pub: Cider Mill Press/Magnetic Wisdom. 96 page A6 size book and sixteen magnetic backed cover repros in box. Price: $ 9.95 (US), $11.95 (CAN), £ 7.56 (UK) ISBN: 978-1-933662-58-1.

check out website: www.cidermillpress.com

I received 'The Superman Guide To Life' boxset after browsing the catalogue and asking the nice publicist what it was and before I knew it, three boxsets arrived on my doorstep. As this one is the most connected to our remit, it's the one that will be dealt with here. Please note that 'Magnetic Wisdom' is not just a name but also the weighty matter of how much a magnetism this cards have collectively before you stick them on your fridge. Be cautious with playing around with it near computer equipment, especially floppy disks if you still use them. The box itself does a good job insulating them hence my concern when they are unleashed. I did wave one of the cards over my laptop with nary a response but I'm not sure if I'd do it with all sixteen cards together.



The sixteen magnetic cards to decorate your refrigerator consist of:-

Action Comics # 411; 418; 419; 426
Superman # 1; 14; 21; 24; 32; 38; 138; 174; 233; 252; 274; 300

These same pictures are also contained in the small book that comes with it. As the title should suggest, this is an examination of Superman's lifestyle that can be applied to your own life and is really targeted at the junior members of your family who have a thing for the Man of Steel in his comicbook form.

Superman is an idiom of ethics being a nice guy, coming to the aid of others and because of his powers, is likely to act with some constraint when apprehending the bad guys. If the Kryptonian was any purer he'd no doubt become a saint, only being there when needed and staying out of the way when he wasn't. If teen-agers are going to be like any fictional character then Superman isn't a bad choice. 'Course, they have to remember that they don't have his super-powers but if ever they land on a planet orbiting a red star and the converse of the effect of Superman with a yellow sun happens and you do get super-powers then at least you'll be ethically aware of what to do. Make friends with the natives, conceal your identity and make as many girl-friends as you can with the initials of LL. With all that safely done, you can set a good example with doing heroic deeds and you'll have this little book in your possession to guide you on the way.

When it comes to information about the Man of Steel, one of the odd things when it comes to Superman's friends, that a certain dark knight might be depicted but isn't mentioned in the text. Whether this is to avoid saying you shouldn't mix with sinister looking people is questionable although I doubt anyone would resist having a certain Amazon warrior as a friend.

There are some odd bits about Superman's back history although anything major seems to be devoted to the early and now classed as Earth-2 Superman than any of his recent variants. As can be seen from the cover choices, they don't really extend beyond the mid-70s. Any changes beyond that are mostly ignored.

An interesting little novelty to add to your Superman collection and I wonder how many of you would resist a selection of fridge magnets?

GF Willmetts