The Official Aficionado…

Like so many of us only last year, life as we knew it had changed and not for the better.  In the worst cases, we lost loved ones and for the rest of us – the world was on indefinite hold.  While I don’t pretend my situation was any worse than anybody else’s, by September of 2021 I was unemployed for the first time in over 20 years, bored and miserable with no motivation.

It was one of those days in the endless weeks staring into the abyss and avoiding job websites that the phone rang.  It was an International number.  My first instinct was simply to reject the call but something told me to pick up.  A booming voice with a broad US accent greeted me on the line, the kind that raises your spirits when you listen to the radio, for example.

“Hey Martin!  Its Jay.  How are ‘ya!?”

“Jay?  Wow. Hello.  To what do I owe the pleasure??

“So Jim and I are thinking of doing a thing at Motor City Comic-Con this year.  A little Superman IV reunion.”

“Well.  What a fantastic idea.  Would you like me to contribute or something?”

“Actually yes – we want you to come over.”

“Come over?”

“Ya!  To Detroit for the event.  It’ll be great.  Jim & I are dying to meet you”

“Are you serious?”

“Absolutely.  We want you there.  You’re gonna love it”

“Ah…you know I don’t think I’ve ever been so flattered to be asked about anything more.  I’m overwhelmed, but…”

“But what?”

“I’m really not a good flier.  I don’t like it at all. ironically…”

“Hey, I don’t like it either but what the hell.  Talk with your family and let me know by end of day”

“Wow.  Are you sure about this??”

“Absolutely.  Talk later”

And so months of intense planning ensued, and for my part there was little I could offer but I’ve watched and listened in awe at how Jay & Jim have turned what was planned as a modest celebration into probably the ultimate (and maybe final?) unique gathering of celebrities from the classic Superman Movie series to date.  And I will be part of it.  In what capacity yet I still don’t really know beyond representing Capedwonder Europe but I’m so honoured to have been asked that it didn’t seem real.  Then a few weeks ago, I was sent this –

 

Which not only made the whole thing real but is also in my opinion, one of the best Reeve tribute videos ever made.  Then there’s this –

Where, unbelievably, I get a mention.

I can’t begin to express my gratitude to these guys for everything they’ve given me – both previously with the guest spots on the Capedwonder Podcast and in advance of this event.  Its hard to express just how the invite alone back then went a long way to pull me out of the mire and I’m glad to report everything has gotten better for me since then.  Hopefully that goes for the rest of you too.  Just like the guys say, I can talk about this stuff all day so if you do attend (and you really should!!) come seek me out, it will be my pleasure to speak with you and maybe help do for you what’s already been done for me.  I plan to document the whole trip and upload several YouTube videos on my channel but be sure to watch for live coverage during the event.  Details are all below and updates will follow but for right now as Jim would say – Stay Super.

 – Martin Lakin, Feb 2022.

 

35 Years after his Final Flight in Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, the Love and Admiration For Christopher Reeve, both on Screen and in Life, are Stronger and more Inspiring than ever!

Jay Towers and Jim Bowers make the BIG announcement! This Spring, Motor City Comic Con and The Caped Wonder Superman Podcast proudly present The Christopher Reeve Legacy Reunion, May 13-15, 2022, in Michigan!

A 3-day celebration with 6 stars from the four Christopher Reeve Superman movies, spanning 1978-1987 – Sarah Douglas, Jack O’Halloran, Aaron Smolinski, Marc McClure, Mark Pillow, and Mariel Hemingway – will unite together for the first time in Detroit to meet fans and promote a Motor City Comic Con exclusive! A LIMITED-EDITION VARIANT COVER of the spectacular Superman ’78, Issue #1 comic book, only available at Motor City Comic Con this coming May…with a portion of proceeds benefiting The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.

Plus, Superman ’78 comic book series writer Robert Venditti and artist Wilfredo Torres will be at the CapedWonder booths to meet you and sign autographs!

The celebrities, Jay, and Jim are so excited to meet you at The Christopher Reeve Legacy Reunion at Motor City Comic Con, May 13-15, 2022! Make plans to be there! Tickets are available now…click here!

This is the Superman Celebration you’ve been waiting for!

 

68…

Today would’ve been Christopher D’Olier Reeve’s 68th Birthday – as is customary here at SUPERMANIA I like to showcase a little exclusive to celebrate and the above is quite the rarity.  Indeed, this seldom-seen, jumbo 128-page one-off Special ‘Competition Edition’ comic hails all the way from Australia and is stuffed with content featuring stories from the Siegel & Shuster days right up to the present day of 1978.

There’s some thing for everyone in this DC Comics authorised anthology issued by Murray publishers, but of particular note to Superman Movie fans is the collection of ‘Movie Reports’, which had previously been published sporadically by DC across their entire range of titles.  The five chapters above represent the only volume they have ever been collected in (although re-formatted and incomplete).  There would also be a follow-on with issue #5 featuring Movie Reports on Superman II sandwiched between more reprints in what became a seven-issue run ending in 1982.

This little relic and thousands of others like it may be insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but in uncertain times like today, when a hero is needed more than ever, they serve as a nostalgic reminder of happier days when to us, The Man of Steel was real.

Rest in Peace ‘Toph…

 

R&B…

As significant and reliable a gift to fandom as its sister publications Starlog and Fangoria, vintage publication Comics Scene was regarded as a pre-internet bible for the medium and its various transitions to the big & small screen.

Indeed, arguably the most compelling aspect of the magazine were ‘The Comics Screen’ found in the back pages which featured an alphabetical list of all the comic-book based films either in production or ‘development hell’ where many would languish (and remain unmade to this day).

Toward the end of the ‘S’ column in Issue #1 of the second volume (the first being a short run between 1982-83), however, Superman IV was not only listed as in release but also on the cover of the special (top pic) for the start of a revival of the periodical which would last until 1996.

Consistently running pieces on the comics industry alongside the cinematic adaptations, the Superman double-whammy would be interviews with actor Christopher Reeve and comic-book writer/artist John Byrne, who, on the back of his huge success with origin-revision Man of Steel  was now heading up the monthly Superman book.  While Byrne speaks candidly about his process of ‘clearing off the barnacles’ from fifty years of mythos to get back to basics, Reeve offers his personal insights into the development of the character and his recent intervention in the arms race (above).

Decades later, its interesting to note that Byrne’s highest hopes were that his Superman be remembered in the same regard as Neal Adams or Curt Swan’s while Reeve’s desire was the character remain a leader rather than a muscleman.  Between them, both of these ideals and many more besides would come to pass, building a better Man of Steel for the 80’s and beyond…

 

Stalmannen..!

Join SUPERMANIA as we spin the world backwards in time to 1979, where Superman reigned supreme at the box-office and ABBA ruled the airwaves.

And speaking of our Swedish friends, DC Comics in Europe at the time were being published by Semic Press as the adventures of Stalmannen – featuring reprints of ‘current’ stories mostly featuring art by Curt Swan and translated accordingly –

Free from the restrictions of DC in the US however, opportunities were provided for awesome photo covers (top pic) and contained unusual features like a page dedicated to snapshots of kids in their finest Super-Costumes.

For the February’79 release of Superman: The Movie in Sweden the publishers celebrated by holding a competition (or lottery) to attend the premiere (second pic) and in a later issue (third pic) the back cover featured an ad for some pretty unsavoury looking confectionery based on the film – the packaging for which making them somewhat of a scarce collectors item today…

 

The Big Palooka…

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At the dawn of DC Comics properties conquest of the silver screen, modern day successors Marvel would gamely go along for the ride in early 1979 with both this fun publication above and its more highbrow twin Starburst (to be featured in an upcoming post).

While Pizzazz may well have been ‘humour in the Marvel manner’, the articles featured about ‘The Big Palooka’ were very well-written and offered some great insights into the upcoming movie and probably best of all, a preview of Richard Donner’s Superman II, where actress/stuntwoman Ellen Bry (fresh from her appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man TV pilot, or feature if you lived in the UK) speaks out regarding a scene that wouldn’t surface publicly for another thirty years…