Pop Culture Chronicles

Superman and Superwoman

I loved the team-up comic titles when I was growing up in the 70s. These books teamed A-lister super-heroes with monthly guest-stars. There was Marvel Team-Up which paired Spiderman with monthly co-stars and Marvel Two-in-One which did the same with the Thing. There was Brave and the Bold over at DC which teamed Batman with other heroes throughout the multiverse and DC Comics Presents which did the same with Superman. 

I especially liked the annuals of DC Comics Presents, the first of which teamed the Man of Steel with his Earth-Two Golden Age doppelganger as they fought Ultraman of Earth-Three. The third annual teamed Superman with Captain Marvel, his Earth S counterpart. It was interesting that these two would team up since decades earlier National Periodical Publications (now DC Comics) sued Fawcett (owners of Captain Marvel) for copyright infringement because Captain Marvel seemed too much like a Superman knockoff. DC has now had the rights to Captain Marvel for over 40 years, having purchased Fawcett's super heroes.

I recently picked up the second Annual at a comic show for one dollar. It guest-starred a female derivative of Superman called Superwoman. The story is juvenile by today's standards, written by Elliot S! Maggin. The art by Pollard and DeCarlo is passable. I will say, to the story's credit, that the mystery of Superwoman's secret identity kept me guessing through most of the book, though I should have figured it out. The resolution of a mysterious sub-plot regarding Superwoman's genealogy was one I didn't see coming at all, but again, I should have. 

The alter-ego of Superwoman in this comic hasn't been the only character to wear the Superwoman moniker throughout DC's history. The first was Lois Lane beginning in 1943. Lois would either gain super powers temporarily, or in a dream, or in an imaginary tale, or in an alternate reality created by Mxyzptlk magic. A more recent story with Lois as Superwoman was in All-Star Superman #2. Another Superwoman was Luma Lynai of the planet Staryl.

The Superwoman of Earth-Three has the alter ego of Lois Lane and the Amazon powers of Wonder Woman. She is part of the villainous Crime Syndicate. She is the most mainstream Superwoman in the current DC multiverse. 

Another Superwoman, Laurel Kent, resides on Earth-11, a planet of reversed-gender characters. She appeared in Superman/Batman #23 (2005) and in Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman one-shot. 

In the post-crisis pre-52 universe, Dana Dearden, an obsessed Superman fan temporarily became a Superwoman through the power of stolen artifacts. Lucy Lane had taken on the role of Superwoman for a short time in that same universe.

Remembering James Garner

Here are some photos of the statue of James Garner as Bret Maverick taken during our family trip to Garner's hometown of Norman, Oklahoma. One of the saddest things about 2014 was the death of Garner in August. He was one of the few actors who made the smooth and seamless transition back and forth from television to movies and vice versa. His likeness also appeared in comics based on the Maverick TV series. 

Maverick was Garner's first TV show before he found box office success in such films as The Great Escape, Support Your Local Sheriff, and Murphy's Romance, for which he received an Academy Award nomination. Garner and Julie Andrews were the romantic leads together in three films: The Americanization of Emily, Victor/Victoria, and the made-for-TV One Special Night. 

The early seventies found Garner in the short-lived western series Nichols, co-starring a young Margot Kidder who went on to Superman fame as Lois Lane. Garner is best remembered by subsequent generations for his Rockford Files TV series in which he played a private eye for six seasons. He revived his role as Bret Maverick in the 1977 New Maverick TV movie and for one season of the early 80s Bret Maverick series. He starred as Captain Woodrow Call in the Lonesome Dove sequel Streets of Laredo, and reprised his role as Jim Rockford for several Rockford Files TV-movies in the 90s. 

Garner's later films include Space Cowboys (with Clint Eastwood who had guest-starred on Maverick), The Notebook, The Ultimate Gift (with former Catwoman Lee Meriwether), and a Maverick reboot. He played ongoing characters in later seasons of TV's Chicago Hope and in Eight Simple Rules.

In his personal life, Garner was a Korean War hero. He was politically active fighting for the rights of the underprivileged, but he did not (mis)use his celebrity to sway political elections. His longevity in show business is paralleled by his marriage to the same woman for nearly 58 years. He is also remembered for the kindness he showed to fans. 

Garner is my favorite actor of all time. With him gone I'm not even sure that anyone else would qualify as my favorite current male actor. Garner played his parts so naturally that it never seemed like he was acting. His characters were often quick-witted, intelligent, soft-hearted, always trying but never succeeding to evade trouble.

We'll miss Garner but he fortunately left a legacy of work including DVD collections of the complete series of Maverick, the The Rockford Files, Nichols, and Bret Maverick. 

More Convergence Tie-ins

Here is a rundown of what interests me most regarding Convergence, weeks three and four this April: 

Week Three: 1980s characters versus Tangent and Elseworld's characters.

Adventures of Superman. The pre-crisis Supergirl will die if she returns to her own dimension and time. It would be great if this turned out to not be predictable and we didn't have to see her die all over again. I'm so afraid the "closure" of Convergence is just another dead end leading to more of the current New 52 status quo.  

Wonder Woman. versus vampires of Red Rain.

Justice League America. Elongated Man and the Detroit Justice League versus Tangent characters.

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

New Teen Titans. versus Tangent's Doom Patrol.  

Week Four: Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths heroes of original multiverse against characters of alternate realities. 

Justice Society of America. A chance to regain their youth, but not without cost. Are the JSA going to get the shaft yet again? 

Infinity Inc. versus post-apocalyptic Jonah Hex.

Detective Comics by Len Wein. Earth-Two Robin (Dick Grayson) and the Huntress (Helena Wayne) are still alive and determining who will be the successor to Earth-Two Batman who is still dead. Can there ever be a universe in which the awesome Golden Age Batman could live again?

Action Comics. Earth-Two Superman and Power Girl versus Luther and Stalin of Red Son.

World's Finest Comics by Paul Levitz. The Original Seven Soldiers of Victory.

Crime Syndicate. Earth-Three villains versus One Million universe's Batman and Superman. 

Blue Beetle. Earth-Four Blue Beetle with Captain Atom and the Question. 

Shazam. The Earth-Five Marvel Family and the Gaslight universe. 

Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters. Earth-X heroes versus Nazis. 

While I'm looking forward to the return of these great retro heroes, I hope it isn't just to watch them fade into oblivion yet again.  

 

Convergence Tie-ins

It seems that fans of the pre-52 universe or pre-crisis multiverse are destined for disappointment if I'm correctly interpreting what I've been reading. It seems the heroes of previous worlds brought back for Convergence will only be brought back for closure. They will, it seems, be called upon to go back to their oringinal times and experience the same deaths, or be retconned out of existence, as before. And here I was hoping they'd be given another chance and that the 40 cities plucked from dead worlds and brought together on Telos would have a future. But it sounds as if it's the same old stuff like when the Golden Age Superman and Lois were brought back in Infinite Crisis only to die again. Just a nod and honorable mention of a past that is never to be again. 

I still hope I'm wrong. Like other fans, I would love to see the old and new multiverse exist side-by-side. But if DC does bring all these characters back only to wrap up their stories and kill them off again, I wonder if that is some kind of metaphor on DC's part. Maybe they're making a statement of how fans of the old DC must allow their old heroes to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Again, I hope I'm wrong. 

All that being said, here are the two-parter titles starting in April that interest me because of either a retro or Bat-Family connection:

Week One: Early 2000s characters [after multiverse ended with the first Crisis] versus the Flashpoint characters:

Superman by Dan Jurgens. Superman and Lois married and expecting their first child. Let me guess. They'll have to sacrifice a bright future together so that the New 52 can continue. I hope I'm wrong.

Batgirl. Stephaine Brown, Cassandra Cain, and Red Robin versus Flashpoint Catwoman. Will this be the comeback or the ultimate send-off of the two interim Batgirls? 

Nightwing and Oracle by Gail Simone. Will Dick Grayson and a still paralyzed Barbara Gordon take their relationship to the next level? Nightwing and Oracle versus Flashpoint Hawkman and Hawkwoman. 

Titans. Starfire, Donna Troy, and Roy Harper.

Justice League. Supergirl, Zatanna, and Jade at Jessie Quick's baby shower face a threat from Flashpoint Aquaman.

Batman and Robin. Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne, and the Red Hood.

Week Two: 1990s characters versus the Kingdom Come characters:

Batman: Shadow of the Bat. Batman teams up with Azrael Batman.    

Justice League International. Collides with the Kingdom Come world. 

Catwoman. Versus Kingdom Come Batman.

Superboy. Connor Kent versus Kingdom Come Superman. 

Harley Quinn. versus Captain Carrot. What?!?!?!?

I'll put what interests me about weeks 3 and 4 of April in my next post. 

Convergence is Coming

I've waited a long time in hopes of a return to the pre-crisis multiverse characters. After a number of false hopes and false starts (i.e., Infinite Crisis; 52; Justice Society of America, vol. 3, Annual 1; Huntress, vol. 3; Worlds' Finest; and Earth 2) DC has promised to bring back the original Justice Society and heroes of Earths 1-4, S, and X of the original multiverse.

A weekly 9-part series called Convergence begins this Spring. DC says that all past continuity will matter. It seems a super villain has snatched up bits and pieces of supposed dead worlds and collected them in a realm beyond time and space called Telos. Here the heroes of worlds that existed prior to many of the reboots have continued to live their lives. This excites me to no end, unless DC is just teasing us as before, like when the Golden Age Superman returned from limbo only to die again and when Earth-Two returned with a somewhat original Justice Society only to be replaced with the New 52 Earth-2 after the post-Flashpoint reboot.

So in April and May every DC publication will crossover with Convergence. For those two months all regular titles will be suspended and temporarily replaced with two-issue limited series picking up stories and characters who existed in previous worlds prior to various reboots. Beginning tomorrow, I hope to list the titles crossing over with the Convergence series which interest me due to their retro appeal.

Digital Versus Paper Comics

I never expected to enjoy digital comics, but I’ve actually found some use for them. What follows is a list of advantages for digital comics versus traditional paper comics (sometimes referred to as “floppies”).

Digital Comics Advantages

1) Potential Savings: If you don’t mind waiting, or being behind on the latest story arcs, new digital comics usually drop in price after they’ve been out a few months. This is an important consideration in light of what comics cost these days. Moreover, digital comic sites like Comixology often have .99 sales and sometimes free issues so readers can try out a title. Free digital first issues of FF (vol. 2), All-New X-Men, and Captain Marvel (vol. 8), got me interested in these titles that I would not have tried otherwise. Sales on collections got me the classic Dark Shadows series without having to pay a prince’s ransom. Rare back issues and classic reprint collections are relatively inexpensive on digital. Plus the expense of boards, bags, and boxes don’t apply to digital comics.      

2) Easier to fill Gaps in a Run: I recently went to a dollar sale and bought runs of several titles, but a few issues were missing. Instead of having to search for the missing issues at future visits to comic shops, sales, and shows, I simply went online and downloaded the missing books. I can now enjoy complete story arcs without having to wait, possibly months, before tracking down back issues to fill in the gaps. And most parts of the arcs were only a dollar each, which would have been $4 each if I were subscribing to new paper copies.

3) Save Storage Space and Manual Labor: Having once moved three times in two years, I moved over 30 boxes of comics three times. It was back breaking labor and my knees were about to give out from carrying boxes up and down stairs. As my collection grows I risk running out of storage space (or shelf space for graphic novels and collected editions). This is not an issue at all with my digital collection which goes where I go on a small lightweight device.

Paper Comics Advantages

1) You own an actual book that can later be resold. You may not get back what you paid for it, but you’ll at least recover some of the cost.

2) Owning an actual book, in some cases, means owning a collector’s item that could increase in value. Digital is a good option for some newer comics that are not likely to appreciate.

3) Comics are an art form that can be displayed and shared with others.

4) There is still the thrill of finding that long sought-after back issue in a long-box at a convention. Simply downloading takes the thrill out of the chase.

5) Reading paper is generally easier on the eyes than reading off a screen, especially as folks get older and their eyes produce fewer tears. But I found that reading off the retina screen on my ipad is much easier on the eyes than reading from a computer monitor. 

Vintage TV Westerns

As a huge fan of vintage westerns, I have a goal. My goal is to view at least one episode of every TV western series ever made and to own at least one episode of each in my private collection. So I have some boxed sets of Gunsmoke, Wanted:Dead or Alive, and Big Valley DVDs in addition to some VHS episodes of Maverick and some DVD compilations with public domain episodes of stuff like Bonanza and the Rifleman. I grew up watching all the above mentioned shows, mostly when they were already cancelled and in syndication.  

But I also knew that lots of other westerns had been produced in the 50s and 60s. Why weren't these syndicated and why had I never saw them? Now many of these can be seen on DVD sets collecting various episodes of these shows. One such set is Mill Creek Entertainment's 150 Ultimate TV Westerns. Now I know why this stuff wasn't being re-run during my youth. It just wasn't that good. 

But in keeping with my goal of viewing and collecting every TV western in existence, my family and I are viewing and rating these shows and the results will be posted here. So the first reviews are published here:

 Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. This character, a Canadian Mountie in the 1800s, began on radio in 1938 and then switched to TV in 1955 running for three seasons on CBS. A comic book series ran from 1952 to 1959 with the first four issues as a part of Dell's Four Color series. Once Sergeant Preston came to TV, photo covers from the series became the norm. The highlight of this show is the dog, Yukon King, Preston's lead sled dog with whom he shares a close relationship and who assists him in catching bad guys. The plots are mildly entertaining. Sound-stages and stock footage of sled dogs are common. Originally filmed in color its brilliance has unfortunately faded.

Northwest Passage. Fictionalized account of historic figure Major Robert Rogers, whose volunteers known as Roger's Rangers fought for the British during the French-Indian War. Rogers was located in what is now New York and endeavored to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean. The series was based on a novel, made into a movie in 1940. The series cast included Buddy Ebsen as one of the rangers. I've viewed one episode which guest starred Pernell Roberts of Bonanza fame. While the original color has faded in quality the plot was intelligent. The series lasted only one season (1958-59) due to the stiff competition of Maverick on another network.

  Cisco Kid. I did grow up with this series since it has remained in syndication. That could be due to the fact that it was the first TV series filmed in color which has continued to hold up decently. The title character, originally a bad guy,  was created for a short story by O. Henry entitled "The Caballero's Way" in 1907.  The story became a movie in 1914.

The Kid is portrayed as a good guy in the 1928 film, In Old Arizona. A series of seven movies were released from 1939 to 1941, with Caesar Romero playing the Kid in later installments. A second movie series ran from 1945-1950 which starred Duncan Renaldo playing the lead in most, but Gilbert Roland as the Kid in six movies during 1946-47.

Renaldo would play the Kid on the syndicated TV series from 1950-1956. Joined by his comedic sidekick Pancho, the Kid brought law and order to the old west. The stories are about the caliber of the Lone Ranger, though somewhat inferior. The show was obviously intended to appeal to children.  

A comic book series published by Dell ran for 41 issues from 1950 to 1958. The last five issues had photo covers. An earlier Cisco Kid Comics one-shot was released in 1944 by Bernard Bailey / Swappers Quarterly. A TV movie with Jimmy Smits in the lead role aired on TNT in 1994.  

Batman '66

It's good to see the 1966 Batman back again. The Batman '66 comic is a concept whose time is long overdue. Never before has there been an ongoing comic series, or even a limited series, based on the Batman TV show with characters in the likenesses of the actors. Just the cover of the first issue with the Adam West/Burt Ward version of Batman & Robin is worth the price of the book. 

The stories leave much to be desired if you're looking for serious drama. They are intentionally campy, like the TV series. They are good for a chuckle and especially good comics for children (there are so few comics good for kids these days). 

In addition to the new comics, Mattel has released classic Batman TV series action figures. You can get a two-pack with Batman & Robin which comes with a batrope and a wall for them to climb. A photo of this toy was used for an alternate cover of Batman '66 #1, which was exclusively available at San Diego Comicon. Other figures in the series include Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman, and Joker. They are sold separately, as are Batman and Robin if you prefer to buy them that way. A Batmobile is also available. Another Batman figure in swim trunks with a surfboard has also been released, in homage to one of the sillier third season episodes.

While on the topic of toys, the high-end Japanese toy manufacturer, Hot Toys, has come out with Batman & Robin TV series figures as well. These guys are so realistic they're almost creepy, like wax museum figures. But we've come to expect no less from this company. While the Mattel figures are around $16 each, the Hot Toys versions are in the $250-300 price range. 

With all this renewed emphasis on the Batman series it appears that some of the licensing issues regarding the series are being resolved. Of course I'm thinking what most other Bat-fans are thinking. Can a DVD collection of the series be far behind? We shall see. 

Man of Steel and Star Trek

Man of Steel is an almost constant thrill ride. If you think Avengers was full of non-stop action and destruction, Man of Steel is about as extreme. It’s really over-the-top to say the least. Henry Cavill is a decent Superman, bearing enough resemblance to both Christopher Reeve and Tom Welling, IMO, that he is a good follow up to others who’ve played the strange visitor from another planet.

The movie does mess with a couple of points in the Superman mythos, most notably the fate of Jonathan Kent and some adjustments to the Clark and Lois relationship. Russell Crowe does a great job as Jor-El, a million times better than Brando. I’m surprised that Lois is not a brunette, which is typical, but not really a big deal. In all it’s a great movie, but be prepared for more action than human interest. Far more sci-fi than I expected. 

The new Star Trek movie pays homage to the original TV series, the first movie series, and the previous film in this current reboot. Since the reboot establishes an alternate timeline, the stuff from the original still happened, sort of, so the present can still build on the past.

Since most of you probably know by now that Leonard Nimoy shows up, now billed as “Spock Prime,” I’m not likely spoiling anything by saying that it was great to see him back again. If possible, before seeing the movie, I’d recommend re-watching Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and the first installment of the current series. You’ll be glad you did.

It was also good to see Peter Weller, who years ago played the title role in Buckaroo Banzai and was more recently Jack Bauer’s arch enemy, Christopher Henderson, on 24.

The addition of Carol Marcus to the crew leads one to question how much she and Kirk’s relationship will parallel that of the original timeline. We were given a few hints, but that may only have been to throw us off.

And oh, yes—the lens flares. I didn’t notice them in the previous film, but my kids did and they told me to watch for them in this one. 

Summer is super hero movies season. I've so far taken in Ironman III, Man of Steel, and Star Trek Into Darkness. The Lone Ranger starts July 3, and I'm looking forward to it. 

Phantom Lady Returns

After the short-lived Ajax-Farrell series, Phantom Lady disappeared from comics except for some Matt Baker reprints in I. W. Publications' Great Action Comics and Daring Adventures. But there were no new Phantom Lady stories from 1955 until 1973. DC Comics had bought the rights to the Quality Comics characters in 1956 which included Phantom Lady.

Her first DC appearance was in Justice League of America # 107-108 during an annual JLA/JSA crossover event. The heroes of Earth's One and Two traveled to Earth-X, home of the Quality characters on a world where the Nazis had won World War II. The super-hero team of this earth included the Quality characters Uncle Sam, Black Condor, Doll Man, Phantom Lady, The Ray, and the Human Bomb. They were known as the Freedom Fighters who were aided by the JLA and JSA in finding the mind-controlling devices that kept the world in submission to the Third Reich. It's kind of corny and if the same premise of a parallel world where the Nazis won WW II were used today, the story would be undoubtedly more sophisticated.

DC took Phantom Lady back to her original yellow and green colors, but retained something of the plunging neckline contributed by Matt Baker (although not as extreme). The Freedom Fighters received their own title in 1976, America's bi-centennial. What better time to return Uncle Sam to the pages of comics as a super-hero? In the Freedom Fighters series the team had relocated to Earth-One. The final issue (#15, 1978) included an origin of Phantom Lady, for the first time.

By 1981 she was a recurring member of Roy Thomas' All-Star Squadron, which took place on Earth-Two during the war years, coinciding with Phantom Lady's original stories in Police Comics. Her past was retconned to make her a cousin of Ted Knight (a.k.a., Starman). It was during this era that the Freedom Fighters relocated to Earth-X where they were later met by the JLA/JSA in 1973. 

When all the Earths of the Multiverse were merged into one during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Earth-X was retconned out of existence. An older, post-crisis Phantom Lady appeared in Damage (1994) in which it was revealed that Sandra Knight had married Iron Munro, whose character was an analogue to the Golden Age Superman in the post-crisis 1940s. Knight served as a government spy during the Cold War and later became head mistress of a school for female spies.

Her students included Dee Tyler who became the new Phantom Lady whose adventures were chronicled in Action Comics Weekly # 639-641. Tyler joined a new version of the Freedom Fighters and died a violent death in Infinite Crisis # 1 (2005).

In the Post-52 multiverse a new version of Freedom Fighters, including Phantom Lady, resided on Earth-10 as a one-panel cameo in the final issue of 52 made clear. To my knowledge we never got to see this team in action. There was, however, another version of Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters which resided on New Earth, appeared in two mini-series, and included a new Phantom Lady, Stormy Knight (not a relative of the original).

The last appearance of Sandra Knight, of which I'm aware, was in the final issues of Birds of Prey, vol.2, #14-15. Here an elderly Sandra appears with Black Canary and Lady Blackhawk in a modern adventure which parallels an earlier, but yet untold, adventure told in flashbacks. The flashback story took place in 1950 as Phantom Lady, the original Black Canary, and Lady Blackhawk battle a Nazi war criminal. Manhunter, Kate Spencer, also appears in this issue. She was revealed to be Phantom Lady's granddaughter in Manhunter # 23 (2006).

Since the latest DC reboot, Flashpoint, we now have the new 52 multiverse. Time will tell whether Sandra Knight ever even existed in this new reality. 

Now we have a new Phantom Lady, Jennifer Knight, who currently appears in her own mini-series along with Doll Man. Knight is a freelance writer, daughter of investigative reporter Harry Knight who was murdered to keep him from exposing a prominent crime family. Jennifer becomes Phantom Lady to avenge her father's death.

She is aided by Doll Man, Dane Maxwell (the original was Darrell Dane), a techno-whiz, who provides her with a costume and special technology. In addition to being able to cast black light via special gloves, she can also take on a phantom state, project hard light objects, and trap victims in an eerie blacklight nothingness.

The new series is well written by the team of Gray and Palmiotti with very good art by Cat Staggs and an awesome first issue cover by Amanda Conner. The dialogue is good and sometimes hilarious, the story as believable as possible for a super hero comic.

In this series it's revealed that Dane and Jennifer have had something of an intimate relationship that is taken more seriously by Dane, but Jennifer is gradually coming around. The series takes place in Metropolis (like they need another super hero), so it will be interesting to see how all this fits in to the larger DC universe. There is also hope for a revisioned Freedom Fighters since Uncle Sam and the Ray have made a cameo in this series. I've always been a Phantom Lady fan and aside from some of the modernisms I dislike in today's comics, this series is not a disappointment and perhaps the most interesting that I'm currently reading.