Superman and the Mole Men

Superman and the Mole Men is the 1951 black and white film which served as a pilot of sorts for the long-running Superman TV series. The 58 minute feature is somewhat serious and has a science fiction theme, whereas the TV series was usually more humorous and crime-oriented. In a nutshell, Clark and Lois are sent to investigate a race of subterranean Mole Men who are disturbed by the drilling of the world's deepest oil well. Despite their peculiar appearance, the Mole Men present no threat, and the majority of the story revolves around Superman protecting them and helping the townspeople to overcome their fear and prejudice. Even though George Reeves felt it would go nowhere, the movie was relatively well received, and it led directly to the successful TV series. The feature was eventually turned into a two-part show, and was used as a cliffhanger between the first and second seasons.

The Bottle City of Kandor

Possibly the most iconic and memorable element of the Silver Age Superman mythos, the Bottle City of Kandor was created when Brainiac shrunk and stole the capitol city of Krypton, preserving it inside a glass bottle aboard his spacecraft. Superman eventually recovered Kandor from Brainiac, and placed it inside his Fortress of Solitude for safekeeping.

The bottle containing the city is made of unbreakable glass, and is sealed by a super-hard metal stopper. Superman keeps a close watch on air hoses and related apparatus and a doorway has been installed in the stopper to facilitate an easier exit. The gravity conditions and red sun of Krypton are duplicated to allow the Kandorians to live normal lives within the bottle. Superman uses a special monitor screen to keep in close communication with Kandor.

To enter Kandor, Superman uses Brainiac's shrinking ray to reduce to microscopic size. Once inside, Superman becomes an ordinary human being, without super-powers. Superman's most notable adventure within the bottle was probably when he and Jimmy Olson adopted the identities of Nightwing and Flamebird in order to investigate a criminal scientist. The other most notable aspect of the bottle city is the Superman Emergency Squad, a team of Kandorians that leaves the bottle from time to time in order to assist Superman.

Of course, the Silver Age Bottle City of Kandor was swept away in DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths. Over the years, DC has brought out newer, different versions of Kandor, but nothing as cool and interesting as the original.

American Splendor

Sporadically published since 1976, American Splendor is a series of autobiographical comics based on the life of Cleveland native Harvey Pekar. In the 1960's, Pekar gained inspiration from the work of artist Robert Crumb, who eventually became one of the artists for the comic series. Taking Pekar's everyday life as its subject matter, American Splendor tells stories about Pekar's job as a file clerk, his money problems, car troubles, health problems, and a multitude of other anxieties and awkward situations that Pekar often experiences.

Pekar gained a certain level of notoriety in the 1980's when he appeared numerous times on David Letterman's show, and his graphic novels were eventually the basis of a 2003 movie starring Paul Giamatti.

American Splendor has most recently been published by the DC Comics imprint Vertigo.

Cerebus the Aardvark

Cerebus the Aardvark, created by Dave Sim, is one of the longest running comic book series ever published. Difficult to describe, the comic chronicles the adventures of Cerebus, a three foot tall aardvark who lives in the fictional world of Estarcion. Beginning in 1977 and completed in 2004, the series develops many religious and political themes as it follows Cerebus through numerous occupations and careers. Initially he is a mercenary, and later he is a politician, a religious leader and eventually a messiah.

Initially conceived as a parody of the sword and sorcery genre, and no doubt inspired by Steve Gerber's Howard the Duck, Cerebus was one of the first independent comics, at a time when the comics landscape was almost completely dominated by DC and Marvel. Involved in much controversy over the years, Dave Sim nevertheless became one of the leaders in the fight for creators' rights in comics.

Probably the best known storyline of the series was High Society (issues #26-50), where Cerebus finds himself enmeshed in the fast-paced world of high finance and politics. These issues were subsequently published as a graphic novel available through mail order only, which angered comic shop retailers who felt Sim owed them a great deal for the initial success of Cerebus.

In many ways, the arc of Cerebus from 1977 to 2004 is also the history of the many different ways that comics changed over the years, both creatively and as a business.

Doc Savage

Doc Savage is a 1930's pulp character who was a very important forerunner to the modern superhero. Most fully realized by author Lester Dent, Doc Savage is a 6 ft 6 in giant, raised from birth to have great strength and endurance and near super-human physical abilities. He was also educated in all fields of learning in order to become a renaissance man, as well as a premier martial artist, explorer and adventurer. He is described by Dent as having the mental abilities of Sherlock Holmes and the physical abilities of Tarzan.

Doc does not wear a costume, but he does have a distinctive physical appearance. His skin is bronzed, his hair is close-cropped, and he has hypnotic gold-flecked eyes. Thus he is often described as "The Man of Bronze". Similar to Bruce Wayne, Doc has vast wealth and connections, and like Superman, he has a Fortress of Solitude. (Mort Weisinger pretty much lifted this idea in its entirety for the Superman mythos.) He also has a cohort of gifted teammates, which makes him the leader of one of the first 'super-teams'.

One of the more notable works in the Doc Savage canon, particularly for those interested in the Wold Newton hypothesis, is Philip José Farmer's fictional biography Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life.

H.P. Lovecraft

H.P. Lovecraft (1890 – 1937), although relatively unknown during his own time, is one of the most important figures in horror fiction. His most notable creation was probably the cycle of stories known as the Cthulhu Mythos, a shared universe that has since been employed by many writers, most notably- for comic book fans, at least- Alan Moore.

Stories created within the Cthulhu Mythos usually take place in New England and center on the Great Old Ones, a fearsome assortment of powerful, grotesque alien deities who came from outer space and once ruled the Earth. These powerful beings are currently being held in abeyance, having fallen into a death-like sleep at some point in the distant past. The best known of these entities, but not necessarily the most powerful, is Cthulhu. Other key figures include Azathoth, the theological center of the mythos and Nyarlathotep, who does Azathoth's bidding.

The central theme of the Mythos is that the illusory nature of reality is a blessing. We do not see every aspect of reality, and we would surely lose our minds if we did. In the tradition of the Mythos, forbidden knowledge results in death and/or insanity.

Alan Moore has written prose stories set in the Cthulhun Mythos, and his works are sprinkled with references and homages to Lovecraft. Lovecraft's influence on Moore can definitely be seen in Swamp Thing, where Moore creates a mythos that is not unlike the Cthulhu Mythos.

Many books and dissertations have been written about Lovecraft. Other than his influence on Alan Moore, the important thing to know about Lovecraft is that he was one of the first writers to utilize what we would call a 'continuity'.

Hollywood discovers Ed Brubaker's 'Sleeper'

Tom Cruise and Hollywood have discovered Ed Brubaker, but comic book fans have known about Brubaker and his crime comics for quite some time. According to wire reports, Cruise is seeking the film rights to Brubaker's Sleeper, and the property does seem perfect for the big screen. Sleeper features a secret agent (Holden Carver) whose fusion with an alien artifact makes him impervious to pain, gives him a powerful healing factor, and allows him to store pain and pass it on to others through skin contact. Carver goes undercover in a super villain’s powerful organization and is eventually caught between two warring sides with unclear allegiances. Mayhem ensues. I'm sure this was one of the most successful Hollywood pitch meetings of all time. It's a 'high concept', easily translated to the screen, and it's a great role for somebody like Tom Cruise. Warner Brothers thinks this might be the next big movie franchise, on the level of the Bourne movies.

So who is Ed Brubaker, and what else is he working on? By his own admission, as a teenager he was 'kind of a thief and a drug-addict...and lived in a really ugly world of speed-freaks and scumbags.' Fortunately, he turned himself around. But he retained a somewhat bent perspective as well as an interest in dark subject matter such as pulp crime fiction. (In his autobiography, My Dark Places, crime author James Ellroy describes a similar scenario, with similar results.)

Brubaker is probably best known for 'killing Captain America'. Except it was actually Steve Rogers that was killed, and the Captain America persona was taken over by his sidekick, Bucky. All grown up now, Bucky was previously known as the Winter Soldier, a programmed Soviet assassin. Let's just say that he has some issues. He is a much darker character than Steve Rogers, and is much more suited to Brubaker's noir style. In the hands of Brubaker, Captain America has become a pulpy blend of sci-fi and espionage.

Brubaker is also one of the creators of Criminal. A straight-ahead crime series, Criminal features career criminals and ordinary people who get in over their heads, with violent and unpredictable results. One volume centered on a prizefighter who runs into some problems with the local crime bosses. Another story is about a Vietnam veteran who gets involved in a heist. Criminal is sharply written, beautifully illustrated by Sean Phillips, and is a worthy homage to the crime fiction of Raymond Chandler and Jim Thompson. Each issue also has a prose section in the back, highlighting subjects such as the Black Lizard reprints of classic crime novels, or Harry-O, the classic TV crime show from 1974-75.

Brubaker and Phillips are also working on a new series called Incognito, which Brubaker says is "about a completely amoral guy with super-powers forced to pretend he's a normal law-abiding citizen, because he's in Witness Protection."

See links below for more information. No word on exactly when Sleeper will come to the big screen, but it looks like things are coming along nicely.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/books/08capt.html
http://criminalcomic.blogspot.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeper_%28comic_book%29

The Bottle City of Kandor

I found this great diagram of the Bottle City of Kandor.