Episode 47 – Man of Steel at 40 Part 2: The BBC Adventures of Superman

40 years ago this year John Byrne revamped Superman with a mini-series titled Man of Steel. This six issue mini-series is not only one of the most important events in the history of Superman, but was the foundation of what became “my era” of Superman and was, for the longest time, my favorite origin for the character.

Because of all of that I thought it would be fun to do a short, three episode series celebrating the anniversary of Man of Steel’s release.

I’m calling it Man of Steel at 40. Which is not imaginative, but gets the job done.

This time out I am talking about the audio adaptations of Man of Steel and I am not alone. Joining me is Stuart Mulrain of the And Why Not Podcast. Stuart and I take a quick look at the MPI Productions comics on tape version of Man of Steel before getting into the main focus of the episode, which is The Adventures of Superman, which was originally presented as two series that aired on BBC Radio 4. Written, directed, and produced by Dirk Maggs, The Adventures of Superman adapts issues 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 of Man of Steel as well as Superman issues 1 and 2 and is a favorite of both mine and Stuart’s.

Stuart and I talk a little bit about The Trial of Superman, the special that Maggs wrote in 1988, before diving into The Adventures of Superman. We start by talking about the cast and then get into how Maggs ripped Man of Steel apart and then put it back together again in audio form. We talk about the parts we liked, the few things we didn’t, and generally wax Dirk Maggs’ car. There is also a little bit of talk about the other Dirk Maggs Superman drama, Superman: Doomsday and Beyond.

During the course of the episode I mention that Superman was on the cover of the Radio Times around the time Superman on Trial aired and that there was a two-page comic drawn by Dave Gibbons. You can see those below.

Thanks again to Stuart for stopping by.

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The opening and closing theme is titled Journey and was composed by Pontus Rufelt. It is licensed from Shockwave-Sound.

Next time: I wrap up Man of Steel at 40 by looking at the various reprints and collected editions of Man of Steel that have been published over the years.