Si Bizarro Color
A Mark Bagley illo of Bizarro graces the cover of this weeks Sports Illustrated for a story about “Bizarro Baseball”. CBR interviews Bagley while DC sends out an official press release in the jump.

Bagley, who called the sports weekly, “the Newsweek of sports magazines,” said he is well aware of the “Sports Illustrated” jinx and believes in its Mister Mxyzptlk-like magic.

“It is bad luck to deny a jinx, so yes, I believe,” said Bagley.

The jinx is the long-standing and well-documented belief by sports fans and beat writers that once an athlete or team appears on the cover of “Sports Illustrated,” bad luck — be it loss, injury or embarrassment — will quickly follow.



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Superman has appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine. Wonder Woman graced the debut issue of MS. MAGAZINE. And Batman has appeared on a number of magazine covers, most notably LIFE MAGAZINE. Now, classic Superman villain Bizarro, smashes his way onto the newsstands with the latest issue #2263 of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, which reaches newsstands on May 26. The cover, by comic book superstar Mark Bagley, takes a look at the “Bizarro Baseball Season” and features a member of the Tampa Bay Rays knockin’ the stuffing out of everyone’s favorite Yankee, Derek Jeter. Despite the headline, this marks the first time a DC character has appeared on the cover of SI.

Bizarro, an inverted caricature of Superman who first appeared in the pages of SUPERBOY #68, is known for his gray, chalky skin and twisted sense of logic, which often manifests itself as the opposite of anything Superman would do, including speech patterns. Just as strong as Superman, Bizarro’s proven to be a constant thorn in Superman’s side. Bizarro has also been the viewpoint character for two highly-popular anthologies featuring the work of “indie” comic creators and was also mentioned prominently on the Seinfeld episode “The Bizarro Jerry,” where Jerry’s pal Elaine befriended the Seinfeld gang’s opposite numbers.

A veteran of the comic book industry, Bagley has made a name for himself with his dynamic linework and attention to detail. Bagley’s biggest splash with DC Comics hits on 6/4, when he debuts as artist on TRINITY, DC’s latest weekly series, featuring Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. TRINITY kicks off with an ominous, prophetic dream shared by only Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, hinting at important, lasting changes for our heroes in a year’s worth of stories that focus on exploring the unique bond that brings together DC’s three greatest heroes, forming a trinity of power unmatched in the DCU.

6 COMMENTS

  1. Ah, this brings to mind that wonderful DC story where the villains play the heroes in a baseball game. Luthor (of course) invents a special bat which affects the pitched ball.

    The Avengers had a tradition of a yearly baseball game between the East Coast and West Coast teams. Always depicted in the Annuals, the games were always interrupted by an emergency.

    And my all-time favorite story is Al Jaffee’s “Basebrawl”, printed in MAD #167, June 1974. Rockstar should turn that into a videogame!

  2. how bizarre

    I’m a big sports nut so its cool to see comics and sports together, let alone the SI cover. But I do feel a little let down by the cover.

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