Back in an age where ‘Limited Edition’ meant just that, this hardback behemoth was released to celebrate the Man of Steel’s 50th anniversary in 1988 and restricted to 2500 copies. Published by Russ Cochrane Ltd. In association with DC Comics and grandly mounted inside a slipcover box embossed with a metallic ‘S’ shield, (bottom pic) ‘The Adventures Of Superman Collecting’ created and designed by Harry Matetsky (written and edited by Amanda Matetsky) is a celebration of paraphernalia charting the evolution of Superman’s comic origins to the multi-million, multi-media property of ‘today’.
Beautifully presented, this volume opens with a detailed summary of Siegel & Shuster’s creation and their battle to bring it to a wider audience before abandoning any further insights in favour of a simple picture book showcasing a plethora of rare and obscure vintage treasures (nicely photographed by Robert Scott) contributed for documentation by many a dedicated fan.
Less flashy and more conservative than Chip Kidd’s Batman Collected published some years later, there is still much here to please the nostalgic eye, such as the colour-guide celluloid for Max Fleisher’s Superman cartoon and the first jointed Superman doll (released by the Ideal Novelty & Toy Co. in 1940). However In its 215 pages, you would be forgiven for expecting more coverage of action figures yet curiously, few more are mentioned save for an overcrowded group shot spread over two pages at the back. This means there is no mention of the revolutionary Mego figures in either scale of the late ’70’s – a baffling omission.
Thankfully, there are features devoted to merchandise derived from Superman’s appearance in other media, including the cartoons, Movie serials and TV Series. The Superman Movies are also bestowed with two pages per picture (second & third pics) though the range of memorabilia on show is barely representative of the unprecedented marketing drive initiated by Warner Brothers at the time.
And therein lies the only criticism you could possibly level at this volume, that for all its grandiose presentation there eventually amounts to little more than an elaborate auction catalogue in content. Perhaps this explains why (besides the expense – I first saw this book 20 years ago with a £100 cover price!) after an initial rush, sales dwindled and perfect, unread copies still occasionally become available. An absolute must for the Superman historian, and to date still the definitive (and only) book on the subject, this edition is long overdue an update, or at least, a well-earned Volume II…
SUPERMANIA extends its best wishes to you & yours this Christmas and by way of present I offer select pages of this rare article featuring our favourite Lois Lane, Margot Kidder.
Interviewed by Fred Robbins for the January 1980 issue of High Society magazine, Ms. Kidder’s featured portfolio and candid views on relationships are probably best left to another website(!) – meantime enjoy Margot ‘stripping the pants off Truth, Justice & The American Way’ with this pictorial containing stills from Superman: The Movie…
Select pages from one of a clutch of tie-in publications (see listing on 2nd pic down) by Grosset & Dunlap, this competently illustrated ultra-kitsch Supergirl cut-out paper doll book was a blatant cash-in on the young female demographic.
Though not as outrageously targeted to the young female market as the trading card set, this bizarre collectable nonetheless remains the only opportunity the world will ever have to see what style shorts Marc McClure’s Jimmy Olsen wears…
Though lacking a merchandising campaign on the scale of her cousin, Touchstone Pictures adaptation of the Maid of Might still yielded some global treasures. From the top, UK Poster magazine by London Editions, Japanese program book, (unusually presented in landscape format but featuring customary outstanding imagery) UK Exhibitors Campaign Book and last but not least, the Storybook based on the film.
In retrospect, with all the creative elements (not to mention budget) in place it seems mystifying now quite why the picture itself failed so dramatically. Many seem to attribute it to a hurriedly rewritten script excising the appearance of Superman as Christopher Reeve infamously rejected the project last-minute. As those early Super-team drafts to my knowledge have never been published I’m reticent to place the blame solely there though undoubtedly it would have been an entirely different experience (not to mention a cinematic first).
Director Jeannot Szwarc was quoted as saying “I don’t think it was a failure, It just wasn’t what people were expecting” neatly evading responsibility for flat direction whilst simultaneously making it the audience problem. In truth, Supergirl did bear more similarity to other fantasy epics of the time such as Krull and The Dark Crystal rather than her Super-namesake due to the inclusion of magic as a plot device intended to emulate The Wizard of Oz but poorly realised. Even the stunning flying effects (by the original Superman unit, perfecting their techniques) and a memorable score by Jerry Goldsmith (finally joining the Super-team having narrowly missed out previous entries) can’t save the flimsy story and a sweet but inexperienced lead actress from being gobbled up by scenery. That being said, such is its cult appeal I must recommend the Anchor Bay DVD release featuring an extended cut as, if you’ve yet to see it, you’ve really not seen Supergirl at all…
A piece of pure 80’s nostalgia – ‘Look-In’ was touted as the ‘Junior TV Times’ but its real purpose was fanboy media in a pre-digital age. Part comic, (featuring full original strips from Buck Rogers, Knight Rider, The Fall Guy and Street Hawk, etc. with amazing art by Superman IV storyboard artist Martin Asbury among others that to this day has never been collected and/or republished) part Pop review (featuring all the artists of the era such as Culture Club, The Thompson Twins & Paul Young) and Movie feature, where an entry in the Superman series always commanded attention…
Enjoy the cover, feature and ‘Colour centre’ from this vintage mag – this poster hung for years on my bedroom wall. My thanks to SuperFan Chris King for restoring it!
