Those Allman Brothers, Always Getting into Trouble!

At first I thought this was from Video Review magazine, but I would bet about ten Gold Kryptonite pieces that Video Review magazine, in 1990, was NOT on its "Volume 34."

Anyway, since only the first season of Superboy: the Series has come out on DVD, it'll be awhile before we can watch the episode in question.

More Super-Ephemera next time, campers!

Broom Hilda Meets ... Superman's Mama?!?

In this strip from Sunday, May 27, 1990, Broom Hilda finds out who has to clean up all those phone booths ...

More funnies next time!

Super Effort

The year 1990, besides -- or perhaps BECAUSE OF -- Superman's narriage to Lois, saw lots of re-appearances of Super-Stuff in the public eye.

Back in 1990, I seem to have either noticed more of it than today, or it really WAS all over the place. These items are just the ones I HAPPENED TO NOTICE.

Here is an appearance of DC and Marvel folks for a United Way fundraising campaign.

More fun stuff soon!

Erma Bombeck Didn't Think the Super-Marriage Would Last

Well, I came across my stash of Super-Ephemera.

When Lois Lane and Clark Kent announced their wedding plans, there were all kinds of reactions from media types of all kinds. Here is Erma Bombeck's humorous/satirical column from 1990.

Lemme know what you think!

Something Else from SoonerCon -- What Is It?

That's kind of a rhetorical question. I know that this is a copy of Issue #1 of the newest JLA comic, cover-dated June 2007. It's a "sketch variation" cover, or some such.

My question is, is it worth a million bucks or something? Let me know, if any of you guys are big JLA folks. I mean, I read and buy the new JLA, but differing cover art don't matter much to me.

See ya soon!

Super Postage from SoonerCon

Another nifty thing I bought at SoonerCon was, according to the sticker on the back, a "DC Comics Super Hero Superman Stamp Art-WILL HA".

The top part is a bit 9x12 repro of one of the Superman stamps, with art drawn by a young Curt Swan.

The lower part of the thing is a first-date-issued envelope and canceled stamp.

The only way it could be better is if the canceled stamp were of Kal or Kara!

Anyway, the best part was, it was "cover price"! That is, I bought this from a USPS booth in the Exhibitor's Hall at SoonerCon, at "list price," that is $19.99. And not even any sales tax! Spiffy, huh?

By the way, a month or so ago I set aside a bunch of stuff to scan and/or comment about here on the ol' Super Blog. As soon as I can once again FIND THE STUFF, we'll have a lot more posts to share.

In Honor of SoonerCon 2008 ...

SoonerCon 2008's theme is "Pirates." So in honor of that, here's an ad from Superboy #69, featuring ...

... a Pirate!

I Missed the First Three, Darn It

Thanks to SoonerCon, I have a fistful of comics in exchange for several fistsful of dollars.

One of the cheaper investments was World's Finest 230, dated May 1975. The cover story was one of those tales of Superman Jr. & Batman Jr., which were averred editorially to be *actual* stories, not Imaginary Tales or might-have-beens. Pretty silly in its attempts to be with-it, real-live-jive hepcats.

Anyway, one of the fillers was this maze. Print it out and solve it yourself!

Isn't It Amazing?

SoonerCon 2007 is now over (yea!)

I found lots of cool stuff to share (yea!).

Here is a copy one of DC's own behind-the-scenes mag, The Amazing World of DC Comics. Issue 7, dated July 1975, concerns a fictional guy near and dear to our hearts ... Well, let's just let the Swonderful Curt Swan announce it ...

There's an interview with Mort Weisinger, a reprint of a story published in a mini-comic and therefore never reprinted before, and other features, including an interesting article about the Superman Serials, which -- in 1975 -- had never been seen since their original showings, soon after their production in 1948 and 1950.

Of course, they've were released this year on DVD and before that, they were available on videotape since at least 1988, Superman's 50th.

Inside the front and back covers are one-page features by Allen Asherman, as seen below.

More next time!

What's Missing from the Byline! (answer below)

This article by Elliott Maggin is from the April 1984 issue of On Cable magazine.

When the article shifts gears and starts to talk about Superman III in particular instead of the Super-Mythos in general, I begain wondering if this part of the article wasn't writtn by Maggin, but by a magazine staffer, until I came across the line at the bottom of page 20 (the second page of this scan) about right and wrong in the universe.

Maggin is only one of thousands (millions?) of us whose lives have been enriched by knowing "uncle" Superman. After all, it's hard to beat Truth, Justice, and the American Way.

PS as to the riddle posed by the title of this post -- notice how Maggin is credited on the first page of the article. They didn't replace the period after the "S" with an exclamation point, only a period. "We all know" that his official tag is "Elliott S! Maggin." If you'll note, I gave you a clue by putting an exclamation point at the end of the post title!

Video Review magazine, 1988

1988 was Superman's 50th Anniversary year, and Video Review magazine presented a feature article, shown below.

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?