Superman vs. Muhammad Ali Deluxe HC- Oh, happy day.  One of my most coveted comics of all time is finally reprinted!  No hyperbole there- I’ve literally yearned for a copy of this since it first landed on my comic-loving radar nearly 25 years ago.  Scarcity, lack of timely funds, and other circumstances have led me to a frustrating wait for this lovely day when DC Comics finally reprints this historic work by Dennis O’Neil (writer) and Neal Adams (artist).

In 1978, an alien race called the Scrubb demands that Earth’s greatest champion battle their world’s own greatest fighter. Both Superman and Muhammad Ali step forward – and to determine who is truly Earth’s greatest fighter, Superman temporarily loses his powers and faces Ali in the ring. Ultimately, the duo must work together to defeat the Scrubb, with Ali taking on their champion while Superman battles their space-armada.

As an added bonus, DC is republishing the comic in two hardcovers.  Retailing at twenty bucks, the deluxe edition has a trim size of 7.0625″ x 10.875″ and features a new cover by Neal Adams, previously unpublished artwork and various other extras.  At forty bucks, the facsimile edition features the original, iconic cover, and is reprinted in the classic’s 10″ wide by 13.25″ high trim.

Decisions, decisions.  I may just have to go with both.

On a very tangential note, by the time I was old enough to grasp the cultural significance of Ali he was hawking roach motels all over television.  Around about the same time (maybe a few years later)  Billy Dee Williams was schilling for Colt 45 malt liquor in commercials as well.

Do you solely associate Ali with roach motels to this day?  Not at all.  He was one of the most charismatic and inspirational figures of the 20th Century.  Billy Dee Williams played Lando Calrissian for the love of Pete!!!  Yes, he was smooth, but why the hell are we still lumping the man with the booze he pushed?  Surely we can respectfully retire the “Works Every Time” refrain in deference to Mr. Williams’ acting geek-cred as surely as Mr. Ali will be remembered for his achievements outside of bustin’ up household pests.

Right?  Please?

Redemption:  The sequel to one of the most ambitious SF cinema flops of all time is expected to become one of the biggest films of all time.

What’s happening to my special purpose?  Action Flick Chick as The Baroness NYCC

Vanity: Jeff Ayers on Jeff Ayers’ job. 26 minutes of me pontificating upon the vagaries of NYC comic retail on the hottest day in recorded NYC history. In reality I know the difference between Detective Comics #27 and #37 and tensile and tactile.  Saw a doctor and got rid of it.

Lord loves a workin’ man:  Grant Morrison on Twitter.

When you’re rich and famous you’ll send me a postcard:  Thank you, Messrs. Gaiman and McKean for all the conversation pieces you’ve provided me throughout the years.  Thank you DC for changing The Sandman’s trade dress all old-timey and shit.

Don’t trust whitey:  Comics cover price = $2.99?

That being said I’d like to quickly thank all past and current contributors (especially Devin T. Quin, Mat Kerwin, Matt Desiderio, and Mark Denardo), the various FP staffers who helped lay out issue after issue (esp. Lindsay Johnson and Alice Meichi Li) and all guest contributors (esp. Shannon Wheeler and Julia Wertz).

Though I was remiss in celebrating this anniversary upon issue #208′s publication I’ll be making amends in the coming weeks by posting some of the WP’s best articles and tidbits to Forbidden Planet NYC’s other blog (which, I encourage you to check out regardless).

Here’s to many more years of The Weekly Planet.

…You’re still the King!

On Monday, Master of all that is Forbidden Planet, Jeff Ayers and I went out for a drink post Eli Roth signing. Jeff had the three volumes of some original Antonio Prohias works from his 26-year run on “Spy vs Spy,” the strip featured in Mad Magazine.  We began reminiscing about the strip.

Looking back, I don’t remember what it was that I liked about the magazine, but I do remember that I was quite mad for this strip. The strips were always silent, and I remember filling in little captions, thought bubbles and sound effects.  I remember my mother criticizing my hand writing in a Chinese restaurant in North Bergen, saying something about how if I was going to write in comics bubbles my hand writing should be much neater. I figure I was probably around ten when I was really into the strips. So, I endeavored to do just that. Somewhere, in some bin in my parent’s garage, is a crop of Mad Magazines with written in Spy vs Spy dialogue.

Now this is probably dating me, but I think Jeff and I are the only ones who remember the original Nintendo video game.  I remember it being extremely difficult.  I remember huddling in front of a small Panasonic where I played against my little brother and planted traps against each other.  Then again most of those original Nintendo video games are ten times harder than any game put out today.

Most of all, what I enjoyed about this volume was the background  given on the birth of what must be one of my favorite childhood memories. From John Ficarra’s introduction to my volume:

It was July 12, 1960 when a political cartoonist from Cuba named Antonio Prohias arrived at the offices of MAD magazine. He had come to America two months earlier after death threats were directed at him and his family by the new Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro.  Accompanying Prohias on that fateful day was his daughter, Marta, who acted as interpreter (Though her English at the time was only marginally better than her father’s–which was nonexistent!) Also with Prohias were his drawings of two pointy-nosed characters he had created especially for MAD–one black, one white, both silent. Forever locked in a see-saw battle of destruction and mayhem, the conflict between the two was a metaphor for the futility of the Cold War.

You see, I never looked into the genesis of this strip. Being that kind of person who loves thinking about where creator’s lives intersect with their work I was quite happy to read this.  Upon reading this introduction, I figure that I never read any of Prohias’ work during my younger days. I probably began reading it when Peter Kuper was beginning his tenure–so now, especially, I get to read the classic stuff.  The classic stuff that ended when Prohias retired somewhere around 1986, I figure, and before my time.