It is with considerable pleasure that SUPERMANIA presents this latest addition to the archive, a simple, elegant piece of ephemera that may well qualify as one of the most rare items in the collection.
Quite apart from the obvious appeal of the hand-signed autograph (top pic) this 8×6″ 8 page glossy booklet represents excellent provenance by virtue of only being available at the event itself and surviving to this day where most other copies were presumably deemed disposable.
Indeed, this gala dinner at world renowned London restaurant Claridges to mark the European Premiere of Superman: The Movie on December 13th, 1978 (see pics from the night here) had to date yielded little in the way of memorabilia, making this ‘Table Plan for Supper Party’ document a significant piece of Supermovie history.
And quite an evening it must have been, with a guest-list (second & third pics) reading like a glossary of Superman celebrities both onscreen and off, rounding out the 26 tables (fourth pic) alongside such esteemed company as The Earl and Countess of Limerick.
And topping it off is possibly one of the greatest examples of Christopher Reeve’s signatures SUPERMANIA has ever seen – its certainly the largest (at approx. 12cm across) signed in blue marker and underlined – smudged in a few places but is otherwise pristine. The composition of this above the blue ‘Super’ shield makes for quite the striking piece and a stunning souvenir of a glittering occasion…
Though the month of Le film may be over, SUPERMANIA sneaks in one last treat from the pages of French cinema magazine Clap! issue 43 from January 1987.
The Living Daylights may have been the cover story but this glorious pictorial preview (featuring the working title of Superman IV before the addition of the Quest For Peace, or Le face a face) written by Sally Hawkins features a stunning gallery with some rare behind the scenes images.
Should any Superfans be willing to translate the text it would be a pleasure to add it here..!
Concluding the month of rare collectibles from France on SUPERMANIA is this fantastic boardgame released by Miro in 1979, one of three different formats to be marketed across Europe (the others being Greece and Italy).
Featuring great box and interior art (despite the lid image being flipped, top pic) this game for two to four players typically contains board, (third pic,) dice, instruction sheet and an assortment of Superman counters plus one Lex Luthor counter.
Interestingly, despite Superman: The Movie’s global appeal, the only territories not to produce similar games were the US and UK, something that would be later rectified with popular games produced for Superman II & III…
Resuming the posts dedicated to collectibles originating in France, these two fantastic jigsaws are a recent acquisition and are both complete and in splendid condition for their age.
Though numerous jigsaw puzzles were released in conjunction with Superman: The Movie stateside and elsewhere in Europe, this pair of 150-piece iconic poses were unique to French makers Capiepa although many found their way to UK shores.
More often than not found in dilapidated boxes and inevitably with pieces missing, these are surely among the best surviving examples and are now an essential addition to the SUPERMANIA archive…
We interrupt our scheduled posts in the wake of the brand new viral promo from CBS currently polarising comic fans across the globe – for the Maid of Might has taken to the airwaves once again.
In this unprecedented six-minutes of footage we see much of the established comic -canon has been given a contemporary makeover (for better or worse). While it may be galling to see a character as iconic as cub reporter Jimmy Olsen upgraded from ginger hair & freckles to tall black man, Kara Danvers (apparently not Linda Lee) thankfully seems to have most of her character traits intact.
Amid all the camp, teen angst and homages to The Devil Wears Prada, there does seem to be some compelling action, decent effects, great costume (courtesy of designer Colleen Attwood) and most importantly an acknowledgement of previous ‘Super’ stars – exemplified by the appearance of Dean Cain and Helen Slater in as yet unidentified roles (Earth Parents??).
And so in true SUPERMANIA fashion we go retro to 1984 to revisit and celebrate the Salkind’s mega-budget incarnation of Supergirl on the big screen with these scarce behind the scenes portraits above – firstly with a studio shot of Helen Slater perfectly cast as Kara Zor-El (top) and alongside her stunt double (Wendy Leech?) On location in Scotland with ‘cape wrangler’ to hand (If anybody can identify the crew here it would be appreciated!) and finally a magnificent front projection shot in-flight.
Supergirl will fly again in November…
