Archive for July, 2011

July 14th, 2011  Posted at   Legends of the Batman
, , , , , , , , , ,    |   Comments Off on Legends of the Batman, Episode 16

Legends of the Batman

Welcome to episode 16 of Legends of the Batman, the show covering everything Batman — from the beginning! The show’s premise is a simple one. Each episode, we cover a month of Batman, be it comic books, television, movies, whatever, starting with his first appearance in 1939.

Michael Bradley and Michael Kaiser return to cover all Batman material released in June of 1940, which drops back down to one comic again, DETECTIVE COMICS #41, where Robin must go undercover to solve a kidnapping, a murder and the mystery of the Masked Man!

Click here to see the post at BatmanLegends.com, the site’s home base, to download the episode or subscribe to the show.

July 12th, 2011  Posted at   The Thrilling Adventures of Superman

The Thrilling Adventures of Superman

Welcome to episode 25 of The Thrilling Adventures of Superman. The show’s mission is to explore the history and development of the Superman in his formative years by chronicling the Man of Steel’s Golden Age adventures in comics, radio and film.

Another big episode is here as Michael is joined by Charlie Niemeyer of “Superman in the Bronze Age” for a look at another three amazing issues! Things get kicked off with ACTION COMICS #16 where Superman smashes — literally! — a gambling racket. They then move on to SUPERMAN #2, with the second Superman text story. And finally, they take a look at ACTION COMICS #17, where our hero takes on the challenge of rescuing a stranded steamer, and is drawn into a larger plot formed by a very familiar foe!

And be sure to check out Charlie Niemeyer’s podcast, Superman in the Bronze Age. A huge thanks once more to Mr. Niemeyer for coming on the show.

QUOTABLE:
It’s time for Superman to take a hand — before more lives are uselessly sacrificed!
Superman

The cover to ACTION COMICS #16 by Fred Guardineer


Superman on patrol!


Smashing!


What is Superman doing?!


The cover to SUPERMAN #2 by Joe Shuster and Paul Cassidy


Text story header


The cover to ACTION COMICS #17 by Joe Shuster and Paul Cassidy


So, this happened.


Lois Lane's long lost identical twin


Mild-mannered reporter

Links mentioned in the episode:
“Who Took the Super Out of Superman” which can be read at Superman Through the Ages) is one of Charlie’s favorite Superman stories.
– The cover to SUPERMAN #2 was paid homage to in SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #26 with art by Aluir Amancio and Terry Austin.
– The “victory garden” cover mentioned by Michael in the episode is from WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #11 and was drawn by Jack Burnley.

Download the episode directly. Or, you can subscribe to the show via iTunes or the RSS feed! You can connect with show on Facebook, as well, to get updates! The Thrilling Adventures of Superman is also a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.

Questions or comments? Additions or corrections? Drop a line! Share your thoughts on the episode and the issue.

July 7th, 2011  Posted at   Legends of the Batman

Legends of the Batman

Welcome to episode 15 of Legends of the Batman, the show covering everything Batman — from the beginning! The show’s premise is a simple one. Each episode, we cover a month of Batman, be it comic books, television, movies, whatever, starting with his first appearance in 1939.

Michael Kaiser and Michael Bradley are back with a double-hit of awesomeness starring Batman and Robin! First up is DETECTIVE COMICS #40 where Batman and Robin attempt to stop a vicious killer who’s target is Julie Madison (aspiring actress) and learn to beware of Clayface! (Yes, we said actress.) Then it’s a bit of a lighter story, but the threat is no less dangerous, in NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR COMICS as “Batman and Robin Visit the 1940 New York World’s Fair”! You’ll never believe what happens in that one!

Click here to see the post at BatmanLegends.com, the site’s home base, to download the episode or subscribe to the show.

July 5th, 2011  Posted at   The Thrilling Adventures of Superman

The Thrilling Adventures of Superman

Welcome to episode 24 of The Thrilling Adventures of Superman. The show’s mission is to explore the history and development of the Superman in his formative years by chronicling the Man of Steel’s Golden Age adventures in comics, radio and film.

This episode, we go back to the newspapers as Michael looks at the seventh storyline from the Superman daily strip. A runaway boy and a last-minute save by Superman lead the Daily Star’s finest reporters, Clark Kent and Lois Lane, into a crooked orphanage. This looks like a job for… Frankie Dennis? Also this episode, Michael shines the spotlight on Golden Age artist Fred Guardineer!

QUOTABLE:
Stout fellow! — I knew you wouldn’t abandon your friends!
Clark Kent

The closest we've gotten to the iconic shirt rip. So far.


CHICKEN!


Dennis Neville's Superman


Inquisitive Lois

Links mentioned in the episode:
“The Battle at Glen Falls” by N.C. Wyeth… compare to the cover to ACTION COMICS #8 by Fred Guardineer.
Newspaper dailies at DCComics.com

Download the episode directly. Or, you can subscribe to the show via iTunes or the RSS feed! You can connect with show on Facebook, as well, to get updates! The Thrilling Adventures of Superman is also a proud member of the Superman Podcast Network.

Questions or comments? Additions or corrections? Drop a line! Share your thoughts on the episode and the issue.

July 1st, 2011  Posted at   The Stack

Major comeback in June as I read more books than any month since January. I’ve discovered the key is forcing myself to sit down and read. Not that reading is a chore… but sometimes other things seem more appealing in-the-moment, but aren’t as fulfilling long term, you know? Anyway, here’s June:

Action Comics #900
Adventure Comics #525
All New Batman: Brave and the Bold #6-7
Brightest Day #24
Fallen Angel: Return of the Son #4
FCBD 2011 Green Lantern Flashpoint Special Edition
FCBD 2011 Young Justice Batman BB Super Sampler
Flash (Vol. 3) #10-12
Green Lantern (Vol. 4) #65
Green Lantern Corps (Vol. 2) #59
Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #9
R.E.B.E.L.S. #27-28
Steel #33-37
Superboy (Vol. 3) #34-38
Superboy and the Ravers #3-8
Superboy Plus #1
Superboy/Robin: World’s Finest 3 #1-2
Supergirl (Vol. 4) #4-8
Supergirl (Vol. 5) #63
Supergirl Plus # 1
Superman #710-711
Superman/Batman #83
Tiny Titans #39
Young Justice (Vol. 2) #3
Total: 45 comics (Year total: 198 comics, 7 trades)

I also continued reading through SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SUPERMAN FAMILY, Vol. 3. I should finish that in the month ahead.

The Reading Project continues nicely. I’m about one-third of the way through it. While I am enjoying following the “lives” of these characters and as they evolve and grow in this era in tandom (and it will leave me in great shape when Michael Bailey and Jeffrey Taylor get to this era on From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast, I’m slightly regretting taking on such a large project all at once. The project encompasses more than 300 comics published over 8 years, which is… a lot. I think for future Reading Projects, I will aim for a more narrow scope.

If you’re interested in my thoughts on “The Incident” from ACTION COMICS #900, give a listen to episode 22 of “The Thrilling Adventures of Superman.” The topic that had folks all up in arms turned out to be a moot point for me, but the story still bugged me for reasons I go into in that episode.

So, the other big elephant in the corner: DCnU. I’ll spare you my personal feelings on the entire matter and cut to the quick: None of the titles sound interesting to me. I’m going to keep on with the three, soon to be four, Green Lantern titles and I will read ACTION COMICS (Vol. *sigh* 2) and SUPERMAN (Vol. 3). But reading those is based solely on past history. The Green Lantern titles, title shuffling aside, are making it through unchanged. I have enjoyed Morrison on Superman before, so I’m willing to give his year on ACTION COMICS a shot. And George Pérez is, well, George Pérez.

So, yeah. While it makes me sad that none of the books even sound interesting, I do recognize that it will give me more opportunity to read back issues and explore titles I have wanted to dive into for a while. So, to that, I’m looking forward.