Warner Bros. Discovery has meticulously remastered Max Fleischer’s treasured set of 17 animated Superman shorts from the original 35mm source elements. Max Fleischer’s Superman 1941-1943 will be available to purchase Digitally on HD and on Blu-ray May 16, 2023.
Superman made his comic book debut in 1938, appearing in Action Comics #1 (dated June 1938, but officially published on April 18, 1938), and the Man of Steel’s popularity grew with his subsequent radio program. Max Fleischer gave the world’s first Super Hero his initial animated spotlight, producing 17 theatrical animated shorts from September 1941 to July 1943 that further elevated the character’s profile, and added many significant aspects to his canon – including coining many of Superman’s patented catchphrases and attributes.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s advanced remastering process began with a 4K, 16-bit scan of Fleischer’s original 35mm successive exposure negative. Staying true to the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37-to-1, the highest quality raw image was then scanned and then entered into the recombine process – utilizing special proprietary software to merge the successive exposure Technicolor negatives into a single RGB color image. The end result are pristine animated shorts that have been restored to the animators’ originally intended production quality.
Well known radio actors Clayton “Bud” Collyer and Joan Alexander reprised their famed The Adventures of Supermanradio show roles for the Fleischer/Famous Studios animated shorts as Superman/ Clark Kent and Lois Lane, respectively. Jackson Beck provided the voice of Perry White and the show’s primary narrator. Additional voices, many of whom had participated in the Superman radio program, were provided by Jack Mercer, Grant Richards, Julian Noa, Lee Royce, Max Smith, Sam Parker and Carl Meyer.
Max Fleischer’s Superman 1941-1943 will be available on May 16, 2023 to purchase Digitally in HD from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu and more, and on Blu-ray at major retailers both online and in-store.
EPISODES (AND PREMIERE DATE):
SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE:
New Featurette – Superman: Speeding Toward Tomorrow – Superman’s exploits in the Fleischer series modernized the monomyth of the Greek godlike hero and expanded and romanticized the prevalent themes of sci-fi and fantasy. It was this combination of heartfelt storytelling, relatable heroes and amazing visuals that has endeared the Fleischer series to fans as one of the greatest superhero stories of all time. This featurette explores the visual storytelling as the lavish animation, with special attention paid to all the atomic age technology, pushes science fiction closer to becoming a powerful social and pop culture force.
Featurette – First Flight: The Fleischer Superman Series – The Origins and Influence of This Groundbreaking Cartoon Series – A gathering of contemporary animators, comic book & animation historians, and legendary Fleischer artists examine these beloved shorts, focusing on the animation and the breakthrough techniques that created it, as well as studying the title character’s place in history.
Featurette – The Man, the Myth, Superman: Exploring the Tradition of Superman Heroes on the Page and Screen – A fascinating study of Superman-esque characters throughout history – in ancient myth, literature and film – that bring forth imaginative, super-human qualities, captivating audiences and enduring the test of time.
Pricing and film information:
PRODUCT SRP
Digital HD Purchase $14.99 USA and CANADA
Blu-ray $33.99 USA, 39.99 CANADA
Languages: English
Subtitles: English, French
Running Time: 145 minutes
by Armand Vaquer
There are some things in one's life experiences that stick to one even after 56 years have passed.
Back in the 1960s, DC Comics (known then as National Periodical Publications) offered subscriptions to their comics. If I remember correctly, a year's subscription (10 issues) to their comics was $1.00. At that time, comic books cost 12 cents on the newsstand with 80-page giants costing 25 cents (they were called annuals before). The 80-page giants weren't included in subscriptions.
I subscribed to Superman back in late 1965 and the first issue of my subscription was Superman no. 182 (January 1966 cover date). Someone posted the cover of the issue in a Curt Swan Facebook fan page.
The cover was penciled by Swan and inked by Sheldon Moldoff. It appears Superman's face was re-done by Al Plastino (for whatever reason).
This particular comic book is now considered a "key issue" as it was the first Silver Age appearance of The Toyman (Winslow Percival Schott). A copy of it is now listed at eBay for $89.99.
I still have my copy.
This is the cover of that issue:
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| Above, Neal Adams and yours truly at the 2012 Comikaze Expo in Los Angeles. |
by Armand Vaquer
Neal Adams, the comic book artist who many (including me) consider to be the definitive Batman artist, turned 80 today.
Adams recently was released from the hospital after a bout with sepsis. Thankfully, he overcame it and is enjoying his birthday.
It is hard to believe Neal Adams is 80. Then again, it is also hard to believe that I'm 67. But, there you go.
I became aware of Adams's work around 1967 when he started drawing covers for DC's Superman Family of comic books. Then, he started doing some Batman/Superman stories in World's Finest Comics.
Not long after that, he started illustrating stories in Batman and Detective Comics. And, around about that time, he took over the illustrating chores for the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series of stories in the Green Lantern comic book. Adams also illustrated Deadman stories, some included Batman. Those were great reads.
I got to meet Adams at the 2012 Comikaze Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I was there as a panelist on Godzilla.
Adams is still very much artistically active and appears at numerous comic book and science-fiction conventions around the country.
A big Happy Birthday to Neal Adams!
$16.79 - On Sale! - Click HERE
Blind Clark Kent
A flash of light that would have blinded a normal man forces Clark Kent to pretend he has been blinded, leave the Daily Planet, and try his hand a being a butler and an English disc jockey.
"Enemy of Earth":
Superman is carrying a virus that turns the people of Earth into monsters.
In the fourth part of the Sandman Saga storyline, Superman rescues a space pilot from a failed test flight when he notices that the space pilot is mutated. Believing that he has carried space microbes with him in his reentry from space, Superman tries to cleanse himself of them by exposing himself to a radiation belt. As he returns to his civilian identity of Clark Kent at the WGBS news desk, he notices that the sand-created Superman figure is nearby and tries to make contact with him, but the moment he touches the figure, an explosion knocks Superman through the roof and into the WGBS building, where he causes more people to mutate.
Realizing that he is not fully cleansed of the microbes, Superman decides to exile himself into space where he can do no harm. However, he ends up seeing Lois Lane crash-land with a pilot into a Central American jungle where she is both attacked by terrorists and then later about to become a meal of millions of hungry ants. Though at first unable to help her, Superman discovers that only one of his hands is free of the mutating microbes, the hand that touched the sand figure. He again encounters the sand figure and this time triggers off an explosion that cleanses him completely of the microbes, but now has weakened Superman to having lesser abilities than before. He saves Lois and the downed pilot and bring them to safety. However, the sand figure appears unto Superman again, saying that he is now becoming him, and he fears that the two of them can't be in the same world together.
1st printing.
This comic book is in used condition. Comic is complete with cover and all pages attached. This comic has flaws that warrant a VF grade.
Comic Book will be shipped bagged and boarded!
