Jerry Siegel

Jerome "Jerry" Siegel (October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996), who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S. Fine, was the co-creator of Superman (along with Joe Shuster), the first of the great comic book superhero and one of the most recognizable fictional character of the 20th century. The son of Jew immigrants from Lithuania, Siegel was the youngest of six children. His father Mitchell was a sign painter who opened a haberdashery and encouraged his son's artistic inclinations. Tragically, Mitchell Siegel was shot and killed in his store by a thief when Jerry Siegel was still in junior high school. Siegel was a fan of movies, comic strip, and, especially, science fiction pulp magazine. He became active in what would become known as fandom, corresponding with other science fiction fans, including the young future author Jack Williamson. In 1929, Siegel published what might have been the first SF fanzine, Cosmic Stories, which he produced with a manual... full article at wikipedia