Your humble Fortress Keeper cannot let Black History Month slide by without rambling about the GREATEST COMIC BOOK OF THE 1970s - Superman
Vs. Muhammad Ali.
We’re completely serious. This book is packed with so much Bronze Age goodness that DC had to stuff it into an over-sized periodical!
Superman and Ali - two genuine American icons - face off against one another in outer space with the fate of the world in their hands, and it’s drawn by Neal frickin’ Adams in his prime!!
Who could ask for more, really?
Our admiration for Ali extends back to a childhood spent watching the heavyweight champ dominate sports - and American culture - like few figures before or since that time.
Heck, the Keeper knew people who referred to Ali as “Cassius Clay” because they were still offended - years after the fact - by his conversion to Islam and refusal to be drafted to Vietnam.
Can you imagine Lebron James igniting a socio-political controversy? We think not.
So when DC announced that Ali would team-up with one of our favorite super-heroes, the young Keeper camped out by his neighborhood newsstand as early as possible.
We were truly surprised then - and now - by the book’s sheer awesomeness. Under Julius Schwartz, the Bronze-Age Superman finally developed a complex - and likable - personality that gave equal focus to Kal-El the godlike savior and Clark Kent, the mild-mannered reporter who provided refuge for the hero.
Unfortunately, he rarely faced villains worthy of his stature. Lex Luthor, especially as written by Elliot S! Maggin, was a multifaceted and somewhat tragic villain who could have achieved true greatness if he hadn’t envied Superman.
However, the rest of Superman’s rogues gallery wasn’t all that interesting. (Brainiac finally received a much-needed boost from Marv Wolfman in the ’80s; before that it seemed the Man of Steel faced off against Terra-Man every other month.)
The Ali book, adapted from a Denny O’Neil story by Adams, put Superman in a cosmic setting that took full advantage of the Star Wars mania that recently gripped America.
Finally, the Man of Steel was given a chance to truly cut loose!
Not convinced? Then read on …
