When It Comes, They Run and Hide Their Heads

(with apologies to the Beatles)

You'll notice that the Cyborg don't appear. That's because he was dead at the time (for the first time I think).

Gee, I wish I had the money to pay somebody to keep track of these things for me. As of right now, is the Cyborg still "in continuity" (before the 52 thing)? What about Doomsday? Is he sentient and no longer a killer? Or is he still naughty?

This is all so hard to remember! At least in the Silver Age, they'd have a half-page of flashbacks. And STILL finish the gol-durned story in 8 pages!

Superman Is Back! or Is He?

More headlines from the "Death of Superman" saga. I tend to agree with the guy in the last paragraph of this article when he mentions that the scene of Superman's empty tomb appearing in a comic published Easter Week "Is in less than good taste."

What do YOU think?

He Was Dead, Jim

Take a little trip with me back almost 15 years, to November of 1992.

Thanks to a bad ol' puddy-tat named Doomsday, Superman met his end. (We can be a little flippant because, like the peasant in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Supes "got better." Also, he's a friggin' comic-book guy.)

You may or may not know that the whole killing-Superman storyline came about because DC had decided it was time to let Superman & Lois get married. However, such a big deal demanded a little cross-promotion. Why not let Superman get married in the comics, at the same time he gets married on Lois & Clark ?

Great idea, except that -- believe it or not -- comics books (at least at the turn of the 1990s) had a faster turnaround time than episodic TV.

So, to give Lois & Clark producers and writiers enough time to get the storyline in gear, it was decided to take seriously the joke that was told yearly at the annual Superman conference held by staff and editors to lay out the coming year's tales: "Let's kill him!"

And the rest, they say, is history.

This is an article from a Tulsa paper concerning the week that (volume 2) Superman # 95 came out.

Super-Memories from 1988

As we all know (right?), Superman's 50th birthday was celebrated in 1988.

Among the festivities was a special exhibit at the "National Museum of American History - Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C."

These postcards were souvenirs of the display.

Here's a Fine Recipe

I've had this kicking around for at least twenty-five years, and I have no idea where I got it. However, it appeals to my sense of the absurd.

And, for the record, this is a recipe I've never tried.

Another Get Smart Book

Entitled Sorry, Chief, this is the second Get Smart tie-in novel. I wonder if William Johnston was a pen name (like David McDaniel on the U.N.C.L.E.) books, or a real guy?

Sorry About That!

Did you know that, through TIME-LIFE, you can buy the entire Get Smart TV series on DVD?

I can't afford that.

But I can afford to share some Get Smart paperback novels from the 1960s.

Actually, I haven't really read any of them, yet. I started to, but I missed it by THAT much. Oops.

Anyway, this first Get Smart tie-in, from Tempo Books, had a 1st print in October 1965. My copy is a 5th printing from April 1966. Wow! Five printings in sev en months! I bet that was a little unexpected.

More 86-ing next time.

Guess Who's Coming to SoonerCon

He doesn't care if you come to SoonerCon bcause of him or not.

All he cares about is stopping those who knowingly break the law. That includes parking in handicapped spots, and also people who leave their handicap signs dangling when they're driving.

Throwing a cigarette butt out the window is just as bad as running over a ten-year-old on her skateboard.

When all the evildoers have been locked away permanently, he can rest ... and then hunt for some more.

Henh.

OK, I Admit, I Liked It -- Mostly

Well, we saw Grindhouse this past week. I have two comments.

1) I wish that somebody had washed this script's mouth out, especially for the second part.

2) I wish that somebody had trimmed out all the unnecessary blah-blah-blah, specifically for the second part.

Other than that, the film is fun, ESPECIALLY the trailers for coming attractions.

I was bemused to see this sign in the hallway.

Hmm. Do you suppose that people go to this movie and don't understand the intentionality of the film burn, etc?

Of course, I suppose that some ungracious souls might say the same about my reaction to all the $%#%$&% profanity, huh?

You Can't Be Too Super!

Back in December my new bosses were very wise and gave me a silly Christmas present, one of those 30-inches-tall Superman figures.

In an earlier post about that time I mentioned how Jazra had gone ga-ga over it.

Well, here's proof!

And no comments about how it took until April to get Christmastime photos developed. I know, I know!

Aww, ain't that cute?

In 10 years we hope she is as picky on her boyfriends!

...And First in the Minds of Their Federation!

As a junior in high school, I was given a dream job for one school period. My credits were all caught up, so I became a "teacher's aid." And I aided Dear Mrs. Craighead in an interesting way.

Somehow she had come across hundreds of Life magazines from the 1940s through the 1960s. My job was simply to riffle through them and extract "interesting" stories. Stuff that was oddball, or perhaps of historic significance, and so forth.

Boy, I got a great look at mid-20c American living -- the Dionne Quints, the Missile Crisis, Eisenhower's election, and so on.

There were also some Times and Newsweeks in there. This fullpage ad for RCA TVs came from one of those, presumably from fall/winter 1966, when NBC still acted as if it cared whether Star Trek thrived or died.

You probably recognize the larger images in the background as being from "Man Trap," the first aired Star Trek episode.

This was only one ad in a series, all with the same tagline..."When you're first in color television, there's got to be a reason." Other TV shows were featured, alongside other models of RCA TVs. Remember, this was the time when a television set was a honking big piece of furniture, not something you could hang on a wall.

A few years ago I paid Kinko's ten buck to put it on a T-shirt. Cool, huh?

You Are the Master of Superman's Fate!

While moving a Honking Big Bookshelf at home in the study (aka The Fortress of Markitude), I found two books had fallen down behind.

They'd been there at least three years. That's why this one is a little dingy around the edges.

It's from 1983. On the front cover are three Phantom Zone baddies, Faora (the gal), General Zod (in the military cap) and a third guy -- maybe Kru-El? To the right are Toyman, Luthor, and behind them a big buy who, according to page 4 of the book, is "a nine-foot yellow monster."

Depending on which page you pick next, this here monster could either split into myriads of identical monsters, dooming the Earth, or ... he could apologize and leave quietly.

Wow, what fun! And we haven't even read the stories that involve the Phantom Zoners, Toyman, or Luthor!

I can only reflect on how hard it would be to WRITE such a gol-darned thing! But the knack must be handy ... Helfer also wrote at least one other of these things, featuring Supergirl -- the Supergirl of the Daring New Adventures era, complete with headband.

Ah, those were the days!

Charley Alfred Is Whole and Happy Now!

Well, I just talked to Mom about 8:30 tonight. Yesterday she called me to say that Dad was in the hospital and not expected to be able to come home.

Joyce and I had already made plans to drive up on Saturday, the whole gang plus Jazra: the Next Generation.

But Mom called tonight and said that the hospital had just called her to say that Dad had died.

Oh Lord, thank you for my dad! He had been so sick since he went into the VA hospital to have a polyp removed. He was left underattended (or unattended) overnight, had a mini-stroke, pulled out his IVs while flailing around, and as a result the VA nearly killed him.

That was about three and a half years ago. His eyesight has never gotten better, and he's had pains and back problems. More than a decade ago he was diagnosed with something like COPD, and he's been on oxygen ever since.

My dad, who five years ago was shooting his age on the golf course and had shot his last hole-in-one sometime in the 1990s, couldn't hit the greens any more. He couldn't even read Sports Illustrated ! He'd had good and bad times, but recently had been fighting off pneumonia and other stuff.

You know, I wouldn't want to hang around like that either!

And Mom feels that way too. As she told me, we want Dad to be whole and happy, and we knew that it wasn't going to happen HERE.

Especially if you (like Dad, Mom, me, and lots of us) have a personal friendship with God, and such a deferential, thankful, interactive Life with Jesus and his love in our hearts and (we hope) showing in our lives!

I'm so thankful to have known such a decent, strong guy. And to be his son! Me, who was hyperactive, couldn't sit still, couldn't shut up his yap. And, yet, with a few bumps along the way, he never failed to show his love, support, and guidance for me.

And also, Lord, thanks that we had all the time to say all those "guy things" that, sadly, sometimes go unsaid. We could say "I love you." It is great -- it is WONDERFUL -- to hear your dad say, "I'm proud of you."

So, here we are. God has promised that anyone who asks him to forgive us through Jesus's death and resurrection, will be forgiven and receive eternal peace and joy; only it starts here, on Earth!

And now that those frail breaths are now finished, Dad is alive and rejoicing with the Lord right now.

Any time now, Jesus and Dad will be teeing off on the front nine of Heaven. And if Jesus is lucky, Dad might let Him win!

In the words of a song I wrote a long time ago in sympathy for the death of a friend's father,

I'm going to see him
I'll lie down in the grave and rise up in my father's arms
I'll run with him to Jesus, freed from all this Earth's alarms
I'm going to see him
One of these days

Oh, friends, if you're not satisfied with life, please learn from my Dad. Any man who, with God's help, could love and raise even a weirdo like me, and who could show God's love at work, at home, and even on the golf course, must have found a strong shoulder to lean on!

God is dependable, and he loves us. Please rejoice with me that Charley Alfred Is Whole and Happy Now!

G. Ailaird S. Artain, We Need You!

Yes, in the early 1970s there arose a character so silly, a personage so outre, that he dared not even place his actual name in the credits of his cult-status TV show on late-night Tulsa TV.

That critter was the incredible Dr. Mazeppa Pompazoidi, and here are a few fragments from the archives of his 5-year reign.

Young people wanted to dress like him!

He popularized 7Up, "the uncola," with discount-earning membership in "Mazeppa's Uncola Underground Card."

He even dressed in tights as his alter ego, Jetzeppa Landingear.

Google "Mazeppa Pompazoidi" and find out for yourself.

Super-Cling

As you can see, these came out in the throes of the Superman Animated Series.

This Is the Greatest Thing Ever!

You won't believe this! I just saw an ad on TV for these candles that melt in their little holder. "Scented oils" candles.

But, what you won't believe, is what the lady says at the end of the commercial. You see, the thing melts into a puddle of oil, or something.

Then the gal says, "When the oil is gone, the candle goes out."

Did you hear that?!?!

When the oil is gone, the candle goes out!

What's up with that! I mean, who came up with that idea! It's great!

The Broadway Show

Here's some coverage from the New York Times about the Broadway musical It's a Bird ... It's a Plane ... It's Superman. The soundtrack is available on CD.

As you can read, it was partly written by David Newman, who also, unfortunately, also had input on some parts of the Superman movies (the stupid parts). Yes, this show is a lot like one of the sketches that used to be featured in Bob Hope specials or other variety shows of the 60s and 70s.

A certain cavalier, jesting approach was mistaken for wit. A jarring flippancy was substituted for optimism. And a cheesy, self-mocking smarminess was used, instead of treating serious things (like truth, justice, and the American way) with respect, even in "light" entertainment.

Super Dishwasher Sign

Both of these images are from Superman 544, June 1983. The one of Luthor is by Swanderson, and the image of Superman is a special one created by Joe Shuster for this issue, a 45th Anniversary celebration.

After I went to the trouble to scan and clean up the images, plus add the speech balloons, I found out to my dismay that threfront of our dishwasher is aluminum -- nonmagnetic! I was going to stick a magnet inside. Ah, well.

So print, cut, fold. Cover with clear contact paper with a little magnet inside. Then you'll have your own Super Dishwasher Sign!

More on Superman 1 & 2

More Q&As from the Superman Movie Book.

Note how the "Metropolis" set was created to be an exact replica of a New York street. I guess it cost too much to replicate a Metropolis street!

Which reminds me, there's a scene in Superman IV: The Quest for Cheese (oops, I meant Peace) which shows the shoddiness of that film's production.

There's a scene where Lois Lane is riding the subway, and visible over her shoulder in the background is a tourism poster for New York City (not Metropolis or Gotham).

Eh!?!

Behind-the-Scenes Secrets

More information from the Superman Movie Book.

Did you know that David Prowse (Darth Vader) helped Chris Reeve (Superman) bulk up? Now you do!