If I Was To Start A Superman Collection, What Would I Buy?

Despite the fact that I have almost next to nothing when it comes to Krypton's favorite sun, I do consider myself a Superman fan. O.K., maybe I am not a fanatical fan like my buddy George is, but I grew up watching the cartoons, reading the books and watching the movies. I went to see the movie during it's first run, I watched the Super Friends and read The Death Of Superman. I have an appreciation for the Man Of Steel.

So, why do I own only maybe 3 Superman pieces? Well, to be honest, I have been concentrating on my other favorites, trying to build up those collections. I would always buy Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man and Luke Skywalker before I bought anything Superman, thus I passed up some sweet pieces I could have added to the House Of Swag. For shame Mikey, for shame.

With the new movie coming out this week, I have been building up anticipation within myself by watching All Star Superman, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse and the Superman movie Serials; Superman and Atom Man VS Superman. Before the week is out, I plan to watch Superman The Movie and some of the Fleischer Superman Cartoons. I will be Superman crazy by the time I see Man Of Steel on Saturday.

So with all this Superman entertainment, it got me thinking about my measly Supes collection. I always wanted to build a Superman collection. Not a big one like my Batman and Spider-Man collections, but a respectable one where I could have a shelf devoted solely to Superman. So, if I was to start a collection, what 5 pieces would I want to start with?  Yes, I have put some time thinking about this. Of course, I will always start vintage.

1-Superman The Movie Lunchbox

I have documented in past blogs my love for Superman The Movie. Maybe it's because when I saw it as a 7 year old it captured my imagination like Star Wars did prior. After seeing the movie, I remember throwing on a red towel and "flying" around my room. I was a hyper kid, so my mom had to keep an eye on me so that I didn't entertain the thought of flying right out of my 6th floor window. Another reason why I love this movie is because simply put, for 33 years it was the best superhero movie ever made. In that time, the only movie that I felt gave it a run for it's money was The Dark Knight. To me, it's Avengers, Superman and Dark Knight as the greatest superhero movies ever made. But that's another blog for another time.

I would love to add this lunch box to my budding Superman collection. The artist did an outstanding job nailing the actor's likenesses.

If that isn't a dead ringer for Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper and Marc McClure, then I'm freaking blind. Also love how the colors jump out at you.

Of course, I would love it if the thermos came with it, but it's not a deal breaker.

I have always has a fascination with lunch boxes as a kid. I never owned one, brown bagging it to school despite my feeble attempts to get my mom to buy me a lunch box. As an adult, I own a few modern ones, but no vintage lunch boxes. To pop my vintage lunch box cherry with this piece would be pretty sweet.

2-Mego 12 Inch Superman

As an absolute Mego head, not having this figure in my future Superman collection would be a crime against nature. Plus, he looks like Chris Reeve. I love this figure and it would look great next to my regular 8 inch Superman Mego figure. This is another figure I begged my mom for, but never got. Getting this would fill the hole in my soul my mom left years ago. Now, if I could only find one without the dreaded "ghost face" that I have seen a lot of Mego 12 inch figures develop. Those scare me more than a Justin Bieber concert.

3-Superman Colorforms

As a kid, I used to love playing with Colorforms. I had several different sets and used to play with them for hours. I had Batman, Tricky Mickey Mouse Super Colorforms, Battlestar Galactica and Spider-Man. God, I wish I still had them. But to add this piece from 1964 would be a great addition to my growing Superman Collection, which resides somewhere in the depths of my brain. Plus, it would look great on a shelf. Look at that artwork. Awesome.

4- Mattel's Christopher Reeve 12 inch Superman Figure

I cannot tell you how many times I almost bought this figure since it came out in 2010. I have seen it go for as high as $100.00 and as low as $50.00 and somewhere in between. The few times I almost bought it, it was in the $50.00 range. At that price, it's cheaper than a DC Direct Superman and a heck of a lot cheaper than the Hot Toys Christopher Reeve Superman figure. Since I can't afford the Hot Toys figure, I would buy the Mattel one everyday, twice on Sunday. I think it's just as cool as the Hot Toys one and it came in a line with General Zod and Lex Luthor. I think of all the Superman stuff I have shown so far, this would be my first purchase.

5-DC Direct Fleischer Studios Superman Statue

One of my absolute favorite Superman cartoons (favorite cartoons, period!) is the 1940's Fleischer Studios Superman Cartoons. The 10 minute shorts were produced first by Fleischer Studios, then by Famous Studios from 1941-1943. Max and Dave Fleischer had done Gulliver's Travels when they were approached by Paramount Pictures to do the Superman cartoons. The Fleischer Brothers were hesitant to commit to the shorts, so they threw a then outlandish figure of $100,000.00 per short. Paramount negotiated the figure down to $50,00.00 and off they went, producing some of the most ground breaking cartoons of it's time. There was 17 shorts produced and the first short was even nominated for an Academy Award, losing out to Disney's Lend A Paw cartoon.

The statue is awesome. It looks like it jumped right out of a Fleischer cartoon. I'm not a huge statue collector due to the price of them, but if I could ever add this statue to my Superman collection, I would jump at the chance. I heard a rumor that they were negotiating to do a series of Batman cartoons. Imagine how cool that show would have been. I guess Batman The Animated Series is as close as we will get to it.

One of these days, I hope I am able to add these awesome Superman collectibles to what I hope to be a pretty sweet collection. While putting this list together, I realized there were other Superman items I would love to add like the 1960's Superman Soakie bottle, the Mego Fortress Of Solitude play set and The Super Powers Superman figure. Those, plus what I already listed would look great on a Superman shelf. If the Man Of Steel is as good as I think it might be, I might be ready to go Superman shopping. Kryptonite optional.

What I Have Been Reading-Part 1

One of the things I have decided was to cut down on the amount of comic books I buy. I really don't have a lot of room to store boxes of comics. Usually once I read the book, I just put it aside and I barely look at it again. I usually just give it away or put it away. Right now, all I want to do is build an Amazing Spider-Man and a Batman comic collection, so I will need room for that so buying single issues will be cut down drastically or cut out completely. Plus, my toys will need room as well.

Now that I decided to read more graphic novels, I decided to start knocking off titles from my must read list. With my excitement over the upcoming Man Of Steel movie, I decided to finally pick up Superman Secret Origin. It's a book I have been wanting to read for quite some time. Plus, my trip to Los Angeles was coming up so I thought I could read it on the flight over.

Well, I was wrong about reading the book on the flight (Damn you Jet Blue and your Direct TV). Never got to read it on the outgoing or returning flights. But, not to worry. I did get to read it on the subway on my way home from work. I always love the looks I get from the adults when they see me reading a comic. As Hurricane Helms would say, "What's Up Wit Dat?"

One reason I picked this book to read was I was looking to read a really good Superman book. It's been so long since I read a solo Superman story. Most of the Superman stuff I read is with him in Justice League. A friend who used to work at my job suggested this book and I was skeptical. I read some Superman comics and found him a bit boring. But I agreed to give Secret Origins a shot. I was really sold when I saw the artwork and noticed Superman is drawn to look a lot like Christopher Reeve. Superman The Movie is one of my all time favorite Super Hero movies, so I was sold as soon as I saw the art.

See what I mean? You can tell where Clark Kent was inspired from by looking through the pages.

Superman: Secret Origins is a retelling of the origin of Superman. The early story takes place in Smallville and later in Metropolis. We never see Krypton in the story, although it is mentioned once Clark finds out who he really is. What this story is, is the trials and tribulations a young Clark Kent went through as he was discovering his powers and his interaction with people like Lana Lang, The Legion Of Super-Heroes and a young Lex Luthor.

The story also follows Clark's first days in Metropolis as a reporter for the Daily Planet and in his first appearances as Superman.

He makes his first appearance in the comic as Superman in a scene that is almost straight out of the movie. I won't say much except that it involves Supes catching Lois and a helicopter.

Over the course of the story, we see his first meetings with Perry White, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen as well as his battles with Parasite, Metallo and the US Army, all controlled by a now grown up Lex Luthor who is a corrupted business man running his Lexcorp empire. The kind of guy who gets what he wants and he has Metropolis eating out of his cold hearted hands. That is until Superman shows up and gives the citizens of Metropolis something else to believe in.

I really enjoyed this book. It gave us a different look at the origin of Superman. We don't see the rocket crash landing to earth, Clark is already here when the story begins. I'm guessing he is a freshman in high school at this point. This part of the story gives off a "Smallville" vibe as he is learning how to use his powers as he grows up to be the Man Of Steel.

The second part of the story definitely feels like I could have been watching the 1978 classic. From Gary Frank's art to Geoff Johns's writing  you can tell that the book was inspired by the movie from Superman looking like Christopher Reeve, to his first appearance  Heck, even to Jor-El looking an awful lot like a younger Marlon Brando. I guess that's why I liked this book so much. It's familiar, but a few twists here and there.

I'm aware that this may not be the best Superman story ever written. Die hard Superman fans may not even like this book. To me though, this was one of the best Superman books  I have read in a long time. I now want to read other Superman books and I have my eye on Last Son Of Krypton next. I have heard a lot of good things about that book, so I am hoping I will enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed this one.