The music of DC Comics

I grew up with DC Comics. My friends had Classics Illustrated but I stacks of DCs and treasured Superman, Batman, The Flash and all those other heroes who brightened the days with their primary colored adventures. Truth to tell, I owe my early knowledge of words like metropolis, amazon, alien, arsenic and others to reading these comics. To this day, I still check out DC comic books when I get the chance.

A lot has changed since those long ago times but there remains a sweet nostalgic kick when one browses the familiar. The inspiration must have come from Greek or Norse mythology but it remains a fact that DC they did know how to make superheroes and they were first. I believe that this is why I have remained somewhat selective with regards to the newer Marvel guys. They are derivative and do get too dark and complicated at times.

Now I got this CD titled DC75, The Music of DC Comics: 75th Anniversary Collection. DC Comics is 75 years old! And here are 31 cuts of assorted tunes from the movies and television that were inspired by the heroes of DC. This is an album that you cannot like or unlike or nitpick for quality, originality, etc. If you are somebody who once or twice or more times enjoyed reading a DC comic book then you will surely love this. The CD is actually a treasure trove of memories that one cannot help but be happy about. DC gave us plenty.

Remember those Saturday mornings in the ’60s. The song went Batman, la, la, la, la Batman… and in a little while, there is Adam West on TV fighting the Joker with Robin. The show was running on cable some months ago and I remember thinking how puny Batman looked and how simple were the fight scenes but how cute and original were those expression balloons that popped up on the screen once in a while. The series has aged but it was still fun.

Much much later, in the ’70s there was something that went Wonder Woman… Wonder Woman… and there was the gorgeous Linda Carter with her dimpled smile warding off bullets with her bracelets and kicking butts with her high-heeled boots as Diana, the amazon princess. Come to think of it, she fought her battles with a smile and had this very small waist. Was it a corset or was she really built that way?

Fast forward to the ’80s. I recall a day when I braved the first day crowd to watch Christopher Reeve as Superman on the big screen. I still remember how the packed movie house burst into applause the first time they saw Clark Kent make his phone booth quick change and then soared into the air as the man of steel. I also have not forgotten how quiet it was when Superman took Lois Lane up into the air while Maureen McGovern sang Can You Read My Mind in the soundtrack.

We owe magic moments like those to the remarkable imagination of the people at DC Comics. It was there that the comic book was born, that the first superhero was created, Superman, of course, and it is to them that we owe all those other fantastic figures that came later like Green Lantern, Aquaman, Starman, Green Arrow, Plasticman, Shazam, who was originally Captain Marvel but whose name had to be changed because of copyright issues and my big favorite, the Blackhawks.

I have not come across the Blackhawks in a long time. The series was about this group of daredevil fighter pilots from World War II and each one was of a different nationality as in French, German, Italian, etc. Of course the bida was the American, who if I remember right had a Chinese servant. That may not be acceptable anymore. There was also no Indian or Korean, which they might have to include if they revive the series today. That is, unless they also set it in the early ’40s.

Now, the Blackhawks ended every strip with a song. I never found out how the melody sounded but the Blackhawks soared into the air in their planes singing the Blackhawks… You just know they are singing because of those little notes in the dialogue balloons. Finding that song in the DC75 CD and finally learning how it was supposed to sound would have made my day. Think of Christmas morning and a harvest of toys. But it is not in the album.

Come to think of it. Also not included are McGovern’s Can You Read My Mind, and the famous theme from the George Reeve series, The Adventures of Superman, although the iconic John Williams theme from the Christopher Reeve movie is here. So is the Batman, Michael Keaton theme and the original Wonder Woman theme from the series. 

Although I am sure this is important for DC comics buffs, searching for what is not here is really just nitpicking. The CD offers 31 digitally remastered cuts, some of which have not been heard in a long, long time. Besides, I am sure that a Volume 2 can be easily put together. I hope soon. What DC75 is, is a celebration of those wonderful moments when the comics came alive. And how magical those were.

Before I forget, every copy of DC75 includes an exclusive DC 75th fold out character poster.