A major new exhibition is opening at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Cleveland this spring — and it will be one Superman fans won’t want to miss out on.
Icons in Ink: The Jewish Comics Experience, curated by Roy Schwartz, runs May 7 through August 23, 2026. Cleveland is the hometown of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and the birthplace of Superman, making it the natural home for an exhibition of this scale. At around 4,000 square feet, it’s being described as arguably the most significant Superman exhibit since the Smithsonian’s “Superman: Many Lives, Many Worlds” in 1987.
The show features over 100 original artifacts, many rare and some never before seen publicly. Among the highlights: Golden Age Superman comics and newspaper strips, Jerry Siegel’s writing desk, published and unpublished Joe Shuster art, the legendary long-lost H.J. Ward Superman oil painting, original art from Jon Bogdanove and Howard Chaykin, art from Brian Michael Bendis’ Superman run, the famous 1940 “Look” magazine story, and all nine original Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons restored in HD — screened together publicly for the first time. More artifacts are still to be announced.
The exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Siegel & Shuster Society, and preview night will be attended by members of both the Siegel and Shuster families.
On July 11 and 12, the museum will host a comic con-style festival weekend featuring panels, workshops, screenings, an exhibitor hall, artist alley, a bus tour of Superman sites around Cleveland, and more. Confirmed guests include Brian Michael Bendis, Jon Bogdanove, Jenny (Tony) Isabella, Peter Kuper, Danny Fingeroth, N.C. Christopher Couch, Terri Libenson, Gary Dumm, and Jordan Gorfinkel, with more to be announced.
