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Craig Yoe
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Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman's Co-Creator Joe Shuster Hardcover – April 1, 2009

by Craig Yoe (Author), Joe Shuster (Illustrator)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 54 ratings
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Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman's Co-creator Joe Shuster showcases rare and recently discovered erotic artwork by the most seminal artist in comics, Joe Shuster. Created in the early 1950s when Shuster was down on his luck after suing his publisher, DC Comics, over the copyright for Superman, he illustrated these images for an obscure series of magazines called "Nights of Horror," published under the counter until they were banned by the U.S. Senate. Juvenile deliquency, Dr. Fredric Wertham, and the Brooklyn Thrill Killers gang all figure into this sensational story.
The discovery of this artwork reveals the "secret identity" of this revered comics creator, and is sure to generate controversy and change the perception of the way we look at Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Jimmy Olsen forever. The book includes reproductions of these images, and an essay that provides a detailed account of the scandal and the murder trial that resulted from the publication of this racy material.
"Jeepers, Mr. Kent!"--USA Today "Eye-opening…a compelling feat of literary sleuthing."--Publishers Weekly
"A shocking expose"--National Enquirer

"Startling. . . this fascinating collection adds a new dimension to a hidden history.”
--Miami Herald

Secret Identity is an incredible find of historic significance to comics art….―Library Journal
Previous page
  1. Print length
    160 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harry N. Abrams
  4. Publication date
    April 1, 2009
  5. Grade level
    8 and up
  6. Reading age
    13 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    9 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0810996340
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0810996342
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Craig Yoe runs the New York design firm YOE! Studio with Clizia Gussoni, and is the author of over 30 books, including The Art of Mickey Mouse. Yoe has won the Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators, two Addys, the Mobius, and an Eisner Award. Stan Lee is a writer, editor, and comic book creator, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harry N. Abrams; First Edition (April 1, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0810996340
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0810996342
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 8 and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.7 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 54 ratings

About the author

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Craig Yoe

Craig Yoe

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Vice magazine calls Craig Yoe the "Indiana Jones of comics historians." Publishers Weekly says he's the "archivist of the ridiculous and sublime" and calls his work "brilliant." The Onion calls him "the celebrated designer." The Library Journal, "a comics guru." BoingBoing hails him "a fine cartoonist and a comic book historian of the first water." Yoe was Creative Director/Vice President/General Manager of Jim Henson's Muppets, and a Creative Director at Nickelodeon and Disney. Craig has won an Eisner Award and the Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
54 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

David Burd
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, the missing piece of the puzzle!
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2009
Verified Purchase
Anyone even remotely interested in comics has heard the story of Superman's creation many times over. Two imaginative kids from Cleveland concoct this fantastic tale of super-heroics and an industry is born. Likewise, we've all heard the story of how Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster lost control of their character in a bitter lawsuit with DC Comics in the late 1940's. The same is true of the last chapter: With a big-budget Superman movie in the works, pressure is put upon DC by the community of comic artists. Siegel and Shuster are given a pension by DC and their credits are restored to the comic pages. But the Christopher Reeve Superman movie was released in 1978 and the DC lawsuit took place in 1948. That's a gap of nearly three decades in which Shuster is unaccounted for! An anecdote about Joe working as a messenger is the only story we've heard that explains what Shuster did in those missing years.

Now, with this book, Craig Yoe fills in the missing chapter in the Joe Shuster story. With an introduction by no less than Stan Lee, it is by turns sad, sordid, strange, shocking and super-man-datory reading. Without giving any of it away (I want you to be as fascinated as I was) the story of Joe's lost years involves obscenity, torture, murder and a cast of characters as odd and as varied as the ones he drew in the comic books. Fredric Wertham makes an appearance, along with various gangsters and pornographers, the US Supreme Court, and even Hitler!

No less startling is the art that Shuster produced during this period. It's a tossup as to which is more disturbing, Joe's fetish art or the true story behind it. Subject matter aside, Shuster did some of the best work of his career in this gap between Superman, the comic book and Superman, the movie. Yet it's almost impossible to appreciate the drawing without an uneasy feeling about the bizarre scenes he depicts and the sleazy underworld for which it was created.

Although on the surface this is an art book (the first title released by the new Abrahms ComicArts imprint) it is as much an exposé and a serious work of history. Yoe and his investigators did an amazing job of researching the scandalous facts surrounding these undiscovered drawings and putting them in the proper context.

Joe Shuster's secret identity is revealed at last.
59 people found this helpful
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Doctor Sparkles
5.0 out of 5 stars If you've ever wondered what it would look like if Joe Schuster had a DeviantArt account, this book is for you.
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2017
Verified Purchase
First off, in case you couldn't tell by the title or cover image, this is NOT a book for younger or more sensitive comic book fans.

This book is primarily a collection of fetish art by Joe Schuster (co-creator of Superman) originally published under a pseudonym in the Nights of Horror comic book series. The book also contains an interesting essay detailing Schuster's work on Superman through his work on Nights of Horror and the subsequent obscenity trial. Definitely an interesting read for fans of comic book history or those interested in First Amendment rights - it's worth a read even if you're not interested in seeing the fetish art.

The artwork contained within is well done but potentially disturbing depending on your tastes and sensibilities (themes of non-consent and extreme sadomasochism are not uncommon - definitely think twice about purchasing if these upset you). I don't consider myself a prude, but I have to admit I was surprised at some of the scenarios depicted. It's not quite porn, but it's close. Also, many of the characters are clearly modeled after characters from the Superman universe - what kind of mischief has Jimmy Olson gotten himself into now?!?

Ultimately, I enjoyed this book and revisit it every couple of years, but I'm careful not to leave it out when guests are around. My parents already think I'm a weirdo.
4 people found this helpful
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James R. Holland
5.0 out of 5 stars Stan Lee Felt Sad About What Befell the Creator of Superman
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2019
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It’s odd how Stan Lee, who wrote the introduction to this book, felt that both of the two artists who created one of Comic Book’s most famous and enduring Heroes ended up having to earn their livings illustrating stories about the bad guys that Superman used to battle and destroy. The misfortunes that befell both these artists is documented in text and photos. Hint, it was mostly due to headline-hunting politicians looking to make a name for themselves.
Joe Shuster’s later fetish art did keep his Superman characters alive because they all looked like Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olson, Lex Luther and other characters he’d developed in his Superman stories. But the fetish art represented the dark side of the Superman heroes. In addition. the female characters had misplaced most of their clothing in the fetish art. What sexy underwear they still wore, was there only to keep the artist and the “Nights of Horror” publishers out of jail on obscenity charges.
In addition to the Superman series characters, Shuster also managed to insert many female characters resembling some of his own favorite fantasy model subjects—especially Marilyn Monroe.
It’s odd that his fetish art is the vehicle that keeps Shuster’s art reputation alive.
4 people found this helpful
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M. Pavlik
5.0 out of 5 stars quick delivery, Yoe Books are great!
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2023
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This is an interesting piece of comics history ( a little disturbing, but important)
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Wandering boy
4.0 out of 5 stars My parents were right, sort of!
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2010
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As a youngster, my parents said the people that wrote and illustrated "funny books", as they called them, were probably not nice people, were probably run by the mob and would never enter the "real world" of books.

Well, they got part of that right, but missed the boat totally on other parts.

This is a fascinating and revealing portrait of one of comics most well known illustrators from the golden years of comics.

It is also sad to see the eventual outcome of a person like Joe Shuster that had so much incredible talent and, I believe, ability to read into the future of where comic book illustrators were going to fall in acceptablity and respect.

Fascinating, sad very interesting story.
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

nicholas Da Silva-Powell
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the buy
Reviewed in Canada on October 16, 2013
Verified Purchase
Book was better than I had anticipated. The book was a gift for a co-worker that loves superman and he loves it.
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Javier
3.0 out of 5 stars Good Buyer
Reviewed in Spain on September 15, 2014
Verified Purchase
The service was so good. The only problem was the deliveryman put the packet out the door to someone catch them.
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