Man of Steel

We make a regular practice at ComicsAlliance of spotlighting particular artists or specific bodies of work, but because cartoonists, illustrators and their fans share countless numbers of great images on sites like Flickr, Tumblr, DeviantArt and seemingly infinite art blogs that we've created Best Art Ever (This Week), a weekly depository for just some of the pieces of especially compelling artwork that we come across in our regular travels across the Web. Some of it's new, some of it's old, some of it's created by working professionals, some of it's created by future stars, some of it's created by talented fans, and some of it's endearingly silly. All of it's awesome. In honor of this year's 75th anniversary of the first appearance of Superman and this weekend's release of Man of Steel, we present for the second time a compilation of some of the coolest portraits of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's brilliant creation that we've highlighted in this feature over the last few years. We know it's cheating but we didn't count on going away for a month and then coming back in the middle of a big media event. All-new next week evermore.

Superman is not a role they give to movie stars. Christopher Reeve was unknown when he took the part. The same was true for Dean Cain, Tom Welling and Brandon Routh; the best any of them could claim is a multi-episode guest spot on a TV show or, in Routh's case, a supporting role on a daytime soap. Though some bigger names have been considered for the role (Nicolas Cage being the most bizarre among them), filmmakers seem to understand that when audiences look at Superman they should see only Superman, and not the actor who plays the part.

Given its history of early action figure image teasers, Hot Toys had seemed super quiet regarding any potential Man of Steel merchandise, but it appears that the toymaker was simply waiting for the right time to wow fans with its trademark so-real-you-can't-believe-it's-not-real 1/6th scale Superman collectible figure. Celebrated by Hot Toys as its 200th collectible figure in the ongoing Movie Masterpiece line, the toy, it's haunting Henry Cavill likeness, swappable hands and special S-shield base will come with an extra-special bonus: a 1:1 scale Kryptonian Command Key just as seen in the MoS movie.

With its limited supply of gorgeous Francesco Francavilla Black Beetle screen-printed posters completely sold out, Mondo has now turned its attention to this week's release of Man of Steel. The preeminent curators and producers of original, high quality illustrated posters based on film and television properties, Mondo's risen to the occasion of the Superman movie reboot with two new and extremely limited pieces by Ken Taylor and Martin Ansin, each depicting the titular Man of Steel in suitably iconic moments. Naturally both posters come with ultra-rare variants, including a "metal variant."

You've heard the one about leaping tall buildings in a single bound, right? Well, Warner Bros. and DC Comics have done exactly that -- or at least come tremendously close -- in Man Of Steel, the big-screen Superman reboot from director Zack Snyder.

Get a look at the coolest links from around the web after the jump.

Film composer Hans Zimmer participated in a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" on Tuesday in which he discussed numerous topics including digital audio gear, favorite works of his own, musical heroes like Kraftwerk, the challenges of working as a composer in Hollywood, and of course his music for the new Superman film Man of Steel. One of Christopher Nolan's key collaborators on the celebrated Dark Knight trilogy of Batman films, Zimmer said viewers/listeners can "Expect hope" from his Man of Steel score. "Hope and not cynicism. The opposite of The Dark Knight."

In celebration of this week's release of Man Of Steel, ComicsAlliance is giving away a free copy of The Superman Motion Picture Anthology Blu-Ray box set. This 8-disc set includes all four Superman films starring Christopher Reeve as Superman, plus the 2006 movie Superman Returns, directed by Bryan Singer and starring Brandon Routh.

Repeating the formula from its highly bloggable Batman: The Animated Series Rises video, The Hub has enlisted the original voice cast of Superman: The Animated Series to help recreate the Man of Steel theatrical trailer almost shot for shot using clips from the classic cartoon.

Evidently satisfied with advanced reviews and very favorable box office tracking, Warner Bros. have reportedly pulled the trigger on the sequel to Man of Steel before the movie even opens in the US this weekend.