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Superman on Earth

11. Super Friends

I can almost hear the near guttural voice of Jackson Beck, legendary announcer of the Superman radio show, intoning, "Last time, See-ooperman had made a momentous decision: he and Barbara would avail themselves of the WIC program to supplement their young family's diet! Bent on getting free government food at the facility in Hoopeston, several miles to the north, See-ooperman packs his pregnant wife and little daughter into the car. Before leaving Metropolis, however, the family stops by the local post office. And now, as the Man of Steel gets out the car, little does he know that a fateful letter will change the course of his life forever!"

We were living in the tiny farming community of Alvin, IL. It was cold that morning. Sunlight reflected blindingly off the snow. I went into the Alvin post office where we picked up our mail. Greeting Shirley, who stood at her usual place behind the counter in the next room, I took out my key and opened our box. The small space, which served as receptacle not only for the Robinsons' mail but Alvin Christian Church's as well, was packed with stuff. But all I now remember in the stack was a thick business-sized envelope. In the upper left corner was an address in Columbus, Ohio. Above the address was an unfamiliar name, John G. Pierce. It was February, 1983. Superman was about to meet Captain Marvel.

Recently, I'd had a letter printed in an issue of World's Finest. In the letter, I'd mentioned that I was a minister and had remarked on the spiritual nature of the Superman-Batman story. A Christian comics fan named John Pierce had read the letter and was intrigued. Later, a fellow named Don Ensign would organize Christian fandom. For now, however, religious feedback in the secular world of comics was rare. So John was excited at the discovery of a kindred spirit.

As for me, I was a bit taken aback by the contents of his letter. He'd sent me at least six typed pages, single-spaced, telling me who he was, where he lived, what comics he liked and how much he liked comics. Through the years, I've reflected on John's letter - the first of hundreds of sealed missives and countless e-mail messages - wondering, at times, why I bothered to respond. I'd never been much of a letter writer, at least, not to strangers. I learned later that John himself had kept multiple correspondences going, as if letter-writing was his mission in life. That wasn't me.

But comic books, ah, those were very much me! In this high school teacher from Columbus, I too found a kindred spirit. There's somebody else out there like me! So, with a mixture of loneliness, curiosity, and yearning, I sat down at the ol' Smith-Corona and wrote him back. Afterwards, I had the opportunity to widen my circle of pen pals, but I never did. John's was the only letter from another fan that I acknowledged, the only person with whom I've maintained a regular correspondence. We've kept it going for twenty five years, so far!

Later that year, on our way to see family for Christmas, we visited briefly with John and his wife Karen. Within a couple years, we moved from Illinois to northeastern Ohio. John was able to stay with us while in the area on business. Even after we moved as far away as northwestern Pennsylvania, we still managed to see each other a couple times a year. Late in 2006, the Robinsons moved to Xenia, Ohio, about an hour from the Pierces. That's the closest we've ever been to each other, geographically speaking. Even though we enjoy each other's company, however, we're never closer than when we're writing each other. We're both enamored with the Word.

Like me, John grew up in a rural area and took to comic books early on. Like me, Superman was a clear favorite of his. Unlike me and a lot of other Baby Boomers, however, John's first encounter with the Man of Steel wasn't via television. No, he first read the comics. Though he liked the Archie Adventure line and Charlton's Captain Atom, his favorites were always DC. As John grew older, he got interested in the books edited by Julius Schwartz. In the early sixties, he began corresponding with Schwartz.

It wasn't until the late sixties-early seventies, however, that John discovered his ideal super-hero, the Big Red Cheese himself, the original Captain Marvel. He began collecting Fawcett comics, particularly the Marvel Family. When DC revived CM in the early seventies, John contacted Cap's co-creator, C.C. Beck, and the two wrote each other for many years. John wrote a lengthy retrospective of his career for the Comics Buyer's Guide when Beck passed away in 1989. For a while, John published a fanzine called Whiz Kids that celebrated the Fawcett line.

After we became friends, I once called John up for something. When he answered, I asked, "Is this the Big Red Cheese?" He replied, "Yes. Is this the Man of Steel?" Having established our respective personas on the phone, we've resorted to ever more ambitious (not to say, ridiculous) queries, e.g., "Have I reached the fabulous lair of Captain John Gee, I Wish I Could Do the Things He Does?" or "Is this the secret stronghold of Captain Power Puff and His Dazzling Drama Queens?"

Yeah, it's silly. In our defense, I must add that the silliness is mitigated from time to time by asinine fatuity.

John's a prolific writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications. As he says, writing is almost as natural to him as breathing. Not only did that affinity lead to a great correspondence between us, it paved the way to our great collaboration: Jonni Star!

Late in 1984, John sent me the outline of a story featuring a character he'd created. My job was to turn the plot into a script. The story featured a teenager named Johnna Sims. As John envisioned her, Johnna's an ordinary high schooler who lives with her single mom and three sisters. Not particularly pretty, smart, or athletic, she's waiting for a dramatic change in her life. That change comes in the form of a strange crystal she finds in the backyard. The crystal not only transforms her appearance but gives her super-powers as well. Now, as Johnna puts it, "Why be fourth place pimple-face Johnna Sims when I can be...JONNI STAR!"

It was your standard origin tale, sketching the heroine's family and featuring the obligatory first-tryout-of-powers sequence. But working on my first actual comics script was a big thrill. I had a ball fleshing out John's plot with panel-descriptions and dialogue. Waiting in the wings was the man John had enlisted to draw the feature, Brazilian artist Emir Ribeiro.

While it took us a while to think her up, write her out, and draw her down, it didn't take all that long to get Jonni in print. Just thirteen years. For me, that was two states, three towns, and four houses later. I'll let John tell the story in his own words:

"I began submitting the feature to various comics publishers. No one was interested. The kindest words I received were from David Campiti, then publisher of Innovation, who said, 'Thirty years ago the strip would've passed muster.' As a dedicated fan of Golden and Silver Age comics, I consider that to be high praise, indeed! ...Enter fellow Alpha-Omega [the amateur press association John's a member of] member Ken Leach, with his plans for a new small-press comic, and his solicitation for features. I jumped at the chance, got into contact with Ken, and found him to be quite agreeable to providing a home for our girl Jonni."

Ours was the back-up story in Ken's PEACEMAKERS comic, dated Spring, 1997. It had been a long wait for us all, but longer for John. He'd dreamed Jonni up in the sixties. He'd written prose stories about her in the seventies. There's an old saying, "Hunger is the best sauce." For her creator, Jonni Star's first comics appearance was a tasty treat indeed. I kinda liked being at the table myself.

Still, in the years since her origin story was written, we hadn't been idle, just waiting for somebody to steal Johnna's last name, Sims, and turn it into a life simulation franchise. No, John and I collaborated on another script featuring the character. Then we took turns writing solo. In the second tale, art imitated life. Loosely based on the area and high school where John taught, his story involved a killer horse and a famous trainer. The painting depicted in the story (penciled by Don Ensign) really hangs in the lobby of Groveport-Madison High School. In the climax of the third adventure, Johnna prepares to save a falling plane. The tension rises as her youngest sister fights her for possession of the star crystal. The title of the story? What else could an old Adventures of Superman fan call it but "Panic In The Sky!" (John chimed in with his own AoS-honoring title, "The Magic Necklace.")

Thankfully, we didn't have to wait as long for the second appearance of John's heroine in print - just another decade. This time, however, the title on the cover was JONNI STAR. And a very nice cover it was, too, drawn by Brian Buniak of Thunderbunny fame. How wonderful to be a published comics author! There's financial security too, you know. Yes, at this rate, I'll easily be drawing Social Security by the time the fourth issue sees print!

John, who, as mentioned above, loves Golden and Silver Age comics, has set the pace for the run. Though we've left a few plot threads dangling, the stories are basically stand-alone, read-em-and-get-on-with-your-life stuff. I'm quite content with that style. If it's too simple for modern sensibilities, well, okay, call me a simpleton. If it won't "pass muster," go ahead and muster me out of the regular army. I think my friend John will agree.

We don't see eye-to-eye on everything nor are our tastes identical. There are times, in fact, when he seems less my alter-ego than my anti-self! But I've never known a more amiable companion, a more generous giver, or a more sympathetic listener. This man knows things about me that nobody else knows. This man has more than once pulled me from the pit of despair. I hope he can say the same about me.

We sometimes use a word to describe God's ordering of all life for good. When I think of the good that has come into my life through John Pierce, I feel the weight of that word: providential. My chances of finding another like him on earth seem less likely than my finding a crystal glowing with the power of the stars in my backyard. He is indeed a rare find, a true best friend.

Don't miss the next thrill-packed episode: Brushes With Celebrity.

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