July 6, 1987By J.J. SMITH, United Press International…
The Smithsonian Institution has launched a new exhibit that does not leap tall buildings at a single bound but does take up more room than a telephone booth — a celebration of Superman, “America`s most famous alien.”
“Superman: Many Lives, Many Worlds” opened to the public June 24 at the National Museum of American History.
“Superman is like other people that came to this nation,” said museum curator Carl Scheele. “He`s the essence of the great immigrant tradition.”
The collection, which is part of the Nation of Nations entertainment exhibit and runs until June 1988, showcases Superman memorabilia spanning 50 years, including:
*A Superman costume worn by George Reeves in the 1950s TV series, and one worn by Christopher Reeve in the soon to be released Superman IV.
*Original copies of Action Comics #1, and Superman# 1, which sold in 1938 for 10 cents each. The comics, in mint condition, are now valued at $25,000 and $18,000 respectively, according to Overstreet Comics Price Guide.
*An original screenplay by Mario Puzo for the 1978 film Superman: The Movie.
*An original radio script and recordings of the 1940’s radio broadcasts.
*A storyboard from one of 17 Superman cartoons published in the 1940’s.
*A special edition of Superman comics that was published during World War II and was used as a teaching device for enlisted men who could not read.
*A short film that traces the history of Superman, including clips from the TV series, the movie serials, the cartoons and the latest motion pictures.
Mingling among the stars of Superman IV (Jon Cryer, Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve) above was Uber-artist John Byrne, riding high on the current Superman run having secured his place in comics history with ‘Man Of Steel’. He recounts;
“I met Christopher Reeve twice, that was fun. I met him at DC and we talked about the fourth movie. And then for the 50th Anniversary there was a big show down at the Smithsonian. I went down for that because they invited me. He came over and introduced himself to me ‘Hi – I’m Christopher Reeve, we met at the DC Offices’ – and I chatted with Margot Kidder for a while because we were bonding on being Canadians…”
Were you fortunate enough to attend this event? Please share your memories here. SUPERMANIA extends its thanks to SuperFans Lynn Arave for sharing the outstanding photos above from his Blog Of Steel and Sammy Gomez for his great contributions to this post..!
The genesis of an artistic partnership that would thrive for decades to come, the collage above (top) represents the first published Superman piece by one Jerry Ordway.
Found on the impressive wrap-around cover of pulpy but highbrow magazine ‘The Comic Reader’ for its November 1979 issue, Ordway’s dynamic but realistic style was a perfect compliment to the characters as represented in Superman: The Movie.
Of arguably more interest, however, were the contents of the magazine and in particular, the views of comic-book purists on this fresh take of what was, at the time, a 40 year-old beloved flagship character.
Indeed, the excellent review of the movie (cropped and reformatted here for ease of continuity, click for larger) is referred to by Mike Tiefenbacher as ‘refreshing & wonderful’, highlighting the major differences between the movie and the comic book but interestingly not to its detriment. In fact, many of the observations here (modelwork on the dam/turning back the world) are still hotly debated today and some are even prophetic (describing it as a benchmark/suggesting a Superboy TV series/longer TV edits) all of which make for great reading.
Tiefenbacher’s follow-up piece is an insightful, personal critique of the character’s evolution which incorporates everything from ‘The Great Superman Book’ by Michael L. Fleisher to Elliot S! Maggin’s Superman: ‘Last Son Of Krypton’.The latter notable for its mistaken identity as the novelisation of the movie.
If this has whetted your appetite for vintage reviews by comic journalists you may want to check back soon for scans from from the ‘Comics Journal’ – a monster review spread over two posts..!
They say you should never have regrets. They also say you should never meet your heroes. Those fortunate enough to have positive experiences with the latter only serve to make the former more poignant here at SUPERMANIA.
In 1994, with the colossus of modern-day internet fandom in its infancy, the tradition of the Sci-Fi convention was quietly going about its business celebrating all things cult Stateside as it had for decades previously.
One such celebration was the annual Dixie Trek convention held in Atlanta, Georgia, where organiser and Superfan Ron Nastrom had listened to repeated pleas of fans over the years and had finally secured the first (and ultimately final) special guest appearance of one Christopher Reeve.
Hired for a Q&A and autograph session lasting the afternoon, (read Ron’s fantastic account here) Reeve would characteristically both deny special treatment and insist on signing for all attendees – None of which could’ve forseen the significance of this event anymore than the tragic incidents that would occur less than a year later.
This latest and most precious addition to the SUPERMANIA collection shown above is a rare signed copy of Convention Life Issue #1 from that same session and has its own story –
“I was Deputy Director of Security for the “Dixie Trek” Convention held in Atlanta at the CastleGate Hotel on May 13th through 15th 1994. Christopher Reeve was a guest speaker. He had another engagement in Los Angeles about a movie project but he had already committed to the convention. On Saturday, May 15th 1994, Mr. Reeve flew to Atlanta, gave a very moving speech, then signed autographs to everyone who wanted one. He even personalized them if the person wanted it. Being that I was running Security for his appearance, I was second in line to get him to sign. (I let the Director of the Convention go first!)
Knowing Mr. Reeve needed to get back to LA, we tried to rush the crowd along. Mr. Reeve wouldn’t have that. He signed every one. That was just the kind of man he was. Extremely Gracious! He flew back to LA that night. Personally, Superman really impressed me.
I forgot to get my own program signed but I got this one for someone else on my crew. I was very busy with security. Unfortunately, she had to leave the convention before I could give it to her. Then I never saw her again. It’s been sitting in a box in my closet ever since…”
While no amount of memorabilia could make up for missing out on such an opportunity back in the day, ‘Shannon’s’ loss is now definitely my gain…
Happy new year to all from SUPERMANIA as the mission to bring you rare and unseen ephemera from the classic film series continues anew!
We launch 2014 proper with unpublished stills provided courtesy of an old friend of the site who once again has been kind enough to share these all-new discoveries from his archive. Longtime followers of SUPERMANIA may recall the fascinating set of images provided by ‘Parkstreetparrot’ who was fortunate enough to be tipped off about the shooting of a new movie taking place on the final unopened stretch of what was to become the M25 London orbital motorway in the UK.
The new colour prints above show the filmmaking process with more clarity than ever as stars Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Jon Cryer and crew confer between setups for Superman IV: The Quest For Peace.
According to the source, word had spread fast that location shooting was taking place out in the open with minimal security so the British press had made a beeline to the site. By this time, convinced he had enough material to sell to the press himself, the source left the scene only to miss the shooting of Superman flying off with Lex getaway car! This would be the scoop that made all the papers the following day…
Fleetingly teased during their Into The Halls Of Justice promo as far back as Jan 2012, Sideshow Collectibles have finally affirmed their commitment to the classic Superman movies by revealing their prototype PF (Premium Format) figure.
As the initial pics (taken from the latest Production Peek) above show, the figure is at prototype stage (featuring fabric costume and Christopher Reeve likeness) but awaiting a finished base (full reveal expected soon).
Typically, when it comes to translations of the original Caped Wonder to 3D, fan opinion is immediately polarised.Though highly anticipated (especially its official debut in ¼ scale!) it seems the initial excitement has been dampened by concerns regarding the statue’s unnatural pose. Further issues with the (otherwise admirable) likeness such as an overly tall forehead and odd drooping brows one would hope could be easily rectified before production, but this is by no means guaranteed.
Longtime followers of SUPERMANIA may know this a road well-travelled when it comes to campaigning for the best Reeve Superman figure possible for your hard-earned cash. Though most are failed endeavours (see: Hot Toys costume) occasionally the passion (or vitriol) of fans reaches the companies concerned in time to make vital adjustments (see: Hot Toys sculpt) initiated here purely for the benefit of collectors rather than any declaration of superiority.
That said, what is becoming inexplicably more apparent with each subsequent release of new Reeve Superman merchandise is an abandonment/ignorance of the source material.One could happily tap-dance on the entire shipment of Superman Cinemaquette’s for starting the godawful trend of sculpting figures in mid-descent.Indeed, this ridiculous emulation of ‘Riverdance’ with requisite flounce is made all the worse by the fact it was NEVER seen on screen and in all likelihood would not appear as such if it did.
So it is with considerable resignation that, bestowed with a character who strikes an iconic pose in most every scene he appears we have been gifted with yet another contorted non-canon interpretation.This is made all the more frustrating by the fact this disproportionate body is adorned by far and away the most lovingly-tailored (and screen-accurate, short of the belt being a ¼ too narrow) costume seen on a Superman Movie figure to date. Complete with a base (again, given a multitude of screen environments to choose from) apparently modelled after the bursting Hoover Dam?!? – and you are left with a puzzling concoction.
With Sideshow’s rich history of producing outstanding PF’s you could be forgiven for expecting the creative team to understand the impact of letting a character ‘speak’ for itself in an elegant, relaxed pose vs. overworked. One glance at the masterpiece that is their ‘Raiders’ Indiana Jones PF affirms this. If this prototype is indeed intended as the final version I fear a great opportunity to repeat that success and produce the definitive Superman statue will be lost. We shall see..!
