Born in Cleveland in 1914, Jerry was a young, first-generation American writer who combined his love of science-fiction with his belief that there’s a hidden power for good within everyone. The result was Superman, the comics industry’s first superhero.
Birth of the Society
The Siegel and Shuster Society was created in 2007 after Mike Sangiacomo at the Plain Dealer wrote a full-page column questioning why the city where Superman was created didn't celebrate his creators. It was a call to action!
Within weeks, a group of dedicated business professionals, educators, media folks, members of the creators' families and fans joined to form the Siegel and Shuster Society, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization whose mission is to commemorate and celebrate the creation of Superman in Cleveland.
SINCE THEN, THE SIEGEL & SHUSTER SOCIETY HAS CELEBRATED THE FOLLOWING ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
SINCE THEN, THE SIEGEL & SHUSTER SOCIETY HAS CELEBRATED THE FOLLOWING ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
CONTINUING
THE LEGACY
Renovation Initiative
Renovation Initiative
The Siegel & Shuster Society's first order of business was to restore Jerry Siegel's boyhood home. With the help of noted writer, Brad Meltzer, they raised the money needed for this important project in an online auction.
Artistic Tribute
Artistic Tribute
To commemorate the spot where Joe Shuster drew the first sketches of the Man of Steel, the Siegel & Shuster Society spearheaded another project to install a fence at the former home of Joe Shuster with six poster-size reproduced plates of the first appearance of Superman in Action Comics #1.
Airport Marvel
Airport Marvel
The Society's next project was a permanent display at Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Another whirlwind fundraising drive raised the necessary funds for a world class exhibit welcoming visitors to the city where a legend was born.
Library Legacy
Library Legacy
The Cleveland Public Library's Main Library features memorabilia, art and artifacts from the Mike Curtis Collection of Superman Memorabilia and other prominent collectors. The rotating exhibit features selections from thousands of Superman comics, posters, toys, packaging, clothing, photographs, and more dating back to 1939, with new items revealed every six months.
Community Collaboration
Community Collaboration
Collaborating with other nonprofit organizations to create interactive ways to celebrate the creation of Superman in Cleveland, including the Great Lakes Science Center, NASA, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Maltz Museum, and The Cleveland Public Library.
Our Mission
The Siegel & Shuster Society is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to commemorating and celebrating the creation of Superman in Cleveland, Ohio by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
The Society will, in a manner consistent with the rights of DC Comics, create events and activities which celebrate the Creators of Superman and their hometown of Cleveland and the importance of Superman to our community today and in the future. The Society will also work with other organizations that are celebrating Superman in a manner consistent with the goals of the Society.
Meet the Board
Gary Kaplan
Board President
Board President
Gary is Board President and a cousin of Jerry Siegel, the writer who created Superman. He currently serves as the President of the Siegel & Shuster Society. He is a retired high school music educator and the former owner and manager of Broadway Garden Center.
Michael Sangiacomo
Vice President &
Founding Board Member
Vice President
Michael Sangiacomo is the current Vice President and a Founding Board Member. A retired Plain Dealer reporter, he worked at the Plain Dealer for 30 years, writing a weekly comic book column from 1993 to 2019. In 2006, his article urging Cleveland to honor Superman creators Siegel and Shuster led to the formation of the Siegel and Shuster Society. He also taught comic book history at CWRU and authored several series and graphic novels, including "Tales of the Starlight Drive-In" and "Phantom Jack".
Leigh Goldie
Board Secretary &
Founding Board Member
Board Secretary
Leigh, the Founding Board Secretary, is a cousin of Joe Shuster. Leigh joined the 2007 meeting after reading Sangiacomo's Plain Dealer article. She is the founder and Executive Director of Empowering Epilepsy, a nonprofit 501(c)3 public charity organization whose mission is to show people living with epilepsy and seizures what they can do. For the past 26 years, she has been a Sunday School Teacher at Park Synagogue Wolf Religious School, currently teaching 2nd grade.
Greg Patt
Board Treasurer
Board Treasurer
Greg is the Board Treasurer and owner of Orange Blossom Press, the original location of The Love Letter to Cleveland Mural by Gary and Laura Dumm. He previously served as the Art Director at NASA and also worked for Eastman Kodak Company. He has served as a board member and officer of 7 nonprofit organizations.
Tracey Kirksey
Founding Board Member
Founding Board Member
Tracey, a Founding Board Member, served as the former Executive Director at the Glenville Development Corporation and is currently the Center Director for the Benjamin Rose Institute of Aging. She helped organize the renovation to Jerry Siegel's home in Glenville and the installation of the Action Comic's #1 fence sitting in front of the former home of Joe Shuster at the corner of Amor and Parkwood Drive.
Brad Ricca
Founding Board Member
Founding Board Member
Brad is a Founding Board Member and lifelong Northeast Ohio resident. He is the award-winning author of Super Boys, the first comprehensive biography of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Winner of a Cleveland Arts Prize - 2014 Emerging Artist Prize in Literature - he has taught for 20 years as a lecturer in English at Case Western Reserve University.
Jamie Reigle
Founding Board Member
Founding Board Member
Jamie is a Founding Board Member and the keeper and curator of one of the world's largest Superman collections. He serves as a delegate on the Board of Southwest General Hospital, representing the community of Olmstead Falls, President of the Olmstead Falls Music Association, Advisory Board Member of the Superheroes to Kids in Ohio - using Superheroes to fight adversity, Senior Wish Grantor for Make A Wish Ohio-IN-KY, and 22+ year business owner of a superhero themed toy store.
Steve Presser
Board Member
Board Member
Steve is a Board Member and Creator/Owner of Big Fun, an award winning toy and collectible store in Coventry Village for nearly 28 years. Steve has served as a community activist and volunteer/board member of numerous local non profits. His mother graduated from Glenville High School after Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Jennifer Swartz-Levine
Board Member
Board Member
Jennifer is the Dean of the School of Arts, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, where she also serves as a Professor of English, Director of the Writing Center, and the Co-Director and the Tower Honors Program. She has a presented and published widely on feminism in comics and comic history and is a frequent guest on comics related podcasts.
Valentino L. Zullo
Board Member
Board Member
Valentino is Assistant Professor of English, Anisfield-Wolf Fellow, and co-director of the Rust Belt Humanities Lab at Ursuline College. He is American editor of the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics and co-leads the Get Graphic program at Cleveland Public Library, where he was the Ohio Center for the Book Scholar-in-Residence.
Samantha Baskind
Board Member
Board Member
Samantha is a Distinguished Professor of Art History at Cleveland State University and the author of 5 books and over 100 articles. She is also editor of "The Jewish Graphic Novel: Critical Approaches", the foundational volume in the field. An expert on comics and graphic novels, she speaks about those subjects in the United States and abroad.
Amy Dawson
Board Member
Board Member
Amy E. Dawson is a librarian, archivist, and educator, and current Supervisor of the Learning Commons at Cuyahoga Community College. As the former Manager of the Literature Department and the Ohio Center for the Book at the Cleveland Public Library, she was lead curator for the popular exhibit, Superman: From Cleveland to Krypton, which showcased the collection of Mike Curtis and other rarely seen materials related to Superman, Jerry Siegel, and Joe Shuster.
Tribute Plaza Committee
David Deming
Tribute Plaza Committee
David L. Deming has enjoyed a successful career as both a sculptor and as a teacher and arts administrator. He has exhibited his sculptures in over 100 competitive and invitational exhibitions nationally and internationally, with over 50 one and two-person exhibitions.
His sculptures are in over 100 public and private collections.
Joe Gazzo
Tribute Plaza Committee
A seasoned real estate broker in Cleveland with over 50 years of experience, Joe is deeply involved in his community. He serves as Secretary on the Board of the Baseball Heritage Museum in League Park and teaches art there. An accomplished artist, hist student earned recognition from The Smithsonian for a portrait. Joe also played a key role in the Rocky Colavito Statue Committee, which unveiled a statue honoring the Cleveland Indians baseball player in Little Italy in March of 2023.
Randy Mintz
Tribute Plaza Committee
Randy has 40 years of experience in licensing, brand and product marketing and public relations. He founded "Cowboy by Choice, driven by his entrepreneurial spirit and love for horses and the Old West. In 2013, he acquired Bertman Original Ball Park Mustard. Randy also contributed significantly to honoring Cleveland Indians icon Rocky Colavito on the statue committee. His philanthropic endeavors and 20-year coaching tenure have positively impacted countless lives.