Book Review Spotlight: Craig Yoe Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman's Creator Joe Shuster
-- Library Journal, 2/27/2009 1:00:00 PM
Yoe, Craig. Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Creator Joe Shuster. Abrams ComicArts. Apr. 2009. 160p. illus. ISBN 978-0-8109-9634-2. $24.95. ART
Who would have imagined that the artist who invented Superman was a closet kink monster! Digging through a junk box in a used booksellers stall, author Yoe stumbled across extremely rare copies of Nights of Horror, an under-the-counter sex rag banned by the Supreme Court for inspiring the 1954 murder spree by neo-Nazi 
gang, the Brooklyn Thrill Killers. Disbelieving his eyes, Yoe showed the work to other comics gurus who confirmed that Supes creator Joe Shuster undeniably was the unnamed artist depicting images of torture, rape, bondage, and S&M. How he fell to this level is an even seedier story, which, unfortunately, is all too common. Artist Shuster and writer/partner Jerry Siegel were so desperate to break into the comics industry that they sold the rights to Superman—to Superman!—for the grand sum of $130. Carping over royalties, the duo were replaced by other artists/writers and left destitute. Yoe theorizes that along with making much-needed money, Shuster, who also was going blind, purposely drew the lusty Nights characters to resemble Clark Kent and a super-endowed Lois Lane as an act of vengeance. Shuster indeed almost succeeded, as the thrill kills fueled the government’s anti-comics campaign that almost scuttled the industry in the late 1950s. Regardless of the subject matter, Yoe and others feel this is among Shuster’s finest work. Sporting an intro by Stan Lee, Secret Identity is an incredible find of historic significance to comics art, but be warned that many patrons could find it offensive. Recommended with caution.—Mike Rogers, LJX/LJ
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