superman.nuMary Immaculate of Lourdes NewtonLois & Clark: The Ghost of Superman FutureHolliston School Committeefacebook    
  •   forum   •   COUNTDOWN TO MIRACLE MONDAY: "IT'S REAL!" •   fortress   •  
Superman Through the Ages! Forum
News: Superman Through the Ages! now located at theAges.superman.nu
 
*
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
March 28, 2024, 09:10:19 AM


Login with username, password and session length


Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 [7] 8 9 10   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: The Superman Multiverse  (Read 44715 times)
0 Members and 3 Guests are viewing this topic.
India Ink
Superman Squad
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 547


« Reply #48 on: January 23, 2004, 08:08:23 PM »

For me too, in essence, they're all the same Superman (and all the same Batman).

In the sixties, the comics seemed to negotiate between the Scylla and the Charybdis of the mutliverse and the one universe.

Most of the time, one assumed that we were in a strict universe where the character was totally set in a distinct continuity--but other times we understood that we had shifted context to this multiverse.  And the editors did a good job of signalling this to us, without resorting to drawn out explanations about why this was so.

I grant that Bugs Bunny was always in it for the laugh, but I don't see that much difference between Bugs and the old Supes (Supes wasn't usually in it for the laugh, but he would go for the grand spectacle).

"What's Opera Doc," however, isn't just a yuk-yuk cartoon.  I could watch and have watched that episode again and again and never entirely explore all its depths.  This is Bugs, but it isn't Bugs.  Bugs is a contemporary bunny in a world of skyscrapers, jackhammers, and rocket launch pads, yet here he is in an ancient mythic Teutonic setting.  How does this happen?  Some Bugs cartoons tell us that he's an actor for the Warner Brothers studios, and he and his repertory company put on these shows for the viewer--so are these episodes staged events or are they real--or is the idea of Bugs as actor itself a conceit?

It's fun to think about these things--even if I often was driven nearly mad by thinking about them when I was a kid--but I'm glad WB never made it clear what was supposed to be "real" and what wasn't.  I was left to compartmentalize these different types of Bugs cartoons, and I could accept all of them as being equally important to the "continuity" of the character.

I grant that Superman isn't usually played this way.  But I admit I sometimes wish he was.  I think that's what Schwartz was trying to go for in the Action Comics just before Crisis--especially stories like where Supes met "Asterisk" (or a version of the same).
Logged

India Ink
Aldous
Superman Squad
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 843


Downunder


« Reply #49 on: January 24, 2004, 05:07:49 AM »

I wondered about your previous "opera" comment, India, and now I know what you meant.

Quote
India Ink:

Some Bugs cartoons tell us that he's an actor for the Warner Brothers studios, and he and his repertory company put on these shows for the viewer....


I love this angle on Bugs. But it's not unique to Warner Brothers. This was also (sometimes) Mickey's angle, if I remember rightly.

Mickey's "adventures" were not consistent with any particular continuity. He was an "actor" for Disney. One storyline could see him as the captain of a boat, the next as a crusading newspaper editor, in yet another as the civilian assistant and investigative drive behind O'Hara, Chief of Police. In some adventures he was a daring aeroplane pilot...

Even Goofy was an actor, really. I have a healthy collection of SUPER GOOF, a real childhood favourite of mine -- yet, when convenient, in many stories Goofy was just plain ol' Goofy.

Quote
India Ink:

It's fun to think about these things--even if I often was driven nearly mad by thinking about them when I was a kid--but I'm glad WB never made it clear what was supposed to be "real" and what wasn't. I was left to compartmentalize these different types of Bugs cartoons, and I could accept all of them as being equally important to the "continuity" of the character.


I couldn't agree more!

Now, Superman isn't a Warner Brothers cartoon ( :shock: waitaminute!), but of all the super heroes, he more than any other lends himself to a little flexibility when it comes to "continuity". He is the first, the best, the longest-lived, the most famous, and the archetype for the whole super hero bunch. Think of all the eras in which he has been top dog. Part of his success is his flexibility. And this also requires a little flexibility from his readers.
Logged
Super Monkey
Super
League of Supermen
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 3435



WWW
« Reply #50 on: January 25, 2004, 06:01:45 AM »

Have you guys seen this website?

http://www.geocities.com/the5earths/home.htm

Quote
At the end of the Crisis on Infinite Earths the last remaining Earths were merged into one and became the present-day DC Comics Universe. However...
...what if...

...the five surviving Earths no longer remained merged at the end of the Crisis but continued on, independent of each other?

What would they be like...?

Welcome to The Five Earths Project



Also more Earth-2 Superman Fun :

http://westwood.fortunecity.com/mcqueen/309/the_superman_of_earth-2_tribute.html


Earth-3 evil delights :

http://m.homestead.com/csa.html

http://blaklion.best.vwh.net/timeline3.html
Logged

"I loved Super-Monkey; always wanted to do something with him but it never happened."
- Elliot S! Maggin
TriSaber
Superman Emergency Squad
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 97



« Reply #51 on: January 26, 2004, 02:34:23 PM »

Those sites are great ... especially the one about the Crime Syndicate of America (including Supes' evil counterpart Ultraman).

Here's the latest offering. In his secret identity as mild-mannered Clark Kent, he's an ace reporter for Perry White and the Daily Planet, and the main anchorman for Morgan Edge's WGBS Television News. But he also battles evil all over the world ... and beyond ... as the Silver Age Superman.

In this piece, I tried to go for more of a Curt Swan look, since he's the artist who's most associated with Superman's Silver Age run (just as I based my Golden Age Superman on Wayne Boring's style).

Logged

Saving the world ... one pixel at a time.
Proud member of StrikeForce Superman.
TriSaber
Superman Emergency Squad
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 97



« Reply #52 on: January 31, 2004, 12:35:09 PM »

Here's the first part of my little tutorial on how I create my illustrations. Since I wasn't really 100% happy with my first Silver Age Superman pic, I think redoing SA Supes would provide the perfect opportunity to kick off the lesson. First of all, I sketch each one individually in pencil on my handy-dandy sketch pad. I've always done this with my illustrations ... otherwise I feel I don't get the proportions or the look that I want. Plus, I'm a traditionalist and I'll never abandon manual illustration.



Next: Inking
Logged

Saving the world ... one pixel at a time.
Proud member of StrikeForce Superman.
nightwing
Defender of Kandor
Council of Wisdom
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 1627


Semper Vigilans


WWW
« Reply #53 on: January 31, 2004, 02:10:43 PM »

Stop right there! And mail me this sketch.  It's perfect already!

 :love:
Logged

This looks like a job for...
TriSaber
Superman Emergency Squad
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 97



« Reply #54 on: January 31, 2004, 11:17:20 PM »

Quote from: "nightwing"
Stop right there! And mail me this sketch.  It's perfect already!

 :love:
Hold on ... I'm not exactly sure about this ... but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess ... you like it.  :lol:

But seriously, I'm glad you do. Stay tuned to see how it develops.  :wink:
Logged

Saving the world ... one pixel at a time.
Proud member of StrikeForce Superman.
TriSaber
Superman Emergency Squad
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 97



« Reply #55 on: January 31, 2004, 11:25:49 PM »

Once the pencil sketch is complete, I scan the drawing into a vector-based drawing program like CorelDRAW or Adobe Illustrator (my personal preference is CorelDRAW). I then use the path tool (called a Beizer Tool in CorelDRAW) to digitally ink over the pencil sketch and fix certain miniscule imperfections in the sketch that I deem worthy of repair ... like maybe I might not like the size of his hands, his head, or his emblem. Or maybe I might want to add or eliminate a few lines as I see fit. The advantage of doing this in a program like CorelDRAW or Illustrator is that in a vector-based drawing one can reduce or enlarge a drawing or parts thereof without losing any resolution whatsoever. It also allows the line work to be crisp and clear (if you're wondering why the emblem is black, that'll be made clear in the next installment).

For the record, Coreldraw defines a vector graphic as an image generated from mathematical descriptions that determine the position, length, and direction in which lines are drawn. Vector graphics are created as collections of lines rather than as patterns of individual dots or pixels.



Next: Applying Base Colours
Logged

Saving the world ... one pixel at a time.
Proud member of StrikeForce Superman.
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 [7] 8 9 10   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

CURRENT FORUM

Archives: OLD FORUM  -  DCMB  -  KAL-L
Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines

Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS! Dilber MC Theme by HarzeM
Entrance ·  Origin ·  K-Metal ·  The Living Legend ·  About the Comics ·  Novels ·  Encyclopaedia ·  The Screen ·  Costumes ·  Read Comics Online ·  Trophy Room ·  Creators ·  ES!M ·  Fans ·  Multimedia ·  Community ·  Supply Depot ·  Gift Shop ·  Guest Book ·  Contact & Credits ·  Links ·  Coming Attractions ·  Free E-mail ·  Forum

Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
The LIVING LEGENDS of SUPERMAN! Adventures of Superman Volume 1!
Return to SUPERMAN THROUGH THE AGES!
The Complete Supply Depot for all your Superman needs!