JERRY SIEGEL 1946 SUPERBOY LOIS LANE CONTRACT Memorabilia
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Jerry Siegel 1946 Superboy/Lois Lane Contract w/ Internal Negotiation Notes
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Jerry Siegel 1946 Superboy/Lois Lane Contract w/ Internal Negotiation Notes
DESCRIPTION
A 15% BUYER'S PREMIUM WILL BE ADDED TO THIS ITEM AT CONCLUSION OF THE AUCTION
Jerry Siegel 1946 Superboy/Lois Lane Contract w/ Internal Negotiation NotesA drafted Jerry Siegel was serving in the Army when he learned from Superman co-creator Joe Shuster that Detective Comics, Inc. had published the first Superboy story in a 1944 issue of More Fun comics. Siegel had tried to pitch his own Superboy story in 1940, and wasn't convinced that Detective even owned the rights to the younger version of Superman (with Detective having bought the rights to Superman for $130 in 1938).
This rare internal document (dated September, 1946) exposes how Detective would continue to negotiate with Siegel after he returned to Superman duty. (Detective had paid Siegel for stories written by ghostwriters during his time in the Army.) Handwritten notes on the Detective memo (marked "Copy") address several of Siegel's objections to the company's original offer for him to script both Superboy and Lois Lane, Girl Reporter.
In a legal foreshadowing, the notes reveal how Siegel objects to the notion that Detective has "sole and exclusive ownership" of Superboy and Lois Lane, insisting that Detective should only own the characters "for term of contract." There's also a note on Siegel insisting on a minimum rate of $50 a page, while requesting a kill fee for rejected manuscripts. Siegel's other demands include access to Detective's accounting. Interestingly, an additional page is included for Siegel to approve of Detective making direct payments to Joe Shuster for artwork.
1946 would also see National Publications (later DC) acquiring Detective, along with the rights to Superman. By 1947, Siegel and Shuster were suing National for the rights to both Superman and Superboy. The court would rule in favor of National for the ownership of Superman, but gave Siegel the rights to Superboy -- in addition to ruling that Siegel would be given an official accounting of Superman royalties. Siegel, Shuster and National then agreed to an out-of-court settlement where the team was paid $94,000 for the rights to Superboy. The legal battles, however, were far from over.
Jerry Siegel 1946 Superboy/Lois Lane Contract w/ Internal Negotiation NotesA drafted Jerry Siegel was serving in the Army when he learned from Superman co-creator Joe Shuster that Detective Comics, Inc. had published the first Superboy story in a 1944 issue of More Fun comics. Siegel had tried to pitch his own Superboy story in 1940, and wasn't convinced that Detective even owned the rights to the younger version of Superman (with Detective having bought the rights to Superman for $130 in 1938).
This rare internal document (dated September, 1946) exposes how Detective would continue to negotiate with Siegel after he returned to Superman duty. (Detective had paid Siegel for stories written by ghostwriters during his time in the Army.) Handwritten notes on the Detective memo (marked "Copy") address several of Siegel's objections to the company's original offer for him to script both Superboy and Lois Lane, Girl Reporter.
In a legal foreshadowing, the notes reveal how Siegel objects to the notion that Detective has "sole and exclusive ownership" of Superboy and Lois Lane, insisting that Detective should only own the characters "for term of contract." There's also a note on Siegel insisting on a minimum rate of $50 a page, while requesting a kill fee for rejected manuscripts. Siegel's other demands include access to Detective's accounting. Interestingly, an additional page is included for Siegel to approve of Detective making direct payments to Joe Shuster for artwork.
1946 would also see National Publications (later DC) acquiring Detective, along with the rights to Superman. By 1947, Siegel and Shuster were suing National for the rights to both Superman and Superboy. The court would rule in favor of National for the ownership of Superman, but gave Siegel the rights to Superboy -- in addition to ruling that Siegel would be given an official accounting of Superman royalties. Siegel, Shuster and National then agreed to an out-of-court settlement where the team was paid $94,000 for the rights to Superboy. The legal battles, however, were far from over.