeting George Pérez but also making a special purchase at his artist’s table. He had brought along a portfolio of his original pages for sale – which I could not afford (having spent so much money prior to Cleveland in Washington… as well as in New York City, the official first leg of my trip by rail, seeing as many Broadway shows as I could over a few days).
However, he did have a box on the table containing what he considered, I suppose, less-important pages. Looking through them, I suddenly stopped and I pulled out one page. I could sense the sudden excitement of another Pérez fan at my elbow as he too saw the item I had selected. It was the original art (with an overlay sheet of color effects) of this page from Crisis on Infinite Earths #3, featuring the death of the Losers:
I asked him how much it was. Pérez looked at it and said, “Five dollars.” Before the guy beside me could say a word, I said (though I may have shouted), “Sold!!!”
Over the years, I sold or traded that page away, yet I will always have the memory of George Pérez himself selling it to me — for just five dollars!
As the International Superman Exposition came to a close June 19, 1988, I found myself going home with not only a lot of souvenirs from that circular trip but also a lot of very happy memories.
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MORE
— The Complete SUPERMAN WEEK INDEX of Columns and Features. Click here.
— Super-Sublime! Dig These 13 Rare JOE SHUSTER SUPERMAN Illustrations. Click here.
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13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was published by TwoMorrows. (You can buy it here.) A sequel, American Movie Comic Books: 1930s-1970s — From the Silver Screen to the Printed Page, is due soon. (You can pre-order here.) Peter has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. He lives in Hollywood.
