In 1938, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman, sold the rights to their now iconic character for a measly $130. Now a federal judge in Los Angeles has ruled that Siegel’s heirs are entitled to a share of the profits that Superman’s proprietor, Time Warner, has made off the Man of Steel since 1999. If the ruling stands, it could also lead to restitution for Shuster’s heirs. Marc Toberoff, the Siegel family’s lawyer, estimates that compensation could be as much as $50 million. “We were just stubborn,” said Siegel’s widow, Joanne. “It was a dream of Jerry’s, and we just took up the task.”
Amid the chaos in Iraq, Baghdad’s only performing-arts school has remained open. Though enrollment has declined since the U.S. invasion five years ago, the Baghdad School of Music and Ballet continues to instill a love of music and dance in its young charges, and it stands as one of the few places in the capital where children of different religious and ethnic backgrounds learn together. Nadja Hamadi, who has served as the school’s principal for 20 years, says its endurance is a sign of hope. “Iraq is the cradle of culture,” she said. “These wars are only temporary things.”
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