This episode is a week late because I had a cold Christmas week, but this story is more appropriate for New Year's than Christmas. The Adventures Of Superman #474, cover dated January 1991, was published on November 28, 1990. It contained 32 pages and sold for $1.00. The Superman editor was Mike Carlin at this time. The cover was pencilled by Dan Jurgens, who also wrote and pencilled the story, and was inked by Art Thibert, who also inked the story. The letterer was Albert De Guzman and the colorist was Glenn Whitmore. There is no reprint information available for this story.
Face To Face With Yesterday opened with Superman flying toward Lowell County Hospital in Kansas. The front page of the Small County Bulletin blew by in the winter wind. The top headline stated, Judge Rules In Right To Die Case.
Clark Kent walked into the hospital and inquired at the Information Booth about the location of patient Scott Brubaker's room. He was directed to the fourth floor Special Care Unit. A middle aged nurse at the booth recognized Clark and commented on his involvement in the tragedy that landed Brubaker in the hospital. Apparently the newspaper headline referred to Scott's parents, as the other hospital employee remembered that they had made an unspecified decision. At the fourth floor nurse's station he was directed to Brubaker's room. Clark paused at the door and flashed back to high school football practice. Pete Ross got clobbered when doing a running back drill, then Clark proceeded to run through the defense until Scott Brubaker, who was the last defender, tackled Clark. Scott commented that he almost thought Clark let him tackle him, but thanked him for sparing the defense from having to run wind sprints.
Clark opened the door and introduced himself to Scott's parents, who at first thought Clark was there for a newspaper story. He assured them that an article was the last thing on his mind. He was only there to say goodbye before Scott died. His parents had finally decided to pull the plug and had taken their case to court.
Clark flashed back to that afternoon after football practice years earlier, when Scott, "a towner" gave Clark and Pete, two "farm boys" a ride home. Scott was smoking a cigarette, and had a bad boy vibe. In the hospital room the Brubakers and Clark begin to open up to each other about their regrets about the tragedy that landed Scott in a coma. On New Year's Eve years ago Clark, Pete and Lana were invited to Scott's house for a party, which he hid from his parents. They were celebrating the new year with their friends and had no idea what their son had planned. Lana aked Clark to keep an eye on Pete, who seemed too eager to fit in. Inside were all of Scott's frineds drinking from a beer keg, who looked down on the farm kids who had joined their party. Eventually Clark gave in to Pete's pressure took a glass of beer.
Three hours later the party had begun to wind down and everyone, including Pete and Lana were drunk, but not Clark. Scott offered to drive them home, but Clark offered to drive since Scott was also drunk. Scott refused, because noone but he drove his car. During the drive he offered some whiskey after taking a swig himself. Scott ran a stop sign, forcing a car to run into a fire hydrant. Further down the road Scott drifted over to the wrong lane and crashed head on into a semi and came to a stop against a tree. Clark ws the first to crawl from the wreck and pulled out Lana and Pete. They were alright, but Scott was unconscious. He would never wake up.
In the hospital room Clark confided to the Brubakers that he felt the accident was his fault for not forcing Scott to let him drive. The Brubakers refused to allow Clark to accept the blame. Unaware of his secret identity, they reminded Clark that he had darnk at the party and may not have been as sober as he thought.
Clark's thoughts flashed back to that night years ago, when he had to face his parents over the party and the accident. Clark commented how he didn't feel the force of the impact. Pa Kent brushed it off as luck. This may have been before they came to realize that Clark was developing special abilities.
Before he paid his final respects to Scott he told the Brubakers that the tragedy had a profound impact on him. It taught him that he always had to do the right thing. The world was full of tragedies, and an individual had to keep as many from happening as possible. They thanked Clark for paying his final respects to their son, and assured him that they did not hold Clark responsible for the accident that destroyed their son's life.
As Clark left the hospital he saw a drunk couple walking to their car to drive to another New Year's party. As Superman flew away, the man was shocked to find his tires melted during a snowstorm. One less tragedy.
What I liked about this story was that, while it was another "message" story, this time about drunk driving, it's not heavy handed with platitudes but let the story itself make the point. It showed Clark not being perfect without becoming Emo Clark (We've had enought of that with Smallville). Teen-aged Clark seemed more of a real person, having to learn from his mistakes, as opposed to the silver age Superboy stories when Clark was almost perfect.
Next episode: Superman: The Year In Review!
Christmas Week: A double feature: Superman #64 Metropolis Mailbag & The Adventures Of Superman #487 Christmas In Suicide Slum.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com .
Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com.
My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/ . Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com .
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics.
Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Episode #105: Superman Vs Captain Marvel!
The reason I chose this topic for the episode was because, on December 14, 1972, DC Comics published its first Captain Marvel comic book with Shazan #1, cover dated February 1973. On the cover Superman introduced this new addition to DC's superhero pantheon. Captain Marvel was not created by DC, however. He was created by Fawcett Comics a few years after Superman's creation spawned the superhero genre and a legion of imitators.
DC, then known as Detective Comics, was quick to defend their smash hit superhero from all copycasts they deemed copyright infringements. One of the earliest was Wonder Man, published by Victor Fox's studio. Wonder Man was actually created by the Eisner & Iger comic book packaging house. DC took Fox to court, which ruled in DC's favor, and Wonder Man was retired after only one issue. DC also sued Fawcett over their character Master Man. He lasted six issues in his own title before Fawcett dropped him in the face of legal action, replacing him with Bulletman in Master Comics beginning with the seventh issue.
Captain Marvel was created by writer Bill Parker and artist C. C. Beck, and based the Captain's facial features on the actor Fred MacMurray. Originally called Captain Thunder, he was published in two ashcan editions, Flash Comics and Thrilling Comics, both #1's, for establishing copyright. (An ashcan is a publication that is printed in limited copies for legal reasons like establishing copyright, and is usually not widely distributed.) Fawcett found that they could not copyright Captain Thunder, Flash or Thrilling Comics because those names were already in use. Fawcett renamed their character Captain Marvel and he first appeared in Whiz Comics #2, so numbered because it followed the numbering of the original ashcan edition. Jack Kirby and Joe Simon helped produce the stories for Captain Marvel Adventures #1, and then the Fawcett staff produced the stories for subsequent issues.
The World's Mightiest Mortal, as Captain Marvel was called, quickly became Fawcett's flagship character, and became the best selling comic book superhero ever, by most accounts. That may have been one reason that DC filed suit against Fawcett over Captain Marvel, beginning with a cease and desist letter, in June 1941. The Big Red Cheese's popularity (as Captain Marvel was also known) was probably why Fawcett decided to fight DC in court instead of dropping the character, as they had done Master Man.
While both Superman and Captain Marvel are superheros with powers, costumes and capes, many of their superpowers are different. While Superman's powers were based in science fiction, Captain Marvel's abilities were based on magic. As noted in the beginning of Superman #1, Superman could leap an eighth of a mile, lift tremendous weights, run faster than a speeding train, and nothing less than a bursting shell could pierce his skin.
Billy Batson was Captain Marvel's human identity, who became the world's mightiest mortal by shouting the magic word SHAZAM!
S: the wisdom of Solomon
H: the strength of Hercules
A: the stamina of Atlas
Z: the power of Zeus
A: the courage of Achilles
M: the speed of Mercury.
In September of 1941 Detective Comics filed a lawsuit against Fawcett Comics. Legal action ensued until 1948, when the case went to trial. DC's case focused on the similarities between Superman and Captain Marvel, super strength, speed, invulnerability, a skin tight costume with a cape and a news reporter secret identity. Fawcett highlighted the differences between the two characters. Captain Marvel's alter ego waa child, not an adult, his powers were magic based, not science fiction. The ruling was a mixed result for both companies. While Fawcett was found in violation of Superman's copyright, but DC was found to have lost Superman's copyright because some of the Superman comic strips had not been copyrighted.
Detective Comics appealed the decision in 1951 to the U. S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit, presided by Judge Learned Hand, one of the most quoted lower court judges in U. S. legal history. IN 1952 Judge Hand upheld the violation of copyright ruling but rejected the other ruling that DC had allowed its Superman copyright to lapse. He sent the case back to the trial judge for an assessment of damages.
Fawcett instead decided to settle the case instead of fighting it further. Perhaps one overriding reason was the fall of the popularity of superhero comics in favor of other genres. Fawcett agreed to pay DC $400,000.00 in damages and agreed to stop publishing Captain Marvel comic books. The supporting character Hoppy the Marvel Bunny was sold to Charlton Comics and became Hoppy the Magic Bunny. Fawcett closed its comic book publishing business entirely, focusing on its magazine publishing division and expanding into the growing paperback book market of the 1950's. Captain Marvel's last appearances were in Captain Marvel Adventures #150, November 1953, published around November 7, 1953, and Marvel Family #89, January 1954, published around January 7, 1954. The world's mightiest mortal would disappear for the rest of the 1950's and the entire decade of the 1960's.
In the U. K., the British publisher of black and white Captain Marvel reprints adapted the character into Marvelman, which has had his own tangled legal history, and was in turn reprinted in the States as Miracleman. Earlier in 2009 the U. S. rights were bought by Marvel Comics. There is no news yet about any Miracleman reprints through Marvel.
In 1972 DC licensed Captain Marvel from Fawcett. However, in 1967, through a legal loophole, Marvel trademarked the name Captain Marvel and began publishing their own version of the hero, which probably was more similar to Superman than Fawcett version, since he was an alien from another world who had traveled to Earth as an adult. While DC could still call the character Captain Marvel, they could not publish him in a comic book with the same name. That is how Shazam #1 came to be published. The series ran for 35 issues until 1978 and would reprint some of the original Fawcett stories from the 1940's - 1950's. In 1980 DC bought the character from Fawcett outright, and in 1987 pubished the mini-series Shazam: The New Beginning. These first DC Captain Marvel stories have been reprinted in two editions, Shazam: The Greatest Stories Ever Told and Showcase Presents: Shazam! vol. I.
Captain Marvel would never become as popular for DC as he had been for Fawcett, but has continued to be a recurring member of DC's pantheon ever since, through various versions of his own title and Justice League.
Superman and Captain Marvel did battle in the comic book pages, decades before the mini-series Kingdom Come. But the conflict was not printed in a comic book published by either DC or Fawcett Comics. That honor went to Mad Magazine #4, April/May 1953. I bought a reprint of the story in Tales Calculated To Drive You Mad #2, Winter 1997. DC Comics, which now owns Mad Magazine, has reprinted it in a hardbound edition in Mad Archive, Vol. I, which collected the first six issues of Mad. To read the story on the internet go to: http://kitscomics.com/captain/34.htm.
For any updated information about reprint editions to Captain Marvel, Marvelman or Miracleman, or Superman go to the Collected Comics Library podcast and blog at http://www.collectedcomicslibrary.com/.
Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League Of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com./
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com .
My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/ . Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com .
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics.
Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
DC, then known as Detective Comics, was quick to defend their smash hit superhero from all copycasts they deemed copyright infringements. One of the earliest was Wonder Man, published by Victor Fox's studio. Wonder Man was actually created by the Eisner & Iger comic book packaging house. DC took Fox to court, which ruled in DC's favor, and Wonder Man was retired after only one issue. DC also sued Fawcett over their character Master Man. He lasted six issues in his own title before Fawcett dropped him in the face of legal action, replacing him with Bulletman in Master Comics beginning with the seventh issue.
Captain Marvel was created by writer Bill Parker and artist C. C. Beck, and based the Captain's facial features on the actor Fred MacMurray. Originally called Captain Thunder, he was published in two ashcan editions, Flash Comics and Thrilling Comics, both #1's, for establishing copyright. (An ashcan is a publication that is printed in limited copies for legal reasons like establishing copyright, and is usually not widely distributed.) Fawcett found that they could not copyright Captain Thunder, Flash or Thrilling Comics because those names were already in use. Fawcett renamed their character Captain Marvel and he first appeared in Whiz Comics #2, so numbered because it followed the numbering of the original ashcan edition. Jack Kirby and Joe Simon helped produce the stories for Captain Marvel Adventures #1, and then the Fawcett staff produced the stories for subsequent issues.
The World's Mightiest Mortal, as Captain Marvel was called, quickly became Fawcett's flagship character, and became the best selling comic book superhero ever, by most accounts. That may have been one reason that DC filed suit against Fawcett over Captain Marvel, beginning with a cease and desist letter, in June 1941. The Big Red Cheese's popularity (as Captain Marvel was also known) was probably why Fawcett decided to fight DC in court instead of dropping the character, as they had done Master Man.
While both Superman and Captain Marvel are superheros with powers, costumes and capes, many of their superpowers are different. While Superman's powers were based in science fiction, Captain Marvel's abilities were based on magic. As noted in the beginning of Superman #1, Superman could leap an eighth of a mile, lift tremendous weights, run faster than a speeding train, and nothing less than a bursting shell could pierce his skin.
Billy Batson was Captain Marvel's human identity, who became the world's mightiest mortal by shouting the magic word SHAZAM!
S: the wisdom of Solomon
H: the strength of Hercules
A: the stamina of Atlas
Z: the power of Zeus
A: the courage of Achilles
M: the speed of Mercury.
In September of 1941 Detective Comics filed a lawsuit against Fawcett Comics. Legal action ensued until 1948, when the case went to trial. DC's case focused on the similarities between Superman and Captain Marvel, super strength, speed, invulnerability, a skin tight costume with a cape and a news reporter secret identity. Fawcett highlighted the differences between the two characters. Captain Marvel's alter ego waa child, not an adult, his powers were magic based, not science fiction. The ruling was a mixed result for both companies. While Fawcett was found in violation of Superman's copyright, but DC was found to have lost Superman's copyright because some of the Superman comic strips had not been copyrighted.
Detective Comics appealed the decision in 1951 to the U. S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit, presided by Judge Learned Hand, one of the most quoted lower court judges in U. S. legal history. IN 1952 Judge Hand upheld the violation of copyright ruling but rejected the other ruling that DC had allowed its Superman copyright to lapse. He sent the case back to the trial judge for an assessment of damages.
Fawcett instead decided to settle the case instead of fighting it further. Perhaps one overriding reason was the fall of the popularity of superhero comics in favor of other genres. Fawcett agreed to pay DC $400,000.00 in damages and agreed to stop publishing Captain Marvel comic books. The supporting character Hoppy the Marvel Bunny was sold to Charlton Comics and became Hoppy the Magic Bunny. Fawcett closed its comic book publishing business entirely, focusing on its magazine publishing division and expanding into the growing paperback book market of the 1950's. Captain Marvel's last appearances were in Captain Marvel Adventures #150, November 1953, published around November 7, 1953, and Marvel Family #89, January 1954, published around January 7, 1954. The world's mightiest mortal would disappear for the rest of the 1950's and the entire decade of the 1960's.
In the U. K., the British publisher of black and white Captain Marvel reprints adapted the character into Marvelman, which has had his own tangled legal history, and was in turn reprinted in the States as Miracleman. Earlier in 2009 the U. S. rights were bought by Marvel Comics. There is no news yet about any Miracleman reprints through Marvel.
In 1972 DC licensed Captain Marvel from Fawcett. However, in 1967, through a legal loophole, Marvel trademarked the name Captain Marvel and began publishing their own version of the hero, which probably was more similar to Superman than Fawcett version, since he was an alien from another world who had traveled to Earth as an adult. While DC could still call the character Captain Marvel, they could not publish him in a comic book with the same name. That is how Shazam #1 came to be published. The series ran for 35 issues until 1978 and would reprint some of the original Fawcett stories from the 1940's - 1950's. In 1980 DC bought the character from Fawcett outright, and in 1987 pubished the mini-series Shazam: The New Beginning. These first DC Captain Marvel stories have been reprinted in two editions, Shazam: The Greatest Stories Ever Told and Showcase Presents: Shazam! vol. I.
Captain Marvel would never become as popular for DC as he had been for Fawcett, but has continued to be a recurring member of DC's pantheon ever since, through various versions of his own title and Justice League.
Superman and Captain Marvel did battle in the comic book pages, decades before the mini-series Kingdom Come. But the conflict was not printed in a comic book published by either DC or Fawcett Comics. That honor went to Mad Magazine #4, April/May 1953. I bought a reprint of the story in Tales Calculated To Drive You Mad #2, Winter 1997. DC Comics, which now owns Mad Magazine, has reprinted it in a hardbound edition in Mad Archive, Vol. I, which collected the first six issues of Mad. To read the story on the internet go to: http://kitscomics.com/captain/34.htm.
For any updated information about reprint editions to Captain Marvel, Marvelman or Miracleman, or Superman go to the Collected Comics Library podcast and blog at http://www.collectedcomicslibrary.com/.
Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League Of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com./
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com .
My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/ . Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com .
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics.
Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Episode #104: Superman In Exile, Part V: End Of Exile!
This episode concludes our look at the Superman In Exile storyline in the Superman line of DC titles from 1989, which was published by DC Comics in the trade paperback Superman:Exile.
NOTE: For the previous parts of this series refer to the following episodes:
#66: Superman In The Pocket Universe!
#69: Superman Goes Gangbusters!
Superman Fan Podcast Special Blog: Superman In Exile Checklist!, posted on April 25, 2009, lists all of the issues discussed in this series of podcasts so you can read them for yourself!
#71: Superman In Exile, Part I, Free Comic Book Day & The State Of Superman Comics!
#72: Superman In Exile, Part II & Free Comic Book Day!
#90: Superman In Exile, Part III!
#103: Superman In Exile, Part IV: Action Comics Annual #2, 1989!
The Superman issues that will be discussed in this episode are:
Cover dated June 1989:
Superman #32 and The Adventures Of Superman #455.
Cover dated July 1989:
Superman #33, The Adventures Of Superman #456 and Action Comics #643 (its first monthly issue since the end of Action Comics Weekly). The editor for all of these issues was Mike Carlin.
Superman #32, June, 1989, published on April 18, 1989, cover price 75 cents. The cover was pencilled by Kerry Gammil and inked by Dennis Janke.
Gladiator was written by Roger Stern, pencilled by Kerry Gammil, inked by Dennis Janke, lettered by John Costanza and colored by Glenn Whitmore. Listed as co-conspirators (plotters?) were Jerry Ordway and George Perez.
The issue opened with a brief history of Warworld and its ruler, Mongul. Warworld conquered star systems to grow its empire, killed the intellectuals and enslaved the strong for their gladiator games. Then there was a brief recap about how Superman was captured and brought to Warworld, and forced to become a gladiator. The story begins at the conclusion of Action Comics Annual #2, when Superman defeated Mongul's champion Draaga but refused to kill his opponent, as he had refused to do in all of his other gladiator battles. Mongul answered Superman's defiance by teleporting to the arena planet to kill both Superman and Draaga himself. After being knocked back by Mongul, Superman keeps the dictator from killing Draaga. This impressed the Cleric, who followed the battle through his telepathic link with Superman. Mongul finally knocked out Superman and ordered some soldiers to take the Man of Steel and Draaga to a prison cell on Warworld. The Cleric decided to rescue Superman from certain death at the hands of Mongul.
In Metropolis Matrix, who has shapeshifted to look like Clark Kent, woke up from sleeping on an apartment building doorstep. Matrix/Clark was found by Jimmy Olsen, who believed that Clark's confusion came at the hands of Intergang in revenge for his expose on the criminal organization. Jimmy hailed a taxi to get Clark off the street before Intergang could attack Clark again.
Superman and Draaga were shackled on Warworld. Superman melted the ray gun that Mongul was going to kill Draaga with, then broke out of his bonds to knock out Mongul in their rematch. But when Superman turned his back to release Draaga from his chains Mongul revived and zapped Superman with his energy weapon on his chestplate. Draaga thought Superman had been disintegrated and Mongul acted dishonorably, which fueled his own rebellion from his ruler.
The Adventures Of Superman #455, June 1989, April 25, 1989. The cover artist was Jerry Ordway.
Heritage was written by Jerry Ordway, pencilled by Dan Jurgens, inked by Art Thibert, lettered by Albert DeGuzman and colored by Glenn Whitmore. Jonathan Peterson was the assistant editor on this and the following issues discussed in this episode.
Riots erupted all over Warworld because of Mongul's interference with the gladiator games. The destruction was of grave concern to the Overseers, who are revealed for the first time in this issue. Their ancestors built the artificial Warworld, and they were concerned that if the riots lasted long enough the damage would be too much to repair. The history of the alliance between the Overseers and Mongul was revealed. Theirs was a match made in hell, Mongul's desire to rule an empire and the Overseers desire to commandeer worlds to develop (asquire)technologies. They wished Draaga could survive because he would serve them better now instead of Mongul as the figurehead ruler of Warworld.
At the Cleric's asteroid, he awakened Superman, who recognized the Eradicator from his earlier telepathic link with the Cleric. The Cellkeeper returned to his duties on Warworld, and to see to the safety of Lentra, leaving the Cleric and Superman in private.
Jimy Olsen took Matrix/Clark Kent to Inspector Henderson's office at the Metropolis Police Department. Lois called Henderson's office in return to Jimmy's call and spoke briefly to Clark. Cat Grant went to Lois' apartment and revealed that she was Clark's inside source to Morgan Edge's connection with Intergang.
The Cellkeeper returned to the chaos of Warworld (we saw an alien wearing Superman's boots), only to find Lentra's dead body holding Superman's superhero uniform. She had been killed by Mongul who pounced on the Cellkeeper. He was saved by Draaga, who fought Mongul to regain his honor and become the new ruler of Warworld, as promised by the Overseers.
On the secluded asteroid Superman bonded with the Eradicator. His skimpy gladiator garb was transformed to the then traditional Kryptonian clothing, influenced by the Cleric's desire to atone for his past guilt in a small way.
Dragga's battle with Mongul continued until Draaga ripped the weapon off Mongul's chest, as the Overseers had revealed Mongul's secret to him. The apparatus actually helped keep Mongul alive. Mongul snatched it out of Draaga's hand and escaped in a spaceship.
Superman touched the Eradicator again and his Kryptonian costume was transformed to his Superman costume, complete with cape.
Superman #33, July 1989, May 25, 1989. The cover was pencilled by Kerry Gammil and inked by Dennis Janke.
Two Destinies was written by Roger Stern, pencilled by Kerry Gammil, inked by Dennis Janke, lettered by John Costanza and lettered by Glenn Whitmore.
Draaga, the new figurehead ruler of Warworld, demanded that Superman be found so that they could battle and Draaga could regain his honor either by victory or his own death. The Overseers ignored his order and reminded him who really ran Warworld. Their concern was to restore order on Warworld and do an inspection tour of their empire to concolidate their power. As Warworld moved out of the star system to jupm into hyperspace Superman attempted to catch up with the artificial world. Warworld flew into hyperspace before Superman could catch it, so he had to return to the asteroid.
On Earth, Luthor had the Milton Fine Brainiac, still kept unconscious medically, finally settled in at the Rocky Mountain facility he had bought from S.T.A.R. Labs through a takeover attempt, setting up a future storyline in the Superman titles.
On the asteroid, the Cellkeeper had improvised a set of reflectors to focus the local star's sunlight onto Superman to recharge his superpowers.
In Kansas Ma and Pa Kent made final preparations to leave the farm and search for Matrix/Clark, when she/he called them from Perry White's office. The Planet staff thought Clark had been brainwashed by Intergang.
Then he and the Cleric telepathically link with each other through the Eradicator and relive each other's darkest moments, from the Cleric's shame at the accidental deaths of his Kryptonian followers to Superman's remorse at executing the Kryptonian criminals from the pocket universe. The Cleric identified with Superman's remorse, but reminded the Man of Steel that his exile had deprived his planet of their greatest hero. He then encouraged Superman to take sole possession of the Eradicator. When Superman did, the Cleric collapsed and aged rapidly. Since the Cleric now longer physically possessed the Eradicator, it no longer preserved his life as it did over the eons. The Cleric's last request before his death was to see Superman's beardless face. Superman took a panel from the Eradicator to reflect his heat vision and shave his beard. After the Cleric's death Superman buried him on the asteroid and carved a Superman"S" on the headstone.
The Adventures Of Superman #456, July 1989, June 1, 1989. The cover artist was Jerry Ordway.
Redemption was plotted by Jerry Ordway, written and pencilled by Dan Jurgens, inked by Art Thibert, lettered by Albert De Guzman and colored by Glenn Whitmore.
The issue opened with Superman paying his final respects to the late Cleric and saying goodbye to the Cellkeeper. The Man of Steel then used the Eradicator to teleport himself back to Earth.
In Metropolis, after Morgan Edge got a medical examination in his GBS office, he received a secret call from Mannheim, head of Intergang. He informed Edge that he was sending Turmoil to deal with the Daily Planet reporters who wrote their Intergang expose.
At the Kent farm Ma and Pa Kent are releived that Matrix/Clark is being cared for by the Daily Planet staff, but can't help but wonder about their adopted son somewhere in outer space.
Matrix was sitting in a Metropolis park, eating Bib Belly burgers, when he was attacked by the giant robot Turmoil. He is found by Cat Grant, who called Professor Hamilton. Jose Delgado, wearing the LexCorp armor as his new Gangbuster costume, left Hamilton's lab to go to the rescue. Gangbuster met Turmoil as it attacked Lois Lane. They became trapped in the rubble of a building destroyed by Turmoil. Lex Luthor, in his LexCorp office, was notified by his new Rocky Mountain facility that Brainiac had awakened and kept repeating, "He's back!", referring to Superman.
The final issue of this storyline was published in Action Comics #643, July 1989, June 8, 1989. The cover was an homage to Joe Shuster's cover to Superman #1 in 1939, drawn by George Perez.
Superman On Earth was written and pencilled by George Perez, inked by Brett Breeding, lettered by Bill Oakley and colored by Glenn Whitmore.
As the title suggested, Superman returned to Earth and landed on the Daily Planet roof. He took a few minutes to soak in the sights, sounds and smells of Earth before being reunited with the Daily Planet staff. He flies off before Cat Grant can bring Matrix/Clark Kent to meet him. Luthor sees Superman flying over Metropolis once again, just as the Milton Fine Brainiac warned. Superman returned to his Clark kent apartment, placed the Eradicator on a shelf, and took a much needed shower.
Lois called the Daily Planet office from her car phone, under the rubble of a collapsed building. After the building collapsed further she stayed by Jose Delgado's side, as he was trapped in the rubble.
Before he can finish his shower, Superman was summoned by Jimy Olsen's emergency watch. He battled and destroyed Turmoil, rescued Lois and Jose, and found Morgan Edge for the hat trick. Instead of taking Edge to prison, he had to take him to a hospital after he had a heart attack.
It was revealed that instead of Darkseid being the ultimate head of Intergang, it was a disguised Desaad.
At the end of the day Clark Kent returned to his apartment to find his front door open. Before he could enter, an explosion occurred inside, where he found the unconscious Matrix/Clark holding the Eradicator. This story would be continued in Superman #34.
Next episode: Superman Vs. Captain Marvel!
Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comcs Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com./
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com .
My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/ . Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com .
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics.
Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
NOTE: For the previous parts of this series refer to the following episodes:
#66: Superman In The Pocket Universe!
#69: Superman Goes Gangbusters!
Superman Fan Podcast Special Blog: Superman In Exile Checklist!, posted on April 25, 2009, lists all of the issues discussed in this series of podcasts so you can read them for yourself!
#71: Superman In Exile, Part I, Free Comic Book Day & The State Of Superman Comics!
#72: Superman In Exile, Part II & Free Comic Book Day!
#90: Superman In Exile, Part III!
#103: Superman In Exile, Part IV: Action Comics Annual #2, 1989!
The Superman issues that will be discussed in this episode are:
Cover dated June 1989:
Superman #32 and The Adventures Of Superman #455.
Cover dated July 1989:
Superman #33, The Adventures Of Superman #456 and Action Comics #643 (its first monthly issue since the end of Action Comics Weekly). The editor for all of these issues was Mike Carlin.
Superman #32, June, 1989, published on April 18, 1989, cover price 75 cents. The cover was pencilled by Kerry Gammil and inked by Dennis Janke.
Gladiator was written by Roger Stern, pencilled by Kerry Gammil, inked by Dennis Janke, lettered by John Costanza and colored by Glenn Whitmore. Listed as co-conspirators (plotters?) were Jerry Ordway and George Perez.
The issue opened with a brief history of Warworld and its ruler, Mongul. Warworld conquered star systems to grow its empire, killed the intellectuals and enslaved the strong for their gladiator games. Then there was a brief recap about how Superman was captured and brought to Warworld, and forced to become a gladiator. The story begins at the conclusion of Action Comics Annual #2, when Superman defeated Mongul's champion Draaga but refused to kill his opponent, as he had refused to do in all of his other gladiator battles. Mongul answered Superman's defiance by teleporting to the arena planet to kill both Superman and Draaga himself. After being knocked back by Mongul, Superman keeps the dictator from killing Draaga. This impressed the Cleric, who followed the battle through his telepathic link with Superman. Mongul finally knocked out Superman and ordered some soldiers to take the Man of Steel and Draaga to a prison cell on Warworld. The Cleric decided to rescue Superman from certain death at the hands of Mongul.
In Metropolis Matrix, who has shapeshifted to look like Clark Kent, woke up from sleeping on an apartment building doorstep. Matrix/Clark was found by Jimmy Olsen, who believed that Clark's confusion came at the hands of Intergang in revenge for his expose on the criminal organization. Jimmy hailed a taxi to get Clark off the street before Intergang could attack Clark again.
Superman and Draaga were shackled on Warworld. Superman melted the ray gun that Mongul was going to kill Draaga with, then broke out of his bonds to knock out Mongul in their rematch. But when Superman turned his back to release Draaga from his chains Mongul revived and zapped Superman with his energy weapon on his chestplate. Draaga thought Superman had been disintegrated and Mongul acted dishonorably, which fueled his own rebellion from his ruler.
The Adventures Of Superman #455, June 1989, April 25, 1989. The cover artist was Jerry Ordway.
Heritage was written by Jerry Ordway, pencilled by Dan Jurgens, inked by Art Thibert, lettered by Albert DeGuzman and colored by Glenn Whitmore. Jonathan Peterson was the assistant editor on this and the following issues discussed in this episode.
Riots erupted all over Warworld because of Mongul's interference with the gladiator games. The destruction was of grave concern to the Overseers, who are revealed for the first time in this issue. Their ancestors built the artificial Warworld, and they were concerned that if the riots lasted long enough the damage would be too much to repair. The history of the alliance between the Overseers and Mongul was revealed. Theirs was a match made in hell, Mongul's desire to rule an empire and the Overseers desire to commandeer worlds to develop (asquire)technologies. They wished Draaga could survive because he would serve them better now instead of Mongul as the figurehead ruler of Warworld.
At the Cleric's asteroid, he awakened Superman, who recognized the Eradicator from his earlier telepathic link with the Cleric. The Cellkeeper returned to his duties on Warworld, and to see to the safety of Lentra, leaving the Cleric and Superman in private.
Jimy Olsen took Matrix/Clark Kent to Inspector Henderson's office at the Metropolis Police Department. Lois called Henderson's office in return to Jimmy's call and spoke briefly to Clark. Cat Grant went to Lois' apartment and revealed that she was Clark's inside source to Morgan Edge's connection with Intergang.
The Cellkeeper returned to the chaos of Warworld (we saw an alien wearing Superman's boots), only to find Lentra's dead body holding Superman's superhero uniform. She had been killed by Mongul who pounced on the Cellkeeper. He was saved by Draaga, who fought Mongul to regain his honor and become the new ruler of Warworld, as promised by the Overseers.
On the secluded asteroid Superman bonded with the Eradicator. His skimpy gladiator garb was transformed to the then traditional Kryptonian clothing, influenced by the Cleric's desire to atone for his past guilt in a small way.
Dragga's battle with Mongul continued until Draaga ripped the weapon off Mongul's chest, as the Overseers had revealed Mongul's secret to him. The apparatus actually helped keep Mongul alive. Mongul snatched it out of Draaga's hand and escaped in a spaceship.
Superman touched the Eradicator again and his Kryptonian costume was transformed to his Superman costume, complete with cape.
Superman #33, July 1989, May 25, 1989. The cover was pencilled by Kerry Gammil and inked by Dennis Janke.
Two Destinies was written by Roger Stern, pencilled by Kerry Gammil, inked by Dennis Janke, lettered by John Costanza and lettered by Glenn Whitmore.
Draaga, the new figurehead ruler of Warworld, demanded that Superman be found so that they could battle and Draaga could regain his honor either by victory or his own death. The Overseers ignored his order and reminded him who really ran Warworld. Their concern was to restore order on Warworld and do an inspection tour of their empire to concolidate their power. As Warworld moved out of the star system to jupm into hyperspace Superman attempted to catch up with the artificial world. Warworld flew into hyperspace before Superman could catch it, so he had to return to the asteroid.
On Earth, Luthor had the Milton Fine Brainiac, still kept unconscious medically, finally settled in at the Rocky Mountain facility he had bought from S.T.A.R. Labs through a takeover attempt, setting up a future storyline in the Superman titles.
On the asteroid, the Cellkeeper had improvised a set of reflectors to focus the local star's sunlight onto Superman to recharge his superpowers.
In Kansas Ma and Pa Kent made final preparations to leave the farm and search for Matrix/Clark, when she/he called them from Perry White's office. The Planet staff thought Clark had been brainwashed by Intergang.
Then he and the Cleric telepathically link with each other through the Eradicator and relive each other's darkest moments, from the Cleric's shame at the accidental deaths of his Kryptonian followers to Superman's remorse at executing the Kryptonian criminals from the pocket universe. The Cleric identified with Superman's remorse, but reminded the Man of Steel that his exile had deprived his planet of their greatest hero. He then encouraged Superman to take sole possession of the Eradicator. When Superman did, the Cleric collapsed and aged rapidly. Since the Cleric now longer physically possessed the Eradicator, it no longer preserved his life as it did over the eons. The Cleric's last request before his death was to see Superman's beardless face. Superman took a panel from the Eradicator to reflect his heat vision and shave his beard. After the Cleric's death Superman buried him on the asteroid and carved a Superman"S" on the headstone.
The Adventures Of Superman #456, July 1989, June 1, 1989. The cover artist was Jerry Ordway.
Redemption was plotted by Jerry Ordway, written and pencilled by Dan Jurgens, inked by Art Thibert, lettered by Albert De Guzman and colored by Glenn Whitmore.
The issue opened with Superman paying his final respects to the late Cleric and saying goodbye to the Cellkeeper. The Man of Steel then used the Eradicator to teleport himself back to Earth.
In Metropolis, after Morgan Edge got a medical examination in his GBS office, he received a secret call from Mannheim, head of Intergang. He informed Edge that he was sending Turmoil to deal with the Daily Planet reporters who wrote their Intergang expose.
At the Kent farm Ma and Pa Kent are releived that Matrix/Clark is being cared for by the Daily Planet staff, but can't help but wonder about their adopted son somewhere in outer space.
Matrix was sitting in a Metropolis park, eating Bib Belly burgers, when he was attacked by the giant robot Turmoil. He is found by Cat Grant, who called Professor Hamilton. Jose Delgado, wearing the LexCorp armor as his new Gangbuster costume, left Hamilton's lab to go to the rescue. Gangbuster met Turmoil as it attacked Lois Lane. They became trapped in the rubble of a building destroyed by Turmoil. Lex Luthor, in his LexCorp office, was notified by his new Rocky Mountain facility that Brainiac had awakened and kept repeating, "He's back!", referring to Superman.
The final issue of this storyline was published in Action Comics #643, July 1989, June 8, 1989. The cover was an homage to Joe Shuster's cover to Superman #1 in 1939, drawn by George Perez.
Superman On Earth was written and pencilled by George Perez, inked by Brett Breeding, lettered by Bill Oakley and colored by Glenn Whitmore.
As the title suggested, Superman returned to Earth and landed on the Daily Planet roof. He took a few minutes to soak in the sights, sounds and smells of Earth before being reunited with the Daily Planet staff. He flies off before Cat Grant can bring Matrix/Clark Kent to meet him. Luthor sees Superman flying over Metropolis once again, just as the Milton Fine Brainiac warned. Superman returned to his Clark kent apartment, placed the Eradicator on a shelf, and took a much needed shower.
Lois called the Daily Planet office from her car phone, under the rubble of a collapsed building. After the building collapsed further she stayed by Jose Delgado's side, as he was trapped in the rubble.
Before he can finish his shower, Superman was summoned by Jimy Olsen's emergency watch. He battled and destroyed Turmoil, rescued Lois and Jose, and found Morgan Edge for the hat trick. Instead of taking Edge to prison, he had to take him to a hospital after he had a heart attack.
It was revealed that instead of Darkseid being the ultimate head of Intergang, it was a disguised Desaad.
At the end of the day Clark Kent returned to his apartment to find his front door open. Before he could enter, an explosion occurred inside, where he found the unconscious Matrix/Clark holding the Eradicator. This story would be continued in Superman #34.
Next episode: Superman Vs. Captain Marvel!
Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comcs Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com./
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com .
My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/ . Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com .
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics.
Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Episode #103: Superman In Exile Part IV: ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #2, 1989!
NOTE: For the previous parts of this series refer to the following episodes:
#66: Superman In The Pocket Universe!
#69: Superman Goes Gangbusters!
Superman Fan Podcast Special Blog: Superman In Exile Checklist!, posted on April 25, 2009, lists all of the issues discussed in this series of podcasts so you can read them for yourself!
#71: Superman In Exile, Part I, Free Comic Book Day & The State Of Superman Comics!
#72: Superman In Exile, Part II & Free Comic Book Day!
#90: Superman In Exile, Part III!
Action Comics Annual #2, 1989, was published on April 11, 1989. It contained 64 pages for the cover price of $1.75, which is a big jump from Action Comics #1 in 1938 for 10 cents. Mike Carlin was the editor at this time, and the cover was pencilled by George Perez and inked by Jerry Ordway. The title of the story was Memories Of Krypton's Past. Since it was a 64 page issue several creative teams worked on several separate plot threads. Writer and penciller Jerry Ordway and inker John Statema did the Warworld/Arena story, writer Roger Stern, penciller Curt Swan and inker Brett Breeding did the Superman/Attendant Lentra story and the Jor-El flashbacks, and writer and inker George Perez and penciller Mike Mignola did the Cleric story. This issue continued the events that occurred in The Adventures Of Superman #454, May 1989, published on March 28, 1989. Action Comics Annual #2 was the first issue of Action to be released after the final Action Comics Weekly issue, #642 (discussed in episode #92), which was published several months earlier on January 24, 1989.
The spaceship that had captured Superman landed on the barren prison planet near the artificial Warworld, which was somewhat like Star Wars' Death Star. After a brief skirmish with a guard, Superman was brought to Warworld's ruler Mongul, who knocks the Man of Steel unconscious with an energy beam from a weapon on his chestplate. Superman was then taken to processing to be prepped as a gladiator for Warworld's gladiatorial contests. When he was identified as a Kryptonian, previously thought to be extinct, a slug-like Cellkeeper called for the four-armed Attendant Lentra to care for Superman until his first battle. The Cellkeeper snuck away from his duties to fly a small space shuttle to a barren asteroid, to deliver the news of this new Kryptonian to a secluded being known only as the Cleric.
Lentra helped Superman dress for the gladiator games, removing the remnants of his Superman uniform for skimpier gladiator garb. Superman wore his tattered cape as a sash, which managed to strategically cover his crotch and rear. Superman then defeats his first opponent, an alien with rock-like skin, but then saved him from death by keeping him from falling into an acid-like pool of liquid. He refused the calls to kill his defeated opponent and was transported back to his cell, to wait for his next opponent. Superman then briefly told Lentra about his origin.
The Cleric reminisced to the Cellkeeper about his own journey to Krypton, many eons ago in Krypton's past. He was a missionary of an intergalactic religion simply called the Holy Commune. He preached against the planet's tradition of cloning as a means of preserving life (as detailed in the World Of Krypton mini-series published in 1987). While he attracted the ire of the Science Council establishment, he also attracts many disciples, among them Syra and her friend Sen-M.
Superman's thoughts conveniently follow similar lines as he told Lentra about Sen-M's League Of Life, who chose natural deaths over prolonging their lives by using replacement organs from clones grown from their own cells. They considered cloning a type of slavery. Superman also told her about the terrorist group Black Zero, who twisted Sen-M's teachings to justify their attacks, and destroyed the capital of Kandor with an atomic weapon and lead to a long civil war.
He then faced his next opponent, a pig-like being with a snout similar to an elephant. Using his microscopic vision, Superman discovered that his opponent was composed of may tinier beings. He kept hitting it until they could no longer hold together. Again Superman refused to kill his opponent and was teleported back to his cell.
The Cleric told the Cellkeeper about the temple he had built for his followers. Syra entered to warn the Cleric that the Science Council had constructed a weapon called the Eradicator (which would figure prominently in future stories, but that's the subject of a future episode). She volunteered to lead a preemptive assault on the Science Council, but the Cleric's words on nonviolence failed for the first time.
Superman's thoughts were along similar lines, on his father Jor-El, who noted that the hyper-drive and Kal-El's birthing matrix resembled a "legendary machine" constructed in Krypton's fifth epoch. Lentra informed Superman that his next opponent would be Mongul's champion Draaga.
The battle was a bad time for Superman's thoughts to become jumbled as his mind is linked with the Cleric's. The Cleric learned about the genetic material taken from Jor-El and Lara and injected in the birthing matrix. Superman learned about the attack on the Science Council by some of the Cleric's more extreme followers. The Cleric tried to defuse the situation by offering to take his followers off planet. His offer was answered by an energy blast from the eradicator, activated by one of the Science Council soldiers, but it did not kill him. He was only rendered unconscious. The battle commenced and the Eradicator's operator mishandled it, causing it to fire an uncontrolled burst.
Superman cleared his thoughts enough to rally against Draaga, to Mongul's admiration. Superman's thoughts returned to the Cleric's reminisce to the Day Of Intolerance, as the battle was referred to in the annals of Kryptonian history. Sen-M, not part of the attack, flew in a Kryptonian vehicle to the scene of the battle looking for survivors, only to find many dead and wounded bodies, among them the lifeless Syra. The Cleric recovered and took possession of the Eradicator, not trusting to leave it in the hands of Kryptonians. He took his followers off planet in his space ship, except for a small group of followers who would serve as apostles of the Holy Commune on Krypton, led by Sen-M.
Superman continued to battle Draaga while these thoughts bounced around his mind. His father Jor-El, Marlon Brando style, informed his son about the Clone Civil War, inspired by Sen-M's writings in spite of his non-violent beliefs. Jor-El spoke of a legend that Sen-M himself was a follower of an alien holy man who was lost to history.
The Cleric furnished the final details of his Krypton mission. Too late he discovered the fatal link that his followers had to their home planet, as they all died once the space ship left the atmosphere. The Cleric examined their bodies to discover the reason they died. In Superman's mind, Jor-El explained that Kryptonians had a genetic flaw that would cause them to die if they left the planet. He took some treatments so that his son would be free from this flaw, his last gift to his son before Krypton's doom.
The Cleric could not return to the Holy Commune after such a disgrace to the faith. He banished himself to this same asteroid, kept company only by the Eradicator. He realized his destiny was to reunite the last Kryptonian with this relic of the long lost history of the planet.
Superman's thoughts cleared enough so that he could rally one final time to defeat Draaga at last. When Superman defied Mongul's order to kill Draaga and take his place as champion, Mongul decided to go to the arena and kill both of them himself. That story would be continued in Superman #32, which would be published the following week. The conclusion of the Superman In Exile storyline will be detailed in next week's episode.
In the back of Action Comics Annual #2 were Who's Who entries for the Matrix Supergirl and Cat Grant, and George Perez's recreation of the cover of Superman#1 from 1939, which would serve as the cover for Action Comics #643 as it returned to monthly publication.
The final feature was a two page article written by George Perez, titled How I Spent My Super-Summer Vacation, which included some character development sketches by Jerry Ordway and Mike Mignola of the gladiator Superman, Cleric, Cellkeeper and Lentra.
George's reminisces began at the Superman Expo, in Cleveland, Ohio, which took place on June 16, 1988 to celebrate Superman's 50th birthday. He had agreed to Superman editor Mike Carlin's offer to write a new Superman title. The offer appealed to George because of his interest in writing comics, which he had done for a year at that point. George met his idol, artist Curt Swan (lucky guy), as well as the current Superman creative team. They gave George an overview of the current storyline as they began a discussion about where a good jumping on point for George would be, and how his book would have its unique vision different from Jerry Ordway's or Roger Stern's.
Perez recalled the introduction to the 1950's Superman TV show:
- strange visitor from another world who came to Earth.
- mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper.
- Truth, Justice and the American Way!
He felt Roger Stern's title explored the idea of "Truth, Justice and the American Way". Jerry Ordway put an emphasis on the "mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper" with his emphasis on Clark Kent. George decided that he would focus on the "strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth", and Superman's Kryptonian heritage. Superman reminded him of Bob Hope. What could they have in common? Both are American icons, but Superman came from Krypton and Bob Hope was born in London.
George explained this to the rest of the creative team and they bought into the idea and began brainstorming., which led to the basic premise of this annual. After another meeting a few months later George developed the basic plot, a talent he developed while working with writer Marv Wolfman on the classic DC title The New Teen Titans. Fellow writers Roger Stern and Jerry Ordway fleshed out their parts of the story and the artists drew their parts of the story. When Jerry Ordway inked George Perez's pencils for the cover he was the first inker to do so in four years.
Ordway would mover over to Superman as writer/penciller, George would plot and ink The Adventures Of Superman and also layout the art for Action Comics for co-artist Brett Breeding. However Geroge Perez's run on the Superman titles would be even shorter that John Byrne's, lasting only from Action Comics #643, July 1989 through issue #652, April 1990, a nine month span. He would return as a contributor for the special Superman: The Wedding Album, December 1996.
Next Episode: The fifth and final episode on the Superman In Exile storyline, exploring Superman #32, The Adventures Of Superman #455, Superman #33, The Adventures Of Superman #56, and Action Comics #643.
Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comcs Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com./
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com .
My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/ . Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com .
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics.
Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
#66: Superman In The Pocket Universe!
#69: Superman Goes Gangbusters!
Superman Fan Podcast Special Blog: Superman In Exile Checklist!, posted on April 25, 2009, lists all of the issues discussed in this series of podcasts so you can read them for yourself!
#71: Superman In Exile, Part I, Free Comic Book Day & The State Of Superman Comics!
#72: Superman In Exile, Part II & Free Comic Book Day!
#90: Superman In Exile, Part III!
Action Comics Annual #2, 1989, was published on April 11, 1989. It contained 64 pages for the cover price of $1.75, which is a big jump from Action Comics #1 in 1938 for 10 cents. Mike Carlin was the editor at this time, and the cover was pencilled by George Perez and inked by Jerry Ordway. The title of the story was Memories Of Krypton's Past. Since it was a 64 page issue several creative teams worked on several separate plot threads. Writer and penciller Jerry Ordway and inker John Statema did the Warworld/Arena story, writer Roger Stern, penciller Curt Swan and inker Brett Breeding did the Superman/Attendant Lentra story and the Jor-El flashbacks, and writer and inker George Perez and penciller Mike Mignola did the Cleric story. This issue continued the events that occurred in The Adventures Of Superman #454, May 1989, published on March 28, 1989. Action Comics Annual #2 was the first issue of Action to be released after the final Action Comics Weekly issue, #642 (discussed in episode #92), which was published several months earlier on January 24, 1989.
The spaceship that had captured Superman landed on the barren prison planet near the artificial Warworld, which was somewhat like Star Wars' Death Star. After a brief skirmish with a guard, Superman was brought to Warworld's ruler Mongul, who knocks the Man of Steel unconscious with an energy beam from a weapon on his chestplate. Superman was then taken to processing to be prepped as a gladiator for Warworld's gladiatorial contests. When he was identified as a Kryptonian, previously thought to be extinct, a slug-like Cellkeeper called for the four-armed Attendant Lentra to care for Superman until his first battle. The Cellkeeper snuck away from his duties to fly a small space shuttle to a barren asteroid, to deliver the news of this new Kryptonian to a secluded being known only as the Cleric.
Lentra helped Superman dress for the gladiator games, removing the remnants of his Superman uniform for skimpier gladiator garb. Superman wore his tattered cape as a sash, which managed to strategically cover his crotch and rear. Superman then defeats his first opponent, an alien with rock-like skin, but then saved him from death by keeping him from falling into an acid-like pool of liquid. He refused the calls to kill his defeated opponent and was transported back to his cell, to wait for his next opponent. Superman then briefly told Lentra about his origin.
The Cleric reminisced to the Cellkeeper about his own journey to Krypton, many eons ago in Krypton's past. He was a missionary of an intergalactic religion simply called the Holy Commune. He preached against the planet's tradition of cloning as a means of preserving life (as detailed in the World Of Krypton mini-series published in 1987). While he attracted the ire of the Science Council establishment, he also attracts many disciples, among them Syra and her friend Sen-M.
Superman's thoughts conveniently follow similar lines as he told Lentra about Sen-M's League Of Life, who chose natural deaths over prolonging their lives by using replacement organs from clones grown from their own cells. They considered cloning a type of slavery. Superman also told her about the terrorist group Black Zero, who twisted Sen-M's teachings to justify their attacks, and destroyed the capital of Kandor with an atomic weapon and lead to a long civil war.
He then faced his next opponent, a pig-like being with a snout similar to an elephant. Using his microscopic vision, Superman discovered that his opponent was composed of may tinier beings. He kept hitting it until they could no longer hold together. Again Superman refused to kill his opponent and was teleported back to his cell.
The Cleric told the Cellkeeper about the temple he had built for his followers. Syra entered to warn the Cleric that the Science Council had constructed a weapon called the Eradicator (which would figure prominently in future stories, but that's the subject of a future episode). She volunteered to lead a preemptive assault on the Science Council, but the Cleric's words on nonviolence failed for the first time.
Superman's thoughts were along similar lines, on his father Jor-El, who noted that the hyper-drive and Kal-El's birthing matrix resembled a "legendary machine" constructed in Krypton's fifth epoch. Lentra informed Superman that his next opponent would be Mongul's champion Draaga.
The battle was a bad time for Superman's thoughts to become jumbled as his mind is linked with the Cleric's. The Cleric learned about the genetic material taken from Jor-El and Lara and injected in the birthing matrix. Superman learned about the attack on the Science Council by some of the Cleric's more extreme followers. The Cleric tried to defuse the situation by offering to take his followers off planet. His offer was answered by an energy blast from the eradicator, activated by one of the Science Council soldiers, but it did not kill him. He was only rendered unconscious. The battle commenced and the Eradicator's operator mishandled it, causing it to fire an uncontrolled burst.
Superman cleared his thoughts enough to rally against Draaga, to Mongul's admiration. Superman's thoughts returned to the Cleric's reminisce to the Day Of Intolerance, as the battle was referred to in the annals of Kryptonian history. Sen-M, not part of the attack, flew in a Kryptonian vehicle to the scene of the battle looking for survivors, only to find many dead and wounded bodies, among them the lifeless Syra. The Cleric recovered and took possession of the Eradicator, not trusting to leave it in the hands of Kryptonians. He took his followers off planet in his space ship, except for a small group of followers who would serve as apostles of the Holy Commune on Krypton, led by Sen-M.
Superman continued to battle Draaga while these thoughts bounced around his mind. His father Jor-El, Marlon Brando style, informed his son about the Clone Civil War, inspired by Sen-M's writings in spite of his non-violent beliefs. Jor-El spoke of a legend that Sen-M himself was a follower of an alien holy man who was lost to history.
The Cleric furnished the final details of his Krypton mission. Too late he discovered the fatal link that his followers had to their home planet, as they all died once the space ship left the atmosphere. The Cleric examined their bodies to discover the reason they died. In Superman's mind, Jor-El explained that Kryptonians had a genetic flaw that would cause them to die if they left the planet. He took some treatments so that his son would be free from this flaw, his last gift to his son before Krypton's doom.
The Cleric could not return to the Holy Commune after such a disgrace to the faith. He banished himself to this same asteroid, kept company only by the Eradicator. He realized his destiny was to reunite the last Kryptonian with this relic of the long lost history of the planet.
Superman's thoughts cleared enough so that he could rally one final time to defeat Draaga at last. When Superman defied Mongul's order to kill Draaga and take his place as champion, Mongul decided to go to the arena and kill both of them himself. That story would be continued in Superman #32, which would be published the following week. The conclusion of the Superman In Exile storyline will be detailed in next week's episode.
In the back of Action Comics Annual #2 were Who's Who entries for the Matrix Supergirl and Cat Grant, and George Perez's recreation of the cover of Superman#1 from 1939, which would serve as the cover for Action Comics #643 as it returned to monthly publication.
The final feature was a two page article written by George Perez, titled How I Spent My Super-Summer Vacation, which included some character development sketches by Jerry Ordway and Mike Mignola of the gladiator Superman, Cleric, Cellkeeper and Lentra.
George's reminisces began at the Superman Expo, in Cleveland, Ohio, which took place on June 16, 1988 to celebrate Superman's 50th birthday. He had agreed to Superman editor Mike Carlin's offer to write a new Superman title. The offer appealed to George because of his interest in writing comics, which he had done for a year at that point. George met his idol, artist Curt Swan (lucky guy), as well as the current Superman creative team. They gave George an overview of the current storyline as they began a discussion about where a good jumping on point for George would be, and how his book would have its unique vision different from Jerry Ordway's or Roger Stern's.
Perez recalled the introduction to the 1950's Superman TV show:
- strange visitor from another world who came to Earth.
- mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper.
- Truth, Justice and the American Way!
He felt Roger Stern's title explored the idea of "Truth, Justice and the American Way". Jerry Ordway put an emphasis on the "mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper" with his emphasis on Clark Kent. George decided that he would focus on the "strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth", and Superman's Kryptonian heritage. Superman reminded him of Bob Hope. What could they have in common? Both are American icons, but Superman came from Krypton and Bob Hope was born in London.
George explained this to the rest of the creative team and they bought into the idea and began brainstorming., which led to the basic premise of this annual. After another meeting a few months later George developed the basic plot, a talent he developed while working with writer Marv Wolfman on the classic DC title The New Teen Titans. Fellow writers Roger Stern and Jerry Ordway fleshed out their parts of the story and the artists drew their parts of the story. When Jerry Ordway inked George Perez's pencils for the cover he was the first inker to do so in four years.
Ordway would mover over to Superman as writer/penciller, George would plot and ink The Adventures Of Superman and also layout the art for Action Comics for co-artist Brett Breeding. However Geroge Perez's run on the Superman titles would be even shorter that John Byrne's, lasting only from Action Comics #643, July 1989 through issue #652, April 1990, a nine month span. He would return as a contributor for the special Superman: The Wedding Album, December 1996.
Next Episode: The fifth and final episode on the Superman In Exile storyline, exploring Superman #32, The Adventures Of Superman #455, Superman #33, The Adventures Of Superman #56, and Action Comics #643.
Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comcs Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com./
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com .
My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/ . Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com .
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics.
Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
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