Happy Thanksgiving from Chronological Snobbery. Rest easy, enjoy the holiday, be certain to watch some college football, and most importantly, stuff yourself with trytophantastic turkey (not unlike Superman is stuffing himself with burgers on the cover of Action Comics above).
Just yesterday, the fun blog Pop Culture Safari posted the above promotional still from The Beatles' 1965 film, Help!. It depicts Paul McCartney at a three layer keyboard with a series of comic books where the sheet music would ordinarily sit. If you look closely, you can see that they are all DC Comics (naturally from the mid-1960s), and to boot, they are all Superman related. Yep, the series Action Comics, Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen, and Superman, are all represented. Building upon Pop Culture Safari's post, I decided to attempt to identify the comics in question. Not all of them are fully visible, but some of them are apparent enough to identify the issue in question. From left to right, with a few issues missing because I couldn't identify them, they are:
Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen, #75 (1964)
Superman #164 (1963).
Action Comics #314 (1964)
Action Comics #304 (1963)
The prerequisites of daily toil keep me from offering you a substantive post today. So, content yourself with the image above, 1938's Action Comics #1, which features the first appearance of Superman. My favorite story told by comic shoppe owners - and all comic shoppe owners seem to have a variation of this tale - is the person who comes in their store in an attempt to sell a would-be copy of Action Comics #1, not realizing that it is a far, far more recent reprint, than the original issue, now worth tens of thousands. If that customer sincerely believed they had such a prize (and was not attempting to pull a fast one on the owner), they must look crestfallen.
Today is the Friday before the Fourth of July, and many of you may be skipping work or school to get an early start on your time off. As this festive weekend begins in earnest, we at this site wish all of our dear readers a happy and safe holiday, Please, drink only enough booze to bring yourself into a pleasantly wistful and nostalgic state so as to better experience decades old popular culture. Enjoy some fireworks, and think back to your favorite Fourth of July holiday experiences from the 1980s and 1990s. That's what we'll be doing, anyway.
What to say on the occasion of the birthday of RHPT, long time friend and reluctant blogger? He is an enigma, especially to the blogosphere, which he revisits and vanishes from cyclically. He has many former blogs populating the Internet, which he started and abandoned over the years. With the triumphant return of Ryan S. to the blogosphere, and with this site's return from its extended hiatus, we here at Chronological Snobbery hoped that RHPT would throw himself back into the blogging game, but so far he is just sharing links via Tumblr.
Fifty one years ago today, on June 16, 1959, George Reeves, the actor best known for playing Superman in the television program "The Adventures of Superman," took his own life. There's actually a bit of modern speculation about whether there was any type of foul play involved, but in any high profile celebrity death, such talk always seems to abound. I can remember watching Reeves as Supes in the 1980s when "The Adventures of Superman" remained in syndication. Looking back, it's difficult to imagine how the news of the death of the actor who played Suerman must have seemed to young viewers. Years later, Hollywood made a biopic of Reeves, called Hollywoodland, starring Ben Affleck, of all people, as the troubled Reeves. It was not a particularly good film, though it was better than anticipated. May Reeves rest in peace.
For further reading, please see:
Even the Man of Steel is occasionally affected by the burdens of his daily toil. Far less a man than he, we here at Chronological Snobbery must take today off. Hey, it's a holiday weekend.
Here at Chronological Snobbery, we traditionally deal in maudlin nostalgia, not joy. However, something is different about this day. Today, Ryan S., the author of the now defunct pop culture blog The League of Melbotis (and the creator of the brand new blog, The Signal Watch) and his wife, Jamie (a blogger in her own right) celebrate ten years of marriage. Ten years! That's quite a feat: a decade of matrimony. How can Chronological Snobbery commemorate this festive occasion? By doing what we do best. Since this is a blog dedicated to forgotten popular culture, let's see what was happening on that fateful day in the realm of entertainment.
So without further ado, here is the day that was in pop culture, Friday, April 28, 2000:An inside source has reported to me that progress on the Superman: The Movie DVD is going very well. The final edit will include some of the best material from the ABC-TV extended version with computer enhancements, interviews, stills archive, and more. It promises to be spectacular.The films would later be released on DVD after an extended period of Internet gossip.
Warner Bros is going all out, releasing all four Superman titles on DVD -- with the first slated as a special edition. Superman: The Movie is reported to be a 2-disc set that will include audio commentary by director Richard Donner, a separate music-only track featuring the wonderfully beautiful score by John Williams PLUS his commentary on the film. There will be special features on the casting of Superman, screen tests, a documentary on the making of the film, theatrical trailer, TV spots, deleted scenes, audio outtakes, as well asan extensive cast and crew bio/filmography.
Warner Home Video is putting a load of money into this DVD and it will include special motion menus and scene transitions on the DVD. It will be in Widescreen and digitally mastered, both picture and sound.
Superman II will have much less. A theatrical trailer, screen tests, and deleted scenes. The other two (Superman III and IV) will be quite generic.
Happy Birthday to Ryan S., the once, and possibly future, author of The League of Melbotis, a now defunct pop culture blog. He's not really 50. Today, he is 35. He maintained The League blog for a total of six and a half years, starting in 2003, before retiring at the very end of 2009. Despite occasional bouts of uncertainty, he was prolific. There were thousands of posts, but here, dear readers, on his birthday, are my favorite 25 blog entries, in no particular order:1. "Summer of Superman: A Super Lifestyle - Having A Super Day," (Sunday, May 14, 2006).These posts, truly, were the site's greatest hits. But the real question of the day: Did Ryan ever fulfill this birthday wish and watch The Searchers?
2. "The League (with Special Guest: Steanso) Taste Tests the Jones Soda Holiday Collection," (Sunday, December 25, 2005).
3. "The League Taste Tests Coca-Cola Blak (imagine a little dash over the "a" in Blak) aka: My Coke has an Identity Crisis," (Wednesday, April 12, 2006).
4. "League Taste Test: The regrettable 'mallow' hot dog," (Monday, August 21, 2006).
5. "Me and Chuck E. Cheese," (Sunday, April 5, 2009).
6. Untitled Post About Working at the Disney Store, (Wednesday, November 19, 2003).
7. "The League Takes The Pepsi (Holiday Spice) Challenge!!!," (Sunday, November 21, 2004).
8. Untitled Post About Why Kristin Kreuk is Annoying on Smallville, (Friday, November 21, 2003)
9. "The League Presents: The League taste-tests the new BK Chicken Fries," (Sunday, August 7, 2005).
10. "Summer of Superman: Why The League is a Superman Fan," (Sunday, June 11, 2006).
11. "Tonight we dined IN HELL!!!" (Wednesday, April 25, 2007) (with necessary follow-up reading here, here, here, and finally here).
12. "Chronological Snobbery," (Friday, November 16, 2007).
13. "Dames In The Media The League Once Dug: Sean Young as Rachael in Blade Runner," (Sunday, January 6, 2008).
14. "Things that College Students Do," (Tuesday, February 10, 2009).
15. "Last Will and Testament of The League," (Sunday, January 11, 2009).
16. "Goodbye to Melbotis," (Friday, January 2, 2009).
17. "Get Off My Lawn: The League is a Grumpy Neighbor," (Thursday, November 6, 2008).
18. "The League Revisits: Pump Up the Volume (and DITMTLOD)," (Wednesday, August 27, 2008).
19. "Lollapalooza 1991," (Monday, August 4, 2008).
20. "Zero Effect - 10 Years Later," (Sunday, January 27, 2008).
21. "Superman stinks?" (Thursday, April 10, 2008).
22. "The League tells you about love," (Thursday, February 01, 2007)
23. "The League's Halloween Costume selections throughout the years!" (Sunday, October 30, 2005).
24. "Mystery Albums from a Far-Off Place," (Thursday, July 7, 2005).
25. Untitled Post Offering Marital Advice, (Monday, November 8, 2004).
Happy Birthday to McSteans, wife of Ryan S., who used to run The League of Melbotis, a now defunct pop culture blog. McSteans now runs her own blog here, so investigate it on this merry occasion. Incidentally, the image above is courtesy of illustrator J. Bone at the blog, Blah, Blah, Blog!. The image below, well, that's just from Ryan's last birthday party. Sigh.
All things being equal, I'd rather be in Otisburg. I'm taking the day off from blogging today, as I suspect that I am soon to be under the weather. Allergies, or illness, thwarts a blogger's diligence. So, dear reader, thank you for your patience and concern. I shall return anon.
As ABC's "Lost" progresses through its final season (with a new episode tonight), one mystery that may never be solved: What ever happened to the idea of that show's star, Evangeline Lilly, as Lois Lane in the rebooted Superman franchise? There was a time when the Internet was abuzz with casting rumors as Bryan Singer's Superman Returns entered pre-production. (According to this 2004 report, she was among the four finalists for the part, despite the fact that "Lost" had only been on the air a month at the time of that report.). Although the part ultimately went to Kate Bosworth, Lilly would have been a more interesting choice based on her six seasons as the enterprising and independent minded Kate Austen in ABC's most mysterious series. Although Singer purportedly wanted an unknown to play the part, perhaps Lilly was too unknown at that time? Or perhaps the ultimate reason for the casting decision is lost to the ages. Whatever the case, in the five and a half years since "Lost" premiered, Lilly has not made the transition to films. In fact, since 2004, she's only appeared in three films, the most recent being last year's critically acclaimed the The Hurt Locker. Interestingly enough, Lilly actually has a bit of a Superman pedigree; prior to "Lost," she appeared thrice on TV's "Smallville," although you can ascertain the size of her roles from the names of her characters: In 2002, she played "Wade's Girlfriend" and was uncredited, in 2003, she played "Girl in Cinema" and was uncredited, and in 2004 - just eight months before "Lost" would premiere - she played "School Girl," a character without even a name. Alas. Lilly has exhibited an ability to play spunky and independent female characters, which would certainly have been an asset to playing the fabled Lois Lane.
"Stolen moments. An hour here. Ten minutes there. I know it's not enough for a woman like her. But it's all I have to spare. The perfect woman at the worst possible time. I sometimes wish I had not met her until later. Already there have been so many broken moments. So I . . . overcompensate. But I know it's not enough . . . for a woman like her." - Superman, on his relationship with Lois Lane during the infancy of their courtship, in Superman Confidential #1 (DC Comics, Issue Date: January 2007, Released November 2006).
A very nice moment it is, certainly not stereotypical of the medium. It is often written that Superman intrigues us not because of his many powers but because of his loneliness - he is the last of his kind, the last of his race, the last survivor of a dead world. Revealing, through an inner monologue, the hidden romantic insecurities of the world's most invulnerable man is, well, much more interesting than his battling some generic foe, is it not? In attempting to escape from that loneliness, even he is not immune to the self doubt and critical introspection that dooms us all in such endeavors. Superman indeed.
A bit of poking around reveals, however, that I am not the only one who fancied it. Says Bully of Bully Says:This [new series] looks like it's shapin' up to be another [favorite], not merely for good solid superhero action but for its portrayal of one of my very favorite elements of the Superman mythos: the Clark/Lois/Superman love triangle. There's a gorgeously-written and illustrated three-page romantic sequence where Superman and Lois share a champagne toast on top of the Eiffel Tower that is the sort of scene I'd love to see in a Superman movie.More succinct is New York's Michael Hartney: "The three-page Eiffel Tower sequence is worth the $2.99 alone." Agreed. Mostly echoing these sentiments is the author of The Nerdly Arts, who summarizes: "Straight from the fight Superman takes Lois Lane on a date at the top of Eiffel Tower, lamenting that with all of his other responsibilities he cannot give Lois the attention she really deserves." He concludes: "A tremendous character piece that unfortunately doesn't have a story to match." Perhaps there is some truth in that criticism, but I prefer character to plot.
Multiple issues of this series have been published, but I have yet to read them. Usually, when I pick up periodicals or comic books, they languish unread for several weeks or months before I finally read them. Such was the case with this issue, but I'm glad I finally got around to it. Of course, I'm still waiting to find the time to sit down and read, in its entirety, John Byrne's six issue mini-series, The Man of Steel, from 1986. We'll see how I fare with that task.
