Jose Rizal Likened to George Washington

Walter Kaner is a well-known philatelist prior to and during World War II (and also during the so-called Golden Age of Comics).

Kaner^{1, 2, 3, 4} is also known as Walter Kanner as evidenced by the same article published by Red Bank Register⁵ and the Filipino Elizalde Stamp Journal in 1940.⁶

Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999 credits Kaner as a stamp pages writer for DC Comics in 1942.⁷

Heroes mark the his- and her-story of every country, and those with remarkable contributions appear in banknotes, coins, and stamps.

In Sensation Comics⁸ #9, cover dated September 1942, Kaner calls Jose Rizal the “George Washington of the Philippines.”  Here, Kaner celebrates Rizal’s martyrdom against Spain’s rule in the Philippines.  The very short article is contained in a panel with art where men in uniform aim their guns at Jose Rizal’s back.  A drawing of the Jose Rizal stamp is seen at the right lower corner of the panel.⁹

© DC Comics

used under the principle of fair use

Theodore Roosevelt, former American president, calls Jose Rizal “the greatest genius and most revered patriot ever known in the Philippines.”¹⁰

Frank Ernest Gannett in his abridged translation of Jose Rizal’s novel Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) calls Rizal “the greatest Filipino ever born, and his memory is cherished to-day by his people as we ourselves cherish the memory of Washington.”¹¹

Jose Rizal and George Washington are exemplars who believe in justice and proper exercise of authority.  Rizal points out the abuses of the government in his time, and Washington declines greater influence by turning down a third term as president.¹²  Many sources affirming the greatness of these two men are available digitally and in print.

George Washington is loved and revered in the United States.

In this beautiful little country of ours, the Philippines, there is no hero more loved and revered than Jose Rizal.¹³

Notes

¹Walter Kaner and Walter Kanner are one and the same.  Different sources give the same details about the man except for the variation in the spelling of the family name.

²John Edelberg.  “Liberian Commemorative Stamps Issued.”  New York Post 1 Mar. 1941: 8.

[This article subtitles Walter Kaner as “Philatelic Author on Air” and informs the reader about “an air mail set of four stamps issued on Feb. 27 by the Philippines.”]

³Behind the Mike.  Broadcasting 1 Jan. 1941: 41.

[“Behind the Mike” is a section of the magazine that puts together announcements about people and their activities.  Walter Kaner appears in a number of issues of Broadcasting and is described in this issue as “philatelist and conductor of The Stamp Man program on WWRL.”]

⁴“Kaner’s Stamp Promotion.”  Billboard 18 July 1942: 8.

⁵The AP Feature Service.  “Stamps in the News.”  Red Bank Register [New Jersey] 19 Sep. 1940: 3.

[Red Bank Register features a number of stamp-related articles including the one found in Elizalde Stamp Journal.  Since Red and Elizalde share the same article, they both spell Kanner instead of Kaner.  It looks like the two publications owe their spelling to a typographical error.]

⁶“Stamp Album Traces History of Brasil.”  Elizalde Stamp Journal.  2.1 (1940): 23.

⁷“Kaner, Walter.” [Search result.]  Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999.  The Jerry Bails Project, last updated 18 Oct. 2006.  Web.  29 June 2017.  <www.bailsprojects.com/bio.aspx?Name=KANER%2c+WALTER>.

⁸Sensation Comics is a comic book that features a number of characters but its main attraction is Wonder Woman.

⁹Walter Kaner.  “George Washington of the Philippines.”  Sensations in Stamps.  Sensation Comics #9 (Sept. 1942), J. R. Publishing Co. [DC Comics]: N. pag.

 

¹⁰Austin Craig.  Lineage, Life and Labors of Jose Rizal, Philippine Patriot.  1913.  Amazon.com: [A Public Domain Book], 2012.  Location 2.  Kindle.

¹¹Frank Ernest Gannett.  “Jose Rizal.”  1900.  Rpt. in Jose Rizal. The Collected Works of Jose Rizal: The Complete Works PergamonMedia (Highlights of World Literature).  Amazon.com: PergamonMedia, 2015.  Locations 15943-15944.  Kindle. 

¹²David B. McCoy.  George Washington: History in an Hour.  London: William Collins, 2012.  [Chapter where citation is] “A Farewell into Immortality” [N. pag.].  ePub.

¹³Others may not agree with this.  There is no arguing, however, that Rizal’s date of execution is 30 December 1896.  December 30 is Rizal Day and is celebrated as a legal holiday in the Philippines.

Deucalion and the Great Flood

Zeus is the king of the gods in Greek mythology.  He is known as Jove, and Jupiter, in Roman mythology.  He commonly appears in fictional works like comic books.  In current Wonder Woman mythology, He is the father of Wonder Woman.

A long time ago, God almighty also known as Zeus grew tired of humans’ evil ways that He decided to sink the world in flood.

Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha were spared from the destruction because they built an ark stocked with essentials.

Sounds familiar?  This is essentially the story of Noah’s ark.

Noah and Deucalion are protagonists in several variants of the flood myth across cultures.  Noah’s ark is possibly the most famous flood story of our time.

The flood narrative finds its origin in ancient Mesopotamian epics including the Epic of Gilgamesh which predates both the Holy Bible and ancient hellenistic polytheism.

Reading about history and archaeology along with the Holy Bible makes one realize the good book is literary.  The Bible is allegorical at least, a work of historical fiction at best.

Catholic vs. catholic

The word “catholic” is both proper and common.

The proper noun “Catholic” refers to a Christian who is a member of the Catholic Church.  “Catholic” in Catholic Church is an adjective.

The common “catholic” means varied, versatile, broad-minded, etc.  For example, He is a man of catholic tastes.  The statement means he is a man of varied tastes, i.e., he likes a lot of things.

“He is catholic in his ways” does not mean he is Christian or that the uppercase Catholic is demoted to lowercase catholic.  The statement simply means he is versatile and has nothing to do with faith or religion.

The common “catholic” is commonly seen in biology/zoology treatises where some animals are described as having catholic ways or catholic eating habits, i.e., these animals are not exclusively herbivorous or carnivorous, etc.

Margot Kidder, Lois Lane

Teri Hatcher (Lois Lane in the TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman) made anti-Filipino remarks in an episode of Desperate Housewives.  The Senate was up in arms, wanting to legislate the removal of the show from Philippine television.  I made sure not to watch the series again.  I’m not angry anymore, but I haven’t re-visited the show.

Amy Adams had a remarkable guesting in the fantasy TV series Charmed (starring Shannen Doherty).  I wasn’t sure then she’d go far in showbiz (which has consistently relied on luck as much as talent), but here she is now, our current Lois Lane.

I was a boy when I first saw Superman fly on the silver screen.  My hormones would rage for Christopher Reeve later when I became aware of myself, but at the time, I just saw him as the most famous superhero who wore his jockey shorts outside his pants.

My memory emporium, however, took in Margot Kidder as THE Lois Lane.  Years ago, videos of Lois Lane auditions were released.  They were all charming, but it was Margot Kidder who blended very well with Christopher Reeve; their chemistry was a magic potion that contributed to the film’s success.  I may very well be self-justifying.  The fact remains, though, that it is Margot Kidder who nailed the role, and it is she that my memories launch whenever “Superman’s girlfriend” is mentioned – likely until the day I die.

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Margot Kidder passed away on 13 May 2018.

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Originally published as a comment on Tim Hanley's blog on 17 May 2018, Thursday, at 3:50 a.m. Philippine time; Tim's site shows 16 May 2018, 4:50 p.m.

“Remembering Margot Kidder, A Remarkable Lois Lane and a Remarkable Woman”

https://thanley.wordpress.com/2018/05/14/remembering-margot-kidder-a-remarkable-lois-lane-and-a-remarkable-woman/