Epic Beards of Review: Superman No.172

In all her infinite grace, my fiancée was willing to allow us to have a superhero wedding.

Though she’s not nearly the level of nerdery I embrace, together we went all out and had the wedding I’d never dreamed possible. The ladies wore capes with our own super-insignia and the groomsmen all grew facial hair as “secret identities.” We had a Supa Hero IPA from Clown Shoes Beer. My wife painstakingly hand-made table toppers, whirly hearts and votive candle holders from comic book pages. Our cake had a Daily Planet topper and the Legion of Doom was our card box.

A year or so later, we’re also making a kid. Doctored some pretty nifty baby shower invites and plans to have “first photos” taken in a wrecked spaceship a la Superman. Though the wife has put the kibosh on an heroic name (Clark, Bruce or Lando) that won’t stop me from teaching my kid, boy or girl, about their heritage.

A pile of coverless comics were passed onto me when I was ten from my father. Among them was Superman No. 172, October 1964 with writing duties by Edmond Hamilton and art by Curt Swan (and a Giant Superboy that was my brother’s) were among my favorites.  They were from his childhood, specifically age ten, which was lost upon me until I re-read this issue.

I shall not wait as long with my progeny.

“The New Superman” starts off with a full page of people gawking over just that: some blond Superman streaking across the sky. Clark Kent looks skyward, dejected muttering that he’s just a reporter for the rest of his life. I’d have been more upset that the usurper was prettier.

The tale begins in earnest when The Daily Planet tasks Clark to investigate that an astronomer from the Metropolis Observatory has discovered a green comet! With his total-recall memory as young Kal-El hearing of this from his father not long before Krypton exploded. Though not heading straight for Earth, Superman must save countless other worlds from this menace.

In his super-preparedness, our hero summons two would-be champions from the Bottle City of Kandor, enlarges them with a ring borrowed from Green Lantern and sets out some tests to find which will succeed him if Superman’s task proves too daunting for the Man of Steel. It’s one thing to use your powers, but another completely to use them correctly. Of course, once you get a taste of power…

A veritable who’s who of co-workers, sidekicks, heroes and villains really make this piece a highlight of my childhood. Supes even employs new powers and a snazzy new costume! All these silly plot-lines and the callous way our new hero flaunts his power show our Superman as the hero he really is.

Even without powers, I’ve got a wife who loves me and a half-dozen longboxes of proof to show my kid how super we really are.

This originally appeared at Strip Tease in November 2013.

What's so funny about funny books?

For our wedding, the wife and I received this fancy new Roku player. It’s basically a little box that allows you to stream movies to your television without the use of your computer. There’s so much stuff out there I’ve never had the time or inclination to watch. Now that they’re basically free (as long as you belong to the rental sites like Netflix, Hulu, etc) I’ve come to feel obligated to gorge myself on whatever culture I can find.

Titled as “Superman vs. The Elite,” this animated superhero cartoon is one I can’t necessarily put a finger on. It’s based on DC Comics’ “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way” originally penned for Action Comics #775 by scribe Joe Kelly and illustrators Doug Mahnke and Lee Bermejo.

The story itself starts out with a mock Superman cartoon styled to be very childish and silly and even stated so by Lois Lane as she and Clark Kent watch, unawares as to what is about to unfold.  Before too long, The Atomic Skull proceeds to wreak havoc on Metropolis.

As the plot begins to take shape, we learn that society is getting pretty fed up with things like terrorism and super-villainy.  The United Nations doesn’t understand the thought behind putting super-criminals behind bars, only to have them escape to up the ante of destruction again. Some question whether or not Superman can follow the world into the 21^st century.

Somewhere in the Middle East two fictitious countries threaten each other with nuclear Armageddon. Superman comes to their rescue, only to be aided by a group of new heroes called The Elite. Supes has misgivings about their tactics and vows to keep an eye on them. What follows is some strange goings-on with a group of heroes that are misguided and angry, willing to do the hard things that Superman won’t cross a line to do.

Heads of state are executed, super-villains murdered in front of a cheering public and Superman being pushed aside as he’s being replaced by this new breed of anti-heroes. He is confronted then by The Elite and forced into and endgame where he has to choose between killing or dying at the hand of these killers.

Overall, there were lots of nice nods to DC Comics’ continuity and neat new characters that I’d never even known existed. The animation was top-notch with some great scenes of superpowers. As much as I can’t stand the Abby character on NCIS, having her as the voice of Lois Lane still didn’t taint my watching experience.

That being said: this cartoon is NOT FOR CHILDREN. Maybe I"m getting cynical in my old age, but the PG-13 rating was hard for me to stomach at times. A little over the head with ant-government sentiment, but even the swears I could get over. It's the "suggested fates" of an alien creature worming its way into someone's ear or monster-y deaths. That got me worried. The crumpling of another human being and the blowing off the head of The Atomic Skull was bad. And no lie, when Superman gets mad, it can get more than a little scary.

Books With Your Barista originally appeared 04/04/13 in the Lock Haven Express.

Musings

Was thinking through these stories or novels or whatever and realizing that there are (for the most part?) interludes as far as the chapter breaks are concerned.

Last 4th of July will have more story-driven pieces because of the nature of Barry's livelihood: Mrs. O'Leary's Cow, interference at Fantasy Forest and even the dream sequence at the beginning of the story overall.

Not too sure about Homelands yet, though I like the scope of the book being slightly more self-contained, at least within the confines of the immediate area.

Metro is another of those Ogethan-centric tales and I think it'll be more solidified with song, especially the Superman bits.

To be honest, the mechanics of the book will come along when they need to.  Maybe I'm thinking too broadly?  Maybe I'm letting things get in the way?

Just as the thoughts come naturally, organically, maybe that's how these interlude-y things should.  A story might get some place that a song or a quote might not be able to reach, let alone mesh within the fabric of the story.  It's going to need to flow to have the reader's experience it, live it as best as possible.