NOTE: This episode is the 600th individual episode of the SUPERMAN FAN PODCAST. In the introduction I explain how this is the 600th episode when the episode number for this episode is different.
ALSO: TwoMorrows Publishing is still conducting their CLEARANCE SALE of back issues, with discounts up to 80% off at TwoMorrows.com.
It's time for our annual review of the current Superman titles I read that were published during 2020.
- (9:05) After a comment from Halk-Kar about last episode, I review the book, CARTOON COUNTY: MY FATHER AND HIS FRIENDS IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF MAKE-BELIEVE by Cullen Murphy, 260 pages long, published by Farrer, Straus & Gireau in 2017.
- (11:36) MY PULL LIST, where I review the comic books cover dated October 2020, which were released during the month of August 2020, that I received from Discount Comic Book Service.
- (25:56) ACTION COMICS 1018 - 1028.
- (43:46) SUPERMAN 19 - 28.
- (59:15) LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 3 - 11.
Next Episode: FAMOUS FIRST EDITION: NEW FUN COMICS 1, the very first issue that began what would become DC Comics!
Then we will begin to cover: SUPERMAN FAMILY COMIC BOOKS COVER DATED MAY 1966: PART I: WORLD'S FINEST COMICS 157, PART II: SUPERMAN 186, PART III: SUPERMAN'S GIRL FRIEND LOIS LANE 65 & PART IV: ACTION COMICS 337!
- The LEAGUE OF COMIC BOOK PODCASTERS and
Wow! 600 episodes! That's quite an accomplishment, and you should be proud of that. I always enjoy your "Year in Review" episodes because they give me a chance to learn about the stories in current comics that I don't read much of these days. I gave Brian Michael Bendis the run of his Man of Steel miniseries, then about a year of Action and of Superman before dropping them because I just wasn't finding the fun I look for in comics. I'm glad there are people who enjoy them, but I'm just not the target audience, I think. At least your synopses of the past year of these titles gave me a sense of the stories and major plot points, so I can follow the conversations of people who read them.
ReplyDeleteI must say, one point I really liked was when you mentioned that, after his secret was revealed, Clark went back to Smallville to see one of his teachers who'd been an influence on him. I hope, though, that even before this, Clark had talked to or written to that teacher. Teachers always hope they are remembered (maybe even fondly) by their student, whether or not the students turn out to be superheroes of interplanetary renown.
I know how you feel. I remember when I saw the first issue of John Byrne's Man Of Steel mini-series, that the Jor-El portrayed in this issue was so different from the Jor-El that I grew up with in the 1960's that I put it back on the spinner rack of Waldenbook's store. It wasn't until a few years later when I first went to a comic book store near my work, I wanted to check out the Superman titles. The first cover that caught my eye was Adventures Of Superman #451, showing the front page of the Daily Planet with the headline, "Where Is Superman?" This was the first time I saw Jerry Ordway's art, which was on the cover, and I was instantly drawn to it. I was once again hooked on Superman, and eventually collected all of the previous issues, including John Byrne's Man Of Steel mini-series.
DeleteI realize that not every iteration of Superman will be liked by everyone, and there is no right or wrong opinion in the matter. The Man Of Steel of my youth in the 1960's was, I would eventually learn, vastly different from his original adventures in 1938. As I've read his adventures, for me, the more he changes, the more he stays the same. "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" was built on "Champion of the weak and oppressed" from his earliest adventures. When comic book writers stray from this concept in writing Superman, I feel this makes for bad Superman stories, and the closer they get to that concept the better the stories are. That's why I still enjoy reading Superman stories, although I can understand why Superman fans stop. We all have our favorite version of the Man Of Steel, and we'll always have those stories of our Superman to return to. AS for me, DC Comics will have to work very hard to drive me away from Superman.
I'm sure you have lots of former students who appreciate your influence. I have two teachers who I remember especially fondly. One was Mr. Guy Kinney. He taught English, and sometimes would play albums of old radio shows that adapted a piece of literature we read in class. As a sophomore I had him for American Lit. We had an actor come to the school doing Hal Holbrook's one man show on Mark Twain. Before he came, Mr. Kinney played Hal Holbrook's album of his performance as Twain.
The other teacher I remember was Mrs. Bonita Mack. I don't know how closely she followed the curriculum, but we read the following books: The House On The Strand by Daphne Du Maurier, Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, The Time Machine by H. G. Wells, 1984 by George Orwell and Wuthering Heights by Emily Dickenson.
I had a very similar reaction to the John Byrne reboot, myself, but I read that continuity for years and eventually came around to a better opinion of it. The current stuff, though, is just not for me. I'm glad there are fans who like this incarnation of Superman, but maybe I'm just too old and set in my ways.
DeleteI forgot to mention that I laughed when I heard your comment about my feedback at the beginning of this episode, that you were a bit impressed that I remembered that the planet where the sorcerer cast the spell to let Comet the Super-Horse become human when a comet is in the sky was Zerox. It's not just because it sounds like the company name. It's also the home planet of Mordru the Merciless, one of the Legion of Superheroes' greates foes.
To each his or her own.
DeleteYou got me again with another bit of trivia about the Legion Of Super-Heroes I didn't know. I'm not sure I want to compete against you in a silver age comic book trivia contest.