STOP! Before you listen to this episode head on over to Superman Forever Radio and listen to Episode 98! That is the first part of this epic crossover where a Pre Crisis Superman fan and a Post Crisis Superman fan get together to talk about one of the most divisive Superman stories ever!
Done with that? Good. Let's get started here.
In this second part of what I am rightly calling the Epic Crossover Bob Fisher (of the previously mentioned Superman Forever Radio, Long Play over at the Two True Freaks network and the Giant Superman Podcast) comes back to Views to finish our conversation about John Byrne's Man of Steel. We kick things off with the Post Crisis Superman's first encounter with the Post Crisis Lex Luthor in Man of Steel #4. Then we move to the fifth issue where Byrne retells a classic Silver Age story featuring a certain imperfect version of Superman. Finally it all wraps up in Man of Steel #6 where Clark learns his true origins and reunites with a childhood friend. Mixed in with all of that are clips from The Adventures of Superman radio series produced for the BBC by Dirk Maggs because it seemed like a fun way to bridge the issues.
I want to thank Bob for asking me on to his show to talk about one of my favorite mini-series ever. Man of Steel turns 30 this year and I wanted to do something to commemorate that, so the conversation we recorded some time ago fit that bill perfectly. While this origin is no longer the "official origin" it was the start of "my" Superman and it was neat to talk to someone from a previous generation that had a completely different take on this story than I did.
Next Time: Stella and I talk about the adventures (all three of them) of Bruce "Superman" Wayne!
As a regular listener to Bob Fisher's Superman Forever podcast, I listened to Part 1 over there, then came here for Part 2. As a member of Bob's generation, myself, I must confess that my reaction to John Byrne's "Man of Steel" and subsequent work with Superman was, at the time, about as negative as could be. I hated what I thought he was doing to "my" Superman, and would all but spit on the ground at the mention of Byrne's name. I've come around to a more positive view over the years, partly due to my own aging, I think, and partly due to some of the post-Byrne "takes" on Superman. These episodes helped me to see, too, that my "beef" was probably more with the folks running DC at that time, rather than with John Byrne himself.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who is probably closer to your generation, who is a great fan of John Byrne, and years ago I was less than charitable in expressing my belief that his generation was "ruining" Superman. Fortunately, we have resolved those differences.
I very much enjoyed listening to your talk with Bob Fisher, and, as I mentioned in an email to him, I love the respectful and affectionate give-and-take between the two of you and your "takes" on different versions of a hero you both clearly love. I will consider these episodes to be classic examples of good podcasting, and I thank both you and Bob for them. Well done, thou good and faithful servant.
Hey Mike, do you have a link to the Audio version of Man of Steel? I can't find it on the Superman homepage.
ReplyDeleteHalk, thanks for the comments. I really appreciate them. The more I talk from people before my time with Superman the more I appreciate their viewpoint on what happened in 1986. I guess it helps that I went through a similar thing back around 2010. I'm also glad to hear that our give and take came off as well as I hoped it would.
ReplyDeleteBradley, finding the BBC Adventures of Superman is a tad difficult. Every once in a while the Dirk Maggs audio dramas pop up on iTunes and you can find CDs of them on Amazon but they are on the pricey side of things. Still well worth it but pricey. If you are still interested here is a link to the Amazon listing.
http://www.amazon.com/Superman-Adventures-BBC-Audio-Books/dp/1405677392/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1459703461&sr=8-2&keywords=Adventures+of+Superman+BBC