For the past two years, while researching Jerry Siegel’s life for my new novel, I asked my friend Mike San Giacomo to take me to the actual house in Cleveland where Superman was created. I wanted to see the exact spot where young Jerry Siegel sat in his bed on that rainy summer night…where a seventeen(!) year old kid stared at his bedroom ceiling and gave birth to the idea of Superman.
And so we went.
But the one thing I quickly realized was that this house was in…well…it was in bad shape.
The house where Google was created is saved. The farm where Hewlett Packard was founded is preserved. And Richard Nixon’s house is a museum. But the house where Superman — one of the world’s most recognized heroes — was created? It’s a wreck. It’s actually a great old house — painted bright red and blue (really) — and owned by one of the kindest elderly couples in the world. But as the neighborhood sank, so did the house. When you walk inside, you feel like your foot might go through the floor. The roof is flawed. The paint is a mess. When you look up at the ceiling, you see the exposed rafters overhead. It’s a mess. Worst of all, the city of Cleveland let it happen. As the owner told me, “They won’t even give us a plaque. Not even a plaque to say, ‘This is where Superman was created.’”
Exactly.
Just heartbreaking.
And that’s why Mike and I started calling our friends. He called the city of Glenville. I called my fellow comic book writers and artists. Then I called Jerry Siegel’s wife and daughter, Joanne and Laura, who came on as our honorary chairpeople. One thing became clear: if we don’t save this place soon, the house will soon go the way of Superman artist Joe Shuster’s, which was torn down.
Soon after, thanks to the hard work of many, The Siegel & Shuster Society was born.
With a name like that, peole keep asking me, “Is that the secret superhero clubhouse?” You better believe it’s the secret superhero clubhouse.
And this charitable 501(c)(3) is dedicated to making sure the Siegel House will be saved, and restored, and there so you can take your kids one day.
Will we succeed? That depends on you. Really. You. If we want to repair the exterior, and fix the roof, and clear out the rotted wood, we have to raise the cash. Cleveland won’t pay. The big corporations won’t pay. They’re the ones who ignored it. But like the site says, I believe ordinary people change the world. I believe that we — the true fans — can do what Cleveland and everyone else couldn’t.
There’s a ton of awesome stuff up for auction, from exclusive artwork pages to being a character in a future story by the likes of Ed Brubaker and a host of others. Lets save Superman’s house.
Babylon A.D. hits theaters on August 29 and of all people that should be happy about it, the director, isn’t. AMC has posted an interview with French director Mathieu Kassovitz, who expressed his dissent over the finished product.
“I’m very unhappy with the film,” Kassovitz says. “I never had a chance to do one scene the way it was written or the way I wanted it to be. The script wasn’t respected. Bad producers, bad partners, it was a terrible experience.”
Kassovitz was attracted to the book Babylon Babies, by French author Maurice Georges Dantrec, because, “the author was very much into geopolitics and how the world is going to evolve. He saw that as wars evolve, it won’t be just about territories any more, but money-driven politics.” However, Kassovitz said the film strays from these messages.
“It’s pure violence and stupidity,” he admits. “The movie is supposed to teach us that the education of our children will mean the future of our planet. All the action scenes had a goal: They were supposed to be driven by either a metaphysical point of view or experience for the characters… instead parts of the movie are like a bad episode of 24.”
Kassovitz said that the studio made things more difficult for the production and that they cut about 15 minutes from the film, leaving just a 93-minute runtime. The director doesn’t despise his new film completely, though.
“I like the energy of it and I got some scenes I’m happy with,” he says. “But I know what I had — I had something much better in my hands but I just wasn’t allowed to work.”
-amc.com
My two cents:
These are the kind of stories that I always felt should happen more. When I make a movie and it turns out horrible, by no overt fault of my own, I’m going to blast anybody who screwed it up. I mean making movies is a very personal art, if done for the right reasons, and if it comes out to be crap then the director/writer/or whoever should be allowed to vent.The funny thing is that now I actually want to watch the movie…
I’m a SUPERMAN guy. Something about the character always resonated with me. Eventhough in real life I’m more BATMAN than I’d like to admit, in my heart I’ll always be SUPERMAN. By that I mean in my day to day life I’m pretty pragmatic and cynical about things and people, but I strive to be more like SUPERMAN with his everything’s going to be alright at the end of the day and that no one is beyond trust or compassion. So when SMALLVILLE started I was in at the word go, it was to be a melding of DAWSON’S CREEK(which I freaking went ga ga over in High school) and SUPERMAN. So I watched every episode up until about the third season, I stopped watching because they kept moving it around and it got lost in the shuffle of reordering what shows I really connected with and wanted to watch. Then all of a sudden I started to watch regularly during the sixth season when I found out that Lana Lang(Clark’s first love and all around beautiful lady) was married to LEX LUTHOR and I was hooked again. Then the seventh season started and Kara(SUPERGIRL) was introduced and I was loving it even more. Since coming back I’ve rewatched from where I stopped and have my own favorite episodes, characters, and seasons. So with the 8th season seemingly set up to be a bit more traditional with the introduction of CLARK finally working at the DAILY PLANET and DOOMSDAY(before he’s the monster) showing up the show is looking pretty stacked, I decided to rewatch season 7 and give my two cents.
so I’m going to recap the sixth season main points for those who’ve never watched(I’m looking at you JOE):
CLARK goes to the phantom zone and while breaking out he accidently lets loose some phantoms. He spends a large chunk of the season facing off against them.
LANA finds out that LEX has been doing some very creepy stuff, even causing her to believe she’s pregnant…douche.
CLARK has met GREEN ARROW and he’s put together the JUSTICE LEAGUE to stop LEX.
LANA has seemingly died in a car explosion and LEX has been captured by the police
LOIS is stabbed in the stomach and lies dying when CHLOE finds her and unknowingly uses her meteor ability to save her life and is rendered unconcious
the BIZARRO phantom copies CLARK’S abilities and likeness and the two begin to fight in a underground building, the fight actually causes the a dam to burst and floods everything surrounding the area including: LOIS, CHLOE, LEX, and LIONEL.
EPISODE 1-BIZARRO
During Clark’s battle with the last Phantom Zone wraith, Lex is rescued by a mysterious woman. Chloe is declared dead in the ER, while Lois goes to Lex’s manor to find out what experiments he was conducting at the dam.
This episode is by far one of my favorite premiere episodes to a season ever. It’s the first time CLARK really gets to let loose and show us the SUPERMAN inside. I mean he vaporizes a wall of water crashing onto a young son and father. Awesome start to the season.
CHARLES’ GRADE: A
EPISODE 2-KARA
Clark and Lois meet Smallville’s newest arrival face-to-face, and she has some surprising news. Clark decides to leave Smallville and continue with his superhero training but Jor-El informs him that a new Kryptonian menace has arisen.
Good stuff, always liked SUPERGIRL but this KARA is more like the comic version than I expected…good stuff. I think they showed the fact that KARA hasn’t aged since she left KRYPTON well, in the way they showed her interaction and resentment with CLARK.
CHARLES’ GRADE: B
EPISODE 3-FIERCE
Kara takes to life in Smallville by entering the Miss Sweet Corn Pageant as a contestant, overruling Clark’s objections. However, Lex takes an interest in her and three of the other contestants discover she has super-powers and decide to use her to steal a valuable time capsule.
I’m not opposed to seeing Laura Vanderrvort in a bikini…it’s spectacular actually, but this episode sucked. I did like LANA coming back, but with her coming back you get the sense that she’s changed.
CHARLES’ GRADE: D (only reason it’s not a F is because of the bikini and lana lang coming back)
EPISODE 4- CURE
Dr. Curtis Knox says he can “cure” someone from being a “meteor freak,” changing their lives. Chloe takes an interest in this, but Dr. Knox may have another secret. Meanwhile, Kara makes an alliance with Jimmy while Lana secretly watches Lex.
Um it was cool to see Dean Cain on SMALLVILLE, but this episode just wasn’t my cup of tea.
CHARLES’ GRADE: C+
EPISODE 5-ACTION
When a movie is shot in Smallville, Clark is forced to secretly use his powers to save someone from a runaway car… but somebody is looking and becomes Clark’s biggest fan. Meanwhile, Lionel’s fate is revealed.
Actually a good episode. This episode has my second favorite visual of the season, it made me smile when it happened.
CHARLES’ GRADE:B+
EPISODE 6-LARA
Kara goes to Washington to look for her missing crystal, but is captured after she breaks into the lab. She’s interrogated with a memory-revealing serum that has kryptonite in it, which makes her relive a trip to Earth from the past. In this past trip she followed Lara, Clark’s biological mother, to the Kents’ farm.
Good KARA centric episode. Not great, but good. And the chick who played SUPERGIRL in the movie is CLARK’s mom…genius casting for the old schoolers.
CHARLES’ GRADE: C+
EPISODE 7- WRATH
Lana absorbs Clark’s powers during a lightning storm, which she uses to break into Lex’s safe and steal some incriminating evidence. After being turned away by Grant at the Daily Planet, who won’t accept her stolen evidence, Lana goes after Lex herself. Clark tries to rescue Lex, but must first battle the super-powered Lana.
Really good episode. We once again get to see what having super powers would do to a normal person, but this time it’s the “perfect” Lana. Good natural humor between CHLOE and the super-boners. Also good LEX scene with CLARK…just good all around.
CHARLES’ GRADE: A
EPISODE 8-BLUE
Clark hears his mother’s voice trapped in Kara’s crystal, and releases her. She gives him Jor-El’s ring made of Blue Kryptonite, which strips him of his powers.
I liked that they played up the fact that CLARK’s greatest weakness(aside from Kryptonite) is his heart and the human emotions he’s been brought up with.
CHARLES’ GRADE: B-
EPISODE 9-GEMINI
A mysterious man who claims to be a product of Lex’s latest project plants a bomb on Chloe and uses her to force Lois to get the truth on 33.1 from Lex.
This episode puts the subplot of LEX and his cloned brother front and center. When I think about it this episode, if you pushed, could herald CONNER KENT’s arrival…we can only hope.
CHARLES’ GRADE: C+
EPISODE 10-PERSONA
Chloe begins to notice that Clark’s not acting like himself. Bizarro enlists the help of Brainiac.
I was blindsided by this episode because we find out that BIZARRO’s taken CLARK’s place since, I think, episode 8. Good stuff, plus BIZARRO’s back and that’s not good cause he’s killing people again. CLARK comes back and takes out BIZARRO once and for all, which makes things between LANA and him strange. And in a super evil moment LEX has his cloned baby brother killed after he starts talking to LIONEL…this is LEX LUTHOR for real.
CHARLES’ GRADE:A-
ending montage for episode 10…things are pretty dark this season.
EPISODE 11-SIREN
When Green Arrow’s band of heroes thwarts his efforts once too often, Lex employs a super-powered vigilante to take down the Emerald Archer.
Good episode, plus I love BLACK CANARY.
CHARLES’ GRADE:B+
EPISODE 12-FRACTURE
Lex tracks the amnesiac Kara to Detroit, where Lois follows him. An obsessive busboy infatuated with Kara shoots Lex, and Chloe has to determine whether to heal him or not.
Wow, how many times does LEX have to get shot to die…god. Plus all the stuff in LEX’s head were weird, and once again CLARK sees that a small part of LEX is still good and won’t give up on him.
CHARLES’ GRADE: D
EPISODE 13-HERO
Pete Ross returns to town and finds a number of surprising changes since his departure. Besides resolving his feelings toward Clark since he learned of his friend’s secret, Pete has to deal with the acquisition of a superpower of his own
I liked PETE ROSS coming back (he left in the 3rd season) and him unloading on CLARK like a best friend would. The orbit gum stuff was stupid…plus they just keep making LEX worse and worse and I love it.
CHARLES’ GRADE:B-
EPISODE 14- TRAVELER
Clark is kidnapped by a mysterious team of mercenaries, and when Chloe and Lana go to Lionel for help, he expresses his suspicions that Lex is responsible. Chloe and Lana then convince Kara to go with them to the Fortress to ask Jor-El to restore Kara’s memory because she’s the only person who can rescue Clark.
I hate this episode. I don’t understand why this episode even happened…I can’t imagine why they spent all this time building up LIONEL and then have him pull some stupid crap, but not really take responsibilty. Waste of space episode. Only good thing was KARA finally getting her memory back and saving CLARK.
CHARLES’ GRADE: F
EPISODE 15-VERITAS
Clark may have to learn a new superpower as he and Kara join forces to take on Brainiac, putting the lives of their friends in danger.
Umm, I’m not really into this new VERITAS subplot..but this episode shocked me when BRAINIAC infected LANA’s brain. Good stuff, and why does BRAINIAC want KARA?
CHARLES’ GRADE:B-
EPISODE 16- DESCENT
No one is safe when Lex seeks the secret of Veritas, and Clark tries to stop him.
This the episode where LEX totally goes to the dark side and commits. Last episode he had SWANN’s daughter killed, and he’s been having people killed all season because of his crazied search for answers…but this time he’s actually killed his own dad with his own hands. The final quiet scene between CLARK and LEX speaks volumes and it’s great.
CHARLES’ GRADE: B+
FINAL SCENE
EPISODE 17- SLEEPER
While Clark seeks out Brainiac to force him to fulfill his side of their bargain and restore Lana, Chloe and Jimmy go up against the government.
This is a JIMMY centic episode, but I didn’t really care. It was nice to see what lengths JIMMY would go to protect CHLOE, but this was kinda boring.
CHARLES’ GRADE: D
EPISODE 18- APOCALYPSE
When Clark wonders if the world would be better off if he never came to Smallville, Jor-El shows him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
Really good episode. This episode gives some iconic scenes to the fans… Clark holding LOIS, Clark dressing in a suit and glasses. Good stuff.
CHARLES’ GRADE: A
EPISODE 19- QUEST
After Lex is attacked by a mysterious stranger, he and Clark both discover the last surviving member of the Veritas group who holds the secret to controlling the Traveler.
Alright this Veritas stuff is starting to bore me and I have no idea what the hell is going on. Can we move one please?
CHARLES’ GRADE:C-
EPISODE 20- ARTIC
Lex goes to the Fortress to fulfill his destiny, while Lana awakens from her coma and Chloe is arrested by the government.
Alright this episode was pretty good, mostly because of the LANA and LEX stuff. But nothing really adds up anymore: since BRAINIAC is protraying KARA, where’s she at? How are they going to deal with LEX finding out CLARK’s secret? Man the season premiere could either be really good or extremely bad with the way this one ends.
CHARLES’ GRADE: B-
Overall season 7 was pretty good, although it did have a bunch of filler episodes and the veritas sub plot was kinda annoyning towards the end. I’m just wondering what they can do to fix all the dangling plot threads from the season finale, but Smallville’s shown that their first episode back usually can fix anything.
CHARLES’ SEASON GRADE: B-
PROS: Good Clark and Lois stuff, Kara was a good addition, finally Lex is totally unredeemable.
CONS: Veritas sub plot, some pretty awful episodes.
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