Here is a subscription ad from SUPERMAN # 174 (DC Comics, Cover Date: January, 1965), that leaves me wondering "Who Chose THIS Image?"
Let's look a little closer at the ad...
Sure, I'd like to be the first in my neighborhood to read each issue of Superman! And, just as sure, I'd like to get 'em for 10-cents each, instead of that allowance-busting 12-cents per issue!
But something's still not right...
...I'VE GOT IT!
Why does Superman need to RUN, when he can fly?
...And why is he running with what appears to be a "bag of loot"? C'mon, you can't tell me that's his "dirty Clark Kent laundry" in there!
While the use of existing character art was very prevalent for ads like this...
...I'm convinced that this illustration is of some "Superman Impostor" making a getaway, rather than "The Real-Deal of Steel"!
I can't tell you which comic it might have come from, but it is clearly not Superman assuming anything resembling a heroic pose! ...Like the one below!
Why this particular image of Superman was selected to represent the character for a subscription ad is just another one of those things we'll never know... I just hope the real Superman gets here in time, before this costumed-crook gets away!
Oh, good... He did!
10 comments:
Isn't he on his way to the bowling alley? If he were Ralph Kramden or Fred Flintstone, he sure would be!
At first sight, I figured it had to be a bowling bag! It fits, in a way--bowl a few rounds with Superman, and then go home and read your Superman comics! Why not? Or maybe bring your comics with you to read between frames! Again, why not?
The setup for your final gag is priceless, Joe! You're elevating juxtaposition of marginally-related images (separated by miles and by decades) to an art form!
Thank you, Scarecrow!
“Juxtaposition of marginally-related images (separated by miles and by decades)” is just another of my many middle-names! …And, if nothing else, ya gotta admit that I give it all I got! Glad you enjoyed it!
Honestly, the bowling bag thing never occurred to me – showing once again how two different people (…even like-minded ones like us) can see different things in what would seem to be a pretty straight-forward image.
Besides, bowling against Superman wouldn’t be much fun… he’d always roll 300! Even my former league average of 168 would make me feel like The Atom next to him!
And, for the record, that final gag utilized the cover image of SUPERMAN #379 Cover Date: January, 1983, which you can see HERE.
Once you view it, you’ll see just how much “repurposing” went into that gag.
Maybe he just felt like running instead of flying? I know that I sometimes don't feel like flying...
A fun post as always! What baffles me is that they wouldn't go to the trouble of erasing the bag and redrawing Superman's fist to be closed, which would have turned this into a serviceable picture of the Man of Steel simply running. They already, presumably, went to the trouble of erasing the *background* the picture must have originally had — why not go the extra mile?
In terms of mistaken first-glance impressions, I thought for a moment that the Riddler in the other add had a mustache, and was therefore modeled on the short-lived John Astin version… but I think, upon closer inspection, that the pen-stroke on his upper lip was just a little heavier than normal. Ah well.
Marc:
You write: “Maybe he just felt like running instead of flying? I know that I sometimes don't feel like flying...”
When *I* don't feel like flying, I catch a bus!
…And sometimes, so does Superman!
Achille:
The ways of comic publisher production departments shall always remain a mystery to me. I understand writing very well and “get” why certain things happen the way they do. I also understand art “well enough” to understand some of the oddities that occur. …But production, particularly as it operated in “Ye Olden Days”, will always be an enigma to me.
Sometimes you can sit back in awe of what they’ve done and, just as often, you can shake your head and ask “What were they thinking?” This, to me, was one of the latter, thus its appearance at this humble Blog.
“In terms of mistaken first-glance impressions, I thought for a moment that the Riddler in the other add had a mustache, and was therefore modeled on the short-lived John Astin version… but I think, upon closer inspection, that the pen-stroke on his upper lip was just a little heavier than normal. Ah well.”
I’m with you on the “heavy ink line”… OR… Maybe it was Caesar Romero’s Joker impersonating The Riddler, and still refusing to shave off his trademark moustache!
The "running Superman" image reminds me of one of my longtime bizarre "what if" scenarios: What if they made a Superman TV show where Superman has no superpowers? In other words, he's just like Batman, only he's Superman? Not Clark Kent, just a regular guy who, perhaps as a consequence of reading too much Nietzsche, decides to become "a Superman"? Ta-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, Superman... Superman... Superman! Crash! Bang! Boom!
Should I pitch this idea to someone in Hollywood? Or is just a bizarre notion best left alone?
You decide.
Sergio:
The way Hollywood is today, your concept is downright normal!
The image is from Superman #168 (April 1964), first story, page 5, last panel. It is Superman himself, and technically, he is carrying a bag of loot, something he just stole from a museum. But he is soon to be caught.
He's on Lexor, where he is powerless (hence running and not flying).
I'll leave it to the reader to see how Superman gets into and out of this. Although, checking, this story has not yet been reprinted in English (it was reprinted three years later in Swedish).
This subscription ad is also in that same issue, although curiously his boots are colored blue there. At least they fixed that by the time it was printed in Superman #174.
Well… THANK YOU, Allen!
I have SUPERMAN #168, and I’ll be looking that up!
I’ve also just looked it up at GCD, and see that you have made some good additions/corrections (that are presently pending) to the existing index! Bravo! Indeed, Lexor, as a planet, should be a KEYWORD and not a character! …Perhaps the previous indexer had it confused with “Mogo”! :-)
Also like your use of Keywords for “Part II [Lex Luthor, Daily Planet Editor!]” – adding some that are specific to the story being indexed. Well done!
Always glad to encounter another thorough GCD indexer! Please come back anytime!
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