Caped Crusader Turns the Big 75

From the July 24, 2014, Goldsboro (NC) News-Argus "Caped c=Crusader hits big 7-5" by Steve Herring.

"The bat that crashed through the window at stately Wayne Manor 75 years ago did more than provide a brooding Bruce Wayne with his Dark Knight alter-ego-- it inspired generations of children to don towel capes in pursuit of villains.

That Dark Knight was, of course, Batman.

And, they celebrated the 75th anniversary Wednesday at the Heroes Are Here on Berkeley Boulevard in Goldsboro, NC.  They had free refreshments and showed Batman movies and cartoons.  Store owner Bradley Sasser said he had a steady stream of customers all day.

I never read Batman in the comics, but did enjoy that campy, silly 60s TV program and definitely those movies.

Happy Bat-Day Caped Crusader.  --Cooter

Five Things You Never Knew About Superman-- Part 2

3. HE DOESN'T JUST FIGHT FICTIONAL VILLAINS LIKE LEX LUTHER AND MR. MXYZPTIK: In a 1940 story commissioned for Look Magazine, Superman hauled Hitler and Stalin before a League of Nations war crimes tribunal, and he battled white-hooded Ku Klux Klansmen in a 1946 radio serial.

Wasn't Uncle Joe on our side? Or was this before he was on our side back when he and Hitler sort of were allies? Oddest of all, in 1978, he boxed Muhammed Ali--and lost. How could that be?

4. HE FAILED HIS ARMY PHYSICAL EXAM DURING WORLD WAR II: Kind of hard to believe. he's the soldier I'd want in my platoon. "Clark Kent to the front against those tanks." Why? You Ask? He inadvertantly read an eye chart in the adjoining room with his x-ray vision. Oops!!

5. HE'S (PROBABLY) JEWISH: Superman creators Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel gave plenty of clues-- from Superman's Kryptonian name Kal-El (Hebrew for "Vessel of God") to his origin story straight out of Exodus (as with Moses, his parents launched him to safety and adoption by gentiles, Martha and Jonathan Kent.)

Now, Adam Sandler can add Superman to his "Channakuh" song.

--Cooter

Five Things You Never Knew About Superman-- Part 1

From June-July AARP Magazine. Upfront

Superman made his comic book debut 75 years ago this past June and now the mega-budget movie "Man of Steel" came out last month. I saw it and learned that the "S" on the front of his chest stands for the Kryptonite word for "hope." Didn't know that.

These five according to Larry Tye, author of "Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero."

1. HE HAS A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER: In a 1966 issue of Action Comics, editors revealed Clark Kent's SSN as 092-09-6616 (Hey, Route 66). That was an actual SSN, belonging to Giobatta Baiocchi of New York City, who had died a year earlier. His relatives have no idea why Baiocchi's number was used. Giobatta would be so proud.

2. HIS MIDDLE NAME: Revealed in a 1997 comic-- is Joseph. Would that be Super Joseph Man or Clark Joseph Kent? Sorry about there not being paragraph breaks. There are on my draft but not on HTML, the only way I can get the text to print.

Three More. --Cooter

Has It Come to This?: Clark Kent Leaving the Newspaper Biz

From the October 25, 2012, Chicago Tribune "Clark Kent leaves newspaper job."

Well, Clark kent, aka Superman, is leaving his job at the Daily Planet after all these years in the latest edition of the "Superman" comic series.

Kent is upset at the state of journalism and gets into a heated argument with Morgan Edge, owner of the Daily Planet's parent company, Galaxy Broadcasting and quits.

This is not the first time he has quit the Daily Planet.  According to the article, Kent's reasoning this time is "present-day issues-- the balance of journalism vs. entertainment, the role of news media, the rise of the citizen journalist, etc."

Maybe he will become a blogger, not if he knows what's good for him.

You've Got to read the Comic to Know the Rest.  --Cooter

Beetle Bailey Turns 60-- Part 2

There is an extensive cast of characters who interact with Beetle, including Lt. Fuzz, General Halftrack, Zero, Duke, the general's secretary, Miss Buxley, and, of course, Sarge and his dog Otto.

King Features was actually considering dropping Beetle after his first year, but that was until Beetle accidentally entered an Army recruiting office, and, the rest is history. Back then, the Korean War was underway.

Not everyone, however, is a big fan. Mort walker has come under attack by women's rights groups because of Miss Buxley.

Joe Schiesel, 72, says that every organization has deadbeats. And every deadbeat has someone on their case trying to change them.

Mort Walker was born in El Dorado, Kansas, and earned $1 for his first cartoon at age 11 and decided that this was much better than the 10 cents an hour he made delivering to a local drugstore.

Still Not Finished. --DaCoot

Beetle Bailey Turns 60-- Part 1

From the September 5th Goldsboro (NC) News-Argus. Associated Press.

You'd think that by the age of 60, Beetle bailey would be able to retire from the US Army and get away from his nemesis, Sarge, but his creator, Mort Walker, says he will continue on for as long as Mort is able.

Beetle Bailey, that slouching, lazy private, first appeared in 12 newspapers yesterday, back 60 years ago, September 4, 1950. Today, he is high up in comic strip hierarchy appearing seven days a week in 1800 newspapers.

Said Mort Walker, "He's still pretty much lazy. I haven't changed him a tremendous amount because I think that's his character that I want to keep. He represents the little man in all of us."

Walker continued, "Beetle is the embodiment of everybody's resistance to authority, all the rules and regulations which you have to follow. He deals with it in his own way."

More Beetle to Come. --Cooter

Mighty Expensive Comic Books

And, my dear old dad would roll over in his grave after all the grief he gave me for wasting my money on comic books while growing up.

It was a bit before my time, but a ten cent investment back in 1938 could have gotten me a cool million buckeroos this past week. A rare copy of the first comic book featuring Superman sold for $1 million at auction. This would be the "Holy Grail" of the comic book world, the Action Comics No. 1 featuring the Man of Steel lifting a car on its cover.

There are only about 100 copies of this in existence and most are not in nearly as good of a condition. This one is rated an 8.0 on a 10.0 scale. Others, in lower scale have sold for between $300,000 to $450,000.

It was bought over the ComicConnect.com site where both seller and buyer remained anonymous. The site's co-owner, Stephen Fishler said that it is stunning to see the words comic book and million dollars in the same sentence.

Now, if my mom just hadn't have pitched out my old comic books. My favorite was Sgt. Rock and Easy Company. I also liked the Classic Illustrated ones. Sure increased my knowledge of the classics.

Wondering How Much Comic Books Cost Today. I Stopped Buying Them When They Hit 19 Cents a Copy. --Cooter