Month: September 2016

Today would’ve been Christopher Reeve’s 64th birthday.  As is customary here at SUPERMANIA we mark the occasion with a fitting tribute – in this case a rare interview with the man himself taken from the August 1987 issue of Starlog Magazine.

Speaking to Kim Howard Johnson from the set of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace in 1986, Reeve, somewhat poignantly indicated how this film was the most personal of the series.  In fact it would be, both thematically and practically having taken story credit and second unit direction besides the standard dual roles.

All of which Reeve seemed to take in his stride, his experience evident after a decade in the red boots and the creative freedom to express what his Superman should be doing.  Some of these character nuances (such as both identities ultimately being a disguise) were firsts here and continue to resonate in Super-Literature.

Though the film would be a critical and commercial failure, Reeve’s performance was universally praised and remains the one constant in what has now regained life as a cult classic.

Rest in Peace, ‘Toph…

Edition One of Merit Publications magazine is quite the enigma given that there were no subsequent issues and that it is arguably one of the finest pieces of vintage Superman items produced in conjunction with the movie.

Though it proclaims to showcase Warner Bros. New films, it is actually an elegant portfolio of photographs and accompanying text all from Superman: The Movie featuring the best publicity stills and some uncommon prints.  Anybody seeking info on Clint Eastwood’s and Stanley Kubrick’s latest would’ve felt short-changed as coverage amounts to nothing more than ads for Every Which Way But Loose and The Shining inside the back cover.

As if the glorious layouts (above) were not enough, the centrefold is a pull-out poster of the iconic ‘Punch’ shot taken by Bob Penn in New York in 1977 – all of the above making this the ideal companion piece to the Collectors Album and SUPERMANIA’s recommendation for an inexpensive addition to the perfect Super-library…

Coming soon – The Japanese edition…