« My Morning After Pill | Main | A Very Good Year »

December 10, 2005

Missing The Super-Boat

Still trying to uncover the trick to successful merchandising, the U.S. Postal Service has announced they’re doing a sheet of 20 postage stamps honoring 10 of the characters published by DC Comics. That’s really cool, particularly for Wonder Woman worshipping fanboys who are unaware you can no longer lick postage stamps.

This will mark the second and third times Superman will have appeared on a U.S. postage stamp – the first time being part of their 1998 “Celebrate The Century” series. That’s fine; Supes created an industry and long ago took his rightful place along side Coca-Cola and the hot dog bun as critical American icons. But the Postal Service missed the boat.

It’s damn well about time Superman’s creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were so honored. If that fascist Walt Disney could get his props, so should Siegel and Shuster.

I am told it is postal tradition not to honor a person until 10 years after his or her death. It can happen any time after that; it took 69 years for Bessie Coleman (look her up at http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Explorers_Record_Setters_and_Daredevils/Coleman/EX11.htm) to get her due respect. Siegel died in 1996, Shuster in 1992. If somebody was waiting for the 10th anniversary of Jerry’s death (yeah, I was on a first-name basis with the man, despite my rejecting a concept of his when I was at First Comics), well, the time has come.

The Postal Service will be honoring Marvel characters in 2007. Ummmmm. She-Hulk. Yum yum.

Of course, Jack Kirby died in 1994, and he deserves the same respect.

Posted by Mike Gold at December 10, 2005 04:24 PM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.malibulist.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/3553

Comments

Wholly appropriate idea in the case of Siegel and Shuster. For that matter, when you mention Kirby, it occurs to the philatelist in me that there's really a whole series here... Gaines, Eisner, Simon... maybe it's just a matter of waiting for Stan Lee to kick and then there'll be 10 greats of comics on the same stamp sheet.

That said, I think we need to get this ball rolling. You'd be the right point man.

Posted by: Mike Flynn at December 13, 2005 02:09 PM

IS Mike Flynn suggesting that Mike Gold should knock off Stan Lee?

Posted by: Scavenger at December 13, 2005 05:01 PM

Holy crap! I hope not! There just might be a few people in comics I'd be willing to kill, but even on my most bitchy day, Stan ain't one of 'em!

Posted by: Mike Gold at December 13, 2005 05:10 PM

Oh, fearless front-facers, there's no need to worry... Stan should continue to live a good, long, healthy life. I'm just saying I'd wait on the series until, y'know, Stan was eligible to be on a stamp.

Now, there may be a couple... well, one, really... folks in the comic biz I'd sign on to take out. But it's nobody who'd ever be on a stamp.

Posted by: Mike Flynn at December 14, 2005 08:56 PM

Post a comment




Remember Me?

(you may use HTML tags for style)