when sammy discovers joe's artistic talent, he gets joe a job as an illustrator for a novelty products company, empire novelty. sheldon anapol, owner of empire, motivated to share in the recent cultural and financial success of superman, attempts to break into the comic-book business on the creative backs of joe and sammy. under the name "sam clay", sammy starts writing adventure stories with joe illustrating them, and the two recruit several other brooklyn teenagers to produce "amazing midget radio comics" (named to promote one of the company's novelty items). the pair is at once passionate about their creation, earnestly optimistic about making money, and always nervous about the opinion of their employers.