Amazing World Of Superman!

It's Superman's birthday. And the Dojo wraps up a week-long celebration of the Man of Steel with a look a real bit of offbeat memorabilia, a tome titled Amazing World of Superman. Originally published in 1973 to celebrate Superman Day in the little city of Metropolis, Illinois, this oversized tabloid-size tome is a wonderful collection of all sorts of Superman stories, images, and whatnots. 

The volume opens with "Superman in Superman Land", a story by writer Bill Finger and artists Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye. Originally appearing in Action Comics #210 from 1955 this yarn imagines a theme park dedicated to the "Man of the Tomorrow". We get lots of offbeat glimpses of this imaginary park before we are introduced to a mysterious character who turns out to be Lex Luthor (no surprise). He's concocted a scheme to incapacitate the "Man of Steel" with the ubiquitous Kryptonite and trap him inside a mock-up of Krypton, one meant to be exploded. It will surprise no one that the scheme fails. 

This if followed by a "How to Draw Superman" page by Curt Swan as well as page introducing us to the extended Superman family. Then there is a wonderful ten-page article detailing how comic books are conceived and manufactured. It's a nifty item because it's loaded with photos of the staff of DC at the time. 

Then we are treated to a brand new (then) "The Origin of Superman" written by E. Nelson Bridwell, and drawn by Carmine Infantino, Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson. This is a delightful fifteen-page black and white presentation which hits all the highlights right through Clark leaving his foster parents in Smallville and taking up his career in Metropolis. There is a particularly touching scene with Clark and his dying foster father. 

Then a special detached fold-out poster showcases a "Map of Krypton" in amazing colorful detail. This map was rendered by E. Nelson Bridwell and artist Sal Amendola. Then we get a page showing how Superman made it big in syndicated comic strips. 

"Metropolis, Illinois - Story of an American City" presents copious features and images from the celebration for the inaugural "Superman Day". We get a lot of backstory about how this event came to be with photos of a guy named Charles Chandler dressed as Superman making appearances in sundry places like the TV show To Tell the Truth. 

"The Superman Legend - Rogues' Gallery" has more art by Murphy Anderson and writing by Bridwell as we meet some of the best villains such as the aforementioned Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Parasite, Toyman, and others such as the Phantom Zone villains. "The Secrets of Superman's Fortress" takes us inside the Fortress of Solitude as drawn by "Swanderson". 

(Al Hirschfield)

"It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman" is all about the Broadway show which debuted in 1966. We get some nifty photos from that singular show. "Superman Salutes Nasa" is about Superman's connection to the OAO -2 (Orbital Astronomical Observatory). "Important Dates in Superman's Life" is a one-page item which hits the highlights from Superman's publishing history in comics, novels and appearances in other media. Sadly, and frankly strangely, I found no references to either the utterly wonderful Fleischer cartoons of the 40's nor to the pretty darn good Filmation cartoons of the 60's here or any other place it the book. 

We get two pages from "Superman's Mission for President Kennedy" which was marred when it first appeared by the tragic assassination of the thirty-fifth president of the United States. The story was published at the request of both President Johnson and the Kennedy clan. 

"The Superman Legend" returns with a look at Superboy's hideout beneath the Kent home and info on his costume written by Bridwell with art by Bob Brown, Wally Wood and Mike Exposito. (This was presented in black and white.)

The book closes with a photo album of sorts which features George Reeves, Kirk Allyn, and others from Superman's film and TV adventures. The final image is a full-page poster shot of Superman by Curt Swan and George Klein (in black and white).

This wonderful time capsule was reprinted by DC in a hand hardcover format in 2021. At a mere twenty bucks it was a bargain then and now. Happy Birthday to the Man of Steel. Now it's time to enjoy some of that vintage George Reeves taking on those little creepy Mole Men on my TV. 

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Showcase Corner - Showcase!

Comic book lore informs us that DC's Showcase was the birthplace of the Silver Age of Comics. After a robust Golden Age bristling with all manner of superhero types, the tastes of the populace had changed and other genres such as war, romance, and humor had taken over the field with only a few vestige heroes such as Superman and Batman still running along. But in the pages of Showcase which was designed specifically to test new comic book ideas it was thought (after quite a bit of time actually) that maybe it was time to check the waters again and see if maybe, just maybe heroes were once again the order of the day. After much hemming and hawing it proved that they were, but in its earliest days that's not what showcase really showed. 

The first three issues of Showcase are pretty forgettable events. They are not bad comics by any means, in fact they are very well produced comics in a variety of genres which might well be called in the light of the modern day a bit mundane. Fireman Farrell was a brave sort who wanted to be a fireman like his dear old Dad and does just that. We are treated to three stories by Arnold Drake and John Prentice that are exceedingly well crafted but dull as dishwater. They read like episodes of Dragnet, the Dragnet of the 60's with all the moralizing. Then the second issue gives us trio of stories about critters by artists who at the time mostly did war stuff. Joe Kubert, Ross Andru and Russ Heath make some beautiful stories and the one about the runaway bear is quite entertaining, but it's pretty low octane. It's gets better in the third issue drawn by Heath when we get a full-length tale about a young man wanting to be a frogman and earning his way through some downright suicidal missions. But it's not anything new. 

Supposedly its's the fourth issue that marks the beginning of a new way forward. But I'm not convinced actually. Yes we get a "new" superhero in The Flash and it does indicate a conscious break with the past since the original Flash from only a few years before is now relegated to the comics pages of the comic story. The stories aren't anything really to get all that  excited about though. The Turtle, the first Flash villain is actually quite lame. It's mostly science which is on display. 

Following the Flash we get yet another familiar format with some crime tales all cobbled together under an unconvincing "Manhunters" title. If Showcase is supposed to quicken the audience for new things, this seems a particularly poor effort to do that. 

In the next two issues of Showcase though things begin to heat up. Jack Kirby was dabbling at DC at this time making some fine art for some heady science fiction stuff and then he and writer Dave Wood come up with the Challengers of the Unknown. And for my money it is the debut of the Challs that marks the real beginning of a new age, one that will one day be dubbed "Silver". The Challs are fresh and their adventures are delightful blend of science fiction and a little sorcery bonded onto a high adventure format that sings. These are full-length stories which is important in order to give the Challs time to show themselves as the plucky blokes they are, able to fend off fear and threats with equal aplomb.  

The Flash is back for another go and despite the arrival of a for real rogue in Captain Cold it's still less impressive to my eyes than the new look that Kirby brought to the Challengers stories. 

Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane debuts in her own series and while they prove successful as most things "Super" did back then, the stories are decidedly old-fashioned and despite competent art by Al Plastino and Wayne Boring among others there is no sense of anything new. 

The Challengers return in the nick of time for two more titanic issues, and prove to me that they are the breakouts in this series so far. They feel new and crisp and offer stories which I'd argue appeal to a wider ranger of readers than either the Lois Lane stuff or the Flash really. There's a hint of the war format found in "Frogmen" but blended with raw gleaming science fiction. The Challengers will break out into their own title, only a month after Lois Lane did likewise. They are the first truly new feature to do so. 

The Flash is back yet again for another try-out and it's really to Julie Schwartz's credit that he kept banging along on this. Ultimately he will be proven to have been right, superheroes were wanted again, but as Schwart clearly also knew science ficiton was what sold. 

And that is evident by the next three new characters to debut in the pages of Showcase. Space Ranger is a likeable comic with a familiar format which feels like a superhero story though it is set in the future. He has a secret identity as the son of a rich industrialist and along with his lovely secretary Myra and his shape-changing alien sidekick Cryll battles crime across the solar system and beyond. He has a good and sturdy rocket called the Solar King and he's one hundred percent good guy. His pulp roots are all too evident. 

But fresher than Space Ranger is Adam Strange. Adam is an archeologist who is whisked to the distant planet Rann by a random Zeta-Beam and he quickly finds a girl in the lovely Alanna and a purpose when he is called upon again and again to save all of Rann from all sorts of threats and disasters. He quickly dons a sleek and handsome suit and takes is place among the best heroes ever concocted. The artwork by Mike Sekowsky isn't as sleek as what will come with Carmine Infantino when Adam gets his own ongoing series, but it's very modern compared to the competent but somewhat lackluster efforts by Bob Brown for Space Ranger. The "Adventures on Other Worlds" feel more sophisticated and they are. 

This volume ends with yet another sci-fi concept given form with Rip Hunter Time Master. Rip and his allies Jeff Smith and Bonnie and Corky Baxter ride the time sphere back to prehistoric times and mingle with criminals and dinosaurs. It's old-fashioned adventure with a sci-fi garnish. The second adventure has the team tumble back into time finding Alexander the Great, Circe the Sorceress and even seeing the demise of Atlantis. Jack Miller wasn't stingy with the concepts and the artwork by Ruben Moreira in the debut and Sekowsky in the follow-up is fine. But this isn't as strong as Adam Strange or the Challs. 

But it does show that was was selling was science fiction, and the superheroes who would dominate many of the future issues of Showcase were as much science fiction concepts as they were superhero ones. Green Lantern, The Atom, Sea Devils, and The Metal Men will dominate the next many issues and like what preceded them the common factor is science fiction. 

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Live Kree Or Die - The Death Of Captain Marvel!

Following the events of the epic Kree-Skrull War, Captain Marvel was once again awarded his own comic which picked up with the numbering of his old series.

This time the talents of Superman legend Wayne Boring were used in combination with new writing talent Marv Wolfman to attempt to kickstart the character, a character Marvel desperately wanted to succeed. (Maybe if Black Goliath had been named "Black Marvel" he'd have been given a few more shots at the big show.) But the series was clearly on a low simmer and going not much of anywhere when with nothing to lose the young up-and-coming talent Jim Starlin was given a stab at the Kree Captain.

Re-introducing his characters from the moon Titan, who had shown up briefly in the pages of Iron Man and Marvel Two-In-One, Starlin at long last had a worthy place to work and to showcase his epic story line featuring the mad god Thanos. And Captain Marvel had a  mission and an enemy worthy of the name. (It's worth a closer look sometime in the future all by itself, I've taken a glimpse here some years ago.) It saved the series and even after Starlin left, the arrival of Steve Englehart and Al Milgrom and later Pat Broderick, kept the title afloat for several more years. (Maybe it was the change of hair color from silver to gold.) By hook and by crook Captain Marvel kept on running throughout the 70's even showing up in a revived Marvel Spotlight after his own title was once again and for all time cancelled. After that there was only one story that Starlin wanted to tell -- the story of how Captain Marvel died.

This final story really began in Captain Marvel #34, the last by Jim Starlin who had done so much to revitalize the character. In that issue Cap must save the world from a deadly government-created nerve toxin named "Compound Thirteen". His opponent is the deadly Nitro a man who can explode his every atom and them recombine them with devastating effects. Defeating Nitro finally by overloading his power by combining it with the energy of the transformative Nega-Bands, Mar-Vell is able to end the threat of the nerve toxin but not without massive exposure which throws him for a loop short term. It turns out to have had long term consequences as well.

Marvel Graphic Novel #1 no less is the setting for the final Captain Marvel story titled "The Death of Captain Marvel". It begins with a reflective Mar-Vell recording his earliest adventures, creating a record of sorts of his life and times. He is traveling with Mentor and Eros to gather up the stony remains of Thanos (who had been killed in an epic battle with Adam Warlock).

They find that the calcified body of Thanos is being worshiped by his demented followers and have to fend off their attack. That attack isn't much but it causes Captain Marvel to reveal a weakness and he confesses to Mentor and Eros that he has cancer, or as the Kree call it "The Blackend".

Soon after Mar-Vell continues to reflect on his life, a life filled with enemies both dead and alive and some few who became allies. Then he begins the grim task of informing his loved ones especially the woman he's come to love -- Elysius. When he attempts to tell Rick Jones of the dire situation, in a precautionary effort to have Jones checked out by experts, he is met with anger and frustration by Jones, an orphan who has suffered a great deal of loss. Later still the greatest minds on Earth look for a cure and like Mentor and his scientists on Titan realize that Captain Marvel has lived so long because of the Nega-bands and their energy, but that same energy makes any treatment nearly impossible. Still they continue to search and reflect on why they have not to this point used their awesome intellects to solve this problem which afflicts all humanity.

As the end nears, the heroes of the Marvel Universe assemble on Titan to pay homage and get in a final visit with the Kree soldier who turned his back on his own people to save the people of Earth many times. It is a grim and reflective group of sundry heroes who gather. Even a representative of the Skrull Empire arrives to bestow a medal on Mar-Vell recognized as their greatest foe. The Kree remain silent, rejoicing it seems that the traitor Mar-Vell will soon be dead.

Finally Rick Jones appears and he and Mar-Vell are able to mend fences as Rick opens himself up to the grief which overwhelms him. The other heroes respect this special relationship and give them time.

The end comes as Mentor announces that Mar-Vell has slilpped into a coma. The heroes assembled in a somber watch for the final moments.

But strangely for the reader those moments expand inside the consciousness of Mar-Vell who is visited by his old foe, the ghost of Thanos who takes him on a journey in which he encounters old foes which he must quickly dispatch and eventually to meet Death itself. Mar-Vell has been coming to terms with the grim reality of his situation, deep in his soul and begins the process of death.

As he embraces Death once and for all, his heart ceases to beat and joining hands with Death and with his enemy-no-more Thanos, Mar-Vell prepares for his final journey.

As the trio travel into a nimbus of light, to a destination beyond human knowledge, Captain Marvel dies and back on Titan the machines are turned off. The heroes bow their heads as the great hero passes and is pronounced dead. The end has come indeed.

When I first encountered Captain Marvel I was a mere lad of ten, just hooking onto the grand mythos of the Marvel Universe and drinking it in totally. I followed the ups and downs of Mar-Vell's varied career for many years thereafter, always regarding him as my "favorite superhero".

When he seemed to find happiness on Titan it was a grand thing. When Jim Starlin returned in the early 80's and created this final story for a hero whose time had passed, it was powerful stuff indeed. I was an adult, a married man with one new daughter and another soon to appear in a few years. This story had impact indeed.

Now I read it again as a much older man, one nearing retirement alongside my lovely wife of forty years, and my two beautiful girls are long since adults who make their own ways into the wide world. I am a man who has since lost his father and who feels the sting of coming death more fiercely each day. This story of Mar-Vell's passing has never lost its potency, its elegance and its profound impact. 

The promise of what might be beyond the veil is a secret I more than ever want to know, and reading and re-reading saga of Captain Mar-Vell of the Kree is a splendid way to reflect on the path of life and its inevitable conclusion.

Merry Christmas Everyone! Be well. 

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