Pop Culture Safari!

First trailer: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Man of Steel Week: Superman's got Pep!

Continuing our exploration of Superman's history: Kelloggs' Pep cereal sponsored the 1940s Superman radio show and used the character in much of its merchandising at the time.

Here's a look:

New comics June 12, 2013: Creepy Archives 9; Mad Presents Superman; Complete Little Orphan Annie 9; Simon and Kirby: Science Fiction!

Click the links to order discounted items from Amazon.

Creepy Archives Volume 9

Mad Presents Superman #1

Complete Little Orphan Annie Volume 9

The Simon & Kirby Library: Science Fiction

See a complete list of this week's releases!

DC Comics September 2013 solicitations

Highlights from DC's new releases for September. Click the links to pre-order discounted items from Amazon.

SUPERMAN: A CELEBRATION OF 75 YEARS HC
Written by Jerry Siegel, Edmond Hamilton, Otto Binder, Cary Bates, Joe Kelly, Alan Moore and others, art by Joe Shuster, Wayne Boring, Curt Swan, Doug Mahnke, Dave Gibbons and others, cover by TBD.
This amazing celebration of all things Superman includes stories from Action Comics #0, 1-2, 137, 242, 544, 775 and 900, Adventures Of Superman #498, Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross, SUPERMAN #11, 17, 53, 75, 76, 141, 149, 247 and 400, Superman Annual #11 and a 1940 story from Look Magazine!

LOIS LANE: A CELEBRATION OF 75 YEARS HC
Written by Jerry Siegel, John Byrne, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and others, srt by Joe Shuster, John Byrne, Phil Jimenez, Frank Quitely and others, cover by TBD.
Tales starring Lois Lane, Superman and more, reprinted from Action Comics #1-2, 6, 484, 600 and 662, Adventures Of Superman #631, All-Star Superman #2-3, Man Of Steel #2, Showcase #9, Superman #29, 33-34, 58 and 168, Superman 80-Page Giant 2011 #1, Superman: Lois Lane #1, Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #5, 16, 23, 42 and 106, and Wonder Woman #170!

SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL--BELIEVE TP
Written by Jeff Parker, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Grant Morrison, Brian Azzarello and others, art by Jim Lee, Chris Samnee, Derec Aucoin, Ben Oliver and others, cover by Kevin Nowlan.
This all-ages Superman collection includes Adventures Of Superman Digital Chapter 1, Adventures Of Superman #623, Action Comics #810 and 0, Superman #185, the 2-page origin story from Superman: For Tomorrow and Superman 80-Page Giant #1 and 2.

SUPERMAN ADVENTURES: THE MAN OF STEEL TP
Written by Mark Millar, Dan Slott, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Dan Jurgens and others, art by Neil Vokes, Mike Parobeck, Rick Burchett and others, cover by Bruce Timm.
It's a special all-ages Man of Steel collection, with stories from Superman Adventures #17, 18, 40 and 41, and Superman/Batman Magazine #1, 3, 5 and 7!

It smells like Jack Kirby.

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

Also, Stan Lee cologne? WTF?!!

Man of Steel Week: Supermania in the 1940s - vintage pics!

As we gear up for yet another re-telling of the Superman legend on the big screen, lets look back to the Man of Steel's beginnings.

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's creation caught on right from the start, launching the Golden Age Comics superhero craze that brought us Batman, Captains Marvel and America and every long underwear-type since. But it went far beyond that.

Within a decade of his debut in Action Comics in 1938, the Man of Steel had his own newspaper strip, radio show, a series of brilliantly animated shorts, a fan club and movie serial. He advertised Kellogg's Pep Cereal, appeared as a float in the Macy's Parade and was spotlighted in a Superman Day at the 1939 World's Fair.

That's not to mention the many toys, watches, costumes, puzzles and other products that bore his image. (See our sister site, the DC Comics Fortress of Memorabilia for plenty of pics of vintage Supermerchandise).

In the 1950s, there was the great "Adventures of Superman" live-action TV series and numerous animated series. Yet, we didn't see a Superman feature film until 1978. More on that later in the week.