The "Speeding Bulletin" is your weekly Superman news video, recapping the latest events in the world of Superman. It also includes the "Bailey Planet" rant, Neal Bailey's thought of the week, brought to you in his own infamous style.

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Merchandise seen in this episode:

• Steve is wearing a Superman Iron Fire T-Shirt available from SupermanSuperstore.com
• Purchase the Superman: 4 Film Favorites DVD collection from Amazon.com
• Smallville - The Complete Seventh Season DVD (U.K.), Smallville - The Complete Seventh Season [Blu-ray] (U.K.), and Smallville - The Complete Sixth Season [Blu-ray] (U.K.) from Amazon.co.uk
• Purchase "DC Super Heroes: The Filmation Adventures" on DVD from Amazon.com
• Purchase this week's Superman comics from TFAW.com
• Purchase "Speeding Bulletin" and "Bailey Planet" merchandise from CafePress.com.

Geoff Boucher at the LA Times posted an article titled "The Superman problem: Can he still fly in the 21st century?" in which he says:

To my mind, the best thing Warner Bros. could do with the next Superman film is to go cosmic, not gritty. Take Superman into space, have him fight off an alien invasion of earth or grapple with Darkseid or Mongul. The movie can be fun (a la "Iron Man") without being corny or campy, and you can make his enemies as dark and dangerous as you want. But leave the pure heroic nature of Superman intact, or don't bother putting that famous costume on him. Batman succeeded not simply because he was dark, but because director Christopher Nolan found the authentic heart of the character. The movie broke box-office records not by copying the approach of another film, but by daring to go its own way. Do the same soul-searching for Superman. Instead of bringing him down to street level, let him fly higher than ever.

Online, there is a growing campaign for Smallville actor Tom Welling to get his trunks on over his tights for the next Superman movie. He's played a teen version of Clark Kent for long enough - fans want him to finally become the fully-fledged hero.

But Welling isn't the only candidate in this race. There's also strong support for British actor Henry Cavill, who has smouldered as Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, in The Tudors and in a men's fragrance commercial for Dunhill.

Status: A recent entry in the franchise resurrection game, Superman was not served well by director Bryan Singer's colossal misfire, which introduced the utterly bland and way too young Brandon Routh in what was essentially a more morose remake of the original 1978 classic. With talk of another reboot floating around, here are some suggestions for either Singer or a new director: ditch Routh in favor of someone older (our suggestion: put Jon Hamm of "Mad Men" fame in the tights), and get rid of Lex Luthor and his real estate scams once and for all.
Plot: A dynamic Superman is busy watching over the world when he is suddenly confronted by villainous alien (and fan favorite) Brainiac, who has miniaturized and encased Krypton's sole surviving city, Kandor, in a force field. Brainiac's demand: Turn Earth over to him in exchange for the last remnants of Superman's home planet. Which world does the Man of Steel choose?

September is generally a big month for the Man of Steel. For a character even older than television itself, Superman's been a big part of the entire history of television and many of the shows the Man of Tomorrow has headlined have naturally premiered in September.

You'll have to wait one more week for the season eight premiere of "Smallville". This Thursday catch "Quest", the penultimate season seven episode at 8 PM on the CW. For high-definition "Smallville" repeats, check the schedule over at HD-Net.

"Superman: The Animated Series" airs on Toon Disney Saturday and Sunday at 6 PM with parts one and two of "Apokolips ... Now".

"Superman Returns" airs Saturday at 10:30 AM and Wednesday at 12:45 PM on HBO2 and Saturday at 7 PM on HBO Family. "The Making of: Superman Returns" airs Friday at 12:05 AM on HBO Family.

"Hollywoodland" airs Tuesday at 3:35 AM on Cinemax.

"The Iron Giant" airs Tuesday at 7:30 AM on Cinemax.

"Biography" profiles a pair of Supermen - "George Reeves" Tuesday at 9 AM and "Christopher Reeve" Tuesday at 10 AM both on the Biography Channel.

Then Wednesday at 8 AM on Reel, "The Directors" looks at the career of Richard Donner, who directed "Superman: The Movie" and "Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut" and co-wrote a stint on "Action Comics" with Geoff Johns.

Catch "JLU" nightly at 11 PM, "Krypto the Superdog" weeknights at 7 PM, and the "Super Friends" nightly at Midnight. Check the Boomerang website by clicking here for episode listings.

Click "Read More" below to see Barry's complete "Superman on TV" article.

Author Tom Batiuk has kindly given the Superman Homepage permission to republish the complete "Superman" run of his comic strip.

Here's the next chapter:

Look for further "Funky Winkerbean" strips to be published here on a daily basis.

"DCU Elementary" is an upcoming DC project, with all the bad guys and good guys of the DC Universe at school.

Season 6 also available on Blu-Ray for the first time from 13th October

Expect more pre-superhero shenanigans and high-definition action from teenager Clark Kent (Tom Welling) as Smallville Season 7 is released on Blu-ray and DVD in the U.K. on 13th October 2008, courtesy of Warner Home Video.

Clark continues to come to terms with his powers and abilities in the fictional middle American town of Smallville as all around him are enemies and allies, but which will prove the most dangerous?

Click "Read More" below to view the complete U.K. press release, including a list of Special Features.

ILM's Tom Martinek joins the guys at the Comic Geek Speak podcast for a look at Superman cartoons, movies, TV shows, novels and more. They also talk with Marc Tyler Nobleman about the Boys of Steel: the Creators of Superman illustrated biography.

3. The Super-Family from Kentucky - Part 2

By Gary Robinson

Even the mightiest heroes have their weakness. Samson's was women.

Superman's is the radiation from fragments of his home world. Homer Robinson's was the steady barrage of his son's yapping for a funnybook all morning.

Of all our family's regular activities, my favorite was going to Tradewell supermarket in Chesapeake, Ohio, for groceries. The particular attraction there was the wooden periodical rack just the other side of the checkout counters. It was an excellent location for me. My parents would start shopping at the other end of the store, working their way up and down the aisles. At the end of their course they'd rendezvous with me. In between, I had plenty of time to peruse the colorful array of titles from several companies: Dell, ACG, Gold Key, Harvey, Archie, the newly branded Marvel Comics, and, of course, DC Superman National Comics. As Mother and Daddy began their search for bread and meat, I sprang into Action - not to mention Adventure, World's Finest, Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane, and Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen.

I can hear young Carly Simon singing in the background, "An-tis-i-pashun, an-tis-uh-pay-ay-shun!" Ah, the Tradewell comics rack was my lip-smackin,' finger-tinglin' anticipation destination!

You can imagine, then, how disappointed I was to learn that this particular Friday... we were going to a different store! Some people had come to town to compete with Tradewell and just across the street at that. I don't know what the attraction for my parents was. Perhaps there was a free giveaway or cheaper prices. Hmph, free enterprise! Anyway, upon learning our destination, I became anxious that Pennyfare might not carry funnybooks. I voiced this concern to Daddy at the wheel. He assured me that they had funnybooks. I asked how he knew. He said, "Gary, they've got funnybooks." I said, "You don't know!" He sighed. "We'll get you a funnybook, Gary." But, at age eight, riding under cloudy skies to the wrong store, I was skeptical.

Read the rest of Gary's "The Super-Family from Kentucky - Part 2" story right here at the Superman Homepage.

Author Tom Batiuk has kindly given the Superman Homepage permission to republish the complete "Superman" run of his comic strip.

Here's the next chapter:

Look for further "Funky Winkerbean" strips to be published here on a daily basis.

Shipping This Week: September 4, 2008 (a day late due to Labor Day)

The following products are expected to ship to comic book specialty stores this week. Note that this list is tentative and subject to change. Please check with your retailer for availability.