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Superman Timeline

  • News
  • September 4, 2008

As most of us know, this year marked Superman’s 70th anniversary. And as if that weren’t enough to engender conversation about the Man of Steel, Brad Meltzer’s new novel Book of Lies  has prompted quite a bit of discussion concerning Martin Siegel, who died during an armed robbery and whose son Jerome "Jerry" Siegel subsequently wrote the story of a bullet-proof alien who was invulnerable to all frailties.

So with all this talk going around about Superman’s beginnings, we here at ComicMix thought it was time to put together a small Superman time line. Please note, this time line is focused solely on Supermans’ adventures in the comics and not with his stories in other media.

1933 – Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster publish their story “Reign of the Super-Man." In the story, the title character is a bald homeless man named Bill Dunn who gains telepathic powers from a mad scientist’s experiment and intends to take over Earth. After this, Siegel writes up a new version of Superman who is secreatly named Clark Kent and is, in fact, an alien named Kal-L, son of Jor-L and last survivor of the dead planet Krypton. Shuster does artwork for the comic strip and they begin to submit it. The story is rejected by 17 different publishers over the next five years.

1938 – Superman/Clark Kent is finally introduced in Action Comics #1. Although Siegel has plotted out the name of Superman’s parents and planet, none of these are actually named in this issue’s origin story. Superman is said to have great strength, resistance to conventional injury, and is able to leap 1/8th of a mile.

1939 – In Superman #1, the planet Krypton is finally named in the comics. It is also mentioned that Clark Kent was raised by a kindly, elderly couple. His adopted mother is named “Mary Kent” and it’s said that she and her husband died soon before Clark moved to Metropolis.

1940 – In Action Comics #23, Clark’s newspaper The Daily Star is officially renamed as The Daily Planet and Superman has his first fight with “Luthor, the mad scientist.”

1941 – Superman #10 features our hero actually defying gravity for the first time by hovering in the air. Previous to this, it was always stated in the comics that he could only leap over great distances. Superman #11 confirms that Superman can now fly, just like in the cartoons and radio shows.

1942 – Superman #17 reveals that the Man of Tomorrow has a hidden base known as the Secret Citadel, located inside a mountain range nearby Metropolis.

1945 – The character of Superboy (an adolescent version of Superman) and his hometown of Smallville are introduced in More Fun Comics #101. Initially, this is treated as a separate continuity from the mainstream Superman stories.

1948 – Superman #53 names Clark’s adopted parents as “John and Mary Kent.”

1949 – Kryptonite makes its first comic book appearance in comics in Superman #61 (originally, it was only used in the radio plays). In this story, Kryponite is colored red but in all subsequent stories it is colored green (other forms of Kryptonite with different colors will appear later on). In this same story, Superman finally learns the name and history of his home planet Krypton, even though readers have known such facts for years already. (more…)

Mark Millar Wants to Write Superman Movie

  • News
  • September 3, 2008

Mark Millar is heating up in the eyes of Hollywood in the wake of Wanted‘s success so it’s no surprise to see him interviewed all over the place, including, most recently, G4. Mark is also given to shameless self-promotion and has discussed his business dealings so the news media has repeatedly pick up on his claims and treat them us news.  As is often the case, it’s Mark shilling for himself and making noise. Such may be the case with his latest interview where he spitballed his ideas for a Superman film. 

Now, Mark has clearly indicated his desire to write a Superman movie for several years now and he’s trying to stake his claim now that Warner Bros. has essentially apologized for Superman Returns by going in a different direction, without Bryan Singer attached.

He told Blair Butler, "I’ve had this plan for like 10 years for a big three-picture Superman thing, like a Lord of the Rings epic, starting over from scratch again with a seven-hour Superman story. One to be released each year."

Until Warner Bros. issues a confirming press release, take Mark’s comments with a grain of salt.

 

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Review: Invincible the Series

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During the 2008 San Diego Comic Con, MTV New Media debuted their new animated series based on Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker’s Invincible comic. Published by Image Comics, [[[Invincible]]] tells the story of Mark Grayson, a young man who inherits his father’s superpowers. It’s been released through various outlets: iTunes, Xbox, Amazon, MTV2, MTV.com, and MTV Mobile.

Instead of creating brand new animation, the series has decided to use the latest editing techniques to “animate” Cory Walker’s actual comic book art. Just use existing comic art and let the camera to give the illusion of movement. To younger viewers this may seem innovative, but it’s been done as far back as the Marvel Comics based cartoons from the 1960’s. It was used again, very artistically by MTV, when they brought [[[The Maxx]]] to television. Even more recently [[[The Watchmen]]] has been done in this style.

While the story and art deserve all the critical praise that the Invincible comic has received over the years, [[[Invincible the Series]]]’ biggest stumbling block is its editing. The MTV produced show has the same pacing as MTV’s promo spots, wildly kinetic with lots of flashing graphics and texts. Never let the eye settle for minute. This is fine for 15-second ad, but watching a full show like that is taxing.

In a one step forward, two steps back move, the show decided to include the actual word balloons from the comic. But instead of letting people read it, the text has a subtle shake to it. To emphasize energy, I guess. While nothing sits still on the screen, you would expect the parts you want people to read to be motionless.

A good way to judge an animated show’s sound is to close your eyes and listen. Does the soundtrack still create images of the action? In Invincible’s case, the answer is yes, but barely. The voice acting and sound effects are serviceable. They don’t do anything cringe worthy, but neither do they stand out. No Kevin Conroy or John Di Maggio here.

If the production calmed down, this could’ve been a great show that brought quality comic books to video formats. But as it is, I couldn’t stand watching this for more than a few episodes. And like I said, I’m a fan. Imagine the effect to someone who’s browsing MTV2 late at night.

Watch the first episode for yourself below. Let me know if you think I’m right or wrong in the comments section.

 

‘Clone Wars’ Debuts on Cable October 3

  • News
  • September 3, 2008

The Cartoon Network has announced that the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars will debut on Friday, October 3 at 9 p.m. The first night will feature a one-hour special, kicking off the cable network’s Friday night block of new programming. The first hour that night will be offering a sneak peek at their new Secret Saturdays. The following week will be the new schedule with The Secret Saturdays (premiere episodes); Star Wars: The Clone Wars; Star Wars: The Clone Wars (premiere episodes); Ben 10: Alien Force (premiere episodes).

Lucasfilm kicked off audience anticipation for the new television series by releasing a feature film version in August. As of September 1, the film has earned a disappointing $30,672,432 along with lackluster reviews from professionals and kids alike.  The movie hasn’t wowed them overseas either, taking in just $22,500,000.

Set during the Clone Wars between Episode II and Episode III, Lucas guarantees at least 100 thirty-minute episodes will be produced. Anakin and Obi-Wan will be featured prominently in the series, and Yoda, Count Dooku, Mace Windu, Palpatine, Padme, and General Grievous are also expected to appear.  An entirely different voice cast came on board since the movie stars couldn’t necessarily commit to 100 episodes each. The series exposes the front lines of the intergalactic struggle between good and evil, The Grand Army of the Republic led by Yoda and the New Droid Army of the Separatists, respectively. (more…)

Free Multiplayer Expansion for ‘The Incredible Hulk’ Videogame

  • News
  • September 3, 2008

Remember The Incredible Hulk videogame? Based on this summer’s movie, the game received solid reviews but the bulk of its sales happened around the movie’s release. Hulk smashed New York City, but we’ve forgotten about him since then. But what if Hulk was fighting another Hulk?

Maybe it was a feature that didn’t make it in time for the street date. Maybe it’s hype for the game as we near The Incredible Hulk movie’s DVD release. But Sega has released a Hulk Multiplayer Expansion Pack. For free!

This multiplayer expansion pack for The Incredible Hulk adds additional online, two-player missions that will test the speed, strength, and skill of even the biggest Super Hero fan. The missions take place in one of 5 large arenas, each one a dynamic and fully destructible environment packed with non-stop action and ruthless enemies.

Hulk can fight Hulk, or grey Hulk, or Maestro, or even Hulkbuster Iron Man. The PlayStation 3 version has an exclusive Green Scar version, while the Xbox 360 has Hulk’s Mr. Fixit persona. Now we can really find out who is the strongest there is.

 

 

Top Shelf Holds Major Sale

  • News
  • September 3, 2008

Chris Staros at Top Shelf sent out the follow news regarding a sale worth sharing:

To celebrate The Surrogates movie wrapping principal photography, surviving San Diego, and all the cool new summer and fall releases, for the next ten days — thru Friday September 12th — Top Shelf is having a giant $3 graphic novel web sale. When you visit the site, you’ll find over 125 graphic novels and comics on sale — with 90 titles marked down to just $3 (!) and a slew of other key titles just slashed!

To go directly to the list of items on sale, just click here:
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/specialdeals

But here are a few sample sale items:

— $3 Books: Comic Book Artist, I Am Going To Be Small, Lower Regions, Regards from Serbia, That Salty Air, Alec – After the Snooter, The Mirror of Love, The King, Fox Bunny Funny, plus 90 more!

— Slashed Prices: From Hell Hardcover, Lost Girls, Blankets, Too Cool To Be Forgotten, Owly, Korgi, Super Spy, Essex County Trilogy, Incredible Change-Bots, The Surrogates, and more!

— Freebies with every order: Yearbook Stories,  The 2008 Top Shelf Sampler, and Owly & Friends!

Please note that Top Shelf now accepts PayPal (as well as Visa, MasterCard, Amex, and Discover — all secure), and that this sale is good for "direct market" retailers as well (and comic book shops will get their wholesale discount on top of these sale prices).

LEGO Batman Becoming TV Show

  • News
  • September 3, 2008

“Where does he get those wonderful toys?” Batman gets them at the LEGO store, Joker.

At last week’s Games Convention in Leipzig, game developer Traveler’s Tales confirmed that the upcoming LEGO Batman videogame will be transformed into a 20-minute animated cartoon with an eye towards creating a series. The show will be produced using the same in-game engine used to produce the game. No details about when the show is coming out or who’s producing.

It’s kind of like licensed merchandising version of the childhood “pass it on” game. LEGO Batman cartoon is based on the LEGO Batman videogame which is based on the LEGO Batman toys which parodied the Batman comic books. Let’s see if DC Comics will continue the chain with a comic based on the LEGO Batman show.

And just because it’s so cute, here’s the latest clip featuring LEGO Alfred kicking bricks.

 

Tarzan Returns to the Big Screen

  • News
  • September 3, 2008

Tarzan is returning to the Big Screen but not as an animated musical sequel from Disney but a played-for-straight adventure from Warner Bros, and director Stephen Sommers (The Mummy). Variety reports this morning that Sommers and Stuart Beattie will be co-writing the screenplay. The duo last worked together on 2009’s G.I. Joe film for Paramount, which recently completed lensing.

Producer Jerry Weintraub has been trying to mount a new live-action version of Tarzan since 2003, working from a screenplay by John August (Shazam!) and at one point Guillermo del Toro was in talks to direct the film.

Ever since Edgar Rice Burroughs first wrote about his man raised by the apes in 1912, it has been repeatedly interpreted for serials, movies, radio, television and comic books. Burroughs penned some 23 books featuring his character in addition to creating other fantastic realms and characters including John carter, Warlord of Mars and Pellucidar.  While Johnny Weismuller’s performance informed the image in the minds of a generation or two of moviegoers, today more people probably know him from the 1999 Disney animated feature.

This will be Warner’s second go-round with the Lord of the Jungle after 1984’s underrated Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes from Hugh Hudson.  The film introduced us to actor Christopher Lambert later known for Highlander.  Warner’s television network, the CW, had a disastrous version of Tarzan in 2003.
 

MoCCA Celebrates Kim Deitch’s Career

  • News
  • September 3, 2008

We just received word that The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art is opening a retrospective in honor of Kim Deitch’s distinguished career.  The exhibition will run from September 9 through December 5 at MoCCA in Manhattan.

According to a press release:

“Kim Deitch: A Retrospective will display original comics pages and other work covering the artist’s entire career to date, beginning with full-page comic strips drawn for the East Village Other in the sixties up to recent graphic novels including The Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Alias the Cat, Shadowland, and Deitch’s Pictorama. The exhibit will also feature rarely seen work including elaborate preparatory drawings, hand-colored originals, animation cel set-ups and lithographs.
  (more…)

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Getting Catty, by Elayne Riggs

  • News
  • September 3, 2008

attackofthepumas-8308565Humans have been fascinated by felines both big and small since the beginnings of recorded history. At times we’ve both worshipped them (as did the ancient Egyptians) and reviled them (as did medieval Europeans, thus opening themselves up to the spread of the Black Plague when the witchcraft-associated kitties weren’t around in sufficient numbers to keep the rats at bay). And they’ve probably always been a big part of our mythology and folklore, including making multiple appearances in comics, from superheroes like Catman and Kitten to adult stuff like Fritz the Cat to funny animal and anthropomorphic fare.

But lately two big-cat names have infiltrated our culture to the extent that we’re all probably sick of them by now. I’m secretly hoping for Matt Groening to include them in his Forbidden Words list for 2009 so we never have to deal with them again, because they — like a number of other catty terms (such as, um, “catty”) — are used to impart negative attitudes towards women. And being one of those women-types, I tend not to like negative things directed at me simply because of my internal plumbing.

(more…)

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