Superman vs. Hollywood

February 1, 2008
This June, Superman becomes a septuagenarian, and as these two new titles reveal, Kryptonite has nothing on Hollywood when it comes to the ignominious and deflating treatment of the iconic man of steel. Freelancer Rossen reveals innumerable seedy backstories in Superman's history in Hollywood. From the shameless corporate and economic disenfranchisement of Superman's creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, to the machinations of various producers, Rossen's narrative is replete with scams, lawsuits, megalomaniacal egos, and neurotic actors, with plenty of juicy gossip. The bulk of the story appropriately dwells on the trilogy of Superman films produced by Ilya and Alexander Salkind, featuring Christopher Reeve, and the behind-the-scenes stories concerning the casting, filming, fighting (verbal, legal, and physical), and economic aftermath of these films make for entertaining reading.

Film historian and producer Scivally takes the reference high road to the same material, in the dry but comprehensive way characteristic of McFarland that librarians have come to depend upon. Scivally covers Superman's many media incarnations, going into greater depth in the radio, television, and Broadway venues than Rossen does. At times, the detail is numbing (e.g., credit histories for each new actor introduced), but Scivally is thorough, and he has clearly done his research. Chapters covering TV star George Reeves and Bob Holiday in the 1960s Broadway production of "It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman" are especially wonderful. Also provided are appendixes for Superman books, web sites, and cast lists. Extensive chapter notes and an excellent bibliography add to the value for dedicated fans and researchers. Scivally's text is the detailed, dry, and exceptionally sturdy yang to Rossen's gossipy and fun yin. Scivally is enthusiastically endorsed for all pop culture reference collections; Rossen gets the popular vote for public libraries.Barry X. Miller, Austin P.L., TX

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2008
Superman started out in the comics, but the ink was barely dry on the pulp pages before the Man of Steel moved on to the movies (first in spiffy cartoons, then in low-rent serials), a TV show, and, eventually, film blockbusters, some of them good, some awful. In any event, the iconic Kryptonian was a consistent moneymaker. Rossen is comprehensive on the ups and downs of the Man of Steels cinematic career, supplying plenty of juicy detail and signally noting that DC Comics kept creative controland profitsaway from Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Supes creators, and treated the Fleischer brothers, who produced the sublime early Superman cartoons, as or even more shabbily. Wonder if the movie Hollywoodland got the story of 1950s TV Superman George Reeves right? Rossen dishes the dirt on Reeves tragic end anda rarity in Hollywood scandal reportagedoes it with attribution! As Rossen notes, the story he tells is as much a cautionary tale of Hollywood excess as it is a history of a modern mythological figure. Essential for pop-culture collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)