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Who is Superman?

First, let’s look at the history of Superman. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, their original idea for Superman was a villain in a 1933 short story. In the story, “The Reign of the Superman”, a man gains telepathic powers which he uses for evil and attempts to take over the world. It turns out the powers are temporary, and the man is left as another anonymous citizen. Siegel and Shuster would eventually reimagine the character of Superman as a hero, and over the course of the next five years, they would create the legend introduced in Action Comics #1.

Superman’s comic book origins have been reworked and reimagined in many ways, but certain aspects have remained consistent. Grant Morrison successfully summarized the key elements of his origin of 2006′s All Star Superman. Superman is born on the distant planet of Krypton. His father Jor-El sends baby Kal-El to Earth on a rocket to save him from the destruction of Krypton. Upon crashing in Kansas, baby Kal-El is found and adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent. The Kents give him the name, Clark Kent. This is where comic book history diverges. Superman has his powers upon arriving on Earth, or he develops them in adolescence. Sometimes, he performs heroism in his youth as Superboy. Other times, he first uses his powers for heroism in adulthood. The Kents have seen Clark grow into adulthood, and the Kents have also passed away in Clark’s youth.

Superman’s power have also evolved over the years. Originally, his powers were limited to speed, strength, a super leap, and super-dense skin. Eventually, the super leap was changed to flight which also eventually led to space-flight. He would also eventually develop powers such as x-ray vision, heat vision, and super breath. The source of his powers also changed from his evolved Kryptonian heritage to the absorption of yellow solar radiation.

Superman maintains a fairly consistent moral code, but his methods have evolved. Early on, he displayed a wanton disregard for human life. Times would evolve and eventually, Superman held to a strict vow never to kill: a vow often threatened by various villains, who also help to define Superman’s mythic status.

The People Make the Man

Just as Batman is often defined by his villains, Superman is similarly defined by family, friends, and enemies alike. Superman’s morality and personality have largely remained constant. Most of his major supporting characters reinforce who Superman is as a character.

Lex Luthor

The most famous villain in Superman’s lore, he is most intently portrayed as Superman’s polar opposite. Where Superman is an otherworldly powerhouse, Luthor is a man of intellect. While originally envisioned as a simple mad scientist, Luthor’s pathos would eventually develop into a combination of xenophobia and jealousy. Where Superman represents the ultimate immigrant, Luthor detests the idea that a being from another world could provide any solution to the world’s problem. Luthor remains envious of Superman’s notoriety where he feels he could have provided his own solutions to the world’s problems.

Brainiac

If Superman represents the true potential of the immigrant, Brainiac represents the actualization of all of our potential fears of “the other”. There have been many versions of Brainiac, but consistently, he is alien in nature.

Zod

The thing you need to know about General Zod is that he is also a Kryptonian who was banished to the Phantom Zone by Superman’s father, Jor-El. He represents the potential for corruption. Zod has known the feeling of control as a General in the Kryptonian military. Whenever he escapes the Phantom Zone, he then gains the power of Superman. Zod is simply Superman without morality.

Ma and Pa Kent

Whether they are alive or dead, Ma and Pa Kent are the driving force of humanizing Superman. Siegel must have sided with nurture in the nature/nurture debate because Superman’s morality and personality are based solely on the Kents lessons through childhood.

Batman

In the Dark Knight trilogy, Nolan looked deeply at the legend of the Batman. Nolan understood that Batman’s strongest weapon is in fact his ability to inspire fear. If Batman is the Dark Knight hiding in the shadows, Superman is the shining hero in the day. And where Batman inspires fear, Superman inspires hope.

So do we need him?

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August 11, 2013… the beginning of the end.

Re-caps available. Click Breaking Bad on the left.

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Game of Thrones Rains of Castamere reactions

If you’re feeling the same as these folks, here’s an assuring word from Danny:

So #RedWedding happened last night on #GameofThrones, but for everyone that's sad know that it's going to get better and so much worse.—
Danilo Pangilinan (@ChanpuruDragon) June 03, 2013

Looking forward to the 2-hour season finale next Sunday!

For you regular readers you know the plot from my previous post, and you also know how excited I am. This excerpt is basically a first chapter of the book and gives us an idea of who the narrator is as well as a better feel for the three Hemstock women.

I am totally against spoilers, but if you are unable to get your hands on the excerpt I have made a vague list with a bit about the book, which I would like to call:

Three not so spoiler-y spoilers:

1.  The narrator is a bit of a loner, only spending time with his books and his kitten.
2.  The Hemstocks are possibly clairvoyant.
3. There is a body found.

The narrator may be a child, but that does not stop this from being a novel for adults. I have been torturing myself with the reviews on Goodreads and so many of the ARC (Advanced Reader Copy)  readers have said the book is scary. Perhaps, my favorite review, contained this line:

Once again, Neil does what he does so well: he takes us by the hand and introduces us to a dark, tangled corner of the universe full of things that make us shiver and hold our breath in the dark.

Okay my countdown to June 18th continues!

On a related note I am almost done with the newest installment of Gaiman’s Sci-Fi series Interworld which he co-wrote with  Michael Reaves and Mallory Reaves. I will have a review for you soon.

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I just wanted to drop some knowledge and  share a video that I enjoyed. If you listen to our podcast you hear the guys talking about Kickstarter quite a bit. I keep reading about these discussions all over the net, is Kickstarter being exploited by celebrities? Is Kickstarter moving away from their original platform? Are people taking advantage of it?

Kickstarter is one of the sites that is using crowd funding for community projects. Crowd funding is basically a way for people to pool their funds and support efforts by other people. This can be funding for artists, small businesses, disaster relief, inventions, research, and civic projects.

Lately there have been a lot of debates over which projects should be allowed to benefit from this type of funding. Motion picture funding has been the topic of many of these debates as movies with star power have options for funding through major movie studios. The debates started with the Veronica Mars movie and have been growing more heated with Zach Braff’s campaign to help fund his next movie: I Wish I Was Here. Cutting the studios out of the funding and letting the fans back a project helps to give more creative control to the writers. In Braff’s case it will allow him to have complete control over the story and the final cut, as explained in his pitch video.

The internet has so many communities that it makes sense that projects and innovations would become a part of that. Sites like Kickstarter are creative ways to support one another and in my humble opinion I think it’s a great idea.

I have decided to throw some money into I Wish I Was Here mainly because I loved the Garden State Soundtrack and with a $20 contribution I will receive multiple playlists from Zach Braff as well as a preview of the official soundtrack. To me $20 is worth it to have access to playlists of music I like and recommendations to bands I may not know about. Kickstarter is one of the more popular sites right now because they offer the backer rewards. This gives investors an incentive for investing money into a project. Braff gets $20 closer to his goal and I get a glimpse into his iPod; Win-Win. Some may not agree, but there are other projects out there that a $1 – $20 contribution would be worth. I found this interview that explains crowd funding and gives the film makers point of view on this debate. After the video I have some information on Kiva.org and my experiences with micro-loans for those who are interested.

I have recently started going more in-depth and searching the Kickstarter site. I have watched many pitches and seen all sorts of ideas come to life. I am currently looking at backing a new key chain idea and a small company that wants to distribute concert wrist bands with quotes. These are things that may not change the world, but as a backer I would receive a sample of their product as well as the satisfaction that I am helping someone get their start. These are products that I would consider purchasing in a store and why not support local business owners in a convenient way?

There are sites that concentrate on specific projects for example, PledgeMusic. This site simplifies the process of getting your music out there. “PledgeMusic is a way for you to help your favourite artists make and release their records. It helps artists and bands design a tailored fundraising campaign to raise money for their next release. As a pledger, you will gain access to exclusive content and experiences, available only through PledgeMusic.” This site is interesting because you will see bands that have been represented by major labels being featured with bands who have their entire fan base online. It is a great way to support bands and secure that precious advanced copy you have been dreaming of.

If you want something a little more charitable, then maybe check out another site like Kiva.org. They supply micro-loans to people all over the world to help start businesses or pay for supplies to help them through tough times. For just $25 you can lend a financial hand and these people work hard to get your money back. You have the choice at that time to keep it or lend to someone else. For the price of a movie night you could change a person’s life. All from the comfort of your home.

I first learned about micro-loans through an english class I took a few years back. The teacher was taking donations for women in India who wanted to start a small business. We donated what we could, and we got to see the good that came from a few bucks in our pockets. $100 and this group of women was able to support themselves and their children. They started a business making clothes and selling them locally. This gave many of the women the financial means to leave abusive environments and the freedom to live their lives. This is only a sliver of what I learned during that class, but it has really changed my way of thinking. That micro-loan gave that group of women a business, whereas a donation may have only given them a few meals.

Please take advantage of the links throughout the article and see what the community is up to. If you are thinking of finding funding for a project of your own and need some direction as to which site is best for you check this out. Hope you enjoyed this. Leave us some feedback. Have you contributed to any crowd funded projects? If so which ones? Or perhaps you have a project out there, send us a link in the comments section.

I did not need to check the dust cover to know this was the plot of the newest Neil Gaiman book. Gaiman has a distinct writing style that invites the reader into a world that is full of adventure and memorable characters. His writing style is unique because he can take fantastical elements and integrate them into reality in a plausible way. The Ocean at the End of the Lane feels like it will have a solid adventure and the plot already gives us insight to three interesting women.

Gaiman has said that this was a story he hadn’t even meant to write as a novel. It evolved from a short story to a novella then finally his first adult novel since Anansi Boys. He feels that this is something different than anything he has ever written, and this gave him a bit of anxiety. However, with a little help from some lucky advanced readers he was confident enough to release it and now us mere mortals are counting down till we have the same privilege. Be ready to pick up your copy on June 18th this summer.

“I’m so proud of it and hope you will give it a chance, Thank You.”

- Neil Gaiman