Green Comet To Pass Earth

Above, Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Skywatchers may be getting a rare special treat at the end of this month when a green comet will be passing the Earth.

KIII-TV reported:

A newly discovered bright green comet is on its way past Earth for a once-in-a-lifetime show, and it may be visible to the naked eye.

The comet, named C/2022 E3 (ZTF), was discovered in March 2022 and is passing through our solar system. The icy celestial object has gotten brighter and brighter as it nears the sun, building up excitement from astronomers and skywatchers alike. 

Comets are "cosmic snowballs" of dust, rock and ice. They heat up as they near the sun, taking on a stunning glow and spewing a tail of dust and gas that can stretch millions of miles.

NASA says the bright green comet has a short, broad tail of dust and a long, faint ion tail. You can't see it without a telescope yet, but a few astronomers have nabbed stunning photos as it continues its voyage. 

It will soar past the sun Jan. 12, making its closest approach to Earth around Feb. 2. NASA says those of us in the Northern Hemisphere will find the comet in the morning sky as it heads northwest this month. It'll be visible in the Southern Hemisphere as well in February. 

Above, a panel from Superman no. 172.

When I first saw the headline about a green comet, I immediately thought of a 1964 Edmond Hamilton story in Superman no.172 of the Man of Steel's encounter with a green comet that takes away his super-powers. It was one of the great stories from the Silver Age of comic books. It was drawn by Curt Swan and George Klein.

To read more, go here.

Was Curt Swan Inspired By A Civil War Painting?

Above, the Swan/Klein cover from 1965.

The below painting's (artist unknown to me) layout looks very familiar. It was posted at Piñon Post with an article on the Civil War 1862 Battle of Glorieta Pass. 

It strongly reminds me of a comic book cover from 1965.

Was it the inspiration to an Adventure Comics (no. 333) cover of Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes by Curt Swan (pencils) and George Klein (inks)? The story, "The Civil War of the Legion".

Interesting!

Two Comic Books From 1962

While going through a box this afternoon, I came upon a couple of Silver Age comic books from 1962.

The following are scans of these comics.

The first was Action Comics No. 285 (cover date February 1962), which featured a full-issue story of the presentation of Supergirl to the world by Superman. The cover was by Curt Swan (pencils) and George Klein (inks) with the interior story by Jim Mooney.

The next one was Green Lantern No. 16 (cover date October 1962), which featured "The Secret Life of Star Sapphire". The cover was by Gil Kane (pencils) and Murphy Anderson (inks) with the interior story by Kane with inks by Joe Giella.

Seeing these reminded me that these were the days when comic book reading was fun.

Adventure Comics #369

One of my favorite comic books was Adventure Comics of the Silver Age. It featured full-length stories of Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

The writing was top-notch (by a young Jim Shooter) and great artwork (generally Curt Swan and George Klein and later Swan and Jack Abel).

A little discussion on Adventure Comics no. 369 (cover date June 1968) is taking place at Facebook and I scanned a couple of pages. The cover (at top) was done by Neal Adams.

Here I am with Adams at Comikaze Expo in 2012:

The first is the "splash" page featuring a rare ink job by Curt Swan:

Then, there's page 7 of the story featuring the work of Swan and Abel:

A number of fans didn't care much for Abel's inks on Swan, but I thought they fit the Legion stories quite nicely.

Arlen Shumer Salute To Superman Artist Curt Swan

Above, a Curt Swan/George Klein Superman (no. 174) cover from the 1960s.

As this week is being called "Superman Week" in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Superman, Arlen Schumer has an article at 13th Dimension.com saluting the definitive Superman artist, Curt Swan.

The article begins with:

To the Baby Boom Generation that grew up on his work, Curt Swan (1920-1996) was, is, and forever will be the definitive Superman artist. 

Over the course of his almost-four decade run on the character (1948-1986), Swan depicted many of the landmark events that became touchstones in the lives of the Superman family. His versions of familiar aspects of the character’s iconography, from the scenes of a doomed Krypton to sights of Superman soaring above the Metropolis skyline, became the new icons against which all succeeding Superman artists are judged. 

As the Superman character evolved from the Golden Age to the Silver Age, “Mort Weisinger (Superman editor 1945-70) felt we should get a little more humanistic qualities into him,” Swan recalled in a 1974 Cartoonist Profile interview. “We wanted people to relate to him better, make him a little more believable.” 

That believeability came across in Swan’s characters’ faces — young or old, male or female, hero or villain, monster or alien — which he endowed with a spectrum of human emotions, from agony to anger, mournful to mirthful, that remains one of the hallmarks of his realistic style.

To read the full article, go here. 

80-Page Giant Superman No. 183

Above, Superman no. 183.

Back in the days when comic book reading and collecting was fun (mid-1960s), DC Comics used to publish 80-Page Giants of their different titles. The 80-Page Giants were originally called "annuals" with their own numbering. They were collections of reprinted stories.

One of my favorite 80-Page Giants was Superman number 183 that was published in 1966. It was my first exposure to stories from the Golden Age of comic books. I still have my copy.

I was reminded of this in a Facebook Curt Swan (who drew the cover with inker George Klein) page.

13 Covers: A Curt Swan Birthday Celebration

Above, a classic cover featuring the Fatal Five by Curt Swan and George Klein. 

My most favorite comic book artist of all time was the late, great Curt Swan. Swan drew the Superman Family of comic books for over 30 years although he is known as "the definitive Superman artist".

Two days ago would have been Curt Swan's birthday and comics historian Arlen Schumer has an article of 13 of the best Curt Swan covers, some of which I have in my collection (one of which is posted above).

If you are a Curt Swan fan or are an art fan in general, you'll like the article.

To read it and savor Swan's art, go here.

John Forte & George Klein On Jimmy Olsen

Above, is the cover of Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen (number 80) from 1964. This issue is in my collection of Silver Age comic books.

Recently, some members of the Facebook group, The Silver Age Mythology of Superman, were aghast when I mentioned that Curt Swan's then-regular inker George Klein also inked artist John Forte's work. Generally, Forte did ink his own work, but on occasion, Klein was called in to do the honors. I noticed the difference in Forte's artwork immediately when I saw Klein's inks over them. I thought then (and now) that they improved Forte's artwork. That gave me an idea for this blog topic.

The above cover was penciled by Curt Swan and inked by his back-up inker, Sheldon Moldoff. The interior story of Jimmy Olsen's encounter with the Bizarros (imperfect duplicates of Superman and members of the Superman Family) was penciled by Forte and inked by Klein.

Here's are two examples of Forte/Klein art from the issue:

Now do you believe me, guys?

A Favorite Superman Cover

Above, Superman no. 174. Cover by Curt Swan (pencils) and George Klein (inks).

Thanks to Bruce Kanin for posting the above cover art of Superman no. 174 (cover date January 1965) at Facebook, I am reminded that this is one of my favorite covers by the late, great Superman artist Curt Swan (February 17, 1920 – June 17, 1996).

I became even more impressed with the cover when I took art classes and learned how to work with perspective. Perspective is a bit of a complicated technique to do and Swan accomplished it expertly here. This made me appreciate it even more. Sadly, one doesn't see this kind of workmanship in comic books much anymore.

Above, Curt Swan circa 1986 with a 3D shadowbox creation by Todd R. Reis of a Swan cover. Photo courtesy of Todd R. Reis.

The cover was inked by one of the best Swan inkers, George Klein.

To learn more on Curt Swan, a new Facebook group has been set up, The Silver Age Mythology of Superman. It is a closed group, with membership subject to approval.

Oshima and Baldness Discount Blogs Picked Up By The Japan Daily

Two blog posts from yesterday were picked up by The Japan Daily.

The first was the post on Oshima Island, site of Godzilla's "demise" at the end of Return of Godzilla (1984) (released in the U.S. as Godzilla 1985 a year later).

The second was on the central Tokyo pub that offers a special discount to those salarymen who are follically challenged (i.e., balding). It is cool to see Lex Luthor by Curt Swan and George Klein posted at The Japan Daily.

To view The Japan Daily, go here.

Lex Luthor Would Like This Pub

Above, Lex Luthor by Curt Swan and George Klein.

A story posted in Japan Today caught my attention. It is about a pub in central Tokyo that offers a special discount for people with a certain "badge of honor."

Unfortunately, I would not be able to qualify for their special discount as I have a full (although thinning a little) head of hair.

According to the article:

TOKYO —A Japanese pub deep in the heart of white-collar Tokyo wants to help out their customers whose heads are showing the consequences of too much stress and hard work (and perhaps a bit of genetics too). 

The restaurant hopes that instead of covering their heads with a complex comb-over or taking a cue from monks to shave it all off, “salarymen” white-collar workers treat their thinning hair as a badge of honor and proof of their dedication to help the struggling Japanese economy. And to show their support, the restaurant has announced a generous “balding discount.” 

“Otasuke,” which translates roughly to “huge help,” opened earlier this month in the Asaksaka district in central Tokyo, and has grabbed national attention for their customer outreach efforts. A sign outside the shop declares their full support for “hard-working fathers losing their hair” over their stressful jobs. 

Restaurant manager Yoshiko Toyota said that she and the owner came up with their business idea after volunteering in the recovery efforts to rebuild the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan. Toyota saw how the hard-hit area was being helped economically by the rest of the country and wanted to find a way to support those white-collar workers who in turn are helping to rebuild Tohoku. 

Toyota explained that she thinks thinning hair is a “badge of honor” and wanted to say thank you to all the salarymen who are driving Japan’s economy. To say thanks, Otasuke gives a special “balding discount” to any person who comes in and admits their baldness to the waitstaff. The restaurant seems to accept a wide definition of “balding” and will give the discount to anyone who “shows their baldness” to a server.

So, if you want to get the discount, just head over without the rug.

To get the details, go here.

Superman-Batman Movie Delayed To 2016

Above, the cover of World's Finest Comics no. 163 by Curt Swan and George Klein.

It looks like fans of the "World's Finest" team, Superman and Batman, will have to wait another year before a movie pairing both will be released.

According to Japan Today:

LOS ANGELES —Warner Bros pushed back the release date of the still untitled film that will bring together superheroes Superman and Batman, delaying it by almost a year to May 2016, the studio said on Friday. 

The sequel to last year’s hit Superman film “Man of Steel” was revealed at the Comic-Con convention last July by director Zack Snyder, who said the two DC Comics’ caped crusaders will face off against each other.

DC Entertainment is a division of Warner Bros.

Superman and Batman starred in a series of team-up stories in World's Finest Comics that spanned over several decades.

To read the full story, go here.

Was Al Plastino's Superman-JFK Artwork Stolen?

Above, the cover of Superman issue no. 170.

It is interesting that this story should hit now, since the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy is coming up next month.

There is a bit of a flap over some original artwork that appeared in the July 1964 issue of Superman (no. 170). The issue contained the story, "Superman's Mission For President Kennedy" that was penciled and inked by Al Plastino. In the story, Kennedy enlists Superman's help to get flabby Americans to become physically fit.

As I have this issue in my collection, I remember it well. On the very last panel of the story, it stated that the original artwork would be donated to the John F. Kennedy Library at Harvard University (at the time, that was where the library was planned to be located).

Above, the Plastino art. Note the last panel stating that the original art will be donated to the Kennedy Library.

According to a story at Bleeding Cool.com, the Plastino original artwork is now up for auction at Heritage Auctions. They are looking to get $200,000 for it.  Somehow, the artwork never made it to the Kennedy Library and they have no record of ever receiving it.

Artist Al Plastino is quite upset over this.

He said:

Please help if you can. The art I donated and thought for all these years was being housed at the Kennedy library at Harvard is now being auctioned off on the anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination. And now I am finding out that the art may have never made it to the library. The archivists tell me there are no records of it ever being received. I asked for the art back and they will not give it to me. I asked for the consigner’s name and they will not tell me that either. They tell me I have no rights to my work and that it is too late to get it back.

I don't blame Plastino for being upset about his artwork, intended for the Kennedy Library, ending up in someone else's hands, possibly by theft.

However, the story gets more complicated.

The story was originally scheduled for Superman no. 168, but it was pulled when Kennedy was assassinated. This version was drawn by artist Curt Swan and inked by George Klein. The editor of Superman, Mort Weisinger, published an announcement in the current issue stating that the artwork would be donated to Jacqueline Kennedy.

Above, editor Mort Weisinger's announcement containing a panel of the Swan/Klein artwork.

Later, President Johnson asked National Periodical Publications (DC Comics) to publish it, and it is speculated that the Swan/Klein artwork was donated already, so it had to be re-drawn and Plastino got the assignment. Herein lies the confusion or complication.

It appears that the Swan/Klein artwork may have been donated directly to Mrs. Kennedy and not to the Kennedy Library (I assume there was a foundation set-up to get the library built at the time). But, as it shows on the last panel of the Plastino version, his artwork was intended to be donated to the Kennedy Library. It is possible that both versions were intended to be donated (the Swan/Klein art to Mrs. Kennedy and the Plastino art to the Kennedy Library) by National.

Since it was stated on the last panel of Plastino's version that it was to be donated, how did it end up not going to the Kennedy Library, but eventually to an auction house in 2013? Could the artwork have been stolen? What happened?

Heritage Auctions should pull the artwork from their auction schedule, put it on hold (treat it as possible stolen property) and begin an investigation to see if the artwork was stolen as well as the chain of custody since 1964. That would be right thing to do.

UPDATE: Bleeding Cool reports that Heritage Auctions has withdrawn the auction for the Plastino artwork and will investigate.  For more, go here.