Is this Superman Comic Burning an Eternal Flaaaaaaaame?

Superman #260 introduces us to a major change in the Superman character:

Did you see that?  He actually dealt with wild animals in a humane fashion.  No unnecessary violence?  No juggling the bears and then throwing them thousands of yards away from their habitat?  I don't know what the situation is on his current power level, but it may be a good thing if the guy cools it with beating up on beasts.

Speaking in the language of the Medieval Scandinavians?

You mean perfect English?  I'm not sure why you're dragging the Medieval Scandinavians into this.

But this was awesome:

I've watched three seasons of Vikings on the History Channel, and I highly recommend it.  But I will tell you that I have yet to see anyone riding wolverines chasing gigantic rats.  The series isn't finished, though

Again, having watched the Vikings series, I realize they looked at life in a way that we shall describe as "unique."  But "he saved you?  Kill him!" even for Vikings seems way harsh.

The keeper of the eternal flame?  We should be listening to this while the two of them fight:

Yeah, I could have done the Bangles version, but this one from the show Outsourced was way funnier.

Almost as funny as this:

Well, exhaling is one way.  I'd pay cash money to see him get rid of it the other way.

See you tomorrow!

Terra-Man: The Cosmic Cowboy, The Gangster of Love... Some People Call Him Maurice...

So I was reading through Superman 251-258 and was just feeling all "blah" about it.  It could be because I tend to get the blues on Friday.  I don't know why that is.  You'd think I'd be all kinds of happy on Friday, what with the weekend coming and whatnot, but Friday is the saddest day of the week for me.

But then along comes issue #259, with the return of whom I have concluded is the most under-rated bad guy in the history of comics, if not all of literature: Terra-Man.

See?  Terra-Man just brings the awesome with him wherever he goes.

I suppose I should mention there was some incredibly awful subplot going where Superman could only use his super-strength for a fraction of a second, so he basically used a disabled kid like some sort of super-power safe deposit box.  When he needed strength, this happened:

Yeah.  And it happened more than once.

To get that out of our head, let's go back to Terra-Man:

Terra-Man was pure badass.  Yeah, he had a lot of weapons, but he was right there in the fight.  No sitting in a hidden stronghold while robots and the like did all the heavy lifting.  He was right in there getting his hands dirty.

Anyway, Superman cheats.  And then he steals Terra-Man's technology:

Yeah, feel free to use his stuff without asking, Mr. Good Guy.

Fortunately, and thanks to Terra-Man, we wouldn't see any more drawings of Superman with the head of a lynx growing out of his noggin.  I'm really not sure what that was all about and I just don't care enough to read it again.  It's not like this is my job or anything.

See you tomorrow!

In Which Terra-Man Shows Superman a Thing or Two About Branding

So Superman #250 rolls around and I'm expecting something kinda awesome because the 250th issue of any title is certainly something of a milestone.  I was surprised to see this:

Wasn't Terra-Man just introduced in the last issue?

Well, yes he was.

Although I admit to a growing fondness for the character it rather surprised me that (A) we'd see him again so soon and (B) that he'd be Superman's foe for a landmark issue.  It reminded me of the 90's, when Bane and Doomsday went from first appearance to top of their respective rogues galleries.  Call me a traditionalist, but you should only get top-billing after you've paid your dues, and that simply takes time.  It's the same reason I hate televised singing competitions.

But, to be fair, Terra-Man has proven to be somewhat awesome, so how loudly can I complain?  Well, we all know the answer to that is that I can complain quite loudly, but that's not the point.  Here we see Terra-Man in prison after last issue:

I'm not sure he's "the most dangerous criminal the world has ever seen," mind you.  That's pushing it a bit.  But he is able to hold his own against Superman with nothing more than proficiency with alien weaponry, and that's pretty badass.

And he has some valid complaints about the typical department of corrections services in America:

Well, they're better about locking teenagers up with adults for minor offenses, but we've still got a long ways to go when dealing with our kids who commit crimes.  Terra-Man gets half a point for that one.

But what finally pushes him over the edge?  Crappy prison food:

Yeah, bad food would do it for me, too.

So, they're tossing a guy into solitary because he's being quiet?  I don't think I'd do well in prison at all.  The rules make no sense and ... well, the food is bad, and I likes me creature comforts.

So, he breaks out... which apparently he could have done at any time because all he has to do is whistle for his winged horse. The winged horse is named "Nova," by the way.

You enjoy some interesting wall decor, Sir.  I'll give you that.

What constitutes a ruckus, Terra-Man style?

This:

That was actually pretty cool.  We can't deny it.

Hey... did you know that picture phone technology was readily functional in the 1970's?

Well... it was functional.  Thanks for throwing technological progress back about 40 years, Superman.

Anyway...

Well, you kids with your body art just don't think in the long-term.  That "TM" on your face might not look so hot when you're a grandpa.

Yeah, I know.... you're going to be young forever and the calendar doesn't apply to you.  Just wait, whippersnappers.  It goes by more quickly than you think.

Know what other technology they had ahead of the rest of us?  This:

I would have bought a Power Glove back in the day if it meant I could have beaten up everyone this side of Superman:

So, yeah.  I think I'm sold on Terra-Man.  He didn't even need his own theme song.

But he totally had one:

See you Monday!

The Superman-Archie Bunker Crossover You Never Wanted to See

Taking a lookie-loo at Superman #245:

You know, if it doesn't work out the first time you eat a breakfast burrito, you probably should just figure they aren't for you.

And as promised, the crossover between Superman and Archie Bunker that guaranteed this issue would be quite dated in a matter of years:

I'm not sure All in the Family and Superman Comics had the same audience.  I was familiar with All in the Family because my parents watched it, and I suppose I watched it to see Archie throw temper tantrums, but that's kind of like having Angela Lansbury of Murder, She Wrote appearing in a Batman story over in Detective Comics.

On that note, it amused me when I was told that younger folks don't find Seinfeld funny.  I guess every generation has its thing.

I learned something about Krypton:

Based on this odd, self-loathing custom, I've come to the conclusion that the planet itself got so depressed from all the blubbering that it just exploded.

Anyway, it's the first appearance of Terra-Man:

I had only read one other comic with Terra-Man in it, so I can't say I was a fan.  But as you can see, any character that brings about this kind of story is aces in my book:

Yeah!  More, please!

Superman flying away from a fight, tears in his eyes.  This is the best Superman story ever!

But wait!  There's more!  There's Superman employing the rarely-seen "Super-Butt Drop":

NO ONE EXPECTS THE SUPER-BUTT DROP!

And finally, there was this:

Even Terra-Man finally has to acknowledge how silly the day has been:

This issue had an entirely separate story with the Terra-Man's origin, which was actually rather novel.  But even souped-up versions of weaponry used 100 years ago doesn't really present much of a challenge for a guy who can destroy entire planets with a glare.  I would think he would have been a good match for the Silver Age Hawkman, who used medieval weaponry to fight crime.  See, DC Comics?  You need me!

See you tomorrow!