Dear Watchers: an omniversal comic book podcast

>> Rob: ah. GE whikers. Everybody grab your bow tie and your camera and welcome to a super duper episode of Deer Watchers and onn Universal Comic Book Podcast where we do a deep dive into the multiverse.

>> Guido: We are traveling with you through the, imaginary stories and worlds that make up the omniverse of fictional realities we all love. And your watchers on this journey are. Me, Guido. I can't think of anything. Our topic today covers so many domains, there's not one that I could use to make a nickname for myself. So I'll just be, Guido the office boy.

>> Rob: Well, I wasnna be Superman's pal, Rob.

>> Guido: Perfect, because both of those are names that our character gets called.

>> Rob: Mm And before we dive into that character, Guido, what's happening in our little section of the multiverse?

>> Guido: Not too much is new. It's a new year. It's the year 2025 and we celebrated 150 plus episodes last time around. So if people haven't listened to that moment of reflection, please do. We also covered the what if? Series finale on there. So if you finally have caught up on what if and you want to hear our take, go listen to our last episode. And we're excited to start this year with actually one of the things we talked about in that episode that we should cover. So we are getting right on it.

>> Rob: 2025. It feels like we are the men of tomorrow.

>> Guido: Yes, it's true.

>> Rob: Well, if you're joining us for the first time, we have three parts of our journey through the multiverse today. Origins of the story, exploring multiversity and pondering possibilities. So thanks for coming along and start.

>> Guido: The new year off by leaving us, another five star review and finding us on Blue sky at Deer Watchers.

>> Rob: And with that, welcome to episode 151. And let's check out what's happening in the omniverse with our travels to today's alternate universe. And today we are engaging in some Silver Age silliness to answer the question.

>> Guido: Of the prototypical kind.

>> Rob: What if Jimmy Olsen became a werewolf, a woman, and was friends with a leprechaun?

>> Guido: And that is only one issue of Comics, believe it or not, but we'll.

>> Rob: Talk about that old and a child in that. And there's a get some pixie wings.

>> Guido: And he gets some pixie wings. I mean, there is a lot we could have done with this question, but kept it simple. So before we get into our world and even our character, we have discussed Superman 20 or more times, but we have not discussed Jimmy Olsen. So we identified that during our 150th episode reflection. We did some Jimmy Olsen trivia during that first anniversary episode so many years ago, but that is it. We have however, discussed DC's imaginary stories. Our first outing with those was back in episode 51. So you can go listen where we talk about Superman and Lois in that and give a little background on the proto Elseworlds DC comics of the 50s 60s and a little bit into the 70s.

>> Rob: And Guido, like, what is your background with this character of Jimm Oilsen? Because as you said, we've never talked about him, but I feel like he's in the. I don't know if you went to most people and said name a DC character. Obviously there's Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman. But I think Jimmy would probably be pretty high up on the list, don't you think?

>> Guido: Yeah, I think he's third, certainly in Superman's world. And I think most people could probably get to Jimmy Olsen. Even people like our m mothers who don't read comics or something would know the name. So my background is obviously lots of exposure, the same exposure everyone in the world has to the concept of Jimmy Olsen. But then reading comments, the concept of.

>> Rob: Jimmy Ilse also.

>> Guido: Which. Well, it is a concept we're go goingna see today I think. But anyway, he's always been in the comics that I've read, but I've never cared. I've never cared that he's in the comics I've read. I've never been interested in pursuing who he is further. He was someone I really liked because Supergirl was one of my probably actually my favorite superhero movie for many years as a child and he is the crossover character from the Superman movie. So he like that was interesting to me. But really beyond that, I don't care that he's in the comics. I read he's had a few solo title outings. I've occasionally picked them up, but I just have never cared. How about you?

>> Rob: Yeah, I was not a big Superman reader growing up and the Superman comics I did read, I don't really remember Jimmy being very prominently featured. Maybe because they were getting a little more serious and he was a little wackier. Or at least that's maybe how he was considered. Definitely for me I really think of yes, definitely the Christopher Reeve incarnation of Jimmy, but even more so the character on Lois and Clark where he is really kind of like the second banana to them and very much about like his love life and he is getting into a lot of Shenanigans and things like that. So that's really what I think of when I think of the Jimmy Olsen character. And then I think growing up, getting older, going into comic book stores and perusing around what we'll get in today. I love just like looking at the Superman's friend Jimmy Olsen covers.

>> Guido: Like if you're boredn Superman's Pal and Superman's Girlfriend. Yeah, yeah.

>> Rob: Just go and look at those two titles basically and that's. That will keep you interested while your husband is shopping for comic books.

>> Guido: Well and they're funny titles because they're, they're pretty early books. So in good, obviously in good quality they there actually can be quite valuable. But they're also at least for a long time maybe now with James Gunn dcu the market's changing a little on DC books. But these would be books that you could find beat up copies in dollar bins because no. 1 they're ridiculous, they're absurd. They standalone story is like no. 1 if there's characters debuting in them, they're certainly not characters that are ever taken seriously or probably that we ever see again. So like they're not key books but I think that they are pervasive in antique stores and stuff. And so I think that's why we would always see them and dig around. They're not a title. I collected the run start to finish but you and I would always buy covers where we're like oh, we have to have that cover. That's ridiculouse. And with that we've ended up with a pretty good collection of girlfriend Lois Lane. Not so much pal Jim Eielsen. But yeah.

>> Rob: And you said they didn't start characters but one of the characters that actually debuted in the Jimmy Olseson comics and she plays a big part in one of the books that we're going to discuss today is Lucy Lane, Lois's sister. But I guess she's not kind of top echelon Superman character.

>> Guido: no, I don't even know how much he's used. I mean canonicity is an interesting question. We talked about this back on episode 51 though that was a long time ago with these imaginary stories because they I guess in theory could be canonical in the fact that like everything gets put back by the end. But they are generally considered imaginary stories because they're just absurd and we'll get a lot more into that. So I think that we can consider them non prime Earth canon. So I don't know how the debut of Lucy works with that, but it's an interesting question for. For a Superman aficionado. And luckily we know a few.

>> Rob: Well, let's throw on our sweater vests and dive into origins of the story right now on this very show. You'renna get the answer to all your questions. Our amazing story begins a few years ago. So before we talk about our first book, we're gonna give a little background on the character of Jimmy Olsen. And I thought this was really interesting. I don't know about you, Gito, because I had not. This was not a character I thought much about, but I actually thought his history when I was actually researching it is kind of interesting. So he actually first appeared as an unnamed office boy in action comics number six in November 1938. He's only in two panels, and appropriately, his first of only two lines of dialogue is just the word. Gosh, it feels like a very Jimmy first appearance line. The character was officially named actually, not in the comics, but on the radio show, the Adventures of Superman radio show on April 15, 1940. Have you ever listened to that? I've never listened to that.

>> Guido: I have, but not consistently. And not to study it in the background. My guess is that they added him. I think this is gonna be true in a lot of the examples of what we see with him today. They added him as kind of a perspective character, not, not so much like a, kid to feel they can identify with a kid. Although he is obviously supposed to be quite young, but more just so that he's sort of the straight man, like the, the. The Everyman, if you will, A goofy or younger version, but the Everyman to Lois, who's all about the romance. And then obviously Clark Superman. So, yeah, I'm guessing on the radio show that's why they developed him out there.

>> Rob: And it was for kids, right? The radio show, probably. So it made sense. Oh, let's get like a kid that's part of everything. Or the.

>> Guido: And that's like eyes wide open, like you're saying like the. Golly gee, you opened us with like that sort of perspective character.

>> Rob: Well, he had about eight early unnamed appearances in the comics. And then he finally got a named. He finally became named in Superman versus the Archer in Superman hash 13, which we're actually going toa cover shortly.

>> Guido: Although, to be clear, he gets named only Jimmy in that. They don't call him Jimmy Olsen. They call him Jimmy the office boy. He is quite literally Jimmy the office boy that I was not making up. And he's blonde. I think is important for people to know that's true.

>> Rob: Otherwise he does kind of have even that very first appearance when he's only in the two panels. He does have the bow tie, so you can kind of recognize him. But he doesn't quite look like the gym jimm that we then know. No, his first featured story was King Jimmy Olsen, which actually ran in the Superman newspaper strips in July to October 1944. So this character is popping up a lot beyond just the comics. And then really he becomes super popular thanks to Jack Larson, queer actor. His portrayal on the George Reeves Superman TV show in the 50s and that popularity led Jimmy to being brought back into the comics. Made a regular cast member, he's upped from office boy to cub reporter and then is very quickly given his own title, Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen, which we're also covering today. And then the really the last thing I wanted to end with, which I was really fascinated with, is we all think of Jimmy as the photographer, right? Like that's like what we all picture him. But actually according to comic book resources, wasn't until the movie in 1978 where he was played by Mark McClure that he actually first became a photographer. And even in the burned reboot of Superman, Jimmy is still a cub reporter. It wasn't until in true Jimmy fashion that he became a photographer. After losing his job and his home, he befriended a robot and took photos of an alien invasion. And then he finally became the Daily Planet's new photographer in the Adventures of Superman 489 from 1992. And then he's always been pretty much portrayed as a photographer in everything since then. Except when he's a murdered CIA agent in the Snyder Vese.

>> Guido: But yeah, we'll talk about on screen versions of Jimmy later. So it is interesting how much this character'used and yet how little is almost important to him.

>> Guido: There's not much that's important to this character to the extent that he exists for 30 years before he even gets depicted as a photographer. The thing that most people would probably identify with him now. So it is really a fascinating history of a side character, but a really present side character. It's an unusual one. So let's dig into his origin. Or not his origin, but let's dig into his first name.

>> Rob: Radioactive camera.

>> Guido: Yeah, exactly.

>> Rob: Well, this is Superman volume one, issue numberH13. Way back in December 1941. It's actually the second of many stories in the book. It's called Superman versus the Archer.

>> Guido: Yes, and it is by Sieull and Schuster. The credits on the page. Of course at this time most comics don't have credits, but Superman does have by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster. It's probably getting support by Leo Noak on pencils and edited by Mort Weissisinger.

>> Rob: And a super super quick story summary because it doesn't really matter. Is a green clad archer. No, no, not that one.

>> Guido: Unusual. We'll get into that.

>> Rob: He's killing the wealthy of Metropolis. That doesn't pay his ransom. But he is of course stopped by Superman, Lois and Jimmy who tags along.

>> Guido: On this adventure and then gets his first byline by writing a story about it. So that's the important part with Jimmy, I think to address the archer real quick. It's so odd. Anyone who is a fan of the Green Arrow should read this book because Green Arrow is created what it's I think later this year even so Green Arrow is so close in proximity to this book. And this is a green clad archer who identifies himself as kind of Robin Hood esque.

>> Guido: He's going after the wealthy. So just want to point out that it's a very strange and interesting co occurrence which was not too unusual then. But.

>> Rob: And it focus turns out that he's almost like a craven kind of character because he actually turns out spoiler alert to be a big game hunter who we've never met before but is unmasked in like a Scooby Doo kind of moment. in like the second to last panel. And it's like oh, Lois says like oh, you're the big game hunter. And he was like it would have been more fun to hunt man than for.

>> Guido: Yes. He got to enjoy hunting humans. I love that end. That very dark end to an otherwise silly book. So I think here what's important around Jimmy so he get introduced through Perry. So Perry is the first one talking to him. We actually don't even get him named for quite a while in the book. And then someone calls him Jimmy. And then it's the narration, the caption box that calls him Jimmy the office boy at one point. And he really is. I mean there's a point where Perry says if you know when you want to be a good reporter, like come back in five or ten years. I mean I think Jimmy's supposed to be like 8. Like he really is. He's drawn like he's supposed to be 12. So I'm assuming he's supposed to be quite young, which is interesting. Child labor laws weren't, weren't, Weren't what they are now.

>> Rob: Yeah. And then he really does Like. Like we were saying, like, he really looks up to, especially Clark. Like, he says, like, oh, I want to be a, top reporter like Clark. And then he really then tags along later with Lois. And I feel like this is, like, something we can all picture in our mind where, like, Lois gets. Lois has a lead, she gets into some trouble. Jimmy is kind of, like, tagging along. And then, of course, Superman has to come and rescue them.

>> Guido: Yeah, there are a few things moving away from Jimmy. There are a few things that are unique in this issue around Superman and his powers. Superman has two different power sets explored in this issue that I don't know if they come back again again, we're gonna need another Superman expert to tell us. One that I noticed is he can hypnotize Lois to sleep. No idea why or how, but he very much look into her eyes and get her to go to sleep.

>> Rob: Very much a plot device where it's like, well, Clark. He's dressed as Clark. He can't. He's got a.

>> Guido: The brakes were cut on the car.

>> Rob: Brakes were cut on the car. Classic kind of thing. And so, of course, like, he can't. There's no excuse for him, like, doing it. So it was like. I guess the only thing they were like, he's hypnotizing her.

>> Guido: And then the second power set of Superman's you noticed, which is really fun because it recurs twice, actually. He uses the power.

>> Rob: The police are actually trying to capture him. Which I don't really usually remember the police capturing Superman. Maybe this early on, I guess they were trying to do that. And to escape from the police, he actually burrows underground into the dirt. Like. Like a mole.

>> Guido: Yes. I've never seen Superman dives at the ground and burrows out of view. And you literally just see his legs flailing from above the ground. And then what I find really funny is, like, a few pages later when he's trying to get into the building that the archer's in, he does the same thing through the roof. He just sort of burrows through the top of the building. And you see his legs, like, flailing. Like, he's at a perpendicular angle to the ground. It's interesting. I guess he's a human drill or a superhum. Human drill.

>> Rob: And you were saying, like, the book is silly, but people do get, like, arrows to the chest and are just killilts in this. At one point, I think it's Superman. It was like, ah, the archer is dabbling in murder again. It's like, Superman, he's already killed like two people. I don't think that's dabbling anymore.

>> Guido: Yeah, I agree. I think you and I have noticed this when we've read early both Superman and Batman. It. People die like that. It's. It's almost. It's more noir than anything else. Just with these completely out of left field superhero antics, which at this point are so underdeveloped that, like, they just don't know what they're like. Oh, sure, Superman can hypnotize people. Sure. Or I love when the guy shoots them, and he's like, the bullets, they just glanced off of you like peas. Like it's such a silly thing. Like you're comparing these bullets to peas. I don't know. There's a silliness.

>> Rob: Thinks that Superman is the archer, but other people know who Superman is. I wanted to tell that guy, it's like, are you not reading the Daily Planet? Do you not know who this guy is?

>> Guido: Maybe they don't cover him that much. It is only issue number 13 of Superman's title, so I'm not sure. So, yeah, it's a. It's a fun, silly. It's one of the multiple stories in the book. All of these early books had multiple stories. So it's brief. It's interesting to look at. Again, it's not Jimmy's first appearance, but to look at establishing m him as a part of the ensemble, if you will. It's. It's, yeah, good to see that.

>> Rob: And maybe we'll talk more in the next one. But I was also just seeing another character that I like, also premiered one year earlier than this. I saw that Johnny Thunder from, like, the JSA. He premiered in 1940. He's also got a bow tie. He's also like, palling around with all, like, the formal superheroes. So maybe there was this trend at this time, like, we've got to get like that youthful character, as you said, like someone who can kind of bring the younger audience in and kind of be their surrogate amongst, like, these more serious adult characters.

>> Guido: Yeah, I suspect that's true.

>> Rob: Well, let us jump into our crazy, wacky Silver age sensationalism with exploring multiversity.

>> Guido: I am your guy through these vast new realities. Follow me and ponder the question, what if?

>> Rob: And today we are asking the question, what if Jim Elon became a werewolf, a woman, and was friends with a leprechaun? This all takes place in Superman's pal, Jimmy Olsen, number 44 from 1960. It's got three stories in there. The Wolfman of Metropolis, Jimmy's leprechaun pal, and Ms. Jimmy Olson.

>> Guido: And we chose this because it is absurd. We could have chosen almost any issue and got an equal amounts of absurdity. We didn't choose the first because it's a little more tempered. It's still kind of absurd, but it's a little more tempered. We wanted to dive right into what this series was and, well, surely cover more down the road. These three stories are written by Otto Binder, Jerry Siegel, Robert Bernstein, penciled by Kurt Swan, inked by Stan Kay, John Forte, and edited by Mort Weissisinger. So we will go story by story before we zoom out a little to talk about what is up with this title and the use of Jimmy Olsen in this way. But let's start with a wolfman.

>> Rob: Yeah. So this is the COVID story. And Jimmy drinks an ancient potion that turns him into a wolfman at night, ruining his date with Lucy Lane. Jimmy keeps coming up with excuses as to why he's dressed like a wolf. Banan. And only a woman's kiss can turn Jimmy back. So Superman eventually has Supergirl kiss Jimmy and all is back to normal.

>> Guido: Lots. I can't.

>> Rob: Craziness happens in.

>> Guido: There's so many absurdities. I mean, it is absurd, but just, jumping right to the end. The ending where Superman is, like, pimping out his cousin is so, nauseating. And he puts her in a dark room so that Jimmy can't see who it is. Though he tells Jimmy it so that she can't see he's a wolf and makes Supergirl kiss him when he has a girlfriend who knows he's a wolf. So it's like the most absurd thing because Lucy knows he drank a potion and was turned into a wolf. Why won't she just kiss him? But she refused to kiss him when she thought it was a wolf mask. And so that's why Superman had to go get Supergirl to pimp her out. Like, It's so ridiculous. But it's only one part of the ridiculousness. I had to start there, though.

>> Rob: Well, it really starts to. With, like, Jimmy. Well, Superman drops off these magic potions for Lois and Jimmy to investigate. And he sees this potion and it's like. And Lois says, well, that can't be possibly real. And Jy was like, no, it's not real. And look, I'll prove it by drinking it. It's like, it's still an ancient potion with, like, liquid in it. One would not want to drink that even if it's not gonna turn.

>> Guido: Well, he Said it's not gonna be as good. It's not gonna be a good new soda. I mean he really.

>> Rob: It's notnn soda pop alternative.

>> Guido: Yeah.

>> Rob: And then just. Yeah. Just. Yeah. Then he turned. Well then of course, the first night it happens to be a costume party. He and Lucy arenna go as Romeo and Juliet. They change it to Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood. So Jimmy gets away with it there. And each time there's something else that happens. Like he gets, he gets cast in a monster movie. So like oh, of course.

>> Guido: But Lois knows he drank the potion. Like everyone knows. And then the absurd. I mean, here's an example. If people haven't read a Superman's pal, Jimmy Olsen. And it's not clear how ridiculous this is. Here's an example of a plot device. So he is trying to conceal this fact. Like you said, they're at a costume party the one night he's trying to get home before the moon comes out. The second night, however, he's in a helicopter and it's windy or something, so he can't land. And since he can't land the helicopter, the moon comes out and he turns into a wolfman and the wind blows him, to the Lane'apartment building. So that's how Lucy finds out that he's a wolf is because he couldn't get home before transformation. It is like they just have these. I don't even know how to describe the plotting of these stories. It's like acrobatic and chaotic and that's part of what makes them so fun. It's just so ridiculous. Like it's non linear and ridiculous.

>> Rob: I think my two favorite moments, and I know one of these definitely made you laugh out loud, is like Jimmy'he's a wolf and he's walking by and there's like an older woman, like you know, normal looking. But then Jimmy was like, not even that old hag will kiss me. She doesn't look, you know, she looks perfectly normal. And then the other one is, his plan is like, well, he can't get Lucy to kiss him. So Jimmy says, okay, I'm goingna take a bunch of money and go to the park and pay will kiss me. Which, you know, if you're going ton go, well, Metropolis Park.

>> Guido: That'sn be. That's going to be Jimmy and the sting operation. That one, yeah.

>> Rob: And I think she slaps him. Not because he's offering her money, because he. But because he looks like a wolf. And she thinks, yeah.

>> Guido: So before we get into the Next two stories. I want to comment. It's the same art for all of them, but, I'm very familiar with Kurt Swan. He's probably one of the three most legendary DC artists. What do you think about the art? I loved it. O too.

>> Rob: Well, we were saying before how the first appearances of Jimmy don't quite look like Jimmy, even though there's parts. This is like, if you think of Jimmy Olsen, it's like this. There's like a lot of Archie in him as well. Like, I just think of this. If I picture the character in my head, it's this. And I actually, I think it's never been done better on screen, which we'll get to maybe later. But like, this is the Jimmy Olsen in my mind.

>> Guido: Yeah, I agree. I mean, Kurt Swan defined the looks for so many of these books and these characters, but just the. He's, he's very classical, like you said in Archie comics, very Golden Age 1950s style. But also he does have really clean lines. And that's also the Inkeors, of course, Dan K. And John Forte. But the lines, and especially with this being Wolfman, there's almost a Bronze Age horror look to some of these panels. Not in a scary or horrifying way, but just in the level of detail, the amount of the fur that they draw in the panels. Or there's the one with the old hag, that panel, who's like a 40 year old normal looking woman, but there's like all these street lamps and there's lots of light coming out, streaming out of like. So the line work is really detailed while at the same time it is this very basic Archie Golden Age face style. So I love that combination. I think it's really iconic and really fun. Adds to the story.

>> Rob: Well, Mil laddie, why don't you tell us about the second story in this book?

>> Guido: Oh, Pollywn. A cracker. All right. Jimmy unleashes a leprechaun, but doesn't realize it's actually Mixie. Mr. Mixaplix. So Mixie's disguised himself as a leprechaun because then Superman can't turn him back into or send him back to his dimension for 90 days. He makes clear that's how long he goes back for. After causing all sorts of shenanigans, including Jimmy turning old and then young and turning a baseball into a giant ice cream scoop. Plus this whole subplot with a parrot and. Yeah, a parrot. anyway, Mixie accidentally reads an artifact that is in Jimmy Olsen's apartment that Superman had saved from previously battling him, says his name backwards and is gone. And Superman and Jimmy actually never are the wiser.

>> Rob: Non.

>> Guido: they think that the whole plot was indeed. What's his name? I can't even remember. Casey O'Rourke. Casey O'Rourke. So they think the whole thing was a leprechaun named Casey O'Rook. He showed up for two days and then disappeared. It is so silly. Yeah.

>> Rob: And actually I was seeing in my research that Mr. Mixoplix is a, reoccurring feature of a lot of these pal Jimmy Olsen comics. Probably because he can do wacky things. Yeah, he could be wacky. He's kind of a villain, but he's not like a villain villain. So I think it works really well.

>> Guido: You need an impish protagonist in this. I mean, it's also. It was not lost on me. It's literally on the first page, the same exact setup as the Wolfman, the Wolf Man. He gets this potion. He's like, ah, I'll drink it. Who cares? This one, there's a bl. A piece of the Blarney Stone, or the magic Killarney Stone, I should say. And it's like, according to legend, don't rub it or you'll get the leprechaun. And Jimmy's like, I'm gonna rub it. And then the leprechaun appears, which is obviously all made up because myixaplix is not a leprechaun. But regardless, it's the same setup in terms of, like, Jimmy gets himself into trouble again. So I m sure, I'm sure that setup is used repeatedly. And so it makes sense to me that Mixie shows up repeatedly in that.

>> Rob: Well, ah, let's talk about the parrot.

>> Guido: Well, again, this is where the plotting of this, it's like. You know what I kept thinking throughout this? The very famous Keyan Peel sketch. That's the Gremlins 2 pitch meeting, like, throwing where they're like's. Y. That's. I can only imagine that these issues were plotted in a similar way where it was like, sure, let's have it be a leprechaun and let's have the leprechaun give Jimmy wings. And let's have Jimmy get a parrot that talks backwards. Like all these things which make no sense. The parrot talking backwards surprised you and me because it's almost. Unless it's a red herring, which I guess they were trying to do a red herring. But again, these plots are non linear.

>> Rob: He gets his parrot and parrot can only talk backwards. And then Mr. Mixelplix comes into the room and is monologing to himself and says his name. So then the parrot starts saying Mixie's name backwards. So you assume as a reader, the parrot, that Mixie as the leprechaun is gonna say, what's that parrot saying?

>> Guido: And then this will lead to his return to the dimension.

>> Rob: In fact, that never happens. He just finds this other artifact and happens to read it in like. And everything is like wrapped up in literally like two panels.

>> Guido: And the parrot means nothing.

>> Rob: The thatel means nothing. I don't know why.

>> Guido: Yeah, yeah, so it's a wacy, wacky turn of events. Not as entertaining as the Wolfman, but all these stories are so brief that who cares? So should we get on to the third one?

>> Rob: I'll throw in our pair of pumps as we get into our last story, which is that Jimmy wants to get the scoop on a racketeer and some missing jewels. So he goes undercover in drag as a chorus girl, but the racketeer falls for him and he winds up shacking and Jimmy shacks up with the racketeers other maul. Anyway, throw in a chimp and more chaos and eventually Jimmy and super man put the criminal behind bars. And Jimmy has lots of new male friends.

>> Guido: Yeah, this one is so weird. I don't even know where to start with the weirdness of it. So he decides he's going to be in drag to try to figure out where this guy's hidden stolen jewels. And he realizes that this guy is hiring chorus girls. And at the same time, I guess as an explanation for why he has access to a dress, he's dog sitting for Lucy. And so that's why he's like, able. I don't know where he gets the wig though. So there's a lot, there's a lot.

>> Rob: Not explained race fans. And there's always a full episode on their makeover challenges where it takes a whole episode or two for people to learn to walk in heals and Jimmy's out there doing high kicks.

>> Guido: No, here's what I love. One of my favorite panels on this because I'm thinking, all right, this is goingna obviously be a pretty regressive story. I'm not thinking there's going to be very much progressive about its ideas around gender or presentation, which is correct. But one of my favorite panels is you cut to the page. As soon as he decides he's goingna go undercover and he's in like a tank top and garter belts or like little shorts that are pie, not garter belts, but look like it. And his heels. And he's ironing the dress. So, like, it's Jimmy in, like, a combination of different gendered underwear and his pumps. Like, it's such a weird panel to show Jimmy Olsen out of drag, but in, like, high heels with garter belts. Like, it's a very strange panel.

>> Rob: Yeah. And throughout, I mean, in terms of, like, the gender representation, too, there's a ton. Like, every man he encounters instantly also has a crush on him, and they're, like, complimenting his legs. And there's another killer who also is, like, now warring with our main criminal because he wants to date Jimmy as a girl.

>> Guido: Julie. Julie is her name. Yes.

>> Rob: Julie Ogden, I think.

>> Guido: Yes. And then the chimp. You and I both laughed when suddenly this woman that he now has to. He's gonna live with to figure out where the jewels are, has a pet chimp. Like, okay, there's some classic Jimmy Olsen absurdity. But we realized it might have been narratively important because we needed to see the gangster get his goodight kiss. And of course, we were not going to see Julie Jimmy give that kiss. So instead, he puts the chimp up to the guy's lips, turns the light off, and the guy gets to make out with the chimpanzee, who then. The best part of that story is at the end when Jimmy is, potentially going to be attacked by the gangster. The chimpanzee beats the gangster with a bat, and Jimmy remarks that it might be that he didn't like the kiss. So it's very. It's a very cute way to tie it all together a bit there.

>> Rob: And I was actually seeing two in Jimmy's, like, whole history that there's actually a lot of issues where he is encountering a monkey or a gorilla. And I know.

>> Guido: Well, and we know that he used.

>> Rob: A lot of that, but Jimmy especially, we know that famous, had lots of interactions with monkeys and gorillas and chimps and all that kind of stuff.

>> Guido: Yes, agreed. But it's used well here, and I also love here. So the other device in this is that Superman goes away. He's going to his fortress of solitude to do secret experiments alone.

>> Rob: Secret.

>> Guido: And he can't be reached. And he cannot be reached. So that's part of why Jimmy has to go undercover, because he's like, oh, I can't just have Superman do this. But when Superman returns in the end, to find the jewels, which are hidden on the back of a fan, which is a funny little detail. Jimmy Is there? And again, now we have Jimmy out of the wig, but he's still wearing lipstick while he's standing there talking to Superman. Like, he's drawn with lipstick on. Like, it's just. There's all these funny little details of the drag that Jimmy is doing.

>> Rob: As Julie and I saw that this is not the only, issue where Jimmy also goes into drag. There are several other issues. One, he becomes the president of his own fan club just as a girl. So it is a reoccurring thing throughout these for him to, get into the trackags.

>> Guido: I'm not surprised. Not surprised at all. All right, so zooming out. We've read the whole issue. These three stories comprised the whole issue. What did you. What did you think? What is going on? Why is this how they're using Jimmy Olsen?

>> Rob: I, you know what I kept thinking about was what was their mindset in writing these? Like, so when he. When he propositions the woman in the park, is that them trying to sneak in, like, kind of a dirty adult joke into it, or is it just, like, wackiness? Like, that's what I'm not sure about this is are they, like, trying to be somewhat, like, subversive in how crazy this is? Or was like that, not it. And they were just like, let's write a kitty comic that is kind of silly and fun. And we're not trying to be. We're not trying to put in any other subtlety into it. What do you think?

>> Guido: My guess is, from what I know of DC, is it's probably somewhere, maybe a blend or in the middle or neither, because I think so. It's 1960, it's post code. We know what an effect that had particularly on DC in terms of sending them toward, like, kitty comics and really ridiculous setups. But we also know that D.C. is, is known really until the 80s as the very buttoned up suit and tie, really traditional office culture. They're not the wacky young hit people that Marvel are going to become associated with in that culture. So I don't know that. I don't know that culturally as like, a team, this is about being subversive. But it wouldn't surprise me to know some of these writers maybe are trying to do that themselves, just as human beings who have more depth than writing like a throwaway kitty comic. So I'm not sure. Again, I don't think anyone's trying to sneak anything in because it sounds like DC was not a culture that where that would be even allowed, let alone something people would think to do. But just as human beings, like, who are writing, they probably want to enjoy it themselves. Like they want to write something that they're enjoying too. So, yeah, my guess is it's a blend of those two things.

>> Rob: I was also wondering too, on the side of that note, do you think that they were also trying to bring in maybe more of a female audience, like a young girl audience with this? Because there's also such an emphasis on Jimmy always trying to get a date with Lois s sisters and then like that's all runs and there is that archiness to it as well.

>> Guido: Well, I think. I think your comment about Jimmy looking like Archie is the most important one there. They've turned him into an Archie. Yes. And they're this the launch of this title and then Superman's girlfriend Lois Lane, and then they become unified in a giant sized book. Superman's Family, or whatever it's called. It's all clearly meant to appeal to a different audience. Whether it's girl or young or whatever it is. It's just clearly meant to appeal to something a little different than the typical Superman fighting. A Superman fighting Brainiac would present someone. So I think the Archy influence, though I'm sure the history'been written on this title and you and I didn't dig too far into it for this episode, but I'm sure the Archie influence is. Is what is. Is what you're seeing not just in his physical appearance, but in the tone and the romance and all of that.

>> Rob: And would you. I think we already answered this question earlier, but would you go back and read more of these?

>> Guido: Oh, yeah, we could. Yeah, we could do a podcast on them.

>> Rob: It could totally be a whole miniseries where you could just go through because I was having a hard time. There's one, a very famous one where he becomes like a giant turtle man. Like there's just. You just go through the list and it's like he becomes a human pincushion. It's like he becomes obese. It's like every story is.

>> Guido: Well, and the other thing, what I'REALLY appreciated about this reading at this moment is as someone you know's who's now written a book and thought a lot about story in that and is continuing to write and think about constructing story. It's everything I've been saying about how wacky this plotting is, that's what it fascinates me the most. So like, I'm not. The antics themselves are fun, but like, what I'm really interested in is just like, ha, who came up with this eight page story? Like, what was the outline for this eight page story? Why does it exist? Was it a scrap from something else? Was it meant to be something this? Like, was it just. And knowing that it's not the mor. Like, I would actually understand this more if it was the Marvel method, if you had like the artist driving the story and the writer, than, like filling it in. But knowing that it's not that. I'm really fascinated by the writing here and that makes me want to read a lot more just because I'm like, how and why and. Yeah, just. And they're fun. So. Yeah.

>> Rob: Well, let's wrap up by wondering a bit about the Jimmy of the future. It's poster pondering possibilities. Will the future you describe be averted and avered, Diverted? So, Guito, what are we talking about for pondering possibilities?

>> Guido: Well, we're not going to talk too much about the comics. There are tons of Superman's pal comics. There's a few returns of the title, though never as a long ongoing anthology book, which I think could work, but they haven't done yet. We've had that recent Chipdarski, series a few years ago. People have tried to, like, bring Tom me and inject the humor and joy and wackiness of this book, but hasn't been a long sustaining title Anyway, as we typically have done a number of times when we start talking about a new character, we'll use this third segment to talk about adaptations. And before we get into the true future and what we're imagining or hoping could come out of a Jimmy Olsen. I think you answered this in your intro, but, like, who is your Jimmy Olsen depiction?

>> Rob: Yeah, I think it might have had to be Justin Whland, who was the second of the two Jimmy Olsens on low. And Clark, now, he doesn't look or act like the Jimmy Olsen of these comics we covered, but they do focus a lot on his love story. He was the second of the two actors to play him. And weirdly enough, Justin Whelland also as the second of two actors to play Andy Barclay in the Child's Play movie. So if you needed a replacement actor, you called Justin at that point. But I think I have that there. But I think. Yeah. And I think when I think in my head, I think of not animated, but I mean, I don't think of live action, I think of animated. It's the same thing with Archie, right? I think it is. There'something about just how they're drawn and how specific they are. That my mind always goes to the animation over live action.

>> Guido: Yeah, I agree. And I think. And recent. Recent versions of him have been pretty terrible. Not. Well, I don't know about terrible, but have strayed quite far from this. And I even. I love McCad Brooks, but like that is a very different Jimmy Olsen and that's in the CW verse. That is a very different. Or that's in the Supergirl version of the world. Of course. Then there's the Jimmy episode of Superman and Lois, which is actually an extraordinary episode. It's in this final season and explains about where that Superman and Jimmy's relationship stopped existing and why. And it's a really touching, good episode in that world. But none of these are like you said, the Jimmy in any of our imaginations. And I'm not sure why that is. Maybe people for a long time thought it be too cartoonish. Like in the same way that, you know, the X Men had to wear black leather. Maybe people thought that like somebody with red hair who. And freckles isnna be too cartoonish or I don't know if there's a fear that Archie would sue them. I don't know what it is, but he's never been portrayed that way. Right. I mean I didn't watch Smallville, but I'm assuming the Ashmore. Whichever of the Ashmore brothers twins played him. I mean he's blonde, so I'm assuming he didn't dye his hair red. I could be wrong about that. And thenonash.

>> Rob: Yeah.

>> Guido: I don't know. Those are all the on screen versions that aren't animated. Other than, of course the, as you mentioned at the start. Deleted. Famous deleted scene. I think it's a deleted scene. Right.

>> Rob: I don't know. I don't evened. Someone could tell us. Yeah. Where he's a.

>> Guido: In Batman versus Superman.

>> Rob: Batman versus Superman. But yeah, think. I think. I don't know. You know, one of the versions I really loved was the version actually, on the. What is it my. Is it super. The new Superman Animated series with Jack Quaid.

>> Guido: Oh, yeah, yeah.

>> Rob: And there, you know, he doesn't look. He's a different race ethnicity, but he very much has the quality of the Jimmy Olsen that we have been reading in these comics. So I think.

>> Guido: Oh, my adventures with Superman.

>> Rob: My adventures with Superman. That was a great example of where that I think they took the essence of the character still were able to put their own new spin on it and.

>> Guido: Yeah. And make them like younger gen. Gen Z esque and. Or millennial Esque or whatever he's supposed to be whatever young person generation he's supposed to be part of. Yeah, so, yeah, I agree with that.

>> Rob: Super excited for Skyller Jacando, who'going to be playing him in the James Gunn movie. He was in Book Smartt and he was very funny in that. And actually of all the people we've talked about, he looks, he's got. He the closest to the comic book version. So of that Kurt Swan kind of drawn aspect, he almost has like these exaggerated features. So I think if James Gunn leans into that, which I think he will, I think he's.

>> Guido: He's certainly gonna lean into the humor of the character. I don't know if he'll put him in drag or turn him into a werewolf, but I'm sure he's gonna lean into the humor of the character. And yeah, I think that'll be fun. I think it's a fun element. like, I like what we. You were saying at the start. He's just such an interesting character for such a core central character to the universe, but who. Who carries no weight himself. There's no, I mean, there are stories and I think there are probably Superman fans who, ah, bigger fans than either of us certainly, who know, like, I know that he has a girlfriend who's a villain at one point. And then I think it's various points, of course, he ends up with powers or ends up like with different things. So there are stories, but I don't think there are Jimmy Olsen iconic stories in the same way that even Lois certainly has, even as someone who has probably had the same amount of solo titles. So it's just interesting. And that means there's something you and I and most fans want to see. But it also gives a creator a lot of room to play, which James Gunn seems like the right person in terms of his selection of Guardians the Galaxy at, Marvel Creature Commandos for dc. He likes things he can draw from and then fill in the blanks on. So.

>> Rob: And how would you feel about a Superman's pal, Jimmy Olsen animated series with some of the Harley Quinn kind of vibe coming to?

>> Guido: I mean, I'd accept any Harley Quinn analog. As we've talked about when we talked about Creature Commandos, you and I both love that show. I think it strikes the perfect balance of comic book and humor and adult humor and a character building. So yes, sure, I think it'd be fun. And you know what I think is funny too? Like, we don't have even in this era of where everything lives on a streaming platform. So therefore everything has a completely flexible amount of time. It could be. I'm thinking back to 20 years ago when web series were starting to be a thing and you'd end up with these 10 minute, 10, 12, 15 minute episodes of things. And then Cartoon Network started to do that in Adult Swim and you had this wave of that. I don't know why we don't go back to that. And this would be the perfect property for that.

>> Rob: Like this great.

>> Guido: Turn these into little mini episodes. You don't even need to bind them together into one 30 minute episode. Who cares? Like just release little 10 minute vignettes with these ridiculous stories and they're fun and silly. I know they did it with Groot on Marvel, but it's not super widespread as it used to be.

>> Rob: I feel like treat them like an animated short before the movie. I mean that would be like really cool too if they started doing.

>> Guido: Oh, that would be. That's a good idea.

>> Rob: DC movies. Yeah.

>> Guido: that's a really good idea. Which Looney Tunes used to do. So it's fitting for Warner Brothers.

>> Rob: That's so true.

>> Guido: Well, maybe that's going to happen this July when we go to the movies. We're gon toa sit down. And suddenly Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen'on screen in drag as a werewolf.

>> Rob: Yeah. All set to The Spind Doxer's 1991 song Jimmy Oln's Blues.

>> Guido: I do remember that I used to buy music based on it being linked to comics and know you know my musical tastes. There was once an album I went into the Sam Goody and I got a CD because Wolverine was on the COVID and this Wolverine art was on the COVID and it was like. I don't even know what it was. We should look it up. It was some sort of metal music or at least to my like 12 year old brain it sounded like metal music. I hated it so much I think I actually returned it. But I was really upset because the COVID was really beautiful. But I used to buy music based on any link to comics. All right, well there we have it. Our Jimmy Olsen coverage. And it's just the start of lots more Jimmy. We're go goingna see this year. It's the year of Superman.

>> Rob: Yes. Very excited. That is a wrap from us. Dear Watchers, thank you for listening. I have Been Superman's PA Brav.

>> Guido: I've Been youo the Office Boy. The reading list is in the show notes. Follow us on Blue sky at Deer.

>> Rob: Watchers and leave us a five Star Review where if you listen to podcast.

>> Guido: With another trip through the multiverse, keep pondering the possibilities.