SUPERMAN vs MONSTERS

Superman was my childhood hero.  I experienced the wonder and excitement of the Christopher Reeve film when I was 4 years old and was never the same.

Superman (1978) - Still One of My All-Time Favourite Films!

Naturally, I had a few of the Man of Steel's comic book adventures.  The one I remember most fondly is Superman #344 . . .

Published November 1979

I spent a lot of time marvelling at that extraordinary cover by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (I even attempted to trace it with carbon paper!)  It's one of the indelible monster images from my childhood and it still gives me goosebumps.

The interior art by Curt Swan and Frank Chiaramonte is pretty great, too!  Here are some of my favourite pages . . .

At some point, I made one of those nonsensical kid decisions and traded away my copy of Superman #344 (I'm cringing as I write this.)

Many years later, I stumbled upon a beat-up copy at a comic convention and happily purchased it.  Much to my astonishment, the cover bore the marks of someone's attempt to trace it . . .

FAMOUS MONSTERS and THEIR PETS

I love books and I love libraries.  I've loved them all my life.

All through childhood, they were an endless source of wonder, mystery, excitement and joy.

One day at school, our teacher-librarian introduced my kindergarten class to a couple of intriguing new titles . . .

Frankenstein's Dog (1977) and Dracula's Cat (1978) instantly captivated me: here were kid-friendly storybooks about the two greatest monsters of all, with beautiful illustrations that exuded an alluring creepiness . . .

The Toronto Public Library has a 40-year-old copy of Dracula's Cat  still in circulation!  How wonderful is that?  There's also a 1990 reprint that collects both stories.  (Thanks for finding them, Larissa!!)

We discover Frankenstein and Dracula so early in childhood, don't we?  Not at all surprising, really, considering how entrenched in popular culture these mythical characters are.