On this day in 1996, Superman’s Co-Creator, writer Jerry Siegel, passed away. Siegel was born on October 17, 1914 and became infatuated with comic strips and pulp magazines when he was a boy. Siegel might even be credited with producing the first science fiction fanzine–where a “Superman” appeared as a villain looking not unlike a later Lex Luthor. Teen-aged Jerry Siegel and Cleveland pal and artist Joe Shuster debuted to the world the superhero Superman. Although they created one of the most important characters in comic book history, the end of the story is a rather sad one: ugly legal battles over the rights to Superman caused Siegel to retreat from the The Man of Steel. Jerry eventually married a girl who modeled for Lois Lane and continued to write until his death in 1996.

Shuster’s classic Superman art.