Siegel, believing that Superman would not progress with Shuster

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, then students at Cleveland's Glenville High School, first conceived Superman as a bald telepathic villain bent on world domination.[5][6] The character first appeared in "The Reign of the Superman", a short story from Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization #3, a fanzine published by Siegel in 1933.[6] Siegel re-envisioned the character later that year as a hero bearing no resemblance to his villainous namesake, with Shuster visually modeling Superman on Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and his bespectacled alter ego, Clark Kent, on a combination of Harold Lloyd[13][14] and Shuster himself, with the name "Clark Kent" derived from movie stars Clark Gable and Kent Taylor.[15] Lois Lane was modeled on Joanne Carter, who later became Siegel's wife.[15] Comic strips such as Li'l Abner and Dick Tracy influenced its original artwork.[citation needed] Siegel and Shuster then began a six-year quest to find a publisher. Titling it The Superman, Siegel and Shuster offered it to Consolidated Book Publishing, who had published a 48-page black-and-white comic book entitled Detective Dan: Secret Operative No. 48. Although the duo received an encouraging letter, Consolidated never again published comic books. Shuster took this to heart and burned all pages of the story; the cover surviving only because Siegel rescued it from the fire. Siegel and Shuster each compared this character to Slam Bradley, an adventurer the pair had created for Detective Comics #1 (March 1937).[16]

Siegel, believing that Superman would not progress with Shuster, contacted artists Tony Strobl, Mel Graff, and Russell Keaton as potential collaborators on the strip.[17] Artwork produced by Keaton based on Siegel's treatment shows the concept evolving. Superman is now sent back in time as a baby by the last man on Earth, where he is found and raised by Sam and Molly Kent.[18] However, Keaton did not pursue the collaboration, and soon Siegel and Shuster were back working together on the character