# The dark side of Superman: Fetish art from Joe Shuster

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-side-of-superman-fetish-art-from-joe-shuster/493698>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [April 20, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-side-of-superman-fetish-art-from-joe-shuster/493698 "2009-04-20T04:46:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-side-of-superman-fetish-art-from-joe-shuster/493698/1 "2009-04-20T04:46:00Z")

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Well, maybe not Superman qua Superman, but some of the figures look mighty familiar. If you ever wanted to see what Lois Lane would look like scantily dressed, or what it might be like to see The Man of Steel being flogged, you might want to [check it out](http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Identity-Supermans-Co-creator-Shuster/dp/0810996340).

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**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-side-of-superman-fetish-art-from-joe-shuster/493698/2 "2009-04-20T08:25:01Z")

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Damn, that guy could not draw: what is up with Lois’ breasts? One of them seems to start about half-way down her arm, the other is rather disturbingly sort of looped over from behind her shoulder. And her feet seem to have been subjected to some bizarre Chinese binding.

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**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-side-of-superman-fetish-art-from-joe-shuster/493698/3 "2009-04-20T12:58:41Z")

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The corner of the flogging table looks like it’s digging into Supe’s right shoulder blade. That’s gotta hurt.

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**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-side-of-superman-fetish-art-from-joe-shuster/493698/4 "2009-04-20T13:24:56Z")

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> [@Scissorjack](#):
>
> Damn, that guy could not draw: what is up with Lois’ breasts? One of them seems to start about half-way down her arm, the other is rather disturbingly sort of looped over from behind her shoulder. And her feet seem to have been subjected to some bizarre Chinese binding.

The feet, anyway, are pretty typical of that time. [Vargas Girls](http://www.skylighters.org/pinupoverview/pin_vargas.jpg) have feet like that, for instance.

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**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-side-of-superman-fetish-art-from-joe-shuster/493698/5 "2009-04-20T14:23:40Z")

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Everybody needs a hobby, I guess.

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**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-side-of-superman-fetish-art-from-joe-shuster/493698/6 "2009-04-20T14:54:04Z")

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> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#):
>
> Everybody needs a hobby, I guess.

Hobby? Actually, I suspect that this was one of the more lucrative lines of artistic endeavor.

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**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dark-side-of-superman-fetish-art-from-joe-shuster/493698/7 "2009-04-20T19:31:22Z")

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I flipped through this at the comics shop last week, and it’s lovely. Shuster wasn’t the world’s greatest draughtsman, but it’s beside the point. The same energy and vigor that hit you in the chest in the early Superman strips are here, but they aim a little lower.

–Cliffy