![]() ![]() ![]() Siegel and Shuster’s copyright struggles with DC Comics over Superman have been well-documented, but the creation, existence, and demise of Funnyman are much less so. “The most interesting is to look at the story with a little more depth as it relates to Superman, and to then surround it with this cultural Jewish identity of why humor is this passion among the Jews and why Funnyman would be a natural invention of Siegel and Shuster, who were the most miserable guys possible and the most unlucky.” “The normal thing would be just a reprint of Funnyman and that to me was the least interesting,” said Gordon. ![]() Andrae and Gordon approach the character as the most straightforward expression of Jewishness in comics at the time, and as a springboard to a wider discussion of the history of Jewish humor, as well the ethnic origins of the Man of Steel. ![]() Previously relegated to the dusty corners of comic book history, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s Golden Age comedian/superhero Funnyman-a comedian who cracks jokes and dons a clown suit to fight crime-has been rescued from obscurity by authors Thomas Andrae and Mel Gordon for their new book Funnyman: The First Jewish Superhero, coming from Feral House in July.įunnyman’s immediate historical relevance is as the character Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created as their follow-up to Superman, but underlying that is a point of larger cultural importance. ![]()
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