Superman

Did you know that Superman was created by two 19-year-old guys from Cleveland, Ohio? It's true. Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel created Superman in 1933. Of course, Superman is still popular today. (Take a look at the video below. Yet another movie about Superman coming out in 2013!) We not only see the character in comic books and movies, but also in video games, action figures, clothing, and birthday cakes! Virtually no one in this day and age has not heard about Superman! Certainly, due to Superman's popularity, someone must have made a killing off of the character! Sadly, the creators, Shuster and Siegel, were not the ones to really profit.

During the time of Superman's birth, it was common for company's to buy the rights to comic book characters. Writers and illustrators would create their characters and stories. If they wanted them published, they would probably go to a big comic book publishing company such as DC Comics. The company would pay the creators for that story --- and for all rights to the characters. The creators would get one check, and the company could possibly make millions of dollars over the next several years. Of course, many comic creators continued to work for the companies, creating more stories using the same characters. But the characters could not be called their own any longer, since the companies legally had the rights to the characters. This was the case with Shuster and Siegel. Not realizing that Superman would be such a hit, the boys sold their character for $130 to split! Can you imagine!!??!?!?? Since then, DC Comics has made millions and millions of dollars off of this single character!