Animated Superman (1988) finally on DVD

Superman. Regarded by many as the grandfather of the comicbook superhero, the creation of Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster has been adapted in numerous mediums throughout his long history. A radio adventure program, a set of ground breaking serials and a TV series preceded the feature film debut of the Man of Steel in 1978. But alongside the live action portrayal of Superman was the Max Fleisher and later Filmation animated depiction in addition to the lesser known Ruby-Spears cartoon of 1988.

That’s right, Superman had his own animated series in the 80’s.

Thanks to the DVD release of the Superman cartoon this week, that may finally change as this forgotten gem finally gets the recognition it has long deserved.

Created to celebrate the Man of Steel’s 50th Anniversary, the Ruby-Spears cartoon series remains a high point for the Metropolis Marvel. Spanning as short 13 episodes, the series was created in conjunction with DC Comics scriptwriter Marv Wolfman and artist Gil Kane (creator of numerous superhero designs from the Hal Jordan Green Lantern to Captain Marvel). As DC Editorial was revisiting the look and feel of their star comic book character in print, so to was the animated version an attempt to sell the character to a new audience. The braintrust of John Byrne, Marv Wolfman and Jerry Ordway redefined Superman in print and on screen, the animated hero soared.

Featuring bumper shorts from the Kent ‘Family Album,’ the series also had its share of whimsical tales featuring a young Clark Kent attempting to fit into normal society. These tales are very hokey but also ahead of their time as they humanized what was regarded by many to be a two-dimensional character.

The look of the cartoon is very slick and a far cry from the then faded depiction in Superfriends. However the biggest improvement was that for the first time since the Filmation series the cartoon was in step with the comic. This meant that Lex Luthor was a conniving businessman for the first time and that Clark Kent was a bumbling klutz in front of Lois Lane in order to cover his duel identity. The Ruby-Spears series also featured the first team-up of Superman and Wonder Woman outside of the Superfriends series. Full of big action and big danger, this cartoon was a valiant try on behalf of Warner Brothers to deliver a high quality product worthy of their most prominent property. Unfortunately the market was changing and the interest just was not there for a comic book adventure cartoon aired on Saturday mornings. Years later that would all change as the interest in comic book superheroes exploded, demanding several animated and live action superhero projects for an audience seemingly hungry for more.

More recently legal troubles have plagued Warner Brothers from continuing their Superman franchise and it is starting to look like it may be time for someone else to attempt to breath new life into this vital icon of Americana. Even in print, Superman is strangely absent leaving many to wonder where the Man of Steel is. At least with this DVD release, Superman can regain some of his power.

Series executive producers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears are overjoyed that their creation is finally available for a wider audience. When looking for the strengths of the series, it is plain as day to Ken Spears that aside from the source material, it was the people involved: “We had the best talent in the business at the time – that was our strength. They were excellent. When you first create a show, you hope your talent will be able to plus it – and they really plussed it. There are so many shots in the show that weren’t written into the script – those kind of great additions come straight from the artists and the storyboarders.”

Joe Ruby went on to sing the praises of the creative crew, noting that they had “some of the best comic book guys in the business, and that made for good filmmaking. Guys like John Dorman and Gil Kane – we had an army of great talent on that show. Give credit to John Dorman – he’s a filmmaker and that’s the difference. He made sure the show had all the creative shots, the movement, some of that great left-to-right or down-angle camera moves. The show was well paced, well boarded, and I think John really put these things together well.”

Finally on DVD, the Ruby-Spears Superman cartoon is a time capsule of DC Comics getting their act together in a big way. If you have not seen the series this may be the perfect chance to pop it into your DVD player and take a trip back to a simpler time. Restored to full audio and video glory and full of extensive extras, the Superman Ruby-Spears cartoon DVD box set is available at local retailers and online.