April 25, 2023

Free Comic Inside> Jimmy Olsen’s Sugar Smacks Adventure

So I’m watching the Superman documentary from the previous Saturday Night Showcase and they show images of a set of Superman mini-comics packaged with Sugar Smacks (we call them Honey Smacks now to make parents happy). Superman. Mini-Comics. You know I had to look into this.

Not that I found a whole lot, mind you. Best I can tell at this stage is that in 1955 Kellogg’s partnered with DC Comics to release three minicomics starring Superman and his friends. Thus far I have only found scans of one. Apparently, according to a picture I found of the comic graded by CGC, Curt Swan and Stan Kaye worked on it, but there are no credits on their own. I did find an actual scan of the first of the three comics so at least we can take a look at that. So thank you to the website Superman Premiums and scanner Jay Hernandez for at least making this one available. I guess we’ll leave Etheria for next time because when I find a new minicomic that I didn’t know about, especially a series, I want to strike while the fire is hot in my mind.

There’s an ad for the giveaway comics. Kellogg’s and Superman already had a history together thanks to Kellogg’s sponsoring the Adventures Of Superman show. Sponsoring shows was something they did back in the 1950s, and numerous ads of Clark, Jimmy, and Perry having a bowl of Sugar Smacks together or casually walking into someone’s house for breakfast. Not Lois because girls spread their cooties at the breakfast table or something. However, you can have a bowl with your sister if you’re a kid. Yeah, I don’t get 1950s casual sexism either.

So let’s read one of those comics. “The Supershow Of Metropolis” is closer to a Jimmy Olsen story, like Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen. It also lacks Lois Lane. I guess she doesn’t like sugary cereals. I can relate. I prefer Rice Krispies for my Kellogg’s breakfast.

Naturally the real show is going on behind the scenes.

This is the layout for the comic, two panels a page. Luckily there’s enough pages that there appears to be a full story here. Yes, that is possible with a minicomic. Read along with me and see for yourself. Oddly nobody has breakfast in this comic.

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Posted by on April 25, 2023 in DC Spotlight, Free Comic Inside and tagged , , , , , , .

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April 25, 2023

“Yesterday’s” Comic> Captain America #13 (2005 series)

“So when is it ol’ Tony’s turn to be Iron Man?” “What about Iron Patr…” “That was Osborn!”

Captain America #13

Marvel Comics (January, 2006)

“The Winter Soldier” part 5

WRITER: Ed Brubaker

PENCILER: Steve Epting

INKERS: Steve Epting & Mike Perkins

COLORIST: Frank G. D’Armata

LETTERER: Joe Caramanga

ASSISTANT EDITORS: Aubrey Sitterson, Molly Lazer, and Andy Schmidt

EDITOR: Tom Brevoort

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Posted by on April 25, 2023 in Marvel Spotlight, Yesterday's Comics and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

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April 25, 2023

BW’s Daily Article Link> Lucasfilm Vs Canon

At least in the mind of Dave Filoni, canon doesn’t matter as long as the story is good. Apparently he’s part of the growing throng of voices at Lucasfilm and fellow Disney absorbee Marvel who don’t understand continuity is one of the things that make a fictional world seem believable, something that beings who aren’t us could live in and allow us in the reader and viewership to feel like we’re part of that world, or at least observing another reality. Otherwise you’re just telling random stories that all happen to share a name for marketing purposes. (I guess I could just write a story where Ashoka was secretly a Sith sleeper agent and as long as it’s good she can be evil now. Also she was raised by Wookies now.)

John F. Trent at Bounding Into Comics understands and makes a case for canon being every important to making a fake world seem real.

Posted by on April 25, 2023 in Animation Spotlight, Movie Spotlight, Streaming Spotlight, web series and tagged , , , .

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April 24, 2023

Chapter By Chapter> Batman: Knightfall chapters 10-12

Chapter By Chapter (usually) features me reading one chapter of the selected book at a time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.

In our last set of chapters, Bane managed to break a bunch of Arkham’s worst villains out of the Asylum. I know, that’s not exactly hard to do. Pretty sure you can do that with a 4-year-old and box of animal crackers at this point. That took two chapters and this week it’s three to see what happens next.

I’m not just harping on this because of the name of the review series. I’ve seen far worse use of chapters just in the books I’ve looked at for this series. It’s just odd to see chapters used as scene breaks rather than just good story breaks. My approach to this is “reviewing an episode of a TV show” for a reason. Each chapter is more than just a scene change to me. It’s a good place to stop and think about where you’ve gone with the story, to read something and then step back into reality for whatever chore or activity you need to do. If that’s nothing and you want to read a little more you can go on to the next chapter, but something about two page chapters doesn’t really feel like a chapter to me. It’s not a decent amount of reading. Maybe it’s just my brain but it’s how chapters usually work and it’s what I’m use to. So forgive me for complaining about this as it is more personal than critical.

With that, let’s see what happens now that Arkham Asylum is bleeding patients. Or as they refer to it in Gotham City, Wednesday.

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Posted by on April 24, 2023 in Batman: Knightfall, DC Spotlight and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , .

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April 24, 2023

“Yesterday’s” Comic> Tandy Computer Whiz Kids: A Deadly Choice!

Technically Shanna DID do something different with her hair. And her art style.

Tandy Computer Whiz Kids “vol 2 #1”

Archie Comics/Radio Shack (1990)

“A Deadly Choice”

WRITERS: Fred Brussow & Mike Pellowski

PENCILER: Howard Bender

INKER: Mike Esposito

COLORIST/PRODUCTION: Barry Grossman

LETTERER: Bill Yoshida

EDITOR: Victor Gorelick

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Posted by on April 24, 2023 in Yesterday's Comics and tagged , , , , .

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April 24, 2023

BW’s Daily Video> Superman’s Humanity

Oh, we’re still doing this through the rest of the month.

Catch more from Sage’s Rain on YouTube

 

Posted by on April 24, 2023 in DC Spotlight and tagged , .

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April 23, 2023

Jake & Leon #556> Culturally Green

Has he actually forgotten he made the Mario Brothers movie people don’t like?

Not one of my best titles but the point is I don’t think John realizes his character was Italian, but he is part of the group who thinks only someone of that race can play that character, which doesn’t make as much sense in most voice acting roles. You can’t see the person, and black and Latino voice actors have played non-black/Latino characters in the past. So by his own rules HE shouldn’t have played a Brooklyn-born Italian plumber because he’s neither of those things. He’s a Columbian-born Latino actor.

Also, I drew Luigi without tracing this time! Not sure which is better.

Over at The Clutter Reports this week I’m still dusting but I found a neat video of an artist decluttering and organizing her art space.

I’m still going to attempt to slip Superman into every day for the rest of April since I missed the actual anniversary day, but I will have feature articles and daily quickposts not featuring Superman as well. And he’s in none of the regular comic reviews while the Chapter By Chapter book review (which will be multiple chapters again) is still Batman: Knightfall, with no Superman appearing. So there will be non-Superman options for those of you so inclined. Speaking of comic reviews it’s the reboot of the Tandy Computer Whiz Kids as we near the end of that series on Monday’s comic reviews. There will also be a couple of days where events may distract me into getting out something late or if something goes wrong with switching back to our previous provider tomorrow may cause me to miss a post or day (hopefully one max), so don’t be surprised if that happens. Have a great week, everyone!

Posted by on April 23, 2023 in Animation Spotlight, Jake & Leon, Movie Spotlight, Video Game Spotlight and tagged , , , , , , , .

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