You have questions. I have some answers.
In the “Adventures of Superman” series on TV, Clark Kent’s mother was called Sarah. I thought that her name was Martha in the comic books and movies. Am I wrong?
You are not wrong, although the name of Clark’s mother took many forms, as Larry Tye points out in his book “Superman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero.” For example, one early, unpublished draft had Superman’s adoptive parents named Sam and Molly. In the first issue of the “Superman” comic book, says Tye, mom is Mary and dad has no first name. In a 1948 comic, he adds, the names were John and Mary, but a year later dad became Silas. A “Superman” novel had them as Sarah and Eben, names that carried over to the TV series. Tye says “it would take until the 1950s for the couple to settle in as Jonathan and Martha” — unless you count, say, the John and Mary Kent on a parallel Earth in stories.
I have read the Sue Grafton alphabet mysteries (“A is for Alibi,” “B is for Burglar,” etc.) several times. But sadly she died before writing “Z is for Zero.” Is there a draft or something her estate would publish posthumously? And I keep thinking these mysteries would make a great “Masterpiece” serial; is anything happening?
Before Grafton’s death from cancer in December 2017, she had written alphabetized books featuring detective Kinsey Millhone through the letter Y. A book called “Z is for Zero” was announced, but Grafton had not started it at the time of her death, and the family said that Grafton absolutely did not want a ghostwriter using her name. So, the family said, “the alphabet now ends at Y.”