NEVER ENDING BATTLE ORDER

When you co-host a podcast about the Superman books that were published between 1986 and 2006 it stands to reason that you might know something about that era.  This leads people to ask you questions and hands down this is one of the best things about hosting a podcast.  I start these things to share my thoughts and what I laughingly call my knowledge and I never get tired of it.

It’s keen.

Sometimes I can answer the question quickly.  Sometimes I have to do some research.  Sometimes I have to put something together.  A few weeks ago I got one of the Option C questions on Twitter.

Quick heads up for those coming in late; from 1991 to 2002 the Superman books had a little triangle on their cover.  See, there were three, then four, then five, then four Superman titles being published and the creative types decided to start linking each book so that even though the writers and artists were telling their own stories, the titles would be linked to make what became, ostensibly, a weekly Superman comic.  The triangle told you where the book you were reading fit into the overall story.

After making sure we were on the same page I had to admit that I didn’t have a list handy.  I own all of the comics we talk about on the show and I bought them as they were published, so I never had to get a list together to collect them and it never occurred to me to type out such a list.  The thing is, anal-retentive is hyphenated and I do have an inventory of all of my Superman books.  I use Excel for this and have the different titles in different workbooks and I just so happened to note the Never Ending Battle/Triangle Number next to each book that had one.  Some copying and pasting and sorting later I had what I believe is a complete list of the Never Ending Battle/Triangle Era books.

You can download the PDF here.

If you find something out of place let me know and I will fix and reupload the file.

Enjoy.

IT ALL COMES BACK TO SUPERMAN EPISODE 13: SHAZAM TIMES 3, SUPERMAN TIMES 2

Episode 13: Shazam Times 3, Superman Times 2

J David Weter (but we can call him Dave) joins me to talk about two team-ups between Superman and Captain Marvel (but DC calls him Shazam).  Why?  Ostensibly it was to tie into the Shazam film that came out earlier this year and if I had released this episode earlier this year it would have.  Now it’s just a fun excuse to talk about Superman and Captain Marvel meeting up.  First up in our discussion is DC Comics Presents #49, where Superman fights Black Adam, there’s a Billy Batson on Earth-1 who isn’t Captain Marvel, and then Captain Marvel shows up.  After that, David and I talk about DC Comics Presents Annual #3, where Sivana steals the power of Shazam and fights the Earth-1 Superman, the Earth-2 Superman, Captain Marvel, Jr., Mary Marvel, and Captain Marvel, who has a crisis of faith during the battle!  Mixed in with all of this is commentary on Captain Marvel in general, his other team-ups with Superman, why Dave loves the Golden Age Captain Marvel adventures, and some of the ads that appeared in these books.  After that, I go through some feedback on the previous issue.

Below are the covers and selected pages from the books Dave and I discussed.

It All Comes Back to Superman is available on a variety of formats.  It’s on Apple Podcasts, the Google Play Store, and even Spotify.  If you like accessing the RSS Feed directly, you can do that here.  Feedback for the show can be left below or you can head on over to the It All Comes Back To Superman Facebook Page.  The email address for the show is itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com.

Next Time: Either a year end episode or the first part in a series where I talk to Superman fans that express their fandom in other ways than blathering on about comic books.

FCTC EPISODE 227: TRIAL OF SUPERMAN PART 1

Episode 227: Trial of Superman Part 1

Welcome to the two hundredth and twenty-seventh episode of From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast!  This podcast has a simple premise; examine just about every Superman comic published between Man of Steel #1 in 1986 to Adventures of Superman #649 in 2006 in an informative and hopefully entertaining format.

THE TRIAL OF SUPERMAN BEGINS…

…halfway through the episode.

That’s right, folks, it’s time to answer the summons for jury selection, because the Man of Steel is going on trial.  Why?  Well, you’ll have to listen to the episode to find out, but it’s…interesting.  We ain’t sayin’ what it is.  Just, trust us.

(Mike and Jeff stare out of the plane at Superman flying where the engine should be.)

Anyway, the action starts, appropriately, with Action Comics #715.  In this issue we are introduced to the all new, all different Parasite!  Who is he?  How did he come to be?  Well, some of that was answered last time, but you get the full story here.  Then, just as Superman is at his lowest, Superman: The Man of Steel #50 happens and things get even weirder!  Why are aliens looking to arrest Superman?  What terrible crime could he have committed?  Are Mike and Jeff too hard on the art?  Listen and find out!

Below is a gallery of covers and selected pages from the comics discussed.

As promised, here is a scan of The Trial of Superman house ad!

You can subscribe or listen to the show in a variety of ways. First there is the RSS Feed and then there is the Apple Podcasts link.  You can also find the show on Spotify and the Google Play Store.  Are you on Facebook? Be sure to “like” the official FCTC page, which you can find by clicking on this link.

You can email the show by clicking this link. All questions, concerns, fears, trepidations and cheap shots are welcome.  Also be sure to give us a review over on iTunes and feel free to comment on the show here at the site!

Next Time: The Trial of Superman continues with Superman #106 and Adventures of Superman #529

This episode of From Crisis to Crisis was brought to you by Jason Sandberg’s Jupiter!  Check it out today at Comixology!

VIEWS FROM THE LONGBOX EPISODE 268: SEMI-RETIRED

Episode 268: Semi-Retired

Over the past few years I have been selling off the majority of my comic book collection and back in August I sold the final, giant chunk all in one lot.  At the same time, I have felt myself moving farther and farther away from the modern comic book marketplace.  Since Views is all about my history with and opinons on comics I thought it would be interesting to sit down and talk about those two developments.  I tried doing it solo, but it never worked.  Around the same time, Andrew Leyland (he of Palace of Glittering Delights and Listen to the Prophets: A Deep Space Nine Podcast) was going through a similar set of circumstances, so we got together and spent about two hours discussing our feelings on collecting and comics and how things are different now.

This is my anti-catharsis episode.  We’re not here to yell at clouds (though a little of that does happen).  We’re here to talk about how it is to be a semi-retired comic book reader, fan, and collector.  Discussions include my collecting history, the different reasons Andy and I have sold our books, adventures in eBay selling, what we’re currently enjoying, and why it’s okay to walk away.

Warning: There is political talk in this episode.  Not a lot, but it’s there.

Next Time: No clue.  I haven’t decided on an episode yet.  Stay tuned.