2008 Merchandise & Miscellaneous News Archives

July 25, 2008: A Report on Toledo's Superman Celebration

ComicBookResources.com has posted a report on the recent Superman Celebration held on July 21st at the Toledo (Ohio) Public Library in recognition of Superman's 70th anniversary, where the crowd in attendance was also treated to a video conference with writers Geoff Johns, James Robinson and Jamal Igle.

    On Monday, July 21st, a strange visitor from another planet was celebrated much closer to the hometown of his creation than the planet of his "birth." The Main Branch of the Toledo (Ohio) Public Library held its "Superman at 70!" program hosted by comics journalist and historian, Jim Beard. The event was scheduled to be a multimedia affair, giving people new insight into one of America's most beloved icons while at the same time providing fans (old and new) with a glimpse of the future.

    The evening began with Rhonda Sewell (the Library's media relations person), but is wasn't long before Beard was brought up and given the chance to take the fans through a brief historical tour of the history of Superman in comics. Jim fired up the PowerPoint and provided insightful commentary through a concise recollection of highlights from the Man of Steel's seventy years in publishing. Before that began, however, Jim shared a drawing from 1933 that Siegel and Schuster used to shop their idea around. Eventually, Sheldon Mayer (with National Periodicals, which would one day become DC) gave the fellas a chance and took the character on. Following his debut in "Action Comics" #1, where Superman grabbed the cover of the anthology, Superman was awarded his own title in 1939.

    Chuckling about the "Superman 101" lecture-style setup of the filled to capacity room, Beard dazzled the attendees with rare photos and art samples, including a photo of Ray Middleton - the first actor to assume the mantle of Superman while working the 1940 World's Fair. His costume was resplendent in the Ben Cooper sense in that the word "Superman" was emblazoned as part of the S-shield.

Read the complete report at the CBR website.



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