The first appearance of Superman was in Action Comics #1, which first hit newsstands on April 18, 1938, making today Superman’s 75th birthday. It was cover dated June 1938, matching the release date of Man of Steel, due out on June 14. June 14 is also the day that our Silver Screen Superman podcasts reach the Christopher Reeve films, including a complete commentary track to accompany the extended edition of that movie. UPDATED: Reader Chad points us to this article discussing Superman’s relevance to the modern audience.
Category Archives: Superman/Smallville
Silver Screen Superman 4: “Superman vs. the Atom Man”
The fourth chapter of Silver Screen Superman is available here. This incarnation is the one that held the most surprises for me when going through these for the podcast research.
Silver Screen Superman 3: The 1948 Serial
Our third chapter in Silver Screen Superman is available here. You can also subscribe through iTunes to either the master feed (which will have more than Superman in the next couple of months) or through the Silver Screen Superman only feed.
Silver Screen Superman #2 – The Famous Studios Cartoons
Our latest podcast is available here. As before, this can also be accessed through our podcast feeds either in RSS (master, Superman only) or iTunes (master or Superman only.) This month, we look at the Famous Studios animated Superman shorts.
Silver Screen Superman Podcast #1: The Fleischer Cartoons
The first Superman podcast is up and ready for a listen. It can be accessed directly or through our iTunes feed later today. (It doesn’t seem accessible right now, but it should be.) Now that the feed has content, I’ll also make direct links to the feed and submit it to iTunes as well. UPDATED: The dedicated Silver Screen Superman feed is now accessible through iTunes and/or RSS.
Podcast Projects for 2013 and beyond
We have not one, not two, but three different podcast projects starting in 2013 and later. Project 3 is the big one that has been teased for months. If you enjoy them, there will be more. Details for all three follow after the break. I’ll be looking for guest hosts for all of them to add a conversation dynamic. If you are interested in guest hosting on one or more, you can email me and let me know.
Weekend Review – “The Adventures of Superman (1952-1958)”
In 1951, superheroes had no respect as a live action art form. With the successful Superman radio show wrapping up, attempts were made to turn that into live action, with out an animated flying Superman. A short feature film was made and recut to become two episodes of a television series. A number of actors signed on, as the show had no sponsor and their agents assured them that the episodes would never see the light of day, so they should just take the money and run. That series got a last minute sponsorship from Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, and ran for six years, ending with the death of its star.
Superman: Grounded #704-714
Awhile back, I reviewed the start of Superman‘s “Grounded” story. I soon lost interest, as it really didn’t live up to expectations. However, as it has ended prematurely and become the final Superman adventure before the Great Reboot, and the last one with the original numbering, it seems that a concluding review may be in order.
Smallville Review – “Finale”
In 1978, Richard Donner directed the world’s first good superhero movie. In 2001, a prequel of sorts first hit the airwaves. On Friday, May 13, 2011, that series ended after a 218 episode run.
Wonder Woman Cancelled; Smallville dead.
Later this week, we may have an actual review of the Smallville finale, if we can find someone on staff masochistic enough to write it. Meanwhile, we can discuss two hours that make Superman III and IV look coherent and memorable.
In a possibly related story, we will at least be spared the disastrous-looking Wonder Woman tv show.