The problem of having a character such as Superman is that the concept is far too it’s too unrealistic to function in the world as we know it.   That issue has been prevalent since Superman’s debut in 1938, and it won’t just vanish with yet another reboot.   The problem is that Superman is just too powerful; war would not exist in a world where one man could end it within a few hours by sheer force of will.   But then that’s why such stories and concepts are called fiction and escapism.   It’s also one of the many reasons why people turned away from Superman in the 1970 and early 1980ss, the character was a God on Earth.   He could hear a pin drop a galaxy away, he could move entire planets out of orbit, he could time travel and move faster than light.   In short there was nothing that he could not do.   Nothing could injure him; by the mid 1970s he was even immune from Kryptonite, supposedly his only weakness, other than magic, which was dubious at best.   At the same time Marve

Seriously, I don't have many rules when it comes to my blog and the comments posted.  I know some people don't agree with what I write and I'd be utterly naive to think that I'm universally liked or appreciated - such is life.  But one thing does rankle me, and I intend to put a stop to it right now - no more Anonymous comments.  Pure and simple.  I've changed the settings to stop people from posting stuff without leaving a name, and that's what it comes down to.  If you want to abuse me then fine, go for it.  But have the guts to put your name to it because if you don't, then you're just weak as piss.  I'm fairly certain as to who is leaving the comments, and I don't expect them to actually have the bottle to sign their names, but there you go.

Like any good cartoonist, Jimmy Bancks didn’t throw all of his eggs into the one basket.   Throughout his career he was always trying new things and, considering the scope of his work, he became something of a renaissance man.   From when he first became active in the late teens, he undertook a wide variety of tasks and appeared to succeed in virtually all of them.   In the early 1920s he began to teach aspiring artists via correspondence under the banner of the J.C. Bancks School of Sketching [i] .   By the end of the 1920s Bancks was also becoming active on stage, to the degree where he was showcased in London at the Palladium, resulting in a potential clash with the Australian Cricket Board of Control (as it was then known) when Bancks invited none other than Don Bradman to share the stage with him for two such appearances in 1930 [ii] .   The Bradman connection was also obvious as Bancks was very active as a cricketing identity, to the point where his 1930 trip to England was

The second, and final, volume of Greg Theakston’s excellent Jack Kirby biography, Jack Magic Vol II , is now out and, as with Volume I it’s a cracking read and worth every cent - if you're even remotely serious about comic book history then you need both volumes of this book.   It’s doubtful that a biography of Kirby will be released in the future that will surpass this one for sheer entertainment value and insights, although I expect that many will try.   There might be more detailed biographies and studies to come, but Theakston's work will always sit at the head of the table, and with Jack Kirby to be featured in a major Hollywood movie, titled Argo , written by George Clooney, directed by Ben Affleck and slated for release in 2012, the time is certainly ripe for a major push for Marvel to finally start crediting Kirby with the co-creation, if not outright creation, of those seminal characters, along with some more tangible rewards for his family. Sotheby's