Cover revealed for Superman Gold Age Omnibus Vol. 1

Nice pic by Darwyn Cooke!

Details:

The early adventures of Superman are collected in one massive hardcover as he battles social injustice and political corruption, fighting for the common man. Includes the first appearances of Lois Lane and Lex Luthor.

Collecting stories from ACTION COMICS #1-31, NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR #1, NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR 1940, and SUPERMAN #1-7.

Written by: 
Jerry Siegel
Art by: 
Joe Shuster
Various
Cover by: 
Darwyn Cooke
Page Count: 
784
U.S. Price: 
75.00
On Sale Date: 
Jun 5 2013
 




Video find: The Who on French TV mid-60s



Photo: Yellow submarine crosses Abbey Road

Via Beatle Fan's Facebook page:
A Beatles-inspired soapbox is taken for a test drive Friday on Abbey Road ahead of the Red Bull Soapbox race at Alexandra Palace, London, on July 14. Driver Carl White is 27 and from Shoreditch in London.

Pop culture roundup: Jack Kirby and the Thing; Ringo Starr; Doctor Who

Unleash the Fanboy explores the connections between cartoonist Jack Kirby and his creation Ben "The Thing" Grimm:

GRIMM AND KIRBY grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Jew-iest place ever to exist in America. The Lower East Side was one of the densest neighborhoods on the planet with around a quarter million people squished into every square mile. Between 1880 and 1915, over 2 million Jews fled to America from Russia and Eastern Europe to escape pogroms and anti-Semitism. Most of those Jews moved to the Lower East Side. Families who lived there were so poor, they often had to cramp as many as 10 people into one bedroom tenements (apartments).
Grimm lived at 7135 Yancy Street, probably inspired by the real Delancey Street. You can take a trip to the Lower East Side and walk the same streets on which Grimm spent his youth causing trouble. You can visit Essex St., where Kirby was born Jacob Kurtzberg on August 25, 1917, and then walk to the Suffolk Street tenements he grew up at.
The piece doesn't mention the 1978 Kirby-illustrated What-if story, in which members of the Marvel Bullpen are transformed into the Fantastic Four. Kirby, of course, is the Thing, while Stan Lee is Mister Fantastic.

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All he's got are a bunch of photographs: Ringo Starr plans to share some rare personal snap in a new e-book this summer and one of those ridiculously Genesis limited-edition books later in the year.
An e-book will be published June 12 in conjunction with the upcoming Grammy Museum exhibit, “Ringo: Peace & Love,” in Los Angeles, Genesis Publications and Starr announced Wednesday. Select images from the book, which also includes unpublished images from his personal archive, will be displayed at the exhibit.

A limited-edition hand-bound book signed by Starr will be available in December.
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Questions that can arise only in academia: Is "Doctor Who" "thunderously racist"?
 Several of the contributors to the book, Doctor Who and Race, which is set for publication in July, believe the failure to cast a black or Asian Doctor demonstrates an integral racism in the series, while others have pointed to an inappropriately "slapstick" take on Hitler in a 2011 episode, the early use of white actors in ethnic roles (such as in 1977 adventure The Talons of Weng-Chiang), and the portrayal of primitive cultures as "savages".

One American writer, Amit Gupta, even suggests that fifth Doctor Peter Davison's obsession with cricket harks back to the "racial and class nostalgia" of the British Empire.
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Fab Friday: Vintage Beatles photos

Paul plays drums!







Superman 75th anniversary logo unveiled by DC Comics

Here's the nifty logo DC Comics has created to celebrate the Man of Steel's 75th anniversary.

An animated tribute short is also in the works, to be produced by Zach Snyder, director of the upcoming "Superman: Man of Steel" feature film. Details:
Snyder envisioned one continuous shot, without edits, that's an homage to the Man of Steel and his many iterations over the past 75 years: Max Fleischer's cartoons, on-screen portrayals by George Reeves and Christopher Reeve, iconic versions drawn by artists Wayne Boring, Curt Swan and Neal Adams, on up through Henry Cavill’s interpretation in Man of Steel.

First looks at CW's Tomorrow People

Here's a preview of the new sci-fi series airing on the CW this fall. Sort of an X-Men knock-off, looks like:


The men -- and women -- of U.N.C.L.E.






Review: RASL collected edition by Jeff Smith

"RASL," a sci-fi noir about a military engineer who figures out how to "drift" between parallel realities shows cartoonist Jeff Smith stretching a bit from the kid-friendly, fantasy antics of his very popular "Bone" series. And the result is a mixed success.

Originally published in 12 black-and-white comics released between 2008 and 2012, the collected "RASL" is due out in a full-color hardcover this fall. Only the first 60 or so pages of the review copy I received are in color, but the results are very good, though I enjoy Smith's black and white art, too.

The story is intriguing, mixing factual and speculative details about the work of pioneering scientist Nikola Tesla into a plot that sees the title character go AWOL due to his objections to Tesla's ideas being used to create a terrible weapon.


Using what look like jet turbines strapped to his arms and legs, RASL travels between dimensions, stashing away Tesla's lost journals and hiding out from the dark government forces who want to find him and his secrets. In an element of the story that's not fully developed, RASL ends up making a living by stealing art in one dimension -- works by Picasso and others created in an alternate reality but not in ours -- and selling them in another. He also falls in love with a prostitute and drinks a lot.

These elements seem to be present mainly to create a gritty atmosphere to the tale, but don't tell us much about RASL and what makes him tick. We understand his objection to Tesla's discoveries being used for violence, but why art thievery? Why did he fall so hard for this woman? These ideas aren't developed. Nor is there any explanation for why RASL wears what appears to be a wicker African face mask when he "drifts."


There are plenty of ideas here, many of them compelling and original, but more development is needed to give them full weight.

Smith's art is moody and expressive, and his visuals achieve the noirish tone he's striving for, even while his characters are drawn in the same kewpie doll/manga-style used for the humans in "Bone": Big heads on small bodies, lots of hair.

The structure of "RASL" is complex, shifting between alternate realities and back and forth through time. At times, I wished that Smith had paced the action more linearly instead of using flashbacks. It might have helped him to develop his characters more and to provide better explanations for the relationships between them. But flashbacks seem de rigueur post "Lost" when it comes to genre storytelling. Even so, Smith's visuals tell the story clearly with a nice flow.

Despite it's shortfalls, "RASL" is an interesting work by an accomplished cartoonist. It's good to see Smith branching out and taking risks when he could easily relax and enjoy the success of "Bone" and just do more of the same. I'm looking forward to seeing what he tackles next.


Second Omnibus collecting John Byrne's Fantastic Four out this December

Byrne's run on FF was a favorite of mine as a kid. Glad to see more of it being collected in this format:

Out Dec. 17, 2013

Superstar John Byrne's legendary run concludes! Relive one of the most innovative periods in FF history, as the sensational She-Hulk replaces the Thing, Sue Richards becomes the Invisible Woman, and Mr. Fantastic is tried for crimes against the universe! Plus: Doctor Doom returns! The fate of Reed and Sue's unborn child! The resurrection of Jean Grey! And much more, as the FF confront deadly foes including the Mole Man, Doctor Octopus, Terminus, and Annihilus! Plus: the unfinished Last Galactus Story, collected for the very first time!

COLLECTING: Fantastic Four (1961) 261-295 and Annual 18-19, Alpha Flight (1983) 4, Thing (1983) 10 and 19, Avengers Annual 14; material from Secret Wars II 2, Epic Illustrated 26-34, What If? (1977) 36, What The -?! 2 and 10, Thing (1983) 7, Fantastic Four Roast and Special Edition



More new releases info here!

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