SUPER FAN XL POST - 40 years ago today was the debut of the Post-Crisis Batman in THE MAN OF STEEL #3! (Yes, this even precedes BATMAN: YEAR ONE.) Superman's first meeting with Batman casts them as antagonists turned uneasy allies. It was a fresh approach in 1986 superfanxl.com/2026/07/17/t...

It wasn't until YEARS after this issue came out that I understood that Jerry Ordway was homaging Jack Kirby's first issue of SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN

SO many thoughts about this George Lucas quote. I agree. The audience doesn’t always know what they want & when they think they do, their imagination is often limited to what they’ve already seen - especially in a franchise. You don’t want the biggest fan in charge, you want the best storyteller

Even if you have a 60” screen, as long as you are sitting the recommended distance from the screen it is impossible to read this text without pausing and getting off the couch

Okay, wild coincidence... the response from Mark Rosner that I mentioned at the start of this convo was EXACTLY four years ago today

The new collection is also somewhat thicker than the old one (right). Expect it to take up more space on the shelf. I just flipped through it, but there’s substantial more material in the MAKING OF volume. Also the main volume now includes THE HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE

Gonna show a quick comparison between the two editions. Images 1 & 3 are from the 2005 edition. 2 & 4 are the same pages in the new one. Night and day - more defined line work, finer detail and better coloring

Got the new CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS: ABSOLUTE EDITION. In general, I really hate the idea of double-dipping on an Absolute Edition, but the restoration work is undeniable. Even if you’re like me and have the 20th anniversary printing from 20 years ago, it’s worth the upgrade

If you see this, post your mentor

People use this tweet and his post-Jan 6 condemnation of Trump as examples of principles later abandoned, but if you look at the totality of the man, it’s doubtful that’s at all true. His most consistent motivation was seeing where the wind was blowing and switching sides. He believed in nothing

We have found the one collection of fans that has earned this…

35 YEARS AGO TODAY - ACTION ANNUAL #3 is released! Written by Roger Stern, pencils by Tom Grummett, inks by Doug Hazlewood, Denis Rodier, Brad Vancata, Carlos Garzon An ARMAGEDDON 2001 tie-in explores a possible future where Superman is elected President of the United States #TriangleEra35

I can fix her

She’s two for two! My wife Erica Berger was just nominated with Cathy Sandrich Gelfond again for the Emmy for Outstanding Casting for a Drama series for their work on season 2 of THE PITT!

As a twice-satisfied customer, I greatly endorse @jkwoodward.bsky.social’s commission work!

Honorable Mentions: ZERO HOUR is great because the mini functions like a writing prompt for great alternate timeline tie-ins. BLACKEST NIGHT is the climax of YEARS of GL mythos. AMALGAM was the kind of fun more comics need. JLA/AVENGERS was the crossover we never thought we'd see.

INFINITE CRISIS is the best company-wide crossover. Storywise, all major threads for a year led to it. Art-wise, @philjimeneznyc.bsky.social (with pages by Ivan Reis, George Perez and Jerry Ordway) is at the top of his game. Great character work and coordination with the tie-ins.

The daughter and baby not sad enough for you? What if they had to keep a puppy alive? In 2121, this will be their version of OREGON TRAIL

You decide! Do they freeze? Do you fix the fireplace and the holes and window so they stay warm, but have to sleep on a broken bed? Or give them a comfy bed and leave them to freeze?

It takes a genuinely sick mind to create a mobile game about a mother and daughter who will freeze to death in poverty

All this talk about INDEPENDENCE DAY for the 30th anniversary, some of it mentioning the teaser with the White House blowing up, and not one article mentioning that in the actual film. The explosion gets obscured by an exploding chopper. Why ruin your money shot like that?!

This one is special because I actually own a page of original art from this issue. #TriangleEra35

35 YEARS AGO TODAY - ACTION COMICS #668 Triangle Issue 1991-26 is released! Written by Roger Stern, pencils by Bob McLeod, inks by Denis Rodier. The rumors about Lex Luthor force Superman to give an interview with Car Grant to prove Lex really died in a plane crash #TriangleEra35

NEW POST: I honor the 40th anniversary of Post-Crisis Lois Lane in THE MAN OF STEEL #2 by celebrating how she’s the one who defined Clark/Lois as an endgame. Because of her, being Team Lana is like rooting for the Washington Generals. It’s just never gonna happen superfanxl.com/2026/07/03/t...

ER’s Emmy and ID badges

The cool thing with that Jor-El suit is I once took a picture of it with a flash on, and the light produced the glowing effect you see on screen

THR needs to fire whoever approved this insane ad placement that demands an immense amount of scrolling to get past. Some readers might just assume it’s a bad ad covering everything and close the tab

I have never seen the thriller BREAKDOWN, but I think about these 2 paragraphs from Roger Ebert’s review of it at least once a month. Ebert really understood genre and how it informed how the audience reacts to what they are presented www.rogerebert.com/reviews/brea...

I think SUPERMAN RETURNS is the best DC movie since 1981 that wasn’t directed by Christopher Nolan. For its 20th anniversary today, I’ve aggregated my OVERHATED appearance and my old Film School Rejects column on it superfanxl.com/2026/06/28/s...