Superman at 80

It's no secret that Ohio has a rich history of comics and cartoons. The most popular and successful of these creations is certainly Superman, created by high school
classmates Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel in Glenville (Cleveland) in 1933 (first comics appearance in 1938). Superman was the first, strongest, and most endearingly popular super hero in the world. In Action Comics #1, he flexed his way into the American consciousness and launched the superhero genre. An inevitable protector of the oppressed, Superman has come to symbolize freedom, justice, and the "American way." He has conquered every dimension of media entertainment, launching radio and television shows, motion pictures, books, toys, and video games. He even helped shape our vocabulary as words as kryptonite, bizarro, and, brainiac have entered our vocabulary.

This assignment asked students to consider all aspects related to the longevity and continued popularity of the Superman character in our culture, such as notable writers and artists, important villains and supporting characters, comics readership statistics and demographics. We also considered the merchandise, toys, video games, and mass media adaptations of the hero.

The purpose of the Digital Gallery project was to examine how certain artifacts can reflect upon the fictional comic book character Superman as a figure of cultural significance. In examining these artifacts, they were asked to consider the creation, evolution, readership, merchandising, and mass media exposure of the "Man of Steel." They also provided some larger context for discussing the items that they selected.

This exhibit is the product of two separate ACS 3000 classes (Fall 2017 and Spring 2018), with each class working in six groups and each group exploring a different aspect of the Superman phenomena.  The six groups included:  Superman in the comics, 1938-1985; Superman in the comics, 1986-2018; Rogues Gallery, Superman in Mass Media, Lois Lane and Supporting Cast, Superman Merchandise.