Ten Good Moments in 2025

At the close of 2016, I found it necessary to reflect upon all the good moments in what was otherwise a year of dreadful turns of event. This year it seemed even more important to recall and share the personal moments that remind me how things are good even when they seem awful. 

1. Josh Johnson

Josh Johnson is that good. He writes an hour’s worth of solid material something like every week and just puts it out there, on stage and then on YouTube. He makes it look like it’s all just coming off the top of his head, like that one person you know who just can’t help being hilarious, but you know it’s not spontaneous at all because it can’t be. The timing, the execution, and the fact that he is riffing on something that happened literally yesterday, he’s just incredible.

We saw him live at the Mimi Ohio where the subject was AI – it was bleak and also hilarious. Josh Johnson kept me sane throughout 2025.

2. Greater Cleveland Food Bank

Mother was dedicated to the food pantry where she volunteered. When she began losing her cognitive abilities, and her ability to even write, that was one of her great anxieties. She was responsible for a great deal of organization, placing orders, and so on. When the company manager at my place of employment presented the opportunity to work a shift at the GCFB, I was anxious but also excited. It was only an hour or so, assisting folks in pulling items from the shelves.

America is a shameful place, one of the few nations where poverty is seen as some kind of personal failing, rather than the result of systemic inequity, a situation which seems to have only gotten worse over the course of my lifetime, and much more dire over the past year. I need to get back to that place again soon.

3. Big Band and Combos

Our youngest continued his studies in jazz at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, and one of the perks for me is visiting Caffè Vivace to enjoy flatbreads and cocktails and listen to aspiring (and seriously talented) young musicians.

4. Zelda’s Commencement

I was complicit in creating two beautiful humans. I cannot take credit for their achievement, only that I did my best to keep them fed and safe from harm. That they are both artists is probably also something I helped inspire, in equal measure with my spouse and basically everyone we know.

Watching our elder child cross the stage at the Convocation Center at Ohio University was a moment of great pride for us, especially when they snubbed the university president, refusing to shake her offered hand. Anyone in a position of authority that cannot stand up for the most vulnerable among us does not deserve our continued respect.

5. Dinner at Mina

There are a surprising number of Michelin star restaurants in Bilbao, Spain. I had never been to such a designated pace, none of us had. I could elaborate upon the menu, the wine pairings, the fact we all believed that it was Athletic Bilbao’s keeper Unai Simón who arrived late to the nine p.m. seating (he’d had an afternoon match).

But when people ask what I remember best from that evening was that the four of us sat together, phones down, from nine until one am, talking, laughing, eating, drinking, telling stories, relaxing into moments of silence, and observation, my wife and our two adult children.

6. Diwali

Our son’s boyfriend needed a home for his tortoiseshell cat Diwali, now that he would be attending university. My concern was for our rangy old cat Tiger, who nearly died from anxiety after we adopted a young kitty (who we named Masha) at the beginning of the year. Tiger recovered, but I worried another cat would end it for him. My wife theorized that another cat would occupy Masha and that together they would leave Tiger alone, and she was right!

Not only that, but Diwali has become my new favorite sleeping companion.

7. “I Hate This” in India

Our story continues to be told and reinterpreted. Many grateful thanks to director Denver Nicholas and his entire team for producing I Hate This a second time in Chennai.

8. Superman Walking Tour

Most of our actor-teachers this year are from out of state. Never been to Cleveland. And like most of us from the region, we cannot help sharing every Cleveland connection. The subject turned to the recent Superman film and suddenly I was offering to arrange a walking tour of filming locations.

There are a half dozen major shooting locations within a half-mile radius (e.g., The Leader Building, Public Square, The Old Arcade) and others I could point to in the distance, like the ballpark. I had even made a folder with images from the film, plus a few from other films that were shot downtown like Avengers and My Summer Story. The tour concluded by the new statue dedicated to the real punk rocker.

I should do this as a side gig.

9. No Kings Protests

Hey, you know what? Fuck that guy.

10. Cleveland Turkey Trot

Had not raced in some time. Had not raced in inclement weather for longer than that. Just walking to the venue from my parking spot was horrid, the wind coming off Lake Erie was almost unbearable.

I asked myself, why was I doing this? It’s not pleasant, it’s not social. I should be at home watching the parade, safe and warm.

I started far back in the pack, which was unfortunate. It took a while before I could actually run. My fault. But soon I was running freer and could focus on just enjoying myself. And it was pretty all right.

But I was even regretting choosing the five mile instead of the 5K ... until we split off around the second mile. At Carnegie and Ontario they took a right, and we continued onto the bridge. Oh, yeah. This is why. I would have missed that. Lorain-Carnegie, down West 25th and onto the Detroit-Superior. Worth it.

By the time I reached the finish line I was feeling good, and satisfied. My time was great, all things considered. And it was a well-organized race full of happy runners. But for a race like this, I really missed having a partner. Maybe next time.

Best wishes and a happy 2026 to you and yours.

Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero (book)

Larry Tye's Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero, is a very interesting book until about two-thirds of the way through. What began as a pretty straight-forward history of the most iconic comic book superhero ever created -- which is something none can dispute -- runs off the rails right about the same time the Man of Steel "died", which is to say, in the early 1990s.

There is a more recent book, Glen Weldon's Superman: An Unauthorized Biography, which purports to describe how the character has morphed throughout its history to reflect the times. Tye's book already illustrates this rather successfully, as the pro-downtrodden hero of the thirties becomes the anti-Fascist of the 40s, and all of the successful radio, television and film adaptations that followed through the decades.

However, following a description of the sad de-evolution of Christopher Reeves' series of films, this historian shows signs of having consumed his own Kool-Aid, returning to the comic books themselves, and straining to describe a variety of late 20th century comic book story arcs as important, relevant or iconic in and of themselves.

Just a tip: Never describe the plot of a comic book in a historical text and try to make it sound original or interesting writing. I like comic books, but its just embarrassing. He also quotes a number of die-hard, latter-day Superman enthusiasts, who have eschewed more popular figures, like Batman, or anyone in a Marvel comic.

One was quoted as saying, "Spider-Man tells us that even heroes are human and can be hurt ... Superman is here to say ... I'm not going to preach to you.'" Tye then proceeds to preach, and preach, insisting how Superman is unique, and that he is and always will be the best superhero ever created.

And I do not believe him. It's not just because he glosses over the fact that Superman (The Movie) is embarrassingly dated, that Superman II has really terrible dialogue, a whiny protagonist and a horrible plot (he seems to think the "Kiss of Forgetfulness" is a totally brilliant Deus ex Machina) that Lois & Clark was good for one season and horrible for the rest, and even holds up the much-maligned Superman Returns as an example of Superman's exceptionalism.

Really. A 76% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a paltry $391 million in box office (foreign + domestic) for Superman Returns had not "once again demonstrated why (Superman) belonged as a summertime Hollywood blockbuster." 71% percent of the audiences on Rotten Tomatoes liked Jack Reacher.

In the world of this book, every Superman story idea is a good story idea -- in fact, a great one. The idea of Superman, it is true, is greater than the sum of all the pulps, and shows and actors and writers and everybody. The origin story is solid, and mythic, and biblical, and that's why they retell that same story, over and over again, every time they get the chance. They're doing it once again this summer with Man Of Steel.

But once you've gotten past the myth, the day-to-day act of just being Superman can seem entirely mundane.

The Adventures of Mental-Man

Action Comics #196 (Sept. 1954)
Circulation at the Daily Planet is down, and gruff but loveable editor Perry White orders Lois Lane to create a comic strip. Now, while asking your star reporter to draft a comic strip makes as much sense as, I don't know, asking your classical music critic to start reviewing plays, the connection here might not seem odd to your average comic book reader. After all, Brenda Starr, Reporter had been a successful daily strip since 1940 -- and was even created by a woman, Dale Messick.

Of course, few knew Dalia "Dale" Messick was a woman at first, she changed her name to conceal that fact. She and Lois may have gotten along just fine. If Lois was a real person. I digress.

So, Lois sits down to write and draw a daily strip. The main character is Mental-Man, a hero with supernatural mental abilities! And he has a girlfriend named Laura Lovely, whom she draws to look exactly like herself! Good Lord! That is really ... embarrassing!


A comic strip about a superhero inside a comic book. Could have called him Meta-Man. Get it? See what I did ... there ...

Anyway.

After not too long, a real Mental-Man appears and asks Lois to marry him.

However, the entire "real" Mental-Man thing was a ruse to trick some actual villains who were planning to do bad things to the world. Working behind the scenes with Superman, Mental-Man was actually Aquaman in disguise ... because it was necessary to ... uhm ... fuck with Lois' head?

The 50s was a really bad time for superhero comic books.


Nice box.

Sources:
Various
Gay For Lois Lane

Commemorative Superman Fence Damaged

Car hits decorated fence at Ohio 'Superman house'
May 26, 2011

CLEVELAND (AP) — A car has taken out part of a fence paying tribute to Superman around the Cleveland home where two high school kids created the Man of Steel.

The picket fence around the childhood home of Joe Shuster is decorated with large metal plates reprinting the first Superman story from a 1938 comic book. The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reports Tuesday night's crash damaged seven of the 15 color plates.

Neighborhood development director Tracey Kirksey tells the newspaper she believes a man who lives near the house hit the fence with his car. She says he wants to pay for the damage.

Last month, a historical marker honoring Shuster and classmate and Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel was stolen in the same Glenville area of Cleveland. It was returned undamaged weeks later.

Sources: Associated Press
The Washington Post

Seduction of the Innocent (book)

Written by Dr. Frederic Wertham and published in 1954, this text draws a straight line from comic books to juvenile delinquency.

The books of EC were obvious targets, their line of horror, disaster and war comics depicted some pretty wild and grotesque images of violence and savagery, and Dr. Wertham was not afraid to point out that horrid and gruesome illustrations were printed across the page from advertisements for bowie knifes and air rifles.

However, the good doctor also liked to point out the subliminal messages present in the graphics, with disguised images of phalluses or breasts, or the to-this-day question regarding the exact relationship of Batman and Robin.

Wertham also called Superman a Fascist. He reports, you decide.

I would like to point out to you one other crime comic book which we have found to be particularly injurious to the ethical development of children and those are the Superman comic books. They arose in children phantasies of sadistic joy in seeing other people punished over and over again while you yourself remain immune. We have called it the Superman complex. In these comic books the crime is always real and the Superman's triumph over good is unreal.

Moreover, these books like any other, teach complete contempt of the police. For instance, they show you pictures where some preacher takes two policemen and bang their heads together or to quote from all these comic books you know, you can call a policeman cop and he won't mind, but if you call him copper that is a derogatory term and these boys we teach them to call policemen coppers.

All this to my mind has an effect, but it has a further effect and that was very well expressed by one of my research associates who was a teacher and studied the subject and she said, "Formerly the child wanted to be like daddy or mommy. Now they skip you, they bypass you. They want to be like Superman, not like the hard working, prosaic father and mother."

Dr. Frederic Wertham
Senate Subcommittee Hearings into Juvenile Delinquency
Wednesday, April 21, 1954

Sources:
Wikipedia
TheComicBooks.com

Nights of Horror

In 1954 the television program Superman was in its fourth season - but the first IN COLOR! Sponsored by Kellogg's and starring George Reeves, with color came a softer touch to the storylines, not exactly campy but harmless. Villains never died anymore, and when bullets were fired, they were only fired at the Man of Steel.

Meanwhile, Superman creators, the pride of Glenville High, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, were still scraping by as hired guns of the industry. They were receiving absolutely no royalties from this popular and lucrative television program.

In 1954 the salacious crime booklet Nights of Horror emerged, a small, plain brown-wrapped affair, something you could get arrested for peddling at that point in history. The work was anonymous, but the images were familiar ...

I will come right out and say it -- that's the Last Son of Krypton getting worked over by Lois Lane while Lana Lang sits back and enjoys the party. This picture is actually one of Shuster's more tame works from this particular magazine.

Night of Horrors ran for sixteen issues. During the 1954 comic book hearings of the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, this title was singled out as a prime motivator for the Brooklyn Thrill Killers, a gang of Jewish Neo-Nazis (you heard me) who killed two men and tortured several others. When these boys, all teenagers, were asked where they got their ideas or what they read, they all said "comic books."

And there you have it.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman's Co-creator Joe Shuster (Craig Yoe)

Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster

Jerome "Jerry" Siegel (October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) and Joseph "Joe" Shuster (July 10, 1914 - July 30, 1992) created Superman.

Joe and Jerry lived in the Glenville neighborhood and met attending Glenville High School, Class of 1932. Jerry wrote for The Torch, the school paper, and though he was shy and not terribly popular he was appreciated by the student body for his Tarzan parody, Goober the Mighty.

Joe was Canadian-born, moving with his family to Cleveland when he was 10. His eyesight was always terrible, and this is only one of the ways in which his artwork is so remarkable.

Jerry was born in Cleveland, his father owned a clothing store. His father died of a heart attack while the store was being robbed.

In 1934, after tossing an idea over and over in his head all night, repeatedly getting out of bed to hammer out more details, Siegel came up with the idea of a power, benevolent space-alien that resembled a man and came to Earth to protect people from criminals. Shuster drew the panels for a comic strip and they attempted to peddle it to publishers for four years before getting an offer to adapt it into a "comic" book format in 1938.

Shuster claims the hero, Superman, was meant to resemble Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., while his alter-ego Clark Kent was to look more like Harold Lloyd.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman (Marc Tyler Nobleman & Ross MacDonald)