Science Fiction has always been the theater of the imagination. More any other genre in film or literature, Sci-Fi allows the creator and the audience to go anywhere and do anything, unfettered by any limitation save that of imagination. If I am creating or watching a crime story or a western the creator is limited to the rules of that “universe”. In other words the creator has to know just how a colt 45 operates and how a crime scene looks and cannot deviate from those rules without compromising the story. In the realm of Science Fiction the creator can make his or her own rules. In the classic Sci-fi film Forbidden Planet, Dr. Morbius describes the remarkable Robby the Robot as something he happened to “tinker” together. We do not need to know how he built Robby, only that he DID and that Robby reacts consistently within the rules that the creator established for the story.

Science Fiction provides a huge canvas to examine ideas and to hold a mirror up to the current state of the human condition. The Day The Earth Stood Still and The Thing hold a mirror up to the Post World War II Cold War paranoia. 1960’s  films like Soylent Green, The Omega Man, and Planet of the Apes examine our growing fear of technology and the possibility of a dystopian post apocalyptic future in which we are robbed of our essential humanity. However, not all Science Fiction paints a bleak future. 2001 examines our nature as explorers while Star Trek paints a picture of the future in which humans will rise above petty desires to work together for a greater good. In the great George Pal film When Worlds Collide technology saves humanity when the earth is destroyed by an errant star.

Sci-fi films allow us to “remake” great films and plays in a new setting. Alien is simply any number of haunted house horror films. Forbidden Planet is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Tempest. The Star Trek episode Balance Of Terror is Run Silent Run Deep, retold.  

AND Sci-fi is growing by leaps and bounds both on the book shelf and on the screen. Science Fiction films typically dominate summer blockbusters and more and more shelf space is dedicated to the genre in book stores. For fans like me who grew up with Science Fiction being a “niche” genre, this is truly a golden age.

Next...my "ode" to Buffy The Vampire Slayer :)

That’s 30!

This month marks the 70^th birthday of an American icon. Happy Birthday Superman! It was June 1938 when Action #1 hit the news stands. A cultural phenomenon was born and the infant comic book industry was changed forever. Of course The Man of Steel was not born easily. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster actually created him as early as 1932! Their brain child was rejected by literally EVERYONE and only got a chance as an act of desperation because a lead feature of original material was needed to launch the, mostly reprint, Action #1!

And there was no going back!

In very short order the Last Son Of Krypton achieved a level of stardom equal to Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart and even (gasp) Mickey Mouse! Superman was syndicated across the country in hundreds of daily newspapers. He appeared in wonderful Max Fleisher cartoons! Movie Serials, Radio and then Television all fell to Superman! And of course The Man of Steel has starred in no less than five big screen, big budget (except Superman IV) films! He has appeared on products of all kinds, from toys to toilet paper! And THEN The Man of Tomorrow went global! Superman is published in almost every language all over the world. Quite literally EVERYONE knows who Superman is.

Superman has bested every foe from Luthor to Brainiac to changing times and tastes. After 70 years he is and remains the world’s greatest Superhero. Happy birthday big guy. Here’s to 70 more!

On another note, June 16^th marked the 49^th anniversary of George Reeves. For my generation Reeves WAS Superman. His charm and gentle good humor lent dignity to the often ridiculous scripts and he taught an entire generation that “Truth and Justice” were actually values to aspire. Just mention Reeves to someone who grew up on The Adventures of Superman and the immediate response will be a smile. Yes, he meant that much to us. Jack Larson once mentioned in an interview where George said he would like to know that he had even one adult fan. I wonder how he would feel if he knew that, today, his adult fans number in the millions. I like to think he does know and that somewhere he is smiling that crooked, charming smile of his.

That's 30!

Let me start by saying that this year’s NY ComiCon was AMAZING. 64,000+ fellow hobbyists packed wall to wall and sometimes completely unable to move at all! But the energy was high and you could buy just about anything you could want, at the right price of course. I am bringing this up to point out the difference this last week at the NY Big Apple Con at Penn Plaza across from Madison Square Garden. It was a MUCH more intimate affair. More laid back and relaxed. And while there was not the same variety of comics and related items to choose from, there were bargains aplenty. My point here is that there is a place for the large and not so large scale comic convention. I only had a chance to attend Sunday’s proceedings with my daughter in tow once again. Where she was not able to get all the autographs she wanted to at ComicCon, she easily got to meet and speak with Malcolm McDowell and multiple actors from various Friday The 13^th movies, whose names escape me at the moment. I even got in on the action and had a nice chat with Chase Masterson of DS9 fame! For myself I had a chance to do some serious dealing at my price! I also had the chance to talk shop at length with fellow travelers and dealers which is something I enjoy very much. One dealer in particular took great delight in having people actually handle some of his Golden Age Superman and Batman books! The whole atmosphere was just very friendly and if not as polished as ComicCon , Big Apple was not short on heart. I look forward to the next get together in November!

That's 30!

One of the best memories I have of being a child in the early 1960’s was running down to the corner candy store on 102^nd Street and Flatlands Avenue in Brooklyn with a quarter clutched tightly in my young fist. That 25 cent piece was my passport, my token for the (drum roll please!) 80 Page Giant Annual! Superman or Batman !

While a dime, and later 12 cents got you a 36 page comic with shiny new stories and if you were lucky Curt Swan covers, a quarter got you more than twice that AND they were stories from earlier days. The days before little guys like me were born! In those days there was no real back issue market. Comics were not considered collectibles. So the Annual was the only way you could really enjoy those old stories. And OH the covers!!!

I remember faking belly aches at East New York Day Camp so that I could sit on the side and read my 80 pagers (I sure hope none of my old counselors are reading this! Sorry guys! The truth is out. I wasn’t really sick!)

Well fast forward to 2008 and I am getting back into the hobby. Well I did not feel the need to run out and get a copy of Batman 180 or Superman 197, but I DID immediately look around to replace all of those annuals! Well they are not a quarter anymore but they are very much worth it!

That’s 30!