2003 Merchandise & Miscellaneous News Archives

Steven Younis

August 27, 2003: Steve Younis in “Superman: Metropolis #7”?

Neal Bailey, comic book reviewer for the Superman Homepage, while reading through "Superman: Metropolis #7" for his review, came across page 2 of the comic and did a double-take...

Smack-bang in the middle of the page, above Jimmy Olsen's head, is a framed award... apparently a Baldy Award. And the recipient of the award? Well, Neal tells me he had to look and look again, but the name on the award appears to be your's truly.... STEVEN YOUNIS.

I haven't been able to get to my local comic shop to buy this issue yet, but the scan Neal emailed to me (shown right) is fairly clear...

For those of you wondering what a Baldy Award is, it goes back to the days when DC Comics used to print fan letters on the back page of the Superman comics. In the old letters page of each Superman comic, the editor sometimes bestowed a Baldy award to the best printed letter. An actual award was mailed to recipients, and in a few cases the editors mentioned what the prize was (e.g., platinum-edition Superman #75). Even aside from the physical prize, receipt of a Baldy was a great honor to Superman fans.

Steven Younis Superman fan Doug Shaw received a Baldy in 1990. He told the Superman Homepage that the actual award was a personalized postcard signed by Lex Luthor. In 1994, editor Mike Carlin sent the original author of the Superman FAQ (David Chappell) "an honorary Baldy for keeping such complete tabs on us!" David's award was also a personalized postcard.

DC has explained that, in the comic-book world, the Baldy is a special award established by Lex Luthor for journalistic achievement in Metropolis. The official name for the award is the Zenith Award for Excellence in Journalism, and Metropolis journalists provided the nickname (Action Comics #693, November 1993).

I don't know yet who is responsible for putting this in there, but thanks anyway to writer Chuck Austen, artist Teddy Kristiansen, and editor Eddie Berganza. I'm honored. :)



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