Noncomics: Making Superman’s Shield

For a change, today's article isn't about something created by someone else... this is a vanity project! (In stark contrast to the pure altruism that drips from every other article on this blog...) If you're a regular reader of this blog you'll likely be aware of my interest in logos and symbols, particularly when it …

Noncomics: Superman: The Man of Steel – A Which Way Book

This 1985 paperback book opens with a warning: "Do not read the pages in order. If you do, the story will make no sense at all." Ah, the noble "choose your own adventure" experience! Game-books like this were all the rage back before we had convenient interactive electronic entertainment. The book looks like a proper …

Superman: The Movie promo card

If you were a Star Wars fan back in the 1970s there was no end of tie-in merchandise available. Toys, t-shirts, lampshades, pyjamas, comics, books, rhino saddles, all sorts of branded stuff was yours for the buying as long as you had the money, but that certainly wasn't true for all big movies. I was …

Super DC Bumper Book

Super DC was a forty-page monthly comic published by Top Sellers (AKA Thorpe & Porter) in the UK from June 1969 to July 1970. It reprinted American DC Comics strips alongside home-grown text features, puzzles, letters pages, etc. The strips were in black-and-white, culled from titles such as Action Comics, Detective Comics, Superboy, Superman's Pal …

Superman’s 50th Anniversary… Radio Times’ coverage, 30 years on

The June 4-10, 1988 edition of Radio Times celebrated Superman's 50th birthday (albeit a couple of months late) with a cover feature, a small article, and a brand-new two-page Superman strip written and drawn by Dave Gibbons (who also drew the cover) and coloured by John Higgins from a concept by Dirk Maggs. (I'm saving …

Altered Images: Superman #1

Original: Superman #1, June 1939. Art by Leo O'Mealia.

Best Cover EVER: Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man

(Originally published on Forbidden Planet International blog, November 4, 2012, edited by Richard Bruton.) So, what is the best cover EVER? That’s the question we’ve been asking over the last few months. And of course, everyone has a different answer… which is great, because that means we can show you lots of wonderful comic cover …