Cecchini, Mike (2021-06-22). "Superman & Lois Easter eggs are a love letter to every era of DC history". Den of Geek. The Unlikely Story of Felix and Macabber” w/ Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou & Juni Ba | CBH Interviews #114 September 26, 2023 Going Native: Mr. Lee constantly insists that his family speak English and act obediently to the people in downtown Metropolis after moving there from Chinatown. His insistence on being "normal" and living up to positive stereotypes gets him to try to reason with The Klan to stop them from burning his house down. His wife admonishes him for this and tells him in Cantonese, "To Hell with your English!" Perry White answers the call by doing something about it. He specifically uses the paper to find the Klu Klux Klan’s leader. That’s powerful, its a lesson that everyone should hear. Having it in a comic book is just another way for more people to find it. Yang learned about the radio serial in Freakonomics (2005) by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. [6] [7] [8] Yang stated that the book brought "it up because it had a real-world effect. For fanboys like me who are criticized for having our heads in other universes, this was a great example of a guy in a cape that had a real, positive effect on the world". [6] Yang said: "I remember talking to my son about it after I read it, and the next time we were at the library we found a book on it, called 'Superman vs. the KKK'. It was fascinating. At the center of it was this Chinese-American family that moves into Metropolis. I'm Chinese-American, and I grew up in the 1980s and read Superman comics, but I don't really remember seeing a lot of folks who looked like me in those stories". [8] Yang also highlighted the immigration connection with both Superman and the Chinese-American family. [3] [7] [8] Reception [ edit ]

CLD Discussion Guide - Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Atom Man is based on the villain from another chapter of the Adventures of Superman radio show, but his helmet design is inspired by the title character of the 1950 film serial Atom Man vs. Superman, which turned out to be a secret identity of Lex Luthor. The Cameo: The trapeze artists performing for the circus Clark and Lana visit in Issue #3 consist of a mother, father, and son wearing bright red, yellow, and green costumes with feather-shaped patterns on them. The fact that they are performing without a safety net means they are almost certainly The Flying Graysons.

Jonathan Kent, married to Martha Kent, is the adoptive father of Clark Kent, who is better known as Superman. Before his recent death, he was a rural farmer in Kansas. He is sometimes referred to as Pa Kent, and sometimes as Eben Kent. As soon as I saw the title of this graphic novel, I knew I had to have it. Gene Luen Yang is one of my fave comic creators, and he's so versatile. Whether he's penning Avatar: The Last Airbender, autobiographies, or bizarre space operas about alien zoos, I haven't read a thing by him that I didn't like. SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN, I'm happy to say, is no exception. Yang does a decent job of introducing Superman here to new readers, explaining the origins of his outfit (from the circus strongmen of yore), the symbol on his chest, and so on. And I liked the idea of making the Fortress of Solitude underwater in a lake in Smallville, rather than some remote location like Antarctica or space. Talking to Themself: Superman's thought projections of his parents are invisible and inaudible to others, making it look like he's having a conversation with himself when others catch him in the act.

Superman Smashes the Klan Characters - Comic Vine Superman Smashes the Klan Characters - Comic Vine

The amazing thing about Superman being used as a metaphor for a marginalized person is that he is actually different from the people around him. The metaphor doesn’t imply that we are all the same or to ignore any differences that might exist. Clark is a person who has a history and abilities that don’t match up with those of the people around him, and in this way, he experiences life differently. Similarly, Roberta has a specific view of life, community, and her place in it. She notices things that others don’t.Absolutely delightful. Sweet, romantic, kind. Beautifully paced. I loved this book." -- Rainbow Rowell, author of Carry On Similarly, Clark grew up with the name given to him by the Kents, but later learns his birth name, Kal-El, from the memory projections of his parents. What Superman Smashes the Klan does best is show that, at a certain point, Clark and Lan-Shin aren’t just making decisions that affect themselves. They’re making decisions that affect other people as well. Not only does Clark’s “coming out” moment show others that they can be different, but it also allows him to work to the full extent of his strength to do the good that he’s always wanted to do. When Lan-Shin embraces who she is, she’s able to save the day.

Superman Smashes the Klan (Comic Book) - TV Tropes Superman Smashes the Klan (Comic Book) - TV Tropes

If Superman spent more time fighting Nazis, Klan members, and Venture Capitalists Politicians like Lex Luthor, I would read Superman comics on a regular basis. Tommy and Roberta then find themselves increasingly threatened while new friends such as Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane and Inspector Henderson try to help them and are then similarly targeted. Meanwhile, Superman's own efforts to assist the children are complicated by disturbing visions that prove to be linked to his own self-doubt and his confusion about his own self-identity. [2] [6] [7] Development [ edit ] Asshole Victim: No one's going to mourn Dr. Wilson, the founder of the Klan, after Matt Riggs strangles him to death.You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Dr. Wilson tries to pull this on Matt after he brings the weight of the police, press, and Superman down on The Klan. Matt, feeling betrayed by Wilson admitting he was Only in It for the Money, feels the same way about Wilson and kills him, taking his place as Klan leader. Don't Call Me "Sir": As usual, everyone calls Perry White "Chief" despite his constant complaining about it. Matt Riggs himself, he's still just as racist and violent, but with a much more modern take on racism. In the old show he was a fiery and angry speaker, but in the comic he's more likely to try and convince people that he's not hateful, just trying to help make his home better.

Superman Smashes the Klan - Wikipedia

After the events at the baseball game, Roberta takes Lois Lane’s offer to become a Cub Reporter for The Daily Planet. In this way, Roberta has decided on her own that she doesn’t want to hide or move away. She wants to engage. Though she had felt awkward with the neighborhood kids earlier, she finally reaches out to make new friends and even gives baseball a go. The story finishes as she reclaims the name that her dad urged her mom to stop using—Lan-Shin and her new home—Metropolis. I think the thing that hurts Superman nowadays is that all he seems do do is fight aliens and mega-monsters. Some of them are symbolic and well-written; some of them are used for drama; and some are just lame-os who apparently want to claim responsibility for destroying Krypton. His conflicts are getting same-y. It's the Klan of the Fiery Kross, obvious stand-ins for the KKK, and soon two intrepid reporters from the Daily Planet show up - Lois Lane and Clark Kent. When you think of the best Superman stories, his conflicts aren’t purely physical. You think of All-Star Superman, when he’s coming to terms with how he can help as many people as possible before he dies. In “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?” his fight was proving that pure violence and getting down to the same level as the criminals doesn’t help anyone. They all mean more than Superman punching Brainiac in the face. Those stories are fun, when that’s not all that’s happening. Sometimes Superman needs to get real. Introducing some more, different characters who would bring out different villains and conflicts will help with that.Parents as People: The Kents raised Clark to have a heart of gold and the desire to use his abilities for the greater good. But their fears of him getting persecuted for his origins led them to suppress his alien identity rather than embrace it, preventing him from reaching his full potential and giving him a crippling fear of being outed in the present day. I love the way that Yang and Gurihiru captured the 1940s with their art and dialogue. It is progressive without being anachronistic, and there are some really interesting parallels between the use of alien invaders in horror movies and pulp and the increase of xenophobic sentiments among folks as the demographics of cities and their surrounding suburbs change. This is very subtly illustrated with a horror movie the kids are watching together where the alien villain looks Asian. Translation Convention: Whenever the characters are speaking a language other than English, the font is tinted to match. Chinese is written in red, while Kryptonian is written in a garish and scrabbled green to emphasize how alien it is. Superman Smashes the Klan is the first time “Clan of the Fiery Cross” has been adapted to comics. And Yang and Gurihiru’s Superman is a classic 1946 Superman. He hasn’t figured out how to fly yet and he’s never seen kryptonite before, a nod to how many core aspects of the character originated in that very series. Writers on the The Adventures of Superman serial went on to introduce those elements, along with Jimmy Olsen, and Daily Planet editor Perry White, and the endlessly quotable “Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!” I love that the story did not shy away from depicting racism. It shows both the hard core racism of the Klan and the more casual racism of Tommy and Roberta’s friends.