Another year, another Superman Day, another Superman Day Special!

This year I decided to finally pull the trigger on an idea I've had for some time now and even planned to do last year but since I tend to be a work sky fop I never got around to it.

It happens. A lot. I'm working on it.

Anyway, Superman has had a number of series over the years. Because of that he has had a lot of number one issues. I thought it would be fun to look through the ones for his various ongoing series and talk about them a bit and here we are. I start all the way back with Action Comics #1 from 1938 and continue to Superman #1 from 1939, Superman #1 from 1986, Superman: The Man of Steel #1 from 1991, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #1 from 1995, Superman: Confidential #1 from 2006, Action Comics #1 from 2011, Superman #1 from 2011, Superman #1 from 2016, Superman #1 from 2018, Superman #1 from 2023, and Superman Unlimited #1 from 2025.

I have never typed "Superman #1" so many times in a row in my entire life.

Over the course of an hour and forty-eight minutes I talk about why editor Vin Sullivan chose Superman for the first issue of Action Comics, why the first Superman #1 was historic, how my feelings on the 1986 issue one have changed over the years, why Superman: The Man of Steel #1 is so special to me, why I was so excited for Superman: Confidential when it came out, some thoughts on Superman in the new 52, why Superman Unlimited #1 was the perfect book for a new Superman fan, and more!

I hope everyone has a great Superman Day. See you in June for the other Superman Day.

Well, I'll see you before that but still.

Feedback for the show can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Audible. This show is part of The Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network, which is on Patreon. This is a tip jar as I have no time for extra content at the moment, but if you like content I produce please consider contributing a dollar a month if you can.

The opening and closing theme is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound.

Next time: The final chapter of Moving Kryptonian Images! Not only do I go over all of the feedback I've gotten during this series, but I also rank the various Superman films!

Moving Kryptonian Images reaches its penultimate chapter...finally.

Yes. I know. It's been a minute. I feel a bit bad about that, but life got weird towards the end of last year.

Anyway, I finally get to the film that inspired this series in the first place. Superman, written and directed by James Gunn and starring David Corenswet as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, came out last July and, by just about every metric, was a success. In terms of meeting box office expectations (despite what some people have tried to say) to bringing in new Superman fans to giving the world a Superman film that appeals to the widest possible audience, this new version of the Man of Steel did everything it needed to do and there is a lot to say about it.

Joining me to do that is Michael French, one of the founders of Retroblasting, the premier video channel specializing in humorous analysis and deconstruction of 1980s vintage toys and classic cartoons. Michael and I cover this film from stem to stern. From how the movie dealt with Superman to the lack of Clark Kent to why this was one of the best Lois Lanes we have ever gotten to the pros and cons of this version of Lex Luthor. We also go into how the Kents were portrayed, the role the other heroes played in the film, why Jimmy's hijinks took us out of the film occasionally, the costume, the comic book influences, and the one real issue I had with Krypto.

And yes, we do go into the "controversy" about Jor-El and Lara. Because we had to. The Internet wouldn't allow us to do otherwise.

I'd like to thank Michael for joining me for this episode. If you haven't already, check out his YouTube channel Retroblasting, which has some of the most fun and objective looks at classic lines you will find on the Internet.

Feedback for the show can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Audible. This show is part of The Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network, which is on Patreon. This is a tip jar as I have no time for extra content at the moment, but if you like content I produce please consider contributing a dollar a month if you can.

The opening and closing theme is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound.

Next time: The final chapter of Moving Kryptonian Images! Not only do I go over all of the feedback I've gotten during this series, but I also rank the various Superman films!

This time out I finish my look at Superman: Birthright by having a conversation with the man who wrote it!

That's right, I got the chance to sit down (so to speak) with Mark to talk about Birthright. We talked about other things as well, but most of the conversation was about that series. We go over why DC wanted a new origin in 2003, why Mark kept the Kents alive despite his personal feelings on their deaths in previous versions of the origin, why Clark and Lex were friends during their time in Smallville, the "controversy" over making Clark a vegetarian, his take on Lois Lane, and what it was like seeing parts of this series end up in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel. You'll also get to hear the sad story of what happened to his first comic book collection, which of his stories he might want to see adapted into audio form, and which friend, Jimmy Olsen or Pete Ross, is the better friend to Clark.

I'd once again like to thank Mark for agreeing to be on the show and being so generous with his time.

Feedback for the show can be sent to itallcomesbacktosuperman@gmail.com. You can subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Audible. This show is part of The Fortress of Baileytude Podcasting Network, which is on Patreon. This is a tip jar as I have no time for extra content at the moment, but if you like content I produce please consider contributing a dollar a month if you can.

The opening and closing theme is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound.

Next time: If I can find the time this week I might have a fun episode dropping this weekend. If not, you'll hear the penultimate installment of Moving Kryptonian Images!