THE FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE

Sorry that I haven’t posted all that much lately.  Real life has been very busy over the past five or so days leading me to lose my will to livedo much of anything so posting on my blog was one of the casualties.  I was going to try and get caught up on everything yesterday but Rachel (my wife if you weren’t aware) fell while getting out of the tub.  Thankfully nothing was broken (Rachel has a condition known as Osteogenesis Imperfecta, the thing that Samuel L. Jackson had in Unbreakable, that makes her bones soft and break easily) but she was banged up pretty bad and needed some care.

I have a pretty basic rule to life; the wife comes first.  It’s just that easy.

I wanted to catch up on my reviews today, but I’m just not in the right head space for that sort of thing so I figured it was a good time to roll out another Favorite Cover post.  Many amazing covers have graced the Superman books over the years and DC even put out a book of them back in 2006 titled Superman: Cover to Cover, which I think is one of those few “must haves” for fans of the Man of Steel.

So it’s 1989 and the majority of comic book fandom (and the real world as well) was gearing up for the release of Tim Burton’s Batman film.  I was too, but I was also (and still am obviously) a devoted reader of the Superman books and at the time Superman was going through a storyline called Exile that had him leaving the Earth due to circumstances that I won’t get into here because I want to write something more in depth about that arc later.  In short the storyline had Superman visiting other planets, running into an old enemy and making a new one in the form of a Post-Crisis Mongul while the world tries to deal with Superman’s disappearance and the supposed death of Clark Kent.  Exile is my all-time favorite Superman arc and probably always will be because it was the first time in terms of being both a comic fan and a Superman fan that an extended arc really meant something to me.  I had only been reading comics full time for two years in 1989 so when Superman left Earth I was left with this feeling of, “Is he…Is he going to come back?”  If that story happened today I would be like, “Ok, he’ll be back in six months to a year, let’s see how this works out,” but it was a different time and while I don’t think I ever want to go back to that I do think that much like remembering what it was like to be a kid during the holiday season it is important when you’re an adult comic reader to occasionally remember what it was that made you a regular comic fan and Exile was that story for me.

As Exile was wrapping up it was announced that Action Comics (which had become Action Comics Weekly in 1988) was becoming a monthly again and that some guy named George Perez was going to be writing and drawing Superman.  Now I write “some guy named George Perez” mainly as a joke but in all honesty I didn’t have my ear to the ground of fandom at the time and while I was aware that there was this guy named George Perez and boy could he draw I wasn’t aware who exactly Perez was and why he was already a legend.  In any case, the book was coming back to the monthly grind.  That happened in Action Comics #643 and this was the cover.

Superman #1 from 1939 has one of those covers that have been re-done to varying degrees of success but this one knocked it out of the park.  Perez’s recreation is probably my favorite though.  He brings that iconic quality to the piece and that can’t be easy considering that Superman is so pervasive in comics and pop culture that just about everyone has a sense of what Superman should look like even if they don’t particularly like the character. 

If I was to sit down and make a Top Five All Time Favorite Superman Covers this one would definitely be on the list.  A few years back a buddy of mine traded me the promotional poster that DC released to pimp the new direction the Superman books were going in that used this cover and it got kind of banged up to the point where I had to take it down, which was my own fault because it wasn’t in the best of shape when I got it and moving it from one spot to the other didn’t exactly help.  Luckily I managed to secure another one for a very reasonable price (under ten bucks) and will most likely have that one framed.

I don’t know where I’ll put it since the Fortress’ home office has plaster walls and you can’t exactly put nails into them, but I’ll figure something out.

More to follow…

Very light this week.  Not so much a money issue as trying to control myself.  Plus the wife and I have the trip to Metropolis coming up, so I’m trying to put a little aside so we can have some spending money. 

So, what came out this week?

Well it finally came out.  After numerous delays we finally get the conclusion to “Last Son” , which I sure as shootin’ have things to say about.  I am behind on my reviews but hopefully over the next week I can get caught.

Of course I always say that, but overall I’ve been pretty good when it comes to this blog.

Month two of giving this book another chance.  Hopefully it will continue on an upswing because I found the previous issue to be very strong.

Plus, I couldn’t really turn my back on this title.

Infinity, Inc.  Now there’s a book I could turn my back on.

Finally…

Sure I own both covers of the original but it was free.

Still don’t have the hardcover of the first six issues, though.  I need to pick that up at some point.

Hope y’all had a good week at the shop as well.

More to follow…

A few years back Pocket Books and DC Comics released a series of novels based on the various members of the then JLA.  One of these was Superman: The Never-Ending Battle by my all-time favorite Superman writer Roger Stern.  It was a good read and overall I enjoyed it.  Much to my surprise and delight I discovered that Graphic Audio is releasing an audio adaptation of the book in September.

Here are the particulars.

I’m looking forward to this.  I was very impressed with Graphic Audio’s adaptation of Infinite Crisis and so far 52 is good as well.  What they did with those two projects is combine a book-on-CD of Greg Cox’s novelizations of both series with a radio drama so you have a narrator doing the…uh…narration, actors supplying the voices of the characters as well as music and sound effects.  I am working under the assumption that Superman: The Never-Ending Battle will be presented along the same lines.

While you are at the site check out the other DC projects Graphic Audio has coming up.  It looks like they may be doing a full line of those DC novels, which may be a good thing or may be a bad thing depending on how you felt about those books.

And I recommend both Infinite Crisis and 52.  Each is a two part set and they’ll set you back about $68 total but each set has twelve discs, so that’s well worth the money. 

More to follow… 

You may have already seen this but I post it nonetheless because I think it is funny.

While I am on the subject Superman II has to have the best trailer of all the Superman films. At least in my rather humble opinion it does.

Man that trailer is awesome. Better than Superman III‘s, that’s for sure.

More to follow…

Thanks to the Tax Rebate money that came in I was able to splurge a bit this week.  So in addition to the five books I picked up (two of which were Superman related) I also purchased part two of Graphic Audio’s 52 audio adaptation, the Incredible Hulk DVD-ROM which reprints every issue of the Jade Giant’s various series from the first one in 1962 until December 2006 (I realize that this is a Superman blog, but in all honesty the Hulk is number two with me as far as comic book characters, so he gets a pass) and a few Bronze Age Superman books.

So here we go.

An honest to goodness Kevin Maguire cover.  AWESEOME!  I was a bit miffed that he didn’t do the interior art, but I liked this issue just the same.  As soon as I get caught up on things you’ll see a review of this story.  In short: I really, really liked it.

If you only have fifty cents to buy a comic length ad this week DC Universe #0 is that book!

All kidding aside it wasn’t all that bad.  I won’t be doing a review of this one because…well, I just don’t feel like it but if you want a sneak preview of the upcoming Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds mini-series then find those two quarters that are hiding in your couch and check this out.

I don’t mean to sound like a grouch but I hated this story arc.

It didn’t start out that way.  I rather enjoyed it at first but if you go here, here, here, here, here and here you can read my reviews of Torment (which sounds kind of awesome really) for the Superman Homepage and see how a man can start out liking a book and then hating it with the fire of a thousands suns. 

Well, maybe not that much, but still while the art was not terrible from beginning to end one look at this cover makes me wonder what seventh grade art school drop out drew Superman and Batman.

Was that too harsh?

Maybe. 

Oh well, on to the Bronze Age!

It seemed that a lot of the Bronze Age books I bought this week were some of the more important issues that I’ve been wanting to own for some time now.  This one is special because Superman Vol. 1 #276 was an attempt to do an Earth-1 version of Captain Marvel, so that was cool.  Also cool is the fact that this is a Nick Cardy cover, though I have to admit that I prefer his Teen Titans and Aquaman over his Superman, but maybe that’s just me.

I was glad to get this one primarily because I owned it back when I was in the seventh grade and it disappeared.  It’s a pretty striking cover as well.  I would love to see the One Minute Later of this one as Batgirl hits the pavement and Superman flies off.

Because I’m twisted like that.

Now that’s a cover.  I mean after seeing that you just have to buy the book and read it. 

If you have ever wanted to read a version of the Pre-Crisis Lex Luthor origin that actually has the premise make sense than pick up this issue.  Or pick up the Superman vs. Lex Luthor trade that DC released some time back as the main story of this issue is reprinted there.  I will admit that I was one of those people who thought the concept that Superboy accidentally causing Lex’s hair to fall out was a thin concept behind him going bad even for the Silver Age, but Elliot S! Maggin gives Luthor’s story some real emotional weight.  This is well worth owning even if you aren’t going for a full run of seventies Superman comics like me.

And that’s it for this week.  If you haven’t done so already I politely ask that you head on over to my buddy Damian’s site and vote for him to become the official Superman for the upcoming Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Ill.  Damian’s a great guy and in looking at the competition I honestly believe that he is the best choice for the job.  Check out his video and you’ll see why.

More to follow…

Sometime during the DragonCon of 2005 I was standing in line at the Dairy Queen in the still not large enough to handle the crowd at DragonCon food court waiting to get myself and my wife something to eat.  In front of me was Superman and Spider-Man, or at least two guys dressed as Superman and Spider-Man.  The costumes were dead on though and it left me wondering, “If Superman and Spider-Man were eating at a Dairy Queen what would they eat?”  A little while later I got a picture of the dude in the Superman costume.  It looked a lot like this.

The next day I was working my shift at the Titan Games and Comics booth in the dealer’s room (as they paid my way in that year) and Chuck (the most dangerous man in funny books) points a customer in my direction.  It was a guy looking for Superman covers for a proposal or something that he was putting together and darn it all if it wasn’t the guy who I stood behind in Dairy Queen and snagged the photo of.

We talked Superman for a long time and continue to do so online off and on about various things, usually Superman but also his adventures out in California.

So why am I posting about Damian?

Because he needs your help!

Damian is jockeying for the honor of being the official Superman for the upcoming Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Ill.  This year they are looking for a new Superman to meet and greet fans and pose for pictures and I am of the opinion that that Superman should be Damian.

It’s not just that he’s a buddy of mine.  Damian carries himself very well in the costume and has put a lot of time and money into his various Superman costumes.  He’s a great guy and I think he deserves your support.

Head on over to his website to check out his picture gallery and cast your vote.

Oh and those covers I mentioned yesterday.  Yeah, they’ll be up tomorrow.

More to follow…

Got some fine medicine and feeling much better today.

Bought some neat Superman back issues today with some fantastic covers, so I’ll scan a few and post them here tomorrow.

Thanks to the people who sent well wishes. I do appreciate it.

More to follow…

Ok, I don’t quite feel that bad, but apparently I have an upper respiratory infection.

Which really sucks too because there are some things I wanted to do for the blog this week but I feel like crud on a stick left out in the sun for five hours coated with honey and placed on a fire ant hill.

Ok, it’s not that bad, but I still feel quite ill at the moment.

More to follow… 

…I really think that I bought the Superman/Doomsday DVD for the Requiem and Rebirth: Superman Lives! documentary.

 Don’t get me wrong.  I liked Superman/Doomsday as a movie.  It wasn’t a strict adaptation like Justice League: New Frontier was but it had it’s moments.  The action was phenomenal and the story was solid enough, but that documentary was what really had me excited.  It is one of the few times where a documentary (or featurette as they are sometimes called) surpassed my expectations.  It had the creators from what I consider “my” era of the character and brought back all of the memories from Doomsday, Funeral For a Friend and Reign of the Supermen. 

Well, it didn’t exactly bring them back.  I am one of those freaky people who can tell you where I was and what I was doing when I first read most of my comics.  It’s just one of those things.  I remember what I was doing the weekend Superman #75 came out, I remember when I bought the Funeral For a Friend issues and so on.  Despite this “gift” I enjoyed hearing the behind the scenes stories and was impressed with how in depth they went into the creation of the story.

In all honesty I would have paid fifteen bucks just for that.  I look at this DVD as a documentary with a cartoon attached.

More to follow…