…And the saga continues, with the addition of the ultra-rare poster from Bravo magazine (artist unknown) featuring the Superheroes of the seventies, including Adam West’s incarnation of Batman and Nicholas Hammond’s Amazing Spider-Man, with Reeve’s Superman soaring high above his small-screen comrades…
My thanks to Superfan Chris King for the poster restoration!!
A hauntingly atmospheric creation by artist Owain Wilson from his flickr album – see it and more classic movies given the avant garde treatment here –
“For my Superman design, I figured simple, elegant and classy was the way to go, much like the original 1978 poster and the film itself. I looked for a profile shot of Marlon Brando and found this painting by an artist whose name I couldn’t make out (Kris Meadows) It was part of a bigger composition so I took this part out and got to work. The thing I’m most proud of in this poster is Superman’s flight streak. I can’t believe I figured out how to do it..!”
The quest for global box-office domination through promotion – Daniel Goozee’s definitive original painting for the marketing of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace was adapted for overseas markets with wildly varying results (and replaced altogether in France). Translations of the title would also yield some interesting interpretations of the theme – In Germany ‘The Quest For Peace’ would become ‘World On The Brink’ and ‘The Strongest Enemy’ for the Japanese campaign.
From the top; German poster (‘artist’ unknown) alternative artwork for the French poster (artist unknown) a magazine ad for the Brazillian home video release and the Japanese one-sheet. Despite the customarily glossy marketing the movie would go on to gross $15,681,020 worldwide and would be considered the flop that ended the franchise…
Produced in low numbers and expensive (even at the time of release) this incredibly rare, unlicensed statue by sculptor Lee Ames is notable for being the first ‘Garage Kit’ based on the Superman Movies with the likeness of Christopher Reeve (In a pose from Superman II) ever released.
Made by 5th Sense in the early 1990’s and available exclusively through Frontier Models, In typical ‘Garage’ style, the four part kit (Body, leg, hat and base) in ivory resin came in a plain brown box with label featuring colour picture which doubled as a build guide.
The dynamic pose made the statue top-heavy and skills were required to ‘pin’ it to the base by the one foot. Extensive modifications of the hair and chest shield were also required to make it more screen-accurate. However the portrait of Reeve was decent for the time and the finished result made it a worthy addition to the collection.