Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

Episode 27: September 1988

Welcome to the twenty-seventh episode of From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast!  This podcast has a simple premise; examine just about every Superman comic published between Man of Steel #1 in 1986 to Adventures of Superman #649 in 2006 in an informative and hopefully entertaining format.

Part index.  Part commentary.  Part history lesson.  All podcast.

Michael and Jeffrey begin their discussion of what is quite possibly the most important storyline to hit the Superman books since Man of Steel.  The Supergirl Saga Parts 1 and 2 went down in the books with the cover date September 1988 and while it marked the beginning of the end of the John Byrne era of Superman it also marks the beginning of one of the bests runs of Superman ever.

Yes, we’re biased here.

In addition to giving you the lowdown on just who the mysterious Supergirl that has been popping  up over the past few months is and calling back to the story that went down in Superman #8 and Action Comics #591 Mike and Jeff also give in to listener demand and somewhat begrudgingly discuss Superman: The Earth Stealers.

No e-mails this week but they will return next time.

You can subscribe to the show in two ways. First there is the RSS Feed and there is also theiTunes link .

If you want to comment on the show or contact the hosts you can always private message Mike and Jeff, at the Superman Homepage, leave comments here or at the Homepage or here or email them by clicking this link.  All questions, concerns, fears, trepidations and cheap shots are welcome. The guys will try to incorporate e-mails into the episodes once the show gets rolling.

Seriously, let us know what you think.

Originally published at VIEWS FROM THE LONGBOX. You can comment here or there.

Episode 95: 1995 or Leavin’ Is A Pretty Good Way To Go

Against all odds I managed to get another episode out less than two weeks after the last one.  Views has moved to Monday (or there abouts) just in time for the 1995 leg of the 13 part series leading up to the epic, epic episode 100.  This time out I go through my last year in Pennsylvania, which made me a little sad really.  Despite this I talk about a fair amount of comics including The Death of Clark Kent, the Year One annuals, a couple of Elseworld stories and the phenomenon that was Batman Forever.  All of this and boatloads of personal stuff too including a break up and a move to another state.

I have started another podcast with my buddy Scott Gardner.  It is called Tales of the Justice Society of America and the first episode is out and ready for you to listen to.  You can check out the Fortress of Baileytude post about it or you can head over to the Two True Freaks Libsyn page and get it there.  Either way it has been a lot of fun talking the JSA with Scott.  As a matter of fact check out the Two True Freaks Libsyn page anyway to check out the other podcasts Scott does; Two True Freaks (which I have been on quite a bit lately) and Back to the Bins.  I was on and will be on both now and soon, so check those out.

Speaking of podcasts I have appeared on lately check out Better in the Dark, hosted by Thomas and Derrick as this is the big Superman episode that they asked me to be on.  The second part should be out any minute now so keep an eye from that.  Until then check out Better in the Dark and DJ’s Comics Cavalcade, also hosted by Thomas, as both are great shows that deserve the attention.

Next week: 1996.  The first full year in Georgia.

This one might take a while.

Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

Episode 26: August 1988

Welcome to the twenty-sixth episode of From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast!  This podcast has a simple premise; examine just about every Superman comic published between Man of Steel #1 in 1986 to Adventures of Superman #649 in 2006 in an informative and hopefully entertaining format.

Part index.  Part commentary.  Part history lesson.  All podcast.

It is a packed episode this week as Jeffrey and Mike talk about four different comics featuring the Post-Crisis Superman that took place on or around the cover date of August 1988.  First up is Superman #20, which crosses over in the most bizarre fashion with Doom Patrol #10.  This crossover actually takes place between two panels of Superman #20, so that was kind of weird.  After covering those books the boys take on Adventures of Superman #443, which Jeffrey liked a lot more than he thought he would and Michael didn’t really like it at all.  Finally, Superman Annual #2 came out this month and much love is given to that story.

All of this and Michael’s snoring dog too.  This episode has everything.

You can subscribe to the show in two ways. First there is the RSS Feed and there is also theiTunes link .

If you want to comment on the show or contact the hosts you can always private message Mike and Jeff, at the Superman Homepage, leave comments here or at the Homepage or here or email them by clicking this link.  All questions, concerns, fears, trepidations and cheap shots are welcome. The guys will try to incorporate e-mails into the episodes once the show gets rolling.

Seriously, let us know what you think.

Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

Episode One

In this, the very first episode, you will meet the hosts, Scott H. Gardner and Michael Bailey, and discover both their fascinating secret origins and the backstory of the Justice Society of America itself.

This episode introduces the players, explains the format of the show, lays down the ground rules, and ultimately paves the way for full-length issue-by-issue weekly reviews of the JSA beginning with All-Star Comics #58!!

We hope you enjoy our show and will join us each and every Friday for more Tales of the Justice Society of America!

Be sure to check out Scott’s other podcasts; Two True Freaks and Back to the Bins!

For America and Podcasting!

Originally published at VIEWS FROM THE LONGBOX. You can comment here or there.

Views From The Longbox Special: Catharsis or Having Some Problems Here

As promised here is that special episode of Views I was talking about in episode 94 and frankly I am a little nervous.  This is probably the most negative I have ever gotten on an episode of Views, even a special one, but this has been building for some time now and this is my attempt to get all of my thoughts out there and hopefully move on in some way, form or fashion.  The sad thing is the bulk of the complaining involves my favorite character of all time; Superman.  I have a lot of problems…I mean a lot of problems with the current direction the Superman books are taking.  That is not to say that the people working on these books are not talented or are not working hard or are producing inferior work.  I just plain don’t like where things seem to be going and I spend a little over an hour and a half going over why.

Joining me is my good friend Scott Gardner.  Scott is the co-host on Two True Freaks and Back to the Bins and over the past several months he and I have had numerous conversations about Superman, so it seemed like a good idea to have him on this special episode to talk it out and essentially have someone that is on my side so to speak.  I think the conversation went pretty well and I am glad we were able to do this.  Check out both of Scott’s podcasts and stay tuned to the end of the episode where Scott and I make a big announcement about something we are working on.

Yes, folks.  I am doing yet another podcast, but this one is going to be really cool.

Originally published at VIEWS FROM THE LONGBOX. You can comment here or there.

Episode 94: 1994 or “Graduation”

And…we’re back!

Or I guess I’m back since this is another solo episode.  Sorry I haven’t posted one of these in a month.  I caught a really nasty flu that took me out for over a week and then I just got buried in work and real life and such.  Hopefully…hopefully I will be on track for the rest of the month.

This week I continue my thirteen part series where I reveal all of the juicy details of my early years of life and comic book collecting by looking at 1994.  1994 was another one of those pivotal years as that was the year I graduated from high school.  The episode runs about two hours and is just as heavy with the personal stuff as it is with the comic stuff.  The comic stuff is indeed there, though and I go through the Superman books of 1994 and all of the books I got into after Zero Hour.  So lots of Batman, Flash and Green Lantern talk in addition to my love for the Worlds Collide crossover.  Plus I have some e-mails to go through as well.  All of that plus color-forms covers as well.

Oh, quick heads up.  The music clip is a little odd for this year.  All of it is explained, but I just wanted you to be prepared for a departure from the last batch of episodes.

Come back on Monday (again, hopefully) as I am joined by Scott Gardner of Two True Freaks as we talk about the current state of Superman books and when I write “talk” I really mean we complain.  A lot.  So if you don’t want to hear people saying bad things about the Superman books you might want to skip this one.  If all works out the third installment of will come out on Wednesday.  Thomas Deja joins me again as does Shag and much fun was had by all.

Next week; 1995.  The last year in Pennsylvania.

Sigh.

Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

Hey, all!  Justice Society of America Week might be over but I am not done yet.  I have scans to share.  Lots of scans.  I have a whole mess of magazines and books and such related to the Justice Society and I thought it might be fun to post a bunch of them here.

First up, something that probably flew under the radar because the series these images appeared in did not get a lot of press.  In 1990 DC revamped their Who’s Who in the DC Universe concept by switching from a comic book type affair to a loose leaf binder format.  The initial sixteen issues were rather popular and I snapped most of them up at the time but I was totally unaware that there was a two issue Update ‘93 until a few years back when I found them on eBay.  Imagine my surprise that the Justice Society actually got an entry.

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Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

Welcome to the very late fifth and somewhat final day of Justice Society of America week. This week has been a lot of fun for me. So much fun that if you come back tomorrow there will be something a little extra for you but for now I wanted to close out the week by going into how I became such a fan of the Justice Society and the many reasons why I like the team so much.

If you wanted to play fanboy anthropologist and track down the “origins” so to speak of why I read the kind of books that I read you can trace it back to two things; Superman and Roy Thomas. Superman because it was John Byrne’s revamp of the character that got me buying comics on a regular basis. Superman is patient zero in a way. Without him I would more than likely be doing something else with my time right now besides sitting in front of a computer writing about comics and comic related items.

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Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

Welcome to the fourth day of Justice Society of America Week here at the Fortress of Baileytude.  Today I wanted to reveal the person I consider to be the Justice Society artist.  There have been a lot of great artists that have worked on the JSA over the years.  I talked about Mike Parobeck two days ago.  There’s also George Perez, who drew the team in numerous JLA/JSA crossovers.  More recently Leonard Kirk did a bang up job drawing the team and I liked what Dale Eaglesham did with the group.  And that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the Golden and Silver Age artists that worked on the JSA.  They are all talented artists, but there is one guy that does it best.

Jerry Ordway.

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Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

Welcome to the third day of Justice Society of America Week here at the Fortress of Baileytude.  So far I have been getting some good feedback on these posts and that makes me feel good because not only does it feed into my massively out of control ego but it also proves that there are other fans out there that like and respect the Justice Society as much as I do.

Today I have a list of books that I would call “required” reading.  “Required” with quotes because while I think these are books and comics you should read and own opinions may vary.  I think they’re pretty cool though and believe that you would benefit from checking them out.

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Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

Justice Society of America Week continues here at the Fortress of Baileytude by jumping into the Way Back Machine and traveling to 1993 when the Justice Society had their own title and non-sports trading cards reigned supreme.  Also I clue you in on why the late Mike Parobeck was and is my second favorite Justice Society artists ever.

Yesterday I mentioned in passing that the Justice Society had a short lived series back in 1992/93 and that I dug on this series.  It was light hearted and fun but at the same time it explored how the members of the JSA dealt with getting older and in returning to the real world after being trapped in another dimension.  Some characters were happily reunited with their loved ones.  Others became afflicted with debilitating medical conditions.  Some had to deal with the death of their spouses.

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Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

Welcome to the first day of Justice Society of America Week here at the Fortress of Baileytude!  All week long I’ll be celebrating the first and greatest super-hero team ever!

To kick things off I thought it might be keen to discuss my favorite member of the Justice Society.  The team has had some legendary heroes (male and female) as part of their numbers over the years but one stands above them all for me.  He was a founding member and the first fastest man alive.  I’m talking about Jay Garrick, the Flash.

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Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

The Justice Society of America is my favorite super-hero team.

Ever.

Sure I like the Justice League.  I like the Teen Titans.  I like the Avengers and the X-Men the Defenders and the Invaders  I have a certain amount of affection for the Legion of Super-Heroes as well and even some of the more obscure teams like the Outsiders or the Global Guardians.  Super-hero teams appeal to me because I like the group dynamic and the whole getting a bunch of heroes together to fight the good fight thing is just plain cool.

The Justice Society were the first and to me they are the best.

I need to do something about the fan energy I have for the JSA.

And the All-Star Squadron.

And Infinity, Inc.

And the Jack Knight Starman series.

I really do.

More to follow…

Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

Electro-Blue Superman.

Say the words and a certain contingent of Superman fans will either start laughing, cracking jokes or hit the ground and cover their head like a Vietnam Vet hearing a car backfire.

For those of you who have blocked it out of your minds or have only heard about it in hushed whispers I cast your memory back to 1997 when DC decided that the Man of Steel needed a change and the best way to change the character is to give him new powers and a new costume.  It looked a little like this.

Was it the best idea ever? Not really.  As a matter of face for a long time this was my gold standard of when the Superman books went off the rails.  Now I’m not so sure because there have been a couple of years after that where the books were a true chore to read and this era looks pretty good in comparison.

In any case I didn’t bring you here today to talk about the pros and cons of that storyline.  I am re-reading  itso I may do that at some point in the future but for right now I want to show off what four bucks can get you on eBay these days.

This is a packet that was sent to comic shops back in January 1997 to prep for the big change over.  No matter what anyone thinks of the actual story there is no denying that it was a big deal.  I will admit that the text on this packet, “Who says things never change?” is kind of amusing in retrospect but I can’t fault DC’s marketing department for doing their job.

So what came inside this packet?

I am a big fan of comic book promotional posters so these were a real treat.  While I thought the idea of changing Superman’s powers and costumes was wrong headed I did like the costume itself.  Twelve years later I look at these posters as a piece of Superman’s history so instead of being a reminder of a bad story they now serve as reminders of a particular era, so getting these posters makes me smile and yes at some point both of them are going up on the wall.  Don’t know when but they will be there.

These are neat.  They are rack cards for the five Superman titles that were coming out at the time.  A shop owner would put them on the rack behind the particular issues to draw attention to them.  I have no idea what I am going to do with these.  Hanging them on the wall springs to mind but I may just put them behind the several versions of the Superman Red and Superman Blue figures that I have.  In any case I think they’re cool.

So that’s what four bucks will get you on eBay.  In a few weeks I will be covering 1997 on my podcast, Views From The Longbox, so this storyline will be discussed.  I am hoping to have the issues re-read by that point so that I can have a firmer opinion of the Electro-Blue era beyond my memories of what happened at the time.  Maybe I’ll look more favorably on it.

Or maybe I’ll just shake my head and wonder what the hell those people were thinking.  Time will tell.

More to follow…

Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

Episode 22: May 1988 or Superman’s Golden Anniversary

Welcome to the twenty-first episode of From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast!  This podcast has a simple premise; examine just about every Superman comic published between Man of Steel #1 in 1986 to Adventures of Superman #649 in 2006 in an informative and hopefully entertaining format.

Part index.  Part commentary.  Part history lesson.  All podcast.

After a week’s absence due to Mike coming down with what was either Kryptonian Leprosy or a really bad flu the boys are back in town to discuss the Superman books that came out with the cover date of May 1988.  This was a big one too as not only was it the month where DC celebrated Superman’s fiftieth anniversary in the comics but also because Action Comics hit the big 6-0-0.  Before getting into that 80 Page Giant Jeff and Mike discuss the return of the Silver Banshee in Superman #17 and the giddiness of Superman as he flies to his date with Wonder Woman in Adventures of Superman #440, which led into the main story of Action #600. That epic anniversary issue had a number of stories in it, all of which get some kind of commentary.  The boys even talk about the pin-ups included in Action 600, so that book gets a top to bottom examination.  Also Mike clues you in on some of the ways the real world was celebrating Superman’s fiftieth anniversary including the exhibit from the Smithsonian Institute.  It’s a long one, but Superman’s golden anniversary deserved it.

You can subscribe to the show in two ways. First there is the RSS Feed and there is also theiTunes link .

If you want to comment on the show or contact the hosts you can always private message Mike and Jeff, at the Superman Homepage, leave comments here or at the Homepage or here or email them by clicking this link.  All questions, concerns, fears, trepidations and cheap shots are welcome. The guys will try to incorporate e-mails into the episodes once the show gets rolling.

Seriously, let us know what you think.

Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

As many of you know I co-host a show called From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast with my buddy Jeffrey Taylor.  For the uninitiated FCTC covers, month by month, most of the Superman books published between lMan of Steel #1 in 1986 and Adventures of Superman #649 in 2006.  That’s a huge chunk of time and some people have expressed a desire to follow along with us.  I was wondering how feasible it would be for someone that doesn’t own  a complete run to find one or at the very least find most of them in trade.  I’m pretty sure if you had the time, money and energy you could do it, but it wouldn’t be easy.

And that got me to thinking.

Since February of 2004 (release date not cover date) every mainstream Superman book (Superman, Adventures of Superman and Action Comics along with Superman/Batman) has been released as a collected edition of some sort.  Usually in hardcover at first and then in softcover and in the case of Brian Azzarello and Jim Lee’s For Tomorrow even an Absolute Edition.  The Godfall arc, all of the Greg Rucka run on Adventures of Superman, the just mentioned For Tomorrow, all of Mark Verheiden’s run on Superman, Chuck Austen’s run on Action Comics, Gail Simone’s work on Action Comics, Sacrifice, the Infinite Crisis crossovers, Up, Up and Away, Last Son, Camelot Falls Parts 1 and 2, the rest of Kurt Busiek’s run, Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, Brainiac, The Coming of Atlas and right up to the current New Krypton stuff.  Five years worth of stories are pretty much all there give or take a once and done story here and there.  Someone getting into Superman today would have a very easy time getting caught up without having to track down the individual issues.

But what about that Crisis to Crisis era?

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Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

My friend Ali is hitting a certain milestone age today, so I wanted to wish her a very happy birthday…

…so…HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALI!  Here’s some Flint for you!

and…

Originally published at VIEWS FROM THE LONGBOX. You can comment here or there.

Episode 93 B: 1993 or “Bleeping 1993″

And now…the rest of the story.

Or at the very least the rest of the episode.  This time out Shag and I finish up our thoughts on 1993 and a lively conversation it was.  We cover a lot of comic book ground this time out, including Maximum Carnage, my experiences with Reign of the Supermen, Lois and Clark, me getting a girlfriend, the beginning of my senior year and, sadly, the death of my mother.  After that Shag and I get into the whys and hows the comic industry took a tumble in the nineties.

As usual you can check out Shag’s Internet content at Once Upon a Geek and Firestorm Fan.  If you haven’t checked these blogs out yet do so now.

Originally published at FORTRESS OF BAILEYTUDE. You can comment here or there.

Episode 21: April 1988

Welcome to the twenty-first episode of From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast! This podcast has a simple premise; examine just about every Superman comic published between Man of Steel #1 in 1986 to Adventures of Superman #649 in 2006 in an informative and hopefully entertaining format.

Part index. Part commentary. Part history lesson. All podcast.

This week Michael interrupts Jeffrey a lot as they discuss the Superman books that came out during the cover date of April 1988. They spend the bulk of the episode discussing Superman #16 with a good number of tangents thrown in for good measure. In addition to talking about the first From Crisis to Crisis appearance of the Prankster they also delve into Adventures of Superman #439 and Action Comics #599. Michael didn’t mean to interrupt Jeffrey at the beginning. He was just really, really excited about recording this episode.

At least that’s what Michael tells himself.

You can subscribe to the show in two ways. First there is the RSS Feed and there is also theiTunes link .

If you want to comment on the show or contact the hosts you can always private message Mike and Jeff, at the Superman Homepage, leave comments here or at the Homepage or here or email them by clicking this link.  All questions, concerns, fears, trepidations and cheap shots are welcome. The guys will try to incorporate e-mails into the episodes once the show gets rolling.

Seriously, let us know what you think.