Tag: Superman

By Jeff Trexler

-- Whatever the merits of the latest summary judgment motion in the dispute over the Superman copyright, its supporting exhibits bring together a number of important documents in two accessible filings.

Bryan Q. Miller's comic-book continuation of the Smallville series brings a few familiar people face-to-face with Tom Welling

We were all pretty excited when the first set photos of Henry Cavill as Superman leaked out. It seemed that after years of binding and CGI smoothing, Superman was finally getting super where it counted.

A brief conversation with a co-worker starts with Archie and ends with Gary Owens, with cameos by Scooby-Doo and Batman! (No Kevin Bacon, alas.) Read on to discover the crazy linkage!

Warner Bros is doing the happy dance in the Superman legal tangle after what was called a unanimous and extremely significant ruling from the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Heard before Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge, Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain and N. Randy Smith, Circuit Judges, the Opinion (see link below) was written by Judge O’Scannlain.

Last year a federal court in New York denied the Kirby heirs' attempt to claim the copyright in Spider-Man and other Marvel properties. Why, then, is their lawyer betting the future of the Siegel lawsuit on the same losing arguments?

The first four pages of ACTION #5 by Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert, and Jesse Delperdang has just been previewed at Geek Dad and Underwire and not only does it present the new origin for Superman, as he's rocketed to earth by his parents, but we learn why the new DCU will not have a happy, yappy dog in a cape flying around -- instead there's a "Ghost Krypto". Oh, Grant Morrison, how could you?

From 1958's SUPERMAN'S GIRL FRIEND, LOIS LANE #5 Can you imagine what would have happened if the Internet existed in 1958? Perhaps people like Mort Weisinger could not exist in a wired world. Julie Schwartz would probably have been running a website and playing Halo.

We don't know exactly what is going on in these set photos from the Vancouver shoot of the new Superman movie, but we approve.

Warner Bros. has released the first picture of Henry Cavill as Superman, and as opposed to previous reveals, they have decided against a standing poser and gone for something way more action-filled and dramatic. And it works. While the trunks are in shadow, this does seem to be the traditional, red-pantied Superman look. Gone, however is the spit curl. The look of the photo is more than a little "Jim Lee-esque" with its heavy grading and dramatic lighting. In our opinion, not a bad update -- but what do you guys think?

By Jeff Trexler-- In March 2008, Grant Morrison's homage to Siegel and Shuster appeared in comic shops on the very same day that the Siegel heirs recaptured half the original Superman copyright.  Now Morrison is set to work his shaman's magic once again in the September relaunch of Action #1--and this time, the Siegels could lose everything. Morrison's upcoming Supergods holds the key to understanding why. For an explanation and a sneak preview of Morrison’s new book, click below. A mysterious appeal, Joe Shuster’s super-swastika and the final crisis of the legal multiverse--this one has it all.

Judging from the images released so far, it would appear that the relaunched versions of Superman and Superboy will be different from previous versions. Superman will no longer be wearing red shorts over his blue tights, and his belt, boots and S-symbol have also undergone notable alterations. Somewhat more dramatically, Superboy is sporting a black shirt and pants, a black-and-white S-shield mini-cape attached to his back, and a stylized red S-shield tattoo. It also appears that both characters will have significant changes in their continuity, most notably Superman’s age and his relationship with Lois Lane. This changes in the Superman costume are in themselves not likely to provide a solid foundation for erasing the Siegel heirs' ownership interest. However, the costume changes and other shifts in continuity are consistent with DC's arguments for limiting what the Siegels now own.