A Daily Dose of the 1970s in Action
"I came for the cakes. I stayed for the comments." – An Official Review from “Anonymous”
A Super Who’s Who (Part 5!)
We’re in the home stretch now. After this just one more page of cast members and then THE DICTIONARY WILL BEGIN. Start here if you’re just joining us!
Well. He is very silly. And often bad. And he does like his umbrellas and birds. So I’ll let this slide.
So Batman is mostly an inventor, but Robin and Batgirl have special belts to help them fight crime. Interesting.
Also, remember that this book is 1978, before Nightwing even existed, let alone Jason Todd. I almost forgot which Robin this would be when I was glancing through. Too bad, though, since it would be hilarious to have some Discowing in here.
Yet another of the characters created for this book. I kind of wish she was real though? She seems pretty cool.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, but most of these made up characters have been POC, and as that article I linked to points out, this is probably to make the casting a little more even for any not-white kids who got this book.
Supergirl in all her 1970s hot-pants, Farrah-do glory. Did you know? Superman is her cousin.
Well, at least the powers they listed are consistent with Supergirl’s. And yes, we will be seeing Superbaby in this book. And he’s fantastic.
Okay, so I forgot who Tomahawk was when I was writing about Jody, but uh, Tomahawk’s name is a little questionable (okay racist). And if I squint at Jody, he looks like he might be black. And he has no last name. And this is post-Revolution, but probably pre-Civil War. Hmmmmmmm.
And if we’re following through with the “good friend” mention in Jody’s, and no mention of Jody in Tomahawk’s. Certain…conclusions are forming in my mind.
Whatever. It’s funnier to just think of them as Davey Crocketts. So I will.
Check out under the cut for the un-chopped page!
A Super Who’s Who (Part 6!)
This is the final cast page! Start here to read through from the beginning.
That is some fancy running, Ted. What is going on with your arms?
I actually like the difference in their biographies? And at least both of theirs admit that they’re husband and wife. Unlike someone else I could mention.
But then, they are the last two characters created just for the dictionary, so the writer could actually choose what to write.
Wonder Woman’s biography is longer than everyone else’s. And yes, like Superbaby, Wonder Baby will be making several appearances in this dictionary, and yes, they are all excellent.
(As for Wonder Girl, you might mistake her for Donna Troy, but no! Apparently still Diana. I have my doubts.)
JOKER YOU’RE RUINING MY BOOK! Stop him Batgirl (other name Barbara Gordon)!
Coming up tomorrow — The first page of the letter A. WHAT COULD IT BE? WHO WILL BE SEEN? You’ll have to come back to find out!
Check out under the cut for the un-chopped page!
A Super Who’s Who (Part 4!)
We’re over the hump now, and into the second half of these bio pages! Start here if you’re just joining us!
So…he’s Davy Crockett. (P.S. if you’ve never heard of him, don’t worry. He’s another of those made-for-the-dictionary characters.)
Gee willikers, this guy sounds fun, not evil! Silly tricks aren’t so bad, right? I mean it’s not like the Joker is known for brutally murdering people all the time in comics, right? I think Batman, Batgirl, and Robin need to take a chill pill.
It’s nice to have some consistency with the relationships here.
I can’t knock Krypto, though, because he’s just a fun, doofy dog.
OOOOooooOOOO. Superman and Lo-is sittin’ in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
This is the point where I started to notice the complete lack of contractions. This holds up through most of the rest of the book. Despite having contractions in the instructions.
Small rockets? Really? Clearly this person was struggling for something to write and was just grasping at straws staring at the tiny drawing they’d been shown.
And yes. Yes I did laugh at that last line. But who wouldn’t. WE ALL KNOW WE’RE HERE FOR THE CAKES.
Who calls him Mr. Action? Is it the people he pays to call him Mr. Action? I think it is.
I think more people call him Mr. That-Dweeb-Who-Hangs-Around-Superman.
Check out under the cut for the unchopped page!
A Super Who’s Who (Part 3!)
I know, I know, this is a lot of cast, but it was either split up all six (six!) pages or have 1-3 gigantic posts, and visually this just works better. See the start here!
Plus these are still hilarious.
Sccccience…? Also, I thought he used his super speed to catch bad people. At least while he’s being the Flash.
And who could ever forget Wilson Forbes, fearless investigative journalist for the Daily Planet, working side by side with the likes of Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen? You? Me too, since he’s another one of those characters created for this book.
Many arrows? Special powers?! I’m sold. Hm…”often works with” Black Canary…That’s a little different from how Canary’s bio tells it.
The writer’s priorities seem a little off. First, Batman is just an inventor, now Green Lantern is boiled down to a dude wearing a ring he has to charge ever 24 hours. Also, Hal’s power ring isn’t magic. It’s science. Allow me to direct you to this citation needed opinion from Wikipedia:
While the ring of the Golden Age Green Lantern (Alan Scott) is magically powered, the rings worn by all subsequent Lanterns are technological creations of the Guardians of the Universe, who granted such rings to worthy candidates. This shift to a technological explanation reflects the comic book industry’s tendency to explain extraordinary powers through science and reasoning rather than magic.
I don’t have much to say about this one. Pretty straight up. The ambiguity of “bad people” continues to amuse me, though.
Failing to mention that you’re married, eh, Hawkman? What’s up with that anyway? Black Canary and her “good friend” and Hawkgirl and her husband. THAT’S SEXIST 1970S — oh wait. Right. 1970s.
See under the cut for the un-chopped page!
A Super Who’s Who (Part 2!)
Continuing with the varied cast of characters and their ridiculous biographies. See part one here!
Check out that outfit! Possibly Catwoman’s most practical costume, including her current getup. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Catwoman directly use her cats to fight Batman and Robin, though.
Oh Comet. What this biography isn’t telling us is the part where Comet isn’t really a horse. He’s a cursed centaur and he has a crush on Supergirl.
Hmm…those powers sound…familiar. Except the time travel ones. I don’t think Zatanna has those.
I’ll admit, I don’t know who the heck this woman is. I am digging that space cop hat-helmet combo, though.
El Dragón is not the only character made up specifically for The Super Dictionary (see this article for a complete list), but he is the only one with a separate copyright entry in the front of the book.
I don’t have much to say about this guy. Pretty standard white-man-raised-by-natives backstory.
Check under the cut for the un-chopped page!
A Super Who’s Who
As promised, the who’s who! In case you weren’t sure who people like “Batman” and “Wonder Woman” were, this book spells it out for you, in the plainest possible terms.
(You thought I made that title up myself, didn’t you? Sadly I didn’t.)
Wow, that’s a grim one to start off with. “If he stays out of the water for over an hour, he will die.” Clearly that was the only thing someone could think of to fill the line-quota. No wonder it took so long for Aquaman to stop being lame.
His arms say “I AM MIGHTY” but his legs say “I’m not so sure.” Every time I see Atom, I just think of John C. McGinley and Justice League Unlimited, and I’m okay with that.
I actually have very little to snark about this one, and I’m pleased that this was made during Barbara’s tenure as a Congresswoman. (Okay, “special belt” is pretty funny. It kind of sounds like a magic lamp or something.)
Hm. “Inventor” isn’t the first thing I think of when I think of Batman. It’s one of the things. But not the first.
(On a side note, “secret cave” just makes me think of the awesome song and dance number from Batman Brave and the Bold.)
Green Arrow is her “good friend,” eh? That’s one way to put it. (wink wink nudge nudge)
Check out under the cut for the un-chopped page! (In case you want to save it for posterity or something.)
