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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 10, 2015 12:21:21 GMT -5
I am woefully ignorant about Superman; I didn't read his book as a kid and never went back to read the original Siegel and Shuster material. Supes was never much of an actual character for me; he was more of an icon, and so I never had any problem with multiple origin stories or a power set that changed depending on the decade considered... Like gods and heroes from ancient mythology, there was no "definitive" Superman for me.
The only time I cared for him as a character was in the first two Superman movies. I loved Chris Reeve as both Clark and Superman. The Fleisher cartoon are also very good, in that they perpetuate that image of Superman as a distant icon; he hardly says anything in all those short films.
Comic-book wise, the image I have of the "real" Superman is probably the Curt Swan version, or the Garcia Lopez one. One thing's for sure, I think Superman should look like the Farnese Hercules and not like an underwear model: a little thicker in the midriff than your typical bodybuilder.
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Post by MDG on Jul 10, 2015 13:34:15 GMT -5
Comic-book wise, the image I have of the "real" Superman is probably the Curt Swan version, or the Garcia Lopez one. One thing's for sure, I think Superman should look like the Farnese Hercules and not like an underwear model: a little thicker in the midriff than your typical bodybuilder. I had to look that up:  |
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Post by Rob Allen on Jul 10, 2015 14:29:33 GMT -5
I watched the George Reeves TV show and read a handful of Superman & related comics in the mid-60s, but didn't really feel a connection to the character until the 70s. "My" Superman was edited by Julius Schwartz, written by Cary Bates or Elliot S! Maggin, and drawn by Curt Swan (inked by Murphy Anderson, Bob Oksner, Tex Blaisdell or Frank McLaughlin), or Kurt Schaffenberger or Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Jul 10, 2015 15:19:50 GMT -5
In this short Filmation Video - Justice League of America - Target Earth - I watch this on a weekly basis (I have it downloaded it on my Computer) for my love of the awesome power of SUPERMAN Boy, that takes me back! That's Bud Collyer as Superman. He had originated the roles of Superman and Clark Kent on radio and in those great Fleischer shorts back in the 40s. Ted Knight, best known for his Emmy Award winning role as Ted Baxter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, voices the narrator and several incidental characters. He would continue this role when the show transitioned to Super Friends by Hanna-Barbera. And Pat Harrington, Jr., the irrepressible Dwayne Schneider from One Day at a Time, voices The Atom/Ray Palmer. Along with George Reeves, Collyer's interpretation of the Man of Steel made a lasting impression on me. The dramatic shift in the tone of his voice when he delivered his famous line, "This looks like a job. . .for Superman!" can still raise the hairs on the back of my neck. I didn't have much use for Superman after about age 10 or so, coming to appreciate him again only as an adult. And then it was more out of respect for his longevity and important place in the history of comics than any real enjoyment of his tales on their own merits (with a few exceptions, already mentioned by others). |
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Post by Trevor on Jul 10, 2015 17:32:38 GMT -5
I don't think I could pick just one. I didn't always read/watch them in chronological order, but I think I've consumed and enjoyed each of the incarnations mentioned in this thread so far.
Although perhaps the silver age stories are the most engrained in me, as that could explain why Alan Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? is probably my favorite comic story of all time.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Jul 10, 2015 17:54:43 GMT -5
Although perhaps the silver age stories are the most engrained in me, as that could explain why Alan Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? is probably my favorite comic story of all time. The Filmation Superman cartoons shown on 1966's The New Adventures of Superman and the following year's Superman/Aquaman Hour typically ended with Clark Kent breaking the fourth wall and delivering a knowing wink to the viewers. I think this is what Alan Moore is alluding to in the ending of WHTTMOT (one of my favorites as well).  |
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Post by Prince Hal on Jul 10, 2015 18:04:59 GMT -5
Although perhaps the silver age stories are the most engrained in me, as that could explain why Alan Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? is probably my favorite comic story of all time. The Filmation Superman cartoons shown on 1966's The New Adventures of Superman and the following year's Superman/Aquaman Hour typically ended with Clark Kent breaking the fourth wall and delivering a knowing wink to the viewers. I think this is what Alan Moore is alluding to in the ending of WHTTMOT (one of my favorites as well). Perhaps, but George Reeves had been doing that for years back in the 50s.  |
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Post by Phil Maurice on Jul 10, 2015 18:16:18 GMT -5
Perhaps, but George Reeves had been doing that for years back in the 50s. Great Caesar's Ghost! You're right! How did I forget that? Memory is a funny thing. Come to think of it, Kent did this in some of the Fleischer shorts as well. A long-standing tradition, apparently. |
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Post by dupersuper on Jul 10, 2015 19:48:36 GMT -5
I agree that leaving the Kents alive was a serious mistake. Their deaths were a necessary step in his maturation, teaching Clark that there were some things Superman would never be able to change no matter how powerful he was. Cei-U! I summon the strength in loss! Ooooh, disagree. I love me some Kents, and plenty of people mature without having their parents die while they're helpless. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Jul 10, 2015 20:23:30 GMT -5
Perhaps, but George Reeves had been doing that for years back in the 50s. Great Caesar's Ghost! You're right! How did I forget that? Memory is a funny thing. Come to think of it, Kent did this in some of the Fleischer shorts as well. A long-standing tradition, apparently. Right! I'd forgotten that he did it in the cartoons, too. Now, someone with a better collection of Golden Age Superman comics than I is going to have to see if he ever did it there. Wonder if he did it on the radio show? Hmmm... |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Jul 10, 2015 21:17:56 GMT -5
I agree that leaving the Kents alive was a serious mistake. Their deaths were a necessary step in his maturation, teaching Clark that there were some things Superman would never be able to change no matter how powerful he was. Cei-U! I summon the strength in loss! Ooooh, disagree. I love me some Kents, and plenty of people mature without having their parents die while they're helpless. I'm in the middle here - I think that simply giving Superman someone too talk to who knows everything about him and that he trusts implicitly is a huge storytelling virtue. (Or at least a handy way to drop some exposition.) And I always liked them as characters wherever they showed up. They were my favorite part of the John Byrne reboot, and I think I think they might have been the major reason I always favored the Silver Age SuperBOY over the man. Still, I see what Cei-U is saying as well. If I was in charge I'd probably knock one of 'em off. No reason you can't have it both ways. |
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Post by dupersuper on Jul 10, 2015 22:22:17 GMT -5
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Post by Prince Hal on Jul 10, 2015 23:43:52 GMT -5
Good work, Phil.
(That second winking Superman looks like he's been possessed by the Joker.)
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Post by fanboystranger on Jul 11, 2015 0:04:20 GMT -5
Bronze Age Superman, particularly as written by Elliot S! Maggin. His two prose novels, Last Son of Krypton and Miracle Monday are the definitive take on the character, as far as I'm concerned. Maggin is my favorite Superman writer, too. The funny thing is that I grew up a Marvel Zombie, and while I was certainly aware of Superman and his cultural significance, I never actually read a DC comic (let alone a Superman comic) until I was an adult. This would have been the end of the '90s when I first started reading DC. Still, despite being seen as passe by a lot of people at the time, I was absolutely thrilled by Maggin's Superman, which I had found through recommendations. I liked his stories a lot more than the regular Superman books of the time. |
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Post by Phil Maurice on Jul 11, 2015 0:05:37 GMT -5
Er, that senses-shattering collage was the work of dupersuper, Hal. It's a thing of beauty, no doubt, but I think your Lunesta© may be kicking in.  |
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