2010 was a mixed bag for me as a Superman fan, moreso than than in a long time.
This year the long New Krypton storyline ended with War Of The Supermen, which I reviewed in episode #128. Superman: Secret Origin also concluded. New storylines began that will stretch well into the next year, Grounded in Superman, and Lex Luthor has take over Action Comics, like he takes over everything else, in a sequel to Blackest Night. Luthor is on a quest to recapture the Black Energy.
A new Legion title began, and the same group of 31st Century heroes also took over Adventure Comics, both being written by Paul Levitz.
Another old comic book writer returned to DC, Cary Bates, with the Elseworld's title Superman: Last Family Of Krypton, which I reviewed in episode #148.
The basic premise of Grounded has not jelled with me. I found it to be out of place with Superman at this stage of his career. As others have said before me, if Superman couldn't save Pa Kent, why would this woman's claim that the Man of Steel could have saved her husband from a tumor have made him question himself. While a few individual issues have been pretty good, like the one of the aliens in outer space in Detroit, and the recent one on child abuse, Superman has seemed aloof, unlike he was even at the end of War Of The Supermen. And for the events of New Krypton to not even be mentioned until Dick Grayson Batman questioned Superman about his motives a few issues into the plot, is not good storytelling. It's as if the previous stroyline has been forgotten as the creative team moves on to the next story.
It hasn't helped with J. Michael Strazynski's announcement that he was leaving Superman and Wonder Woman, to concentrate on the sequel to Superman: Earth One graphic novel, is a bad publicity move. Noone looks good here. I wish DC would stop looking for the biggest names and look for the best names to write good Superman stories.
I'm not going to drop the Superman books, just yet. I've read great to bad Superman stories over a lot of years, so I have faith that the Man of Steel will rebound. But if the new storyline next year with the return of Doomsday doesn't appeal to me, I will consider dropping the Superman titles until a storyline comes along that interests me. Not too long ago that would ahve been unthinkable. I hope DC comes up with a good story, and doesn't just think, "Okay, what have we not done to Superman, yet. I know, we'll have Doosday rip his arm off!" I hope it doesn't come down to a stunt like that. I just hope Superman can walk a lot faster and get this story over with.
One character I hope returns is Clar Kent. I miss Clark Kent. When the regular identity is ignored for the flashy guy in the capes and tights, it makes the character too one dimensional and boring. I like the twists and turns of Superman's life as both superhoer and newspaper reporter and husband. Here's to more of that on 2011.
For my best Superman story of the year: it's Superman: Last Family Of Krypton! Cary Bates has lost none of his talent as a storyteller, and he found a great way to challenge the Man of Steel and his family, and develop the supporting cast in new and interesting ways.
It's just too bad that it couldn't have been one of the regular Superman books.
In 2011, the Superman Fan Podcast will shift the main focus of the episodes. With quite a number of Superman podcasts popping up, covering various eras, I'm going to shift the main focus of this podcast to the silver age, which happens to be the era I began reading comic books, in the mid-1960's. And that will begin with the very first episode of 2011!
Next Episode: The Search For The Silver Age Superman!
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
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/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.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.
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.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Episode #158: Metropolis Mailbag: Superman #64!
This story is the third of our Superman Christmas stories, and my favorite of the three that have been featured on this podcast.
For a great golden age Superman Christmas story, go to Bill Jourdain's Golden Age Of Comic Books podcast, episode #48 for December 17, 2006.
Metropolis Mailbag, which was also the name of the long running letter column in Superman, appeared in Superman #64, February 1992, triangle # 1992: 6, published on December 17, 1991, the very day my daughter was born. It contained 32 pages for the cover price of $1.00. The cover was pencilled by Dan Jurgens and inked by Brett Breeding. The story was written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by Jackson (now Butch) Guice, lettered by John Costanza and colored by Glenn Whitmore. Mike Carlin was the editor, and Dan Thorsland wsa the assistant editor.
A very gloomy Superman met Lois Lane at the central Metropolis post office. She soon learned the reason for his very Scrooge like mood, when she saw the amount of mail Sueprman had to go through. This year, there were more letters than ever before. Lois realized why he dreaded it so much.
Most letters wanted help, and not just for the needy. One letter writer asked the Man of Steel to squeeze a lump of coal into a diamond, a tip of the hat to the classic silver age Superman. Another letter asked his help to find a heart transplant donor.
One letter caught his attention. It was from an elderly concentration camp survivor, now living in the USA, who discovered that one of her sisters also survived the camps, and now lived in Germany. The Man of Steel made arrangements with the American Embassy at super speed and flew the woman to Germany. He didn't have time to enjoy the happy reunion, but quickly flew back to Metropolis.
Lois had been busy, sorting letters for the appropriate relief agencies which could help them better than the Man of Steel.
Superman found a cute drawing of himself drawn by a young boy, but was caught off guard by the accompanying letter. The boy's father was dying from an inoperable brain tumor, and the son asked Superman to save his Dad. Once again Superman left Metropolis, this time to fly to Salt Lake City and tell a desparate son that there are limits to even the Man ofSteel's abilities.
Superman made it to the hospital and introduced himself to the boy's mother, ten minutes after her husband died. After comforting an angry young boy, a medical professional asked the widow if she had considered organ donation. Superman mentioned the heart patient in Kansas City, and left the widow to make a very painful decision.
In a Kansas City hospital, a woman was rushed to surgery, because a donor had been found. Against all odds, the dead husbands's heart was a perfect match, and it arrived via Superman Airways. The Man of Steel deflected the woman's thanks, and told her to thank a grieving mother and son in Salt Lake City.
Finally, in Metropolis, Superman and Lois sorted the final letters over some Bib Belly Burgers (Metropolis' equivalent of a fast food hamburger restaurant).
Back at his apartment as Clark Kent, he went through his mail and found a wedding invitation. Who was it from? You'll have to stay tuned next year for a future episode of the From Crisis To Crisis podcast. This is the era of Superman comics they are covering, and I've got to leave something in this issue for them to talk about.
This story did not have a single fault to me, and I thought the coincidence of the donor match, while long, was not contrived.and fit into the story. It also did a better job of illustrating the limits to Superman's powers that the current Grounded story did.
Next Episode: Superman In 2010: The Year In Review!
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
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/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.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.
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.
For a great golden age Superman Christmas story, go to Bill Jourdain's Golden Age Of Comic Books podcast, episode #48 for December 17, 2006.
Metropolis Mailbag, which was also the name of the long running letter column in Superman, appeared in Superman #64, February 1992, triangle # 1992: 6, published on December 17, 1991, the very day my daughter was born. It contained 32 pages for the cover price of $1.00. The cover was pencilled by Dan Jurgens and inked by Brett Breeding. The story was written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by Jackson (now Butch) Guice, lettered by John Costanza and colored by Glenn Whitmore. Mike Carlin was the editor, and Dan Thorsland wsa the assistant editor.
A very gloomy Superman met Lois Lane at the central Metropolis post office. She soon learned the reason for his very Scrooge like mood, when she saw the amount of mail Sueprman had to go through. This year, there were more letters than ever before. Lois realized why he dreaded it so much.
Most letters wanted help, and not just for the needy. One letter writer asked the Man of Steel to squeeze a lump of coal into a diamond, a tip of the hat to the classic silver age Superman. Another letter asked his help to find a heart transplant donor.
One letter caught his attention. It was from an elderly concentration camp survivor, now living in the USA, who discovered that one of her sisters also survived the camps, and now lived in Germany. The Man of Steel made arrangements with the American Embassy at super speed and flew the woman to Germany. He didn't have time to enjoy the happy reunion, but quickly flew back to Metropolis.
Lois had been busy, sorting letters for the appropriate relief agencies which could help them better than the Man of Steel.
Superman found a cute drawing of himself drawn by a young boy, but was caught off guard by the accompanying letter. The boy's father was dying from an inoperable brain tumor, and the son asked Superman to save his Dad. Once again Superman left Metropolis, this time to fly to Salt Lake City and tell a desparate son that there are limits to even the Man ofSteel's abilities.
Superman made it to the hospital and introduced himself to the boy's mother, ten minutes after her husband died. After comforting an angry young boy, a medical professional asked the widow if she had considered organ donation. Superman mentioned the heart patient in Kansas City, and left the widow to make a very painful decision.
In a Kansas City hospital, a woman was rushed to surgery, because a donor had been found. Against all odds, the dead husbands's heart was a perfect match, and it arrived via Superman Airways. The Man of Steel deflected the woman's thanks, and told her to thank a grieving mother and son in Salt Lake City.
Finally, in Metropolis, Superman and Lois sorted the final letters over some Bib Belly Burgers (Metropolis' equivalent of a fast food hamburger restaurant).
Back at his apartment as Clark Kent, he went through his mail and found a wedding invitation. Who was it from? You'll have to stay tuned next year for a future episode of the From Crisis To Crisis podcast. This is the era of Superman comics they are covering, and I've got to leave something in this issue for them to talk about.
This story did not have a single fault to me, and I thought the coincidence of the donor match, while long, was not contrived.and fit into the story. It also did a better job of illustrating the limits to Superman's powers that the current Grounded story did.
Next Episode: Superman In 2010: The Year In Review!
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
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/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.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.
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.
Episode #157: Happy Birthday, Al Plastino!
Albert John Plastino was born on December 15, 1921 in New York City. He now resides in Long Island, New York. Al had a number of relatives in his Italian family who lived long lives. A grandfather lived to the age of 98, and two aunts lived into their 90's. He is best known as an artist for the Superman family of titles for about 30 years. He co-created, with writer Otto Binder (and maybe editor Mort Weisinger) the Legion of Super-Heroes (subject of episode #115), and Supergirl (subject of episode #38).
Al had a love for art even from childhood. An older brother was an artist who encouraged his little brother's talent. His father would drop Al at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on a Saturday. Al would copy from the classical Masters, such as Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Monet, Raphael and others. This is how he learned how to draw in a variety of styles, which would be a handy talent in his comic book career. In third grade he had some drawings published in the yearbook, and by 6th grade he was painting backdrops for school plays. Al graduated from the High School of Industrial Arts in Nwe York City.
His first job was for the magazine Youth Today, where he was hired after winning the cover contest twice. Al's first comic book work was for the Henry Chessler shop. He then did freelance art work until WWII. He would be drafted, and his art talent would eventually get him assigned to the Pentagon to create posters for the war effort. Later he would be sent to New York City and the Steinberg Studio, to draw art for Army manuals.
It was while here that he heard about DC Comics' search for artists. Al sent a sample to Mort Weisinger, and thus began a long association with the Superman family of characters. He even negotiated a page rate of $50.00 per page, when the going rate for a beginner was $30.00. Al was never afraid to stand up to his editors when he thought he was right. He was able to work with Mort Weisinger because he never tolerated the editor's abuse. The only editor he couldn't work with was Murray Boltinoff. One editr Al thought was a nice guy was Jack Schiff.
Al was also the artist on the Batman comic strip, written by editor Jach Ellsworth for 8 years. Througout his comic book career he always had two accounts. One was the comic strip and the other was Superman. He averaged two pages a day, and completed a story in two weeks, doing both pencils and inks. Al also drew covers, done after the story, illustrating a story point on the first page, or splash page.
One story he drew the art for almost wasn't published. He drew a story about President Kennedy asking Superman to lead a Youth Fitness campaign. During production, the President was assassinated, andthe story was pulled from production. It was finally released at the request of President Johnson (episode #49). One character Al hated to draw was Krypton. Drawing a regular dog was hard enough, but a flying dog with a cape was tougher. During Jack Kirby's time with DC, Al was asked to redraw Superman's face bythe DC editors. He would paste them onto the original art boards, and it was exacting work.
Al Plastino was the artist on a number of other comic strips. One was Hap Harper for United Features Syndicate. Another was Ferd'nand, a pantomime strip which ran in 400 newspapers worldwide. Al also inked the Nancy & Sluggo strip for creator Ernie Bushmiller. Ernie's lines were so tight that Al had to ink it with a fountain pen. During the 1980's Al ghosted six months of Peanuts strips for Charles Schultz when he underwent heart surgery. While Al wsa paid, the strips were never published and were possibly destroyed.
Al Plastino retired from commercial art in 1981. Afterward, he has enjoyed life with his wife, four children and six grandchildren in Long Island. He met his wife when she caught his attention as a possible model for Love Stories. Since he was 17 years older than she was, Al met her mother to prove he was legitimate and trustworthy with her daughter. They hit it off and he told his future mother in law to call him Al.
He also loves to golf and fish. Among his old golfing partners was entertainer Jackie Gleason and comic strip artist Milton Caniff, creator of the strips Terry And The Pirates and Steve Canyon. Al still pursues his love of art, now painting oils and watercolors. His favorite subject is landscapes of areas around Long Island.
Al's first published Superman story was Superman, Stunt Man, from Action Comics #120, May 1948. The story was written by Alvin Schwartz. A movie director wanted to hire Superman to do some outlandish stunts for his next film. He went to a public appearance of the Man of Steel. When Superman signed everyone's autograph book, he was too fast for his own good, and signed the director's contract. Being the man he was Superman agreed to honor the contract. He performed all of the stunts, but in ways that somehow were never able to be filmed. Superman reminded the director that he had honored the terms of the contract, and to send his payment to the Daily Planet Aid Fund.
The next Al Plastino story featured on this episode was The Power Of The Parasite, in Action Comics
361, March 1968. It was written by a young Jim Shooter. An inter[lanetary mapmaker dissipated some Earth cloud cover with a special power beam, but became interested in a strange, glowing purple cloud. He brought it aboard, but it turned out to be the Parasite, whose body had disintegrated when he absorbed too much energy from his most recent battle with Superman. Reformed, the Parasite sucked some of the life force out of the alien, but got too greedy and killed him. Parasite got a job at the Daily Planet after putting on a disguise. He cleverly sucked a little of Superman's power away from him on several occasions, before revealing himself in order to finish off the Man of Steel. Superman got some help from another ship of intergalactic mapmakers, who took Parasite away to pay for the murder of their comrade.
Here's a toast to Al Plastino on his birthday. Happy Holidays, continued health and long life to you, Al!
Next Episode: Metropolis Mailbag, Superman #64! Our thrid annual Superman Christmas story.
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
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/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.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.
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.
Al had a love for art even from childhood. An older brother was an artist who encouraged his little brother's talent. His father would drop Al at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on a Saturday. Al would copy from the classical Masters, such as Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Monet, Raphael and others. This is how he learned how to draw in a variety of styles, which would be a handy talent in his comic book career. In third grade he had some drawings published in the yearbook, and by 6th grade he was painting backdrops for school plays. Al graduated from the High School of Industrial Arts in Nwe York City.
His first job was for the magazine Youth Today, where he was hired after winning the cover contest twice. Al's first comic book work was for the Henry Chessler shop. He then did freelance art work until WWII. He would be drafted, and his art talent would eventually get him assigned to the Pentagon to create posters for the war effort. Later he would be sent to New York City and the Steinberg Studio, to draw art for Army manuals.
It was while here that he heard about DC Comics' search for artists. Al sent a sample to Mort Weisinger, and thus began a long association with the Superman family of characters. He even negotiated a page rate of $50.00 per page, when the going rate for a beginner was $30.00. Al was never afraid to stand up to his editors when he thought he was right. He was able to work with Mort Weisinger because he never tolerated the editor's abuse. The only editor he couldn't work with was Murray Boltinoff. One editr Al thought was a nice guy was Jack Schiff.
Al was also the artist on the Batman comic strip, written by editor Jach Ellsworth for 8 years. Througout his comic book career he always had two accounts. One was the comic strip and the other was Superman. He averaged two pages a day, and completed a story in two weeks, doing both pencils and inks. Al also drew covers, done after the story, illustrating a story point on the first page, or splash page.
One story he drew the art for almost wasn't published. He drew a story about President Kennedy asking Superman to lead a Youth Fitness campaign. During production, the President was assassinated, andthe story was pulled from production. It was finally released at the request of President Johnson (episode #49). One character Al hated to draw was Krypton. Drawing a regular dog was hard enough, but a flying dog with a cape was tougher. During Jack Kirby's time with DC, Al was asked to redraw Superman's face bythe DC editors. He would paste them onto the original art boards, and it was exacting work.
Al Plastino was the artist on a number of other comic strips. One was Hap Harper for United Features Syndicate. Another was Ferd'nand, a pantomime strip which ran in 400 newspapers worldwide. Al also inked the Nancy & Sluggo strip for creator Ernie Bushmiller. Ernie's lines were so tight that Al had to ink it with a fountain pen. During the 1980's Al ghosted six months of Peanuts strips for Charles Schultz when he underwent heart surgery. While Al wsa paid, the strips were never published and were possibly destroyed.
Al Plastino retired from commercial art in 1981. Afterward, he has enjoyed life with his wife, four children and six grandchildren in Long Island. He met his wife when she caught his attention as a possible model for Love Stories. Since he was 17 years older than she was, Al met her mother to prove he was legitimate and trustworthy with her daughter. They hit it off and he told his future mother in law to call him Al.
He also loves to golf and fish. Among his old golfing partners was entertainer Jackie Gleason and comic strip artist Milton Caniff, creator of the strips Terry And The Pirates and Steve Canyon. Al still pursues his love of art, now painting oils and watercolors. His favorite subject is landscapes of areas around Long Island.
Al's first published Superman story was Superman, Stunt Man, from Action Comics #120, May 1948. The story was written by Alvin Schwartz. A movie director wanted to hire Superman to do some outlandish stunts for his next film. He went to a public appearance of the Man of Steel. When Superman signed everyone's autograph book, he was too fast for his own good, and signed the director's contract. Being the man he was Superman agreed to honor the contract. He performed all of the stunts, but in ways that somehow were never able to be filmed. Superman reminded the director that he had honored the terms of the contract, and to send his payment to the Daily Planet Aid Fund.
The next Al Plastino story featured on this episode was The Power Of The Parasite, in Action Comics
361, March 1968. It was written by a young Jim Shooter. An inter[lanetary mapmaker dissipated some Earth cloud cover with a special power beam, but became interested in a strange, glowing purple cloud. He brought it aboard, but it turned out to be the Parasite, whose body had disintegrated when he absorbed too much energy from his most recent battle with Superman. Reformed, the Parasite sucked some of the life force out of the alien, but got too greedy and killed him. Parasite got a job at the Daily Planet after putting on a disguise. He cleverly sucked a little of Superman's power away from him on several occasions, before revealing himself in order to finish off the Man of Steel. Superman got some help from another ship of intergalactic mapmakers, who took Parasite away to pay for the murder of their comrade.
Here's a toast to Al Plastino on his birthday. Happy Holidays, continued health and long life to you, Al!
Next Episode: Metropolis Mailbag, Superman #64! Our thrid annual Superman Christmas story.
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
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/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.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.
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.
Episode #156: The Supermobile!
The Supermobile only appeared in two issues, Action Comics #'s 481 & 482, March and April 1978. They were the middle issues of a four issue storyline, written by Cary Bates, and illustrated by penciller Curt Swan and inker Frank Charamonte. The story involved Superman's battle against the villain Amazo.
Amazo first appeared in The Brave And The Bold #30, June 1960. He was an android created by Professor Ivo in a quest for immortality. Amazo was a formidable foe of the Justice League, because he had the ability to absorb all of the powers and abilities of the League.
This particualr story began in Action Comics #480, February 1980. Amazo's Big Break Through told the story of how Amazo was somehow awakened from his electronic slumber in his display case on the Justice League satellite. Superman was on monitor duty, and Amazo knocked the Man of Steel all the way into the ocean.
Superman recovered in time to make it to his Fortress of Solitude and discover that Amazo was activated by a wave of red solar radiation that was sweeping Earth. That same radiation would deplete Superman's powers, because he was born on a planet that orbited a giant red star. The Man of Steel figured he had twelve hours before his superpowers would disappear, while the red solar radiation swept past Earth. He returned to Metropolis and went to work as Clark Kent.
On his way out of town to cover a story, he was met by Professor Ivo, who had now reformed and was being pursued by his creation. Amazo attacked the cab they were in. The issue ended as Superman's powers gone and Amazo about to crush both of tme with one blow.
The story continued in Action Comics #481, March 1978. Superan teleported both himself and Prof. Ivo to the Fortress of Solitude with a mini-activator hidden in his mouth. It was part of the back up plan Superman had devised off panel in the previous issue during his earlier time at the Fortress. Amazo blamed his creator for the interruption of his electronic slumber and meant to kill him. Amzao pursued them to the Fortress, but Superman was ready for him. He burst out of a secret chamber and ran over Amazo with the Supermobile. After a short battle in the Arctic, Amazo flew away, and Superman flew the Supermobile to Metropolis.
Issue #482, April 1978, was the only one in this story I read when it was first published. Through a WGBS news report, Cary Bates gave a very clever recap of the prvious two issues. Superman displayed the capabilities of the Supermobile, which duplicated all of his superpowers. His invulnerability was duplicated in the Supermobile by Supermanium, the hardest substance known to the DC Universe. Superman rescued Lois Lane from Amazo and carried her in the Supermobile's back seat. Amazo punted the Supermobile into space, and Superman had to use his body as a brake to slow it form the g-forces that were crushing Lois.
They landed on an asteroid that had just enough atmosphere for Lois to breathe. Superman faced Amazo, and revealed that Prof. Ivo had been under the Man of Steel's protection the whole time, shrunken and hiding in the secret pouch of Superman's cape. Amazo's power ring restored the Professor to normal size as Superman gazed at the stars. He realized something, and then flew into the air and drove Amazo underground with one punch. Then he returned Lois and Prof. Ivo to Earth in the Supermobile. The Man ofSteel realized, by the positions of the stars, that Amazo had knoecked them a few days ahead through the time stream, so the red solar radiation had passed. The issue ended with Amazo bursting out of his tomb on the asteroid.
The final issue of the story, Action Comics #483, May 1978, Sleeps No More, was the least satisfying chapter of the whole plot. It told the lame tale of an unexpected side effect of the red solar radiation. It caused all of the plant life on Earth to secrete a gas that kept Earth's population from being able to sleep. When Superman returned to Earth, he had to face Amazo one last time. With help of the Justice League, they were able to knock out Amazo, and place him in Earth orbit to somehow collect that gas that had plagued humanity. A weak ending of what was a great story.
Next Episode: Happy Birthday, Al Plastino!
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
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/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.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.
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.
Amazo first appeared in The Brave And The Bold #30, June 1960. He was an android created by Professor Ivo in a quest for immortality. Amazo was a formidable foe of the Justice League, because he had the ability to absorb all of the powers and abilities of the League.
This particualr story began in Action Comics #480, February 1980. Amazo's Big Break Through told the story of how Amazo was somehow awakened from his electronic slumber in his display case on the Justice League satellite. Superman was on monitor duty, and Amazo knocked the Man of Steel all the way into the ocean.
Superman recovered in time to make it to his Fortress of Solitude and discover that Amazo was activated by a wave of red solar radiation that was sweeping Earth. That same radiation would deplete Superman's powers, because he was born on a planet that orbited a giant red star. The Man of Steel figured he had twelve hours before his superpowers would disappear, while the red solar radiation swept past Earth. He returned to Metropolis and went to work as Clark Kent.
On his way out of town to cover a story, he was met by Professor Ivo, who had now reformed and was being pursued by his creation. Amazo attacked the cab they were in. The issue ended as Superman's powers gone and Amazo about to crush both of tme with one blow.
The story continued in Action Comics #481, March 1978. Superan teleported both himself and Prof. Ivo to the Fortress of Solitude with a mini-activator hidden in his mouth. It was part of the back up plan Superman had devised off panel in the previous issue during his earlier time at the Fortress. Amazo blamed his creator for the interruption of his electronic slumber and meant to kill him. Amzao pursued them to the Fortress, but Superman was ready for him. He burst out of a secret chamber and ran over Amazo with the Supermobile. After a short battle in the Arctic, Amazo flew away, and Superman flew the Supermobile to Metropolis.
Issue #482, April 1978, was the only one in this story I read when it was first published. Through a WGBS news report, Cary Bates gave a very clever recap of the prvious two issues. Superman displayed the capabilities of the Supermobile, which duplicated all of his superpowers. His invulnerability was duplicated in the Supermobile by Supermanium, the hardest substance known to the DC Universe. Superman rescued Lois Lane from Amazo and carried her in the Supermobile's back seat. Amazo punted the Supermobile into space, and Superman had to use his body as a brake to slow it form the g-forces that were crushing Lois.
They landed on an asteroid that had just enough atmosphere for Lois to breathe. Superman faced Amazo, and revealed that Prof. Ivo had been under the Man of Steel's protection the whole time, shrunken and hiding in the secret pouch of Superman's cape. Amazo's power ring restored the Professor to normal size as Superman gazed at the stars. He realized something, and then flew into the air and drove Amazo underground with one punch. Then he returned Lois and Prof. Ivo to Earth in the Supermobile. The Man ofSteel realized, by the positions of the stars, that Amazo had knoecked them a few days ahead through the time stream, so the red solar radiation had passed. The issue ended with Amazo bursting out of his tomb on the asteroid.
The final issue of the story, Action Comics #483, May 1978, Sleeps No More, was the least satisfying chapter of the whole plot. It told the lame tale of an unexpected side effect of the red solar radiation. It caused all of the plant life on Earth to secrete a gas that kept Earth's population from being able to sleep. When Superman returned to Earth, he had to face Amazo one last time. With help of the Justice League, they were able to knock out Amazo, and place him in Earth orbit to somehow collect that gas that had plagued humanity. A weak ending of what was a great story.
Next Episode: Happy Birthday, Al Plastino!
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
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/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.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.
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.
Episode #155: Stuart Immonen!
Stuart Imonen is a Canadian comic book artist and writer. His wife Kathryn also works as a comic book writer. I featured his Superman mini-series Superman: Secret Identity, which was written by Kurt Busiek, back in episode #99. Immonen studied art at York University in Toronto. His first comic book work was the self published series Playground. He began working for DC Comics and Marvel in 1993.
My first exposure to Stuart's art was in Legion Of Super-Heroes (vol. IV, known as the 5 Years Later Legion) #39, January 1993, published on November 17, 1992. I later followed his work on Action Comics, Superman and The Adventures Of Superman.
For Marvel, Stuart worked such titles as Hulk, X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ultimate X-Men and Nextwave.
Immonen also has worked for Image and Top Cow.
In 2005 he wrote the book, 50 Reasons To Stop Sketching At Conventions, which detailed the reasons why he no longer draws sketches for fans at conventions. Stuart became the second artist on Ultimate Spider-Man, after original artist Mark Bagley ended a run of drawing the first 111 issues of the title. Stuart worked through issue #133. As of this episode he is the artist on New Avengers.
Stuart has drawn two web comics, Never As Bad As You Think, and Moving Pictures, which used the story of the theft of Eurpoe's art treasures by the Nazi;s during WWII as a backdrop for the plot. This latter web comic was collected into a paperback edition by Top Shelf Productions in the summer of 2010.
The first Sturart Immonen Superman story featured in this episode is Bizarro's World parts I & V, Superman #87, March 1994 and #88, April 1994. Both issues were written by Dan Jurgens. Immonen was listed as guest penciller. Josef Rubinstein was the inker, John Costanza the letter and Glenn Whitmore was the colorist. This story introduced the second Bizarro Superman, who was created by Lex Luthor as a test subject to find a cure for the clone disease that was felling clones, including Lex Luthor, Jr. By part 5, Superman and Lois rescued Bizarro, but not in tome to spare his life.
The next story came from Action Comics #758, October 1999. The untitled story was co-plotted by penciller Immonen and writer Mark Millar, inked by Jose Marzan, Jr., lettered by Bill Oakley and lettered by Glen Whitmore. Superman fought what I call a lobster clawed robot, operated by Intergang. The robot's inventor, an Intergang operative, used the situation to double cross Boss Moxie, Intergang's leader, to become its new master.
The final Stewart Immonen story of this episode is Final Night, a mini-series that was published weekly, with the cover date of November 1996. It brought back a classic Legion nemesis, the Sun Eater, from Adventure Comics #352, January 1967. In Final Night, the Sun Eater attacked Earth's Sun and was consuming it. Earth's heroes, and some of it villains like Lex Luthor, banded together to defeat the threat. In spite of his weakening powers, Superman volunteered for the suicide mission of deploying their weapon to kill the Sun Eater and restart the Sun. His place on the spaceship was taken by Ferro Lad, a member of the Legion team sent into their past to help in the crisis. Hal Jordan, now the villain Parallax, sacrificed himself to destroy the Sun Eater and restore the Sun.
Next Issue: The Supermobile!
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
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/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.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.
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.
My first exposure to Stuart's art was in Legion Of Super-Heroes (vol. IV, known as the 5 Years Later Legion) #39, January 1993, published on November 17, 1992. I later followed his work on Action Comics, Superman and The Adventures Of Superman.
For Marvel, Stuart worked such titles as Hulk, X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ultimate X-Men and Nextwave.
Immonen also has worked for Image and Top Cow.
In 2005 he wrote the book, 50 Reasons To Stop Sketching At Conventions, which detailed the reasons why he no longer draws sketches for fans at conventions. Stuart became the second artist on Ultimate Spider-Man, after original artist Mark Bagley ended a run of drawing the first 111 issues of the title. Stuart worked through issue #133. As of this episode he is the artist on New Avengers.
Stuart has drawn two web comics, Never As Bad As You Think, and Moving Pictures, which used the story of the theft of Eurpoe's art treasures by the Nazi;s during WWII as a backdrop for the plot. This latter web comic was collected into a paperback edition by Top Shelf Productions in the summer of 2010.
The first Sturart Immonen Superman story featured in this episode is Bizarro's World parts I & V, Superman #87, March 1994 and #88, April 1994. Both issues were written by Dan Jurgens. Immonen was listed as guest penciller. Josef Rubinstein was the inker, John Costanza the letter and Glenn Whitmore was the colorist. This story introduced the second Bizarro Superman, who was created by Lex Luthor as a test subject to find a cure for the clone disease that was felling clones, including Lex Luthor, Jr. By part 5, Superman and Lois rescued Bizarro, but not in tome to spare his life.
The next story came from Action Comics #758, October 1999. The untitled story was co-plotted by penciller Immonen and writer Mark Millar, inked by Jose Marzan, Jr., lettered by Bill Oakley and lettered by Glen Whitmore. Superman fought what I call a lobster clawed robot, operated by Intergang. The robot's inventor, an Intergang operative, used the situation to double cross Boss Moxie, Intergang's leader, to become its new master.
The final Stewart Immonen story of this episode is Final Night, a mini-series that was published weekly, with the cover date of November 1996. It brought back a classic Legion nemesis, the Sun Eater, from Adventure Comics #352, January 1967. In Final Night, the Sun Eater attacked Earth's Sun and was consuming it. Earth's heroes, and some of it villains like Lex Luthor, banded together to defeat the threat. In spite of his weakening powers, Superman volunteered for the suicide mission of deploying their weapon to kill the Sun Eater and restart the Sun. His place on the spaceship was taken by Ferro Lad, a member of the Legion team sent into their past to help in the crisis. Hal Jordan, now the villain Parallax, sacrificed himself to destroy the Sun Eater and restore the Sun.
Next Issue: The Supermobile!
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
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/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.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.
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.
Episode #154: Happy Birthday, Keith Giffen!
Keith Ian Giffen was born on November 30, 1953 at Queens, New York City. He is a comic book writer and artist. His art style has evolved over the years.
His first comic book work was drawing Sons Of The Tiger for Deadly Hands Of Kung Fu #17, October 1975. Keith is most famous for several stints on DC's Legion Of Super-Heroes and the Justice Leage titles Justice League International and Justice League Europe. I enjoyed his use of humor in the JLE title, and his characterization of Metamorpho and the Elongated Man, Ralph Dibny, two of my favorite second tier characters.
Giffen took a sabatical from comic books to work as a stroyboard artist on animated series such as, The Real Ghostbusters and Ed, Edd & Eddy.
Keith has also done comic book projects for a variety of publishers, including Hero Squared for Boom! Studios, about a guy who discovers that on an alternate Earth, he is that world's greatest superhero, and his girlfriend is his double's greatest archenemy.
Giffen did the breakdowns to two year long weekly comic book series for DC Comics, 52 and Countdown (which became Countdown To Final Crisis). Both series met their weekly deadlines without missing a single publication date. I wonder if Keith would ever want to do another year long weekly series again?
Keith will probably be remembered mostly for two runs on DC's Legion Of Super-Heroes. The first time with writer Paul Levitz stands as one of the most popular runs of Legion stories with fans. He began with Legion Of Super-Heroes #82, March 1982 and ended with Legion Of Super-Heroes #63, August 1989 (what is referred to as the Baxter series, after the higher quality paper it was printed on). His second run on the Legion was woth Legion Of Super-Heroes #1, November 1989 (volume IV, or what is called the 5 years later Legion). Giffen served as penciller and co-plotter with husband and wife writing team and Legion fans Tom and Mary Bierbaum.
In 2010, Keith finished the 12 issue mini-series The Authority: The Lost Year and is currently working on Booster Gold and Doom Patrol as of the time of this recording.
No discussion of Keith Giffen would be complete without talking about Ambush Bug, a character Giffen created and has become a foil to satirize superhero comic books. His first appearance was in DC Comics Presents #52, December 1982. Originally a villain, Ambush Bugs power is teleportation. He has made a variety of appearances in DC comics and had two mini-series.
Keith Giffen's first Superman story was All This And Kobra, Too for DC Comics Prsenets #81, May 1985, as plotter and penciller.
The first Keith Giffen Superman story featured in this episode is Caitiff: First Of The Vampires, from Action Comics #577, March 1986, published on December 19, 1985. Julius Schwartz was the editor. The cover was pencilled by Keith Giffen and inked by Bob Oksner, who also did the interior story art. Giffen als served as co-plotter, with scripter Robert Loren Fleming. The letterer was Milt Snapinn and the colorist was Gene D'Angelo. superman investigated the mysterious deaths of people in the Intensive Care Unit of a Metropolis hospital. He discovered they were victims of Caitiff, the first Vampire, who fed off the life force of those near death for his own survival. The Man of Steel also learned that he was the last of his kind, before Caitiff disappeared, beyond Superman's ability to follow him.
The next Keith Giffen Superman story of the episode is Prisoners Of Time, from Action Comics #579, May 1986, published on what would be my son's birthday four years later, February 27, 1986. Giffen pencilled the cover and the interior art. Karl Kesel inked both the cover and the story. Superman and Jimmy were snathced into the past, into the middle of a war between the Gauls and the Romans. By the end of the story, our time traveling pair helped bring the two sides together.
This next Superman story was the first one that I read. It was Burial Ground, from Action Comics #646, October 1989, published on September 5, 1989. Mike Carlin was the editor. The cover was drawn by George Perez.Keith Giffen was the co-plotter and the penciller, Roger Stern wrote the script, Dennis Janke, Bill Oakley the letterer and Glenn Whitmore the colorist. After defeating the Kryptonian artifact Eradicator, Superman had sealed it in a scrap of metal and dumped in a dep chasm is Antarctica. Superman discovered a giant, alien snail like creature, that had been dropped on the primordial Earth by a spaceship inor der to get rid of an unwanted hitchhiker. The creature awoke from its dormant state after uncounted eons to eventually swallow Superman. The Man of Steel used his heat vision to give the creature a dose of heartburn, only to ignite the methane inside the creature's body, blowing it to bits. The explosion cracked open the metal that encased the Eradicator, allowing it ti menace Superman in a future story.
The final Keith Giffen story of the episode is Sanctuary, from Superman: The Man Of Steel #15, September 1992 (Triangle # 1992: 33).Louise Simonson wrote the story, Kerry Gammil pencilled the scenes in Metropolis, while Keith Giffen pencilled the scenes in hell. The inker wsa Dennis Janke, letter was Bill Oakley and the colorist was Glenn Whitmore. This took place in the middle of the Blaze/Satanus War, when Superman and the Newstime building had been transported literally to Hell. Not only did Superman have to fight against Blaze's demon horde's he also had to protect the people who were trapped in the Newstime building from those same demons.
Next Episode: Sturat Immonen!
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
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/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.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.
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.
His first comic book work was drawing Sons Of The Tiger for Deadly Hands Of Kung Fu #17, October 1975. Keith is most famous for several stints on DC's Legion Of Super-Heroes and the Justice Leage titles Justice League International and Justice League Europe. I enjoyed his use of humor in the JLE title, and his characterization of Metamorpho and the Elongated Man, Ralph Dibny, two of my favorite second tier characters.
Giffen took a sabatical from comic books to work as a stroyboard artist on animated series such as, The Real Ghostbusters and Ed, Edd & Eddy.
Keith has also done comic book projects for a variety of publishers, including Hero Squared for Boom! Studios, about a guy who discovers that on an alternate Earth, he is that world's greatest superhero, and his girlfriend is his double's greatest archenemy.
Giffen did the breakdowns to two year long weekly comic book series for DC Comics, 52 and Countdown (which became Countdown To Final Crisis). Both series met their weekly deadlines without missing a single publication date. I wonder if Keith would ever want to do another year long weekly series again?
Keith will probably be remembered mostly for two runs on DC's Legion Of Super-Heroes. The first time with writer Paul Levitz stands as one of the most popular runs of Legion stories with fans. He began with Legion Of Super-Heroes #82, March 1982 and ended with Legion Of Super-Heroes #63, August 1989 (what is referred to as the Baxter series, after the higher quality paper it was printed on). His second run on the Legion was woth Legion Of Super-Heroes #1, November 1989 (volume IV, or what is called the 5 years later Legion). Giffen served as penciller and co-plotter with husband and wife writing team and Legion fans Tom and Mary Bierbaum.
In 2010, Keith finished the 12 issue mini-series The Authority: The Lost Year and is currently working on Booster Gold and Doom Patrol as of the time of this recording.
No discussion of Keith Giffen would be complete without talking about Ambush Bug, a character Giffen created and has become a foil to satirize superhero comic books. His first appearance was in DC Comics Presents #52, December 1982. Originally a villain, Ambush Bugs power is teleportation. He has made a variety of appearances in DC comics and had two mini-series.
Keith Giffen's first Superman story was All This And Kobra, Too for DC Comics Prsenets #81, May 1985, as plotter and penciller.
The first Keith Giffen Superman story featured in this episode is Caitiff: First Of The Vampires, from Action Comics #577, March 1986, published on December 19, 1985. Julius Schwartz was the editor. The cover was pencilled by Keith Giffen and inked by Bob Oksner, who also did the interior story art. Giffen als served as co-plotter, with scripter Robert Loren Fleming. The letterer was Milt Snapinn and the colorist was Gene D'Angelo. superman investigated the mysterious deaths of people in the Intensive Care Unit of a Metropolis hospital. He discovered they were victims of Caitiff, the first Vampire, who fed off the life force of those near death for his own survival. The Man of Steel also learned that he was the last of his kind, before Caitiff disappeared, beyond Superman's ability to follow him.
The next Keith Giffen Superman story of the episode is Prisoners Of Time, from Action Comics #579, May 1986, published on what would be my son's birthday four years later, February 27, 1986. Giffen pencilled the cover and the interior art. Karl Kesel inked both the cover and the story. Superman and Jimmy were snathced into the past, into the middle of a war between the Gauls and the Romans. By the end of the story, our time traveling pair helped bring the two sides together.
This next Superman story was the first one that I read. It was Burial Ground, from Action Comics #646, October 1989, published on September 5, 1989. Mike Carlin was the editor. The cover was drawn by George Perez.Keith Giffen was the co-plotter and the penciller, Roger Stern wrote the script, Dennis Janke, Bill Oakley the letterer and Glenn Whitmore the colorist. After defeating the Kryptonian artifact Eradicator, Superman had sealed it in a scrap of metal and dumped in a dep chasm is Antarctica. Superman discovered a giant, alien snail like creature, that had been dropped on the primordial Earth by a spaceship inor der to get rid of an unwanted hitchhiker. The creature awoke from its dormant state after uncounted eons to eventually swallow Superman. The Man of Steel used his heat vision to give the creature a dose of heartburn, only to ignite the methane inside the creature's body, blowing it to bits. The explosion cracked open the metal that encased the Eradicator, allowing it ti menace Superman in a future story.
The final Keith Giffen story of the episode is Sanctuary, from Superman: The Man Of Steel #15, September 1992 (Triangle # 1992: 33).Louise Simonson wrote the story, Kerry Gammil pencilled the scenes in Metropolis, while Keith Giffen pencilled the scenes in hell. The inker wsa Dennis Janke, letter was Bill Oakley and the colorist was Glenn Whitmore. This took place in the middle of the Blaze/Satanus War, when Superman and the Newstime building had been transported literally to Hell. Not only did Superman have to fight against Blaze's demon horde's he also had to protect the people who were trapped in the Newstime building from those same demons.
Next Episode: Sturat Immonen!
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
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/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.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.
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 30, 2010
Episode #153: Superman: The Triangle Years!
One of my favorite eras of modern Superman comic books is the era known as the "triangle years." Beginning with the Superman titles cover dated January 1991, the Superman books carried an additonal number. The first Superman title published that carrying that cover date had an additional triangle on the cover with the year 1991 and #1. The next Superman title for that month carried a triangle number of 1991: #2, and so on for the entire year. When the Superman titles cover dated 1992 were published, they began with a new triangle number 1. Each following year the triangle number restarted at number one.
The reason this triangle number was added was that, after John Byrne left the Superman titles, the creative teams that took his place slowly evolved into tighter plotting, so that eventually, each individual Superman title that month told a chapter of a larger story. The next title would advance that plot and so on. The next issue boxes at the end of the letter columns became more important, in order to know the correct reading order of the Superman titles. That is why the Superman team began the triangle numbering system. Readers no longer had to flip to the end of the letter column to organize their Superman books inorder to read them in the correct order. It was right on the cover.
In order to keep the creative teams coordinated on such tightly plotted stories, the entire Superman creative staff would meet in annual sumits to plan out the next year's worth of Superman stories. Jerry Ordway would begin what was a running joke and suggest, "Let's just kill him," and was ignored until their plans for Clark's and Lois' wedding in the comics was interrupted by the TV show Lois & Clark.
This triangle numbering system began under Mike Carlin's tenure as editor of the Superman titles, which began in 1987 and ended with the Superman titles cover dated January 1996. Eddy Barganza continued the triangle number system until the end of the era.
What I enjoyed about the triangle era and its tight continuity was that it fleshed out Superman's world. Both Clark Kent and Superman had room to develop as characters, and there seemed to be more room for minor plotlines involving supporting characters.
During this era, two titles joined the Superman family of books. Superman: The Man Of Steel, borrowing the title of John Byrne's landmark series which restarted Superman continuity, began with the July 1991 issue, published on May 14, 1991, triangle number 1991: 19. That meant that a Superman book was published every week, except on months that had five weeks. To fill that gap, Superman: The Man Of Tomorrow would be published quartlerly, beginning with the Summer 1995 issue, through #15, the Fall 1999 issue.
The traingle number system stopped when new creative teams wanted to take their individual Superman titles in their own directions.
Among the major storylines of the triangle era was Clark's revelation of his secret identity to Lois Lane, just before the Time And Time Again story, which ran in the March - May 1991 issues. In that series, Superman encountered the Linear Men, who protected the time stream. The Man of Steel was bounced back and forth through time.
In Panic In The Sky, Superman lead Earth's hereos on a preemptive strike against Warworld, now led by Brainiac.
The Death Of Superman took place in the Superman titles cover dated December 1992 and January 1993. When the producers fo the TV show Lois & Clark wanted to marry them off first, it left a gap for the comic book creative team. So instead of a wedding, they planned for a funeral, Superman's. Funeral For A Friend, January - February 1993, showed the strength of Superman's supporting cast, as they coped with Superman's death. Reign Of The Supermen, June - October 1993, introduced four possible replacements for the Man of Steel, culminating with the return of Superman himself.
Bizarro's World, March - April 1994 introduced the second Bizarro, who became the lab rat of the cloned Lex Luthor as heled a desparate search for the cure to a clone disease. Battle For Metropolis and Fall Of Metropolis, May - July 1994, told the story of a dying Lex Luthor who decided to take metropolis with him.
In Zero Hour, a crossover event in the September - October 1994, the DC Universe was reset again to "correct" continuity errors that had crept in since Crisis On Infinite Earths.
The Death Of Clark Kent, May - July 1995, introduced Conduit, a new major villain who grew up in Smallville and had learned Clark Kent's secret identity. His goal was to destroy Clark's life.
In The Trial Of Superman, November 1996 - February 1997, Superman was put on trial by an intergalactic tribunal for the deaths of the population of Krypton. It turned out that the tribunal had been manipulated by the Cyborg Superman.
Final Night, October - November 1996, was another crossover event, reintroduced the Sun Eater, which threatened Earth's Sun.
Also in November 1996, Superman: The Wedding Album concluded the quickie romance which the Superman creative team had to scramble to pull of, after Lois & Clark finally married them off on TV.
One of my least favorite Superman storylines of the era was the Superman Blue story, from May 1997 - June 1998. Superman's powers evolved so that as a superhero, he became an energy being who needed a containment suit to keep his energy form from dissipating. When he was Clar, he was a normal person. Superman Red was introduced in the March 1998 books, when Superman Blue split into two beings, one of them the Red persona. The traditional Superman would return after the battle of the Millennium Giants.
In the early years of the 2000's, I stopped buying comic books foir a while for financial reasons and the lack of a local comic book shop. There were a number of later storylines of the triangle era that I missed, including Critical Condition, June - July 2000, where Superman suffered from a form of kryptonite poisoning.
In Emperor Joker, September - October 2000, the Clown Prince of Crime stole the powers of Mr. Mxyzptlk.
President Lex, January - February 2001, told the story of Lex Luthor's election as President of the United States.
Our Worlds At War, August - September 2001, chronicled Superman leading Earth's heroes against Imperiex.
Return To Krypton, March - May 2001 and September - October 2002, rebooted Krypton's continuity, revealing a Kandor that was possibly from another dimension.
As I prepared for this episode, I realized how much I had forgotten about some of these storylines. I have to reread them when I can find the time, and I hope to fill in the gap in my Superman collection from earlier this decade. I enjoyed this rop through memory lane, through the ups and downs of past Superman stories.
Next Episode: Happy Birthday, Keith Giffen!
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
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/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.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.
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.
The reason this triangle number was added was that, after John Byrne left the Superman titles, the creative teams that took his place slowly evolved into tighter plotting, so that eventually, each individual Superman title that month told a chapter of a larger story. The next title would advance that plot and so on. The next issue boxes at the end of the letter columns became more important, in order to know the correct reading order of the Superman titles. That is why the Superman team began the triangle numbering system. Readers no longer had to flip to the end of the letter column to organize their Superman books inorder to read them in the correct order. It was right on the cover.
In order to keep the creative teams coordinated on such tightly plotted stories, the entire Superman creative staff would meet in annual sumits to plan out the next year's worth of Superman stories. Jerry Ordway would begin what was a running joke and suggest, "Let's just kill him," and was ignored until their plans for Clark's and Lois' wedding in the comics was interrupted by the TV show Lois & Clark.
This triangle numbering system began under Mike Carlin's tenure as editor of the Superman titles, which began in 1987 and ended with the Superman titles cover dated January 1996. Eddy Barganza continued the triangle number system until the end of the era.
What I enjoyed about the triangle era and its tight continuity was that it fleshed out Superman's world. Both Clark Kent and Superman had room to develop as characters, and there seemed to be more room for minor plotlines involving supporting characters.
During this era, two titles joined the Superman family of books. Superman: The Man Of Steel, borrowing the title of John Byrne's landmark series which restarted Superman continuity, began with the July 1991 issue, published on May 14, 1991, triangle number 1991: 19. That meant that a Superman book was published every week, except on months that had five weeks. To fill that gap, Superman: The Man Of Tomorrow would be published quartlerly, beginning with the Summer 1995 issue, through #15, the Fall 1999 issue.
The traingle number system stopped when new creative teams wanted to take their individual Superman titles in their own directions.
Among the major storylines of the triangle era was Clark's revelation of his secret identity to Lois Lane, just before the Time And Time Again story, which ran in the March - May 1991 issues. In that series, Superman encountered the Linear Men, who protected the time stream. The Man of Steel was bounced back and forth through time.
In Panic In The Sky, Superman lead Earth's hereos on a preemptive strike against Warworld, now led by Brainiac.
The Death Of Superman took place in the Superman titles cover dated December 1992 and January 1993. When the producers fo the TV show Lois & Clark wanted to marry them off first, it left a gap for the comic book creative team. So instead of a wedding, they planned for a funeral, Superman's. Funeral For A Friend, January - February 1993, showed the strength of Superman's supporting cast, as they coped with Superman's death. Reign Of The Supermen, June - October 1993, introduced four possible replacements for the Man of Steel, culminating with the return of Superman himself.
Bizarro's World, March - April 1994 introduced the second Bizarro, who became the lab rat of the cloned Lex Luthor as heled a desparate search for the cure to a clone disease. Battle For Metropolis and Fall Of Metropolis, May - July 1994, told the story of a dying Lex Luthor who decided to take metropolis with him.
In Zero Hour, a crossover event in the September - October 1994, the DC Universe was reset again to "correct" continuity errors that had crept in since Crisis On Infinite Earths.
The Death Of Clark Kent, May - July 1995, introduced Conduit, a new major villain who grew up in Smallville and had learned Clark Kent's secret identity. His goal was to destroy Clark's life.
In The Trial Of Superman, November 1996 - February 1997, Superman was put on trial by an intergalactic tribunal for the deaths of the population of Krypton. It turned out that the tribunal had been manipulated by the Cyborg Superman.
Final Night, October - November 1996, was another crossover event, reintroduced the Sun Eater, which threatened Earth's Sun.
Also in November 1996, Superman: The Wedding Album concluded the quickie romance which the Superman creative team had to scramble to pull of, after Lois & Clark finally married them off on TV.
One of my least favorite Superman storylines of the era was the Superman Blue story, from May 1997 - June 1998. Superman's powers evolved so that as a superhero, he became an energy being who needed a containment suit to keep his energy form from dissipating. When he was Clar, he was a normal person. Superman Red was introduced in the March 1998 books, when Superman Blue split into two beings, one of them the Red persona. The traditional Superman would return after the battle of the Millennium Giants.
In the early years of the 2000's, I stopped buying comic books foir a while for financial reasons and the lack of a local comic book shop. There were a number of later storylines of the triangle era that I missed, including Critical Condition, June - July 2000, where Superman suffered from a form of kryptonite poisoning.
In Emperor Joker, September - October 2000, the Clown Prince of Crime stole the powers of Mr. Mxyzptlk.
President Lex, January - February 2001, told the story of Lex Luthor's election as President of the United States.
Our Worlds At War, August - September 2001, chronicled Superman leading Earth's heroes against Imperiex.
Return To Krypton, March - May 2001 and September - October 2002, rebooted Krypton's continuity, revealing a Kandor that was possibly from another dimension.
As I prepared for this episode, I realized how much I had forgotten about some of these storylines. I have to reread them when I can find the time, and I hope to fill in the gap in my Superman collection from earlier this decade. I enjoyed this rop through memory lane, through the ups and downs of past Superman stories.
Next Episode: Happy Birthday, Keith Giffen!
Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.
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/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites, and the Superman Podcast Network at http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/supermanpodcastnetwork.
Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.
The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.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.
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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