HOME  |  MOVIES  |  TELEVISION  |  RADIO  |  COMICS  |  ACTORS  |  REAL WORLD  |  MULTIMEDIA  |  FEEDBACK  |  LINKS  |  STAFF

Superman Fan Amasses Huge Collection Spanning the Decades

Avid Superman fan and collector Zach Curtis has managed to acquire a huge collection of vintage and modern items over just the past few years including some one-of-a-kind pieces as well.

In the following interview, I had the privilege of speaking with him about on such topics as his collection, multiple visits to the annual Superman Celebration in Metropolis, IL, and a first annual Meet & Greet - which he will host - and Collector's Auction taking place at this years festival:

When did you become a Superman fan?
I first fell in love with Superman through the TV show “Smallville”. I remember seeing it for the first time on ABC family re-runs and just loved the show. That was in junior high. I had my mom drive me to a comic book store I found on Google a few weeks later after football practice and I picked up 4 comics for 2.99 each. At that point I loved the comic version of the character too. The rest all fell into place after that!

Who was and is your favorite Superman?
My favorite Superman has to be Christopher Reeve. Tom Welling is my favorite Clark Kent, but as far as Superman, can it be anyone but Chris?

You are a “Big Collector”. How did you get started?
I’ve always had collecting in my genes. I collected coins as a kid, then baseball cards, then a variety of other things. Then about the same time I started getting into Superman, my youth pastor at church brought a Superman toothbrush in and gave it to me. He said he had received it at a white elephant gift exchange and knew I liked Superman. That same weekend I was at a Dave & Busters and won a small Superman plush figure. I put the two together and thought to myself, “Huh, this is a collection now”. The rest, as they say, is history!

What is your “Prize Possession”?
It’s hard to pick a single item so I will describe a few. I just bought an original screen used John Haymes Newton costume from the TV show “Superboy” which is the first full original costume of any kind I have so it’s certainly a favorite. I also have one of Christopher Reeve’s capes from Superman 2 and the iconic screen used red t-shirt Tom Welling wore on “Smallville”. A few years ago, I bought many of the mementos Kirk Alyn had kept from Siegel and Shuster so it’s pretty neat to have handwritten letters from the creators of Superman addressed to the first man to play him on screen. I have one of Kirk’s studio chairs and his original copy of the movie serial typed story. I like items of historical significance, things that are truly one-of-a-kind.

How long have you been going to Metropolis, IL for the annual “Superman Celebration”?
It has been a tradition in my family that my grandparents take the grandkids on a weekend trip to celebrate their 16th birthdays. When I turned 16 years old and they asked me where I wanted to go, and I told them the place I had been wanting to go since I first saw it on the Internet- METROPOLIS! I am 23 now so this summer will make my 8th year.

What inspired you to hold a “Meet and Greet” with an Auction this year?
About a year ago, Cameron Myers and myself started the “Superman Collectibles- Buy Sell Trade Share” facebook page with Patrick O’Neal as the third admin. Pat and I had talked about wanting to get together as a group so everyone could meet each other and talk collecting. Once Cameron confirmed he could make it this year, he really brought the passion to start the planning and organization. The three of us, and our newest admin Kaman Stowell will be running the meet and greet portion as a way for fellow collectors to meet and trade items! We had also heard many of the group members talk about wanting a big auction for Superman collectibles to take place during the celebration. The past few years there has been a charity auction but there are fewer items and people do not have the option to consign. We found out that a very good friend of ours, Tim Gardner was already planning to bring this auction to fruition and because all of the admins already knew Tim and realized his event was collecting-focused as well, we decided to combine the events to make one mega-event for all collectors to enjoy!

What are you bringing to Auction off?
The auction will feature items from many different consignors, but some of the items I will personally be consigning of interest include a boxed 1970s Mego Hall of Justice, a signed Teri Hatcher picture, and several vintage and newer action figure sets!

What will be the price ranges of the items?
Because it’s an auction, the prices could really vary quite a bit. But, we will have items from the 1940s-now in virtually all price ranges so the new and experiences collector both have an assortment of items to go after.

If this is a success, are you going to do this again in future Celebrations?
Absolutely! Our goal is to make this a yearly tradition if successful. I can’t speak for Tim in regards to the auction but I believe he is wanting to make that part of the event tradition as well.

Anything else you would like to say?
Thank you so much for interviewing me about my collection and this exciting event I am fortunate enough to be a part of! If you are attending the celebration this year, PLEASE consider coming out to our meet and greet + auction. The event will occur Friday, June 10 with the meet and greet at 5:30 and the auction at 7! The location is Central Hall, 1009 North Ave, Metropolis IL. ALSO, please join our facebook group and enjoy our little piece of the collecting community. Search “Superman Collectibles- Buy/Sell/Trade/Share”