...and the American Way!

Happy pre-Fourth of July!



editor's note: I started gathering these images a while back, but our good friend Ransom beat me to the Independence Day Superman post. So, yeah, you're going to see some of these same images twice. That Ransom... sometimes he comes up with great ideas, too...

It will surprise many that I don't especially identify Superman with Mom, Baseball and Apple Pie. The comics and movies of Superman have long been intergalactic/ pan-dimensional in scope. So its hard to imagine a guy with an astronaut's view of Earth deciding borders mean a whole lot when push comes to shove.

But... Superman is often held up as a Red Blooded American. Heck, both George Reeves' and Christopher Reeve's portrayals of Superman made no bones about Truth, Justice and the American Way.

Superman, by the way, has a really great international fanbase. I'm always impressed how many folks from all over the world wind up on the Superman Homepage, on Superman facebook pages, etc... Perhaps Superman's global/ pan-galactic view of assisting all of humanity is a reflection of what a flag waving American can and should be. And, at the end of the day, when we're doing things right, its the best we can do when we do set foot on the soil of other lands. Heck, The Signal Watch's own KareBear is set for another trip to Kenya to help distribute glasses to our friends on the far side of Spaceship Earth. That sounds like something maybe we should consider being a good American.

So let's hope us Americans can be as awesome of an American as Superman. Or KareBear.

Now, let's have a look at Superman doing a bit of jingoistic flag waving.


From the upcoming run on Superman



Seriously. This weird dude punched Superman so hard he wound up back in 1776. And it was awesome.




This looks like the start of the world's nuttiest musical.


You likely don't look quite this awesome with a flag.


Well, Cap might look exactly that awesome with a flag.



Even eagles want to hang out when Superman gets patriotic



Truth, Justice... all that stuff.



That eagle is back...



This is the first Superman comic I recall ever buying.





The Justice Society knows how to have a Fourth of July party...


Now he's just showing off.


There was a time when it seemed perfectly reasonable that Superman would share his secret identity with the President.


Of course, Kennedy was hanging out with a lot of comic characters back in the day.


Just be glad that rocket landed in Kansas and not Mother Russia.

Short Break

I have some stuff that needs doing, and so will disappear from blogging for a short while.


for example, this bottle is not going to empty itself

A pre-programmed post or two will appear during this down time. Please amuse yourself in my absence.

I could look so sweet...

Sometimes Jamie says I have too many things with the Superman shield emblazoned upon them. What Jamie doesn't really know is what a small percentage of the stuff I could be picking up. Especially when it comes to apparel.

But then one ponders what designers seem to want to do with the Superman logo when they can apply it to "street" or "urban" wear. Sometimes jackets make Superman cry.

But maybe I'm wrong... maybe a jacket like this could really turn things around for me...

Happy Canada Day, Simon!

Yes, today marks the merging of the British colonies in 1867 to form the power we now know as CANADA!!! Happy Canada Day, ya'll!



Our own Signal Corps Captain, Simon, is a maple leaf loving son of a moose. He's nuts for hockey, is unfailingly polite, knows a whole lot about Terry Fox, and pays for everything in Loonies. He is distinctly Canadian.

So let's help him celebrate Canada Day with the finest things Canada has shared with their belligerent jerk neighbors to the south.





















































Before moving to Cleveland, Superman co-creator Joe Shuster was from Toronto, Ontario. That "American Way" bit was added 15-20 years after the character first appeared.

Real Life Catwoman Kind of Hilarious

Apparently there's a real life Catwoman running around New York. She's not exactly a criminal mastermind, but you have to appreciate her moxie. She walks into a store wearing a kitty mask, gives the clerk a note, they give her cash, she leaves.

Read here. But, mostly here.

Here's the video.



You kind of have to imagine how much having Batman around would escalate this whole situation. Here, the clerk is out $86. In Gotham, the windows would be smashed, the displays destroyed, and two bystanders somehow killed.

Batman is still kind of awesome, though.

What's Opera, Doc? - Live Action?

I consider it a great tragedy that Bugs Bunny is no longer part of the television landscape. Bugs represented the great tradition of the wiseacre, keenly aware of the absurdity of his own situation and the people/ water fowl who had created that situation, and who responded with intentional absurdity.



These kids today with their Pokemons and their Hannah Montanas... No love of mayhem in their funny business, and the subversion is mostly sly nods to the adults who might be watching. No appreciation for the well crafted gag, these kids.

Like everyone else born between, oh.... 1950 and 1985, my first exposure to opera came from Bugs Bunny. Primarily "What's Opera, Doc?" (the "I Killed the Wabbit" one), and the always classic "Rabbit of Seville".



Anyhow, I stumbled upon this live action take on "What's Opera, Doc?". It made me laugh.




The original, for comparison:

What's Opera Doc? | Viral/Other | SPIKE.com

Dang, man. That's a heck of a great cartoon.

Signal Watch Watching: Adventure Time

I am beginning to notice a curious thread when I discuss shows that I like, and that's "to describe the show would not do it justice, nor would it explain the appeal".

I've caught a few episodes of Cartoon Network's new show, Adventure Time, and it's a new favorite.



No, I do not know why Finn wears the hat with ears.

I'm going to do this, anyway...

The show is about a kid named Finn who lives in a sort of all-purpose fantasy land with fairies, dragons, robots, talking mountains, burly men, penguins, etc... He's partnered with a talking dog named Jake who seems to be able to change shape and stretch. The pair often have to deal with an Ice King who really, really likes kidnapping princesses.

But, none of that is what makes the show entertaining. It's sort of the utter disregard for a straight narrative in each 10 minute chunk, or even a straight line of thought.

Anyhow, recommended.

Happy Birthday, Mysterious M

For the wife of our own Randy, The Mysterious M: Happy Birthday. Today you are getting your favorite things.

Wonder Woman's (temporary) New Costume

This week Wonder Woman will launch a new storyline, and, frankly, I think it sounds kind of interesting. It's a sort of alternate timeline thing, so Diana is getting a different costume.

Anyway, I don't love the new costume. It's... kinda 90's-ish (a jacket with the sleeves rolled up?). But I am looking forward to the story.

If they were going to think of something to actually put Wonder Woman in something more substantial than the classic swimsuit, I would think something a bit more Greek Armor-ish. But, you know, from what they're saying about the story, this isn't totally crazy. I just like WW in something a little more classic. Gimme some red boots, people.

Read more here.

edit update: DC is blowing some smoke about how this change is permanent, but... we'll see. I still think this is story related, and they can change back when they want.

Back in the 1970's, DC dropped her usual outfit for an Emma Peel (of the Brit spy show, The Avengers) style approach. They also stripped away her powers and turned her into a master of karate.


In some ways, seeing Diana Prince shooting down Reds in an airplane with a machine gun is totally awesome

The stories are kind of interesting, but its just not Wonder Woman. And its considered one of DC's most obvious missteps as a company. And they got called out by Gloria Steinem, herself, for the change.


But beating up Lois Lane? Hilarious. Also, Superman is an insufferable jerk.

She's clearly got her powers and usual gadgets in the new design, which will keep some happy, but I'd expect this isn't the last word on the outfit. And certainly the new continuity introduced doesn't seem like a permanent change.

Light Blogging Ahead: Searchers/ Strange Brew

Scheduled to go see "The Searchers" Tuesday night at 7:00 and might do "Shane" afterward. Thursday I'm headed to The Alamo on South Lamar to go see "Strange Brew". That's right. You heard me.


take off, you hosers

So, anyway, you're welcome to join me at any of the above if you're around.

But I don't want to hear any noise about a lack of posting.