Aug 9, 2008 07:00 AM
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Today, fans may refer to the first decade of the Man of Steel's existence as his Golden Age, but back in those days, editors at DC didn't feel the same way. In fact, recently-released documents from that era show that they thought that Superman seemed a little too gay for their liking. Oh, and Lois should have an abortion so that her breasts can go down a size or two, as well.
Going through the correspondence between DC (then called Detective Comics, Inc.) and Superman creator Jerry Siegel from 1939 to 1947 - made public as part of the ongoing lawsuit between Siegel's heirs and DC over the ownership of the character - comics historian Jeff Trexler uncovered some eye-opening remarks from the editors in charge of the Man of Tomorrow:
As the papers reveal, early in the history of Superman, co-creator and artist Joe Shuster was warned to tone down his depiction of Lois Lane by his editor Whitney Ellsworth, and make her less sexy. It was a warning that the artist chose to ignore for months, apparently, causing Ellsworth made an argument that seems shocking even almost seventy years later. Shuster’s Lois was so “unpleasantly sexy” that her pulchritude made her seem a bit too heavy–a problem for which Ellsworth and Murray Boltinoff had an easy solution:
"[W]hy it is necessary to shade Lois’ breasts and the underside of her tummy with vertical pen-lines we can’t understand. She looks pregnant. Murray suggests that you arrange for her to have an abortion or the baby and get it over with so that her figure can return to something a little more like the tasty dish she is supposed to be."
Perhaps more surprising was their take on Superman himself:
Another alleged problem with Shuster’s artwork is that it made Superman look gay — or in the period slang of Ellsworth’s January 22, 1940, letter, “lah-de-dah” with a “nice fat bottom.”
(The letter in question is worth checking out for yourself in Trexler's online archive of the documents; Ellsworth doesn't just mention Superman's "nice fat bottom," but makes a point of saying that he likes it, even though the artwork in general isn't up to standard.)
Whether the documents actually prove either side's case in the ongoing ownership battle is unclear - certainly, the creators' bending to DC's numerous editorial complaints show that the authorship of the characters as we've come to know them wasn't solely Siegel and Shuster's - they definitely show a previously unknown history for one of the most famous fictional characters in the world. And maybe a more interesting one, as well.
Hidden History: Lois' 'Abortion' and Superman too Gay? [Newsarama]
Send an email to Graeme McMillan, the author of this post, at graeme@io9.com.
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