Another Look (Up in The Sky) at the 1966 SUPERMAN Broadway Musical! DC Comics!

Dig this nice recent magazine feature on the little-known 1966 musical, IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, IT'S SUPERMAN! Altho this plucky play is still being revived here and there, it's best known from its mid-60s run, when it rode the wave of the colorful pop art craze, and the dizzying heights of "Batmania!" Click below to enlarge, and click here to peruse past posts covering this manic musical!

"It's a Bird, It's a Plane--It's Superman!" Rare Pics and Text! 1966 DC Comics Find!

I've covered this famous 1966 play before, but here, direct form the hefty tome THE BEST PLAYS OF 1965-1966, come some little-seen pics and facts about this live-action Man of Steel spectacle! Click below to enlarge not only the (truncated) script from this comic camp-fest musical, but also pics of the production in progress, cast listings, and behind-the-scenes info! 

Above: Dig that wonderful Al Hirschfeld illustration!

David Newman and Robert Benton would later be involved
in the 70s SUPERMAN films starring Chris Reeve!

Above: Actress Linda Lavin ("Sydney") went on to bigger
fame as the title character on CBS-TV's ALICE in the 70s...

SUPER-BONUS! Click below to glare at these special pics relating to this boffo Broadway bonanza!

Above: Actor Bob Holiday ("Superman") dares to step into
the "real world" between show performances!

Above: A rare color shot from the production!

Above: NYC venue the Alvin (later renamed as the Neil
Simon Theatre) advertises the play in '66...

Above: From a 1966 SUPERMAN issue, here's a mention
of actor Bob Holiday plugging the musical on
nationwide TV!

Thanks to Steven Thompson for the above clipping!

More Magnificent Mego Madness! Custom Packaging! Flash! Green Arrow! Spidey! Batman!

I've shown a few of my own custom Mego-like action figures before, but here is a look at the custom packaging I've created for many figures (old and new) over the years! Click each to enlarge!

Above: Different packaging for the recent Mattel "Retro-Action" Batman figure, including
classic 60s graphics by famed DC Comics artist, Carmine Infantino! The recent
Mego-like action figure line featured some very nice figures, but very
dull packaging!

Above: The original 1973 Mego Joker figure is seen on a spiffy new card that
sports classic 60s art by (again) Carmine Infantino! The bottom tier shows
off the new Lex Luthor and Captain Cold Mattel figures, but on great
new cards with eye-catching artwork!

Above: A custom Riddler card is used to display the new (as of 2014) action
figure produced by the Figures Toy Co. firm (who are re-offering the original
Mego Bat-figures to today's collectors and fans)! I again used great mid-60s
Infantino graphics, in an attempt to evoke the flavor of the 70s
Riddler Mego packaging!

Above: The new Mattel Superman figure is seen on a new card, while a
custom-made Robin figure gets the "original" card treatment (left), and
is also seen with a 70s Neal Adams "Teen Wonder" image (right)!

Above: Two different Green Arrow cards, and two different figures! On the left
is seen the new Mattel figure (with packaging that sports Neal Adams art), and, on
the right, Mego's original 1975 GA action figure, on a nice new card with
Curt Swan artwork! 

Above: Neal Adams art is seen with the new Mattel Green Lantern figure, but an
original 1974 Batgirl gets the Carmine Infantino treatment! We also see a Speedy
custom figure on a great card that features Nick Cardy art!

Above: A custom Flash figure is seen next to colossal Curt Swan artwork, as his
partner, Kid Flash (an original 1977 figure) is displayed on his own custom card!
The new Mattel Wonder Woman figure is seen on her own custom card with
Neal Adams art, while an original 1972 Aquaman is carded next to a classic image!

Above: It's the classic Aquaman card again! Aqualad's card sports nifty Nick Cardy TEEN TITANS art!

Above: It's the classic Aquaman card again, but this time it's paired with the new 
Mattel figure (left)! Captain Marvel (right) looks sharp on his own custom 
card, also!

Above: A classic 1973 Spider-Man figure has his choice of two card styles! One
with 60s Steve Ditko (Spidey's co-creator) art, or a snazzy card with jazzy
John Romita Sr. artwork!

Above: Why should Spidey have all the fun? Here is his arch foe, the
grinning Green Goblin (original 1974 figure), on his own custom card, with 
flawless art by John Romita, Sr.!

Above: Custom figures of Spider-Man foes Mysterio, Kingpin, and Electro are
seen with faux cards (with Dikto and Romita artwork), while Dr. Octopus
(a custom figure) is displayed with even more classic Silver Age Romita artwork!

Above: A custom Captain America is seen on two card types, both
spotlighting 60s comic art by Jack Kirby, Cap's 1940s co-creator!

Above: More madcap Marvel Megos! Spidey foes the Rhino and Vulture (both
customized figures) get custom cards, with more Romita art featured, while
Thor and Ant-Man (also a custom) get the Kirby treatment! Iron Man is an
original 1975 Mego figure, while Dr. Strange, a custom job, is seen on his
own occult-culled card with more riotous Romita art!

Above: My box art for my custom Rhino and Doc Ock
Mego figures! Made to look like the "real thing,"
if Mego had ever produced these figures!

Batman! Robin! Superman! Rare 1974 Chemtoy Custom Painted Figures! DC Comics!

Most fans of a certain age recall these wonderfully cheap plastic figures of DC Comics' "Big Three" superheroes. These little (about 5 inches) replicas of Superman, Clark Kent, Batman, and Robin, were all sold loose in end-cap and counter display boxes in stores like Woolworth's in 1974. They were later hawked on blister cards thru Kresge and K-Mart outlets, and were very well-known back in the day! Tho not much to look at in their original state (due to very minimal paint applications), these minuscule masterpieces look quite nice, once a bit of "TLC" is applied! Click below to view images of both the original Bronze Age figures, and the same figures after I've applied paint, marker and lots of time! 

Above: The original Batman and Robin figures, as sold in 1974!

Above: The later-issued carded figures. As crude as they looked then (and
especially now) collectors still clamor for these simple, but colorful, toys!

Above: The original three Superman plastic figures.

Above: Superman on the "blister card!"

Above: The point-of-purchase store box that
housed the three Superman figures!

Above: The 1974 Batman and Robin figures with custom paint!
Marker, and gloss and dull coatings, were also applied!

Above: The '74 Superman (and Clark Kent) figures, with spiffy new custom paint applications!

BONUS! Click below to see the comic-art inspirations for the above figure poses, courtesy of artists Carmine Infantino and Curt Swan!

It's a Bird, It's a Plane--It's SUPERMAN! 1966 Broadway Musical--On TV in 1975?! DC Comics!

Sure, we now live in a world awash with tons of multi-media versions of the famed superheroes, from big-screen films, TV shows, video games, and even musicals! But--didja know that a sensational Superman musical was mounted during the dizzying era of the 1966 BATMAN TV show? An ambitious Broadway play called IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, IT'S SUPERMAN made waves during that "pop art" period, and it featured a host of great actors/singers involved in a high-camp extravaganza that looked to ride the coattails of the unbelievably popular live-action capers of his fellow Caped Crusader! The Supes show was re-staged in 1975, and ran as a late-night filler, starring David Wilson as the Man of Steel! Click below to take in all of the info about both the Broadway show and the TV version! 

Like most large plays and musicals, the Playbill guide for this show was gayly 
festooned with caricatures by the amazing Al Hirschfeld! Note that the play 
co-starred Jack Cassidy (David Cassidy's dad), and Linda Lavin (later to helm 
ALICE for CBS)!The above comes from the rare 1973 DC tabloid, AMAZING 
WORLD OF SUPERMAN!

I somehow missed all of this in 1975, only mere months before the debut (also 
on ABC) of two new WONDER WOMAN live-action specials! Could it have 
been the late hour in which ABC had slotted this presentation? This 
TV version also starred David Wayne ("The Mad Hatter" from BATMAN),
and Loretta Swit (from M.A.S.H.)!



You asked for it--here it is! See the 1975 broadcast of this little gem now! Just click here!

ComicAL Action Heroes! 1976 Albert Bigley Artwork! Batman? DC Comics?!

Ah, yes, here we have more 1976 illustrations, in which I drew inspiration from another set of toys from the venerable Mego corporation! This time it's the gawd-awful, super-awkward "Comic Action Heroes!" CAH was a sad line of barely-painted, stiffly posed (what are their hands doing there, anyway?) "action" figures! Mego produced these alongside with their original 8-inch line of figures, as a way to hedge the ever-spiralling plastic and petroleum costs in the the mid-70s, but the line didn't exactly set the waiting world ablaze! But, it does seem I (age 11) was somewhat excited enough by them to draw a line-up of these three DC stalwarts! Click to enlarge, figure fans!

I probably used images from the COMIC ACTION HEROES catalog (came with the figures) for this scene!