Book Review - THE SUPERMAN WARS - by William Bernhardt

 

            This grand 2026 book is subtitled “A Battle for Truth, Justice, and an American Icon.”  The author, William Bernhardt, is a writer of several series of legal thrillers.  They’re always a fun read.  And extra credit because he’s an Oklahoman.

            This book is focused on Jerry Siegel, the writer half of the Siegel-Shuster team who created Superman and generated millions (maybe billions?) of dollars for almost everyone but themselves.

            Bernhardt does a good job of depicting the impoverished existence of sub-working-class children of immigrants to our country.  This was a world of neighborhood stores and craftspeople of the servant class, working to improve the prospects of their children.

            The author uses his tale-telling abilities to narrate the experiences of the young men who created the ultimate American hero.  It\s really depressing to read about the ongoing exploitation of their talent by all the various incarnations of DC and the men who ran them.  (The fact that such exploitation by those in power happens every day does not excuse it.)

            Joe Shuster is not shirked in the telling, but Jerry is in the spotlight throughout.

            In an afterword, Bernhardt ventures the opinions of a couple of psych/behavioral experts anent Jerry Siegel.  They point out that a lot of Jerry’s life exemplifies someone with hypomania or manic mood swings.  What achievements Siegel reached!—only to sign Superman away (more than once).

            The several legal imbroglios involving Jerry-and-Joe versus DC (and Jerry solo) show the dismal state of creators’ rights and corporate behavior.  Kudos to Neal Adams and others who motivated fans to shame DC into providing Joe and Jerry with medical coverage and pensions in the 1970s.

            I learned lots of things that THIS Super Fan did not know, including an early origin story for Superman which sent him to twentieth-century America from the future, not from another planet.

            The Superman Wars of the title are covered up until the 2025 film, with many backs-and-forths in courtroom and in the public eye.

            It’s gratifying to read the acknowledgments and see all the people Bernhardt contacted.  It’s like a Who’s Who of super folks, like Swan, Adams, the Siegel family, Carlin, Uslan, Maggin, and many more.

            This is a fine book with a splash of photos and art spread throughout.  If you love Superman, you’ll like it.  My only wish is that it were about half again as long and covered Joe Shuster’s side of the story in more depth.

            Read this book and enjoy some gosh-wows, and some deep compassion for how a couple of guys from Cleveland were swallowed alive by corporate greed.

            PS I was thrilled to meet Bill Bernhardt as a co-panelist at Soonercon 34, June 19-21, 2026.  He was kind enough to sign my copy of The Superman Wars.

            We participated in a panel called “The Golden Age of Sci-Fi: What Makes Classic Stories Endure?”

     

            In this photo, left-to-right:  Bill Bernhardt, Steven Southard, Frank Hood, and me.

See you Monday!