Muhammad Ali vs. Superman. Copic marker, Prismacolor pencil and Micron marker on 8.5" X 11" Bristol Board. Art by Coyote Duran. (Please click to enlarge.)
I've always said that if I ever had the opportunity to meet Muhammad Ali, I would've likely cried my eyes out. I suppose it was a good thing that I didn't before the "Greatest of All-Time" passed away because I would've certainly made a fool of myself.
Ali set an unmatched standard of cool that I only could've dreamt to attain but this isn't to say I didn't try. Socially and ideologically outside the ring and masterful within it, there was seemingly nothing he couldn't do.
Even challenge the "Last Son of Krypton" to a fight.
In 1978, DC Comics released a one-shot I wanted so badly but never got: "Superman vs. Muhammad Ali." Now at the time of the book's release, Ali wasn't the world heavyweight champion. Ali had lost the championship to Leon Spinks that February but would regain it exactly seven months later. This little variable didn't dull my desire to have this tome in my hot little paws. And naturally we didn't have anything close to an internet then, so it wouldn't be until many years later, when I would find out what happened within its covers, thanks to any trade magazine that took the time to revisit the story.
So imagine my delight and surprise when, 32 years later, in 2010, a gentleman from DC Comics reached out to me and several members of the boxing media, offering us a comped hardcover copy of the company's re-release of "Superman vs. Muhammad Ali. What was I going to say, "NO!"?
And there it was...an oversized edition in all of its Neal Adams-penciled, Denny O'Neil-scripted scripted and Terry Austin/Dick Giordano-inked glory. Wow. It was indeed GLORIOUS.
Just recently I was given the opportunity to revisit this truly fantastical story when my good friend Bernie, a true blue comics, boxing and music guy, proposed a commission idea celebrating one of his favorite stories featuring his favorite superhero. I would've jumped at the chance, were it not for not initially seeing the comment in my Instagram notifications. That said, I responded with a resounding "YES"
