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PROVENANCE

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SUPERMAN SKETCH

AIRED: Season 4, Episode 11
THE DETECTIVE: Wes Cowan
THE PLACE: Toledo, Ohio

THE CASE:

An Ohio woman has an intriguing drawing that she discovered in the attic of her home. It is an undated sketch of the cartoon hero Superman with a note that reads "With Best Wishes to Randall, from Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster."

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were the creators of Superman, but the contributor has no idea how her late father Randall obtained this apparently original piece of artwork.

A plausible connection is Randall’s army service during World War II -- a time when the man of steel, along with other popular American cartoon characters, was featured as a hero in action against German and Japanese forces.

History Detectives journeys to Ohio, New York and New Jersey to investigate the early days of Superman and how this comic icon was used to inspire American GIs during wartime.

 

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