Enjoy mistaking these outstanding pieces of Vintage style promo art for the genuine article. They are in fact the creation of ‘Jayce 76’ and are among many other terrific reworkings of Sci-Fi/Fantasy posters of the era found on his Deviantart page…
Dear Hot Toys –
As your Superman: The Movie figure is landing on the doorsteps of many grateful fans the world over and pictures of your latest creation are flying up all over the ‘net it would seem that any concerns anybody may have had about the finished product were not only unfounded but instead addressed with considerable style.
While SUPERMANIA and community of SuperFans take no credit whatsoever for any changes that may or may not have been implemented to this piece of 1/6 art we nevertheless salute your team’s dedication to making this possibly the ultimate Superman collectible and perhaps more importantly, a fitting tribute to our hero Christopher Reeve.
For many collectors this was their ‘grail’ figure, and in an age where Superheroes saturate Movie screens our love for the first and best of them all remains undiminished. Finally after a thirty year wait you have rewarded us with the toy we all wanted as kids back when we all left cinemas believing a man could fly.
It is important to remember that a portion of the sale of this figure goes to the Christopher & Dana Reeve paralysis Foundation and by purchasing it you honour a cause the man himself was so passionate about. Thanks to your attention to detail we can continue to remember him exactly as he was in his most iconic role for decades to come.
Best regards,
SUPERMANIA & Friends.
Pictures above used with kind permission by OMG – Bottom comparison pic by Sebastian Columbo (click for larger version)
More of Martin Asbury’s dynamic pencils illustrating the global bout between Superman and Nuclearman Mark II from the pages of the Big Red Book…
Seven years ago today we lost the actor who made us believe a Man Could Fly. In a celebration of the man and his achievements I present four of the best volumes chronicling his rise to stardom through to his tragic accident and finally to leaving a legacy –
The first of these is a vintage paperback Christopher Reeve charting the actor’s meteoric rise to fame by Margery Steinberg. While this is composed mainly of gossip-magazine style trash it still has some nice pictures in the centre and is fairly rare today.
Sadly the larger biographies would come as a result of renewed interest in Reeve due to his paralysis, the first, ‘Man Of Steel’ competently written by Adrian Havill nonetheless portrays Reeve as an ambitious but charismatic individual, concentrating on his acting career. The third volume, ‘Superhero’ by music journalist Chris Nickson is a more straightforward but well-researched bio spliced with decent b&w photos.
Reeve himself set the record straight in 1998 with his powerful autobiography Still Me, a touching reflection of his new life in a wheelchair with long flashbacks of a glittering career. Reeve pulls no punches with his views of both politics and his work to portray a humble family man refusing to accept his fate lightly while providing hope for others well beyond his years.
Rest In Peace, Toph…
The ‘Movie Tie-In’ novel was a familiar and obligatory item of merchandise issued to coincide with most of the Blockbusters of the 70’s and 80’s. Usually written economically and with little flair they were often more prized for the photo galleries adorning the centre pages.
Despite appearances, the novels shown in the top two pics are not literary transitions of Superman: The Movie nor Superman II due to the mess of litigation regarding story ownership (also impeding a comic-book adaptation) and are instead alternative takes on the origin story and other adventures by comic-writer Eliot S! Maggin.
A change of writers for the sequels permitted more standard releases and in the case of Superman III Author William Kotzwinkle (E.T.) an injection of a more adult tone into the screenplay by peppering the dialogue with such gems as ‘Holy ‘O Shitcakes’ and suchlike. By stark contrast, B.B. Hiller’s Novelisation of Superman IV is virtually a ‘Young readers version’ akin to the Star Wars novels. Decades later the nostalgic quaintness of these publications is surpassed by the desire to see Mario Puzo’s script for Superman’s I&II collected as an epic Godfather-esque novel. Stranger things have happened…