The Day Joe Shuster Met Superman

Joe Shuster in the mid-1970s.

The New York Times has a wonderful small story of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster having a chance meeting with a fellow who looked very much like the man of steel, a fellow named Stanley Weiss, in 1945.

NY Times writer Dave Itzkoff:

In 1945, some seven years after he had been regularly illustrating Superman adventures written by his partner, Jerry Siegel, Shuster encountered a young man who looked exactly like the Superman character as he imagined him. He asked the man, named Stanley Weiss, if he could draw him, resulting in some sketches that have gone largely unseen for nearly 70 years, as well as some insights into the origins of this long-lived American champion. 

Shuster’s pencil sketches of the square-jawed Weiss, who strongly resembles a certain Kryptonian immigrant and his earthly alter ego, Clark Kent, will be shown publicly at the Center for Jewish History in Chelsea, at a Jan. 27 event celebrating the 75th anniversary of Superman. 

The event, “Superman at 75: Celebrating America’s Most Enduring Hero,” will also feature a discussion with comic book writers like Denny O’Neil and Jim Shooter; Jenette Kahn, the former publisher of DC Comics; and Stanley Weiss’s son, David.

The entire story is here.