Episode #148: A Superman Fan Review: Superman: Secret Origin & Last Family Of Krypton!

Superman: Secret Origin was a six issue mini-series that updated Superman's origin for current continuity. Matt Idelson was the editor, and Gary Frank drew the cover, and pencilled the interior art. Geoff Johns wrote the story, Jonathan Sibal was the inker, Steve Wands, the letterer and Brad Anderson was the colorist. While I did enjoy this series, one major drawback was its sporadic publication schedule. The first three issues were released monthly from September to November 2009. Issues three and four were published bi-monthly in January and March of 2010, while the final issue was not released until August, 2010.

I looked forward to this series because of Johns' and Frank's work on the Action Comics storylines Superman And The Legion Of Super-Heroes (issues 858 - 863) and Brainiac (issues 866 - 870). I was not disappointed in the story or the art. The series began with a young Clark, maybe in Junior High, or a high school freshman. He is beginning to experience the development of his super powers at the same time as he enters puberty. What fun. We are introduced to Lanan Lang and Pete Ross. Geoff Johns returns Lex Luthor to his silver age continuity as a cntemporary of Clark Kent, instead of a childhood friend of Perry White in Metropolis' Suicide Slum, as was established with John Byrne's Man Of Steel mini-series in 1986. And the young Luthor has a full head of red hair.

The Kents decide to tell Clark the truth about how  they found him and adopted him, and Clark begins to learn of his Kryptonian heritage. The Clark Kent Superboy is returned to continuity as well. My favorite issue was the second, which officially re-established superboy's status as the inspiration to the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st Centuries.

The third issue introduces us to a pre-Superman Metropolis. It's almost as depressing as Gotham City. Lex Luthor, now bald, runs Metropolis as he said he would do as a teen in Smallville. but he is sucking the life out of the city, which is not the City of Tomorrow we are familiar with.Clark Kent gets hired by the Daily Planet, which os on its last legs because it is the only newspaper in Metropolis that does not worship Luthor. Superman begins his career in Metropolis, with mixed results. He meets Lois in a similar way to the movie version, saving her as hse fall off a building, with a helicopter about to crash on top of her.

The final three issues reveal the current origins of both Metallo and the Parasite, both having ties to Lex Luthor. This Metallo is an Army soldier, working for Lois Lane's father, Gen. Sam Lane. The Parasite is Rudy Jones, a Daily Planet janitor who leeches off of everyone, who becomes the Parasite when he is exposed to a toxic substance that was a byproduct of a LexCorp experiment. The last half of the series chronicles Superman's first clash with Gen. Lane, tying in to the then current New Krypton storyline in the Superman family of titles. The end of the series would have had more impact if it would have been published before New Krypton concluded, not after, but I still enjoyed the series. I preferred the first three issues, which established the early Clark Kent and Superman characters. The final three issues were good stories, but tied in too close to New Krypton to have as much impact as I would have liked.

Superman: The Last Family Of Krypton was an Elseworlds story, the first published since the late 1990's. I have always loved the "imaginary stories" in DC Comics from the 1960's, and this mini-series carried on that tradition, and was as much of a joy to read as those earlier imaginary tales. There's something about Superman and his supporting cast being taken out of their regular continuity, and being placed in stories where the Superman creative staff could do with them what they would not normally do in regualr continuity. The series was edited by Mike Carlin, with Rachel Gluckstein serving as assistant editor. The Alex Ross-like cover was drawn by Filipe Massafera. The story was written by Cary Bates, one of the Superman writers from the 1970's and 1980's. He proved that he hasn't lost his touch. the are was drawn by Renato Arlem, colored by Allen Passalaqua and lettered by Pat Brosseau. This three issue series was published on a monthly schedule, from August to October 2010.

This series begins with the whole El family surviving the destruction of Krypton and traveling safely to Earth. The first issue chronicles how the Els settled in Metorpolis, and how the presence of Jor-El, Lara and son Kal-El change the course of not just Metropolis, but of the world, on both a technical and spiritual level. The familiar Superman supporting cast take different but interesting turns in their lives from the regular Superman continuity. The Els are also affected by their new homeworld, and go through their share of both triumphs and struggles in their new home. We even see the Kents come to play a familiar role for young Clark Kent, but how they come together is completely different. A young Lex Luthor even becomes almost like a second son to Jor-El, and Brainiac takes an interesting form in this story. Jor-El's work to protect the Earth has a profound effect on the development of superheroes on Earth.

Kal-El does not remain an only child in this story, but becomes the older brother to a set of twins, a boy and a girl. Each member of the El family develop different lives. Superman eventually makes his appearance to Metropolis, and Clark's job at the Daily Planet as well as his relationship with Lois Lane, take interesting twists and turns as well.

The final issue is not without its share of triumphs and tragedies for the El's, as well as other characters in the DC Universe. I found this to be a fantastic story, one of my favorites of the year, thus far. I enjoyed looking at Superman's supporting cast from a different angle. Cary Bates did a great job of creating distinct characters, and leading them to lives that make sense to each individual. The art was great, although I thought some of the backgrounds, especially of the cityscapes, looked like photos of cities that had been Photoshopped to reseemble drawings, but that's a minor quibble. It's a great story, both on a superhero and a science fiction level. Well worth the price to each oversized (in regards to page count) issue.

Next episode: Superboy's New Fun Adventures!

Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.


Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League Of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites.

Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.

The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.com.

My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/. Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com.

Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics.

Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Episode #147: How Clark Kent Met Lois Lane!

As DC Comics continues to celebrate 75 years of publishing, this episode features two stories, separated by a number of decades, that reveal how Clark and Lois first met.

The first story was first published in Adventure Comics #128, May 1948, published around March 26, 1948. After his earliest stories in More Fun Comics, Superboy moved over to Adventure Comics. He would not get his own title for another year. Jack Schiff was the editor, and the cover was drawn by Win Mortimer.The ten page story, How Clark Kent Met Lois Lane, was written by Bill Finger and drawn by George Roussos.

Clark Kent, reporter for the Smallville high scool newspaper, was one of two winners of the Daily Planet's contest for high school newspaper reporters.The grand prize was a week at the newspaper's offices writing for the Daily Planet. At the newspaper's building he met the other winner, Lois Lane. From the very beginning Clark thought she was pretty, and Lois thought he was boring. Nothing will change in the future. Clark found out where he stood in her eyes when Lois asked about Superboy. He realized Lois was all about the Boy of Steel, and not about him.

The Editor gave the two young reporters their challenge: the best story will get a front page byline. Lois let Clark know in no uncertain terms that girls were better and she would win, and that he was no Superboy. Clark thought, if only she knew. They made a bet: the loser would buy the winner an ice cream sundae.

As they walked the streets of Metropolis, a street cleaning truck drove by. but instead of spraying water it sprayed sleeping gas. Bandits jumped out of the truck and robbed a jewelry store. Quick thinking Lois covered her face with a wet handkerchief, while Clark pretended to faint from the gas. He changed into Superboy as soon as Lois left. Superboy stopped out of control cars from crashing into each other, after their drivers were knocked out by the gas. He then took a billboard and used it as a fan to disperse the fumes, then returned the billboard to its place.

Lois got the story because Clark couldn't risk revealing his identity, but he felt a little frustrated anyway. Lois toured the Daily Planet offices in the "Morgue", the file storeroom of old stories. She read a week old clipping about the owner of a road construction company who left his business to his nephew Paul, who was a convicted burglar. Lois smelled a story and left to investigate.

At the company's property, Lois saw the same water truck from the robbery. She eavesdropped on the conversation inside the building, and overheard Paul talking about using the construction equipment to commit robberies. Of course Lois got captured, as she would do as an adult many times. The gang planned to use the wrecking ball crane to rob a bank, and the steam shovel to rob a warehouse.

Clark searched for Lois at the Daily Planet offices, and saw the same article in the Morgue. As Superboy he appeared at the bank in time to save Lois from being crushed by the wrecking ball, saving her life for the first of many times. After capturing the criminal, Superboy captured the rest of the gang who were operating the steam shovel.

For his efforts, Clark got scooped again by Lois. Being the man, or boy, of honor he was, Clark paid his debt at the ice cream shop, where Lois "scooped" him two more times.

The second story about Clark and Lois's first meeting was published in Superman & Batman: Generations #4, published on February 10, 1999. It contained 48 pages and sold for $4.95. It was the final issue of an Elseworlds mini-series. This series looked at Superman and Batman in a series of stories, beginning in 1939, following them in decade long jumps, as they aged naturally. The series incorporated the changing superhero styles of the subsequent decades.

In the final story, titled 1929, Batman, flying in a Bat Spaceship, found Superman's Fortress of Solitude on a distant planet with a hostile environment. They reminisced about their first frist meeting, as teenagers in Gotham City in 1929.

The flashback began as Superboy flew to Gotham City. He considered moving there after he graduated journalism school. Superboy changed into Clark Kent and entered the offices of the Gotham Gazette newspaper. The Gazette's managing editor introduced the other winners of the newspaper's essay contest, which included the group's only girl, Lois Lane, frm Metropolis. Clark was immediately smitten. The contest was created by the newspaper's owner, a young Bruce Wayne. He used the contest to find the best journalists for the Gazette. Lois ws familiar with Clark's stories about Superboy.

As the winners split up to search for stories, Clark and Lois teamed up. They didn't have far to walk before they saw a giant robot smash its way out of a warehouse. Clark used his x-ray vision to discover that the robot was controlled by a young Lex Luthor, who had escaped the Smallville Juvenile Detention Home. Lois was cpture for the firt time, and Superboy got blasted by fire from the robot as he tried to free Lois, also for the first time.

The scene was witmessed by Bruce Wayne who watched from the window of his office. He had Alfred bring "it", which turned out to be a caped costume. He rushed to assist Superboy as none other than -- Robin. Lex escaped from the robot with an air cycle before Robin could detonate a shaped charge to break into the Robot. Superboy had to let Lex escape in order to stop the now out of control robot. He ripped off the robot's arm to free Lois. Robin couldn't turn off the robot because the controls had been fused, so Superboy solved the problem by dropping the robot on the Moon.

After Superboy returned to Gotham, introductions were made and the trio investigated the warehouse where the robot came from. Lois found an address on a shipping label, and so the Dynamic Trio met at the lab of a Dr. Erwin. The doctor informed them that Lex Luthor, using the name Rex Thorul, had worked as his lab assistant and stole his robot to rob a bank. Tipped off by the smell of spirit gum, Superboy ripped the beard and toupee off of Lex Luthor.

Lex grabbed Lois and escaped with a helicopter backpack. Luthor stopped Superboy with a small piece of kryptonite, but Robin bent a metal strip into a crude boomerang and threw it at Luthor. The kryptonite was knocked from his hand, and Robin put it in a lead pipe to shield it from Superboy. The Boy of Steel was then able to free Lois and capture Luthor. After they turned Lex in to the police, Lois showed her appreciation by kissing Superboy on the cheek. I wonder if Robin felt left out?

After returning to Smallville, Clark informed his parents that he had decided to apply at the Daily Planet newspaper in Metropolis.

The rest of this series will have to wait for another episode.

Next Episode: A Superman Fan Review: Superman: Secret Origin & Supermana: Last Family Of Krypton!

Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.


Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League Of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites.

Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.

The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.com.

My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/. Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com.

Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics.

Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Episode #146: It Was 50 Years Ago Today!

On this episode for the last week of September, which happens to be my birthday, on September 27, I wanted to take a look at the Superman titles that were published on the month I was born back in 1950. That's why I used the title, as a pun off of the first lyric to The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper song. Thanks to Mikes's Amazing World Of DC Comics  for always being a valuable resource.

According to the website, DC Comics published 27 titles in the month of September, 1960. They carried the cover date of November or November/December 1960, and a few titles published near the end of the month carried the December 1960 cover date. All of DC's titles this month contained 32 pages and sold for a dime. This was in the middle of the era where comic books appeared on the newstands at stores across the country, so they were not released on just one day each week of the month, as they are now, as I discovered.

The comic books released on September 1, 1960: Our Army At War #100 (war) and Tomahawk #71 (historical adventure).

September 6, 1960: Flash #116, House Of Mystery #104 (suspense), Mystery In Space #63 (science fiction), World's Finest Comics #113.

September 8, 1960: Blackhawk #154 (military/science fiction), The Many Loves Of Doby Gills #4 (TV show adaption), My Greatest Adventure #49 (science fiction).

September 13, 1960: House Of Secrets #38 (Suspense), TV Screen Cartoons #137.

September 15, 1960: Adventures Of Jerry Lewis #61 (comedy), Our Fighting Forces #58 (war), Superman #141.

September 20, 1960: Falling In Love #39 (romance), Tales Of The Unexpected #55 (suspense), Western Comics #84.

September 22, 1960: Green Lantern #3, Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #21, Wonder Woman #118.

September 27, 1960: All American Men At War #82, Showcase #29 (featuring the Sea Devils). I was a little disappointed that no Superman comic books were published on the day I was born.

September 29, 1960: Action Comics #270, Adventure Comics #278, Detective Comics #285. These last two titles carried the December 1960 cover date: Girls' Love Stories #75 (romance) and Strange Adventures #122 (science fiction).

The Superman titles published in September 1960 all carried the November 1960 cover date:
World's Finest Comics #113 9/6/60, Superman #141 9/15/60, Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #21 9/22/60, Action Comics #270 9/29/60 and Adventure Comics #278 9/29/60.

World's Finest Comics #113, NOvember 1960, was published around September 6, 1960. The editor was Jack Schiff, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye. Superman and Batman and Robin starred in the story, Bat Mite Meets Mr. Mxyzptlk, written by Jerry Coleman, pencilled by Dick Sprang and inked by Sheldon Moldoff. This story was reprinted in the books, Batman From The thirties To The Seventies, World's Finest Archives vol. III and Showcase Presents: World's Finest vol. II.

Superman assisted the Dynamic Duo in capturing some criminals who used a remote controlled robot to terririze Gotham City. Bat Mite apopeared, and felt the the Man of Steel upstaged Batman and Robin. The imp began to harass Superman. Mr. Mxyzptlk appeared and decided to get even by doing the same to the Dynamic Duo. Bat Mite pestered Mr. Mxyzptlk until he returned to the 5th Dimension, then realized he had been a pest and vanished as well.

The Green Arrow story in the issue was the six page Miss Arrowette, written by Dave Wood and drawn by Lee Elias. This story was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Green Arrow  vol. I. Bonnie King won an archery contest and the title Miss Arrowette. She decided to use her talent to help Green Arrow and Speedy fight crime. After initial success, her blunders get both Green Arrow and Speedy captured by criminals. Bonnie does rescue them, and Green Arrow and Speedy use her trick arrows to capture the bad guys. They convince Bonnie to retire from crime fighting.

The science fiction character Tommy Tomorrow appeared in the story Journey To 1960. The story was written by Jack Miller and drawn by Jim Mooney. There was no plot synopsis available from the website Mike's Amazing World Of DC Comics, and the only reprint of the story was in DC Super Stars #6, the August 1976 issue.

Superman #141, November 1960, was published around September 15, 1960. The editor of this and the remaining Superman titles was Mort Weisinger, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye. Superman's Return To Krypton was written by Jerry Siegel, pencilled by Wayne Boring and inked by Stan Kaye. The story was reprinted in Superman In The Sixties, Showcase Presents: Superman vol. II and Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told vol. II. When Superman chased after an unusual space creature, he accidentally flew too fast and broke the time barrier. He would up in the past on the planet Krypton. He met his parents, Jor-El and Lara, and fell in love with Krypton's most famous actress Lyra Lerrol. Superman kept his true relationship with his parents a secret, but assisted his father in finding a way to save their planet from destruction. When their efforts failed, the Man of Steel resolved to share Krypton's doom with the people he loved the most. Through a strange twist of fate, he is thrown into space in a rocket, and returned to his own time. As he approached Earth, a kryptonite meteor shower reminded Superman that the people he loved were gone.

Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #21, November 1960, was published on September 22, 1960. The cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye and Kurt Schaffenberger, who inked Lois Lane and possibly Lana Lang as well.

The seventeen page story The Lois Lane Doll was written by Edmond Hamilton and drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger. This story was reprinted in Superman: The Bottle City Of Kandor. According to the plot synopsis at dcindexes.com, a criminal posing as a doll maker made a life size Lois Lane doll containing a bomb. His plan was for Superman to take it to his Fortress of Solitude. Somehow, the real Lois Lane is taken instead. She visited the bottle city of Kandor and spent time with Superman's friend Van-Zee, whose brother Dik fell in love with Lois. Superman took her from Kandor after Dik proposed to her. The Man of Steel succeeded in capturing the criminal and foiling his plan.

The second story of the issue was the 9 page The Battle Between Super-Lois And Super-Lana. Dcindexes.com gave no writer credit, but comics.org listed the writer as Jerry Siegel. Kurt Schaffenberger was the artist. Lana and Lois both gained super powers after bathing in a strange lake. They decided to use their new powers to convince Superman to choose between them for a wife. They fought each other until their powers vanished, so Superman was spared having to make a decision.

Action Comics #270, November 1960, was published on September 29, 1960. The cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye.  The easiest way to read this issue is in the reprint editions Showcase Presents: Superman vol. II and Showcase Presents: Supergirl vol. I.

The ten page story, The Old Man Of Metropolis, was written by Otto Binder, pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by John Forte. Perry assigned Clark Kent to write a story on Midvale Orphanage and some of their gifted orphans. Clark flew to the orphanage by piloting the newspaper's Flying Newsroom helicopter. The headmaster showed some gifted students on the piano and violin, and another student practicing ballet. Clark met the student, Linda Lee, who was secretly Supergirl, and they pretended that they had never met before. She showed him a painting and Clark, with a wink, told her that she wasn't a very good artist. Linda gave him a story to read after he got home.

Back at his apartment, Clark read Linda's story, titled My Career As Superwoman. He then took a nap to recuperate after being exposed to green kryptonite that morning. Clark was awakened by an out of control rocket which was about to crash into Metropolis. As Superman, he flew at top speed to destroy the rocket, but flew so fast that he broke the time barrier and landed in Metropolis of the future. Superman was shocked to see his reflection in a window, and see the bearded face of an old man. He was met by Supermwoman, who he recognized as the adult Linda Lee. But he didn't remember when she had revealed herelf to the world, nor when he lost his superpowers. Feeling like a has been, Superman changed into Clark Kent and walked to the Daily Planet. He found Jimmy Olsen having replaced Perry White as the Editor-In-Chief. Jimmy reminded Clark that he had retired a long time ago. Later, as Superman, he discovered that Lex Luthor had reformed and invented a cure for cancer, then become Mayor of Metropolis.

Feeling like he had no life in Metropolis, Superman bought a flying car and flew to the Fortress of Solitude. Even the Fortress was not like he remembered, since Superwoman had put his old trophies into storage, and had replaced them with her own souviners. The Man of Steel returned to Metropolis even sadder, and found a piece of kryptonite. To make matters worse, he was arrested for illegal possession of kryptonite, since it would still harm Superwoman. He was put in the same prison cell as Bizarro. Superman;s day became better when the elderly Lois Lane bailed Superman out of jail. She told him that she had never married, and, since he no longer had super powers, followed his heart and told Lois that he wanted to spend their remaining years together. As they kissed, she disappeared and Clark woke up from his dream.

The next day, Lois ws surprised to find a bouquet of flowers on her desk, sent by Superman.

I really enjoyed this story. I knew from the moment that Superman wound up in the future that it was a dream sequence, only because I've read such stories many times. But I enjoy stories that take Superman out of his normal setting.

The Supergirl backup story was Supergirl's Busiest Day, reprinted in Supergirl Archives vol. I. Jeryr Siegel wrote the story, which was drawn by Jim Mooney. Linda Lee helped anoter orphan get adopted, then wished someting exciting would happen. She received an alert from Krypto for help. As Supergirl, she rescued Krypton from the spaceship that had captured him. After she returned to Earth, Supergirl receive a telepathic alert from Lori Lemaris in Atlantis. She helped the mermaid capture the Atlantian criminal Malto. Batman and Robin need her help next, then Superman signalled her to go to the Fortress of Solitude. There, Supergirl found the Man of Steel joined by Lori Lemaris, Krypto, Batman and Robin and the bottle city of Kandor. They had gathered for a surprise birthday party for Supergirl, and the alerts had been planned for her by Superman as a birthday challenge. Superman gives the oddest presents.

Adventure Comics #278, November 1960, published on Sseptember 29, 1960. The cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye. The twelve page story Supergirl In Smallville was written by Otto Binder and drawn by Al Plastino. This story was reprinted in Showcase Presents: Supergirl vol. I. Supergirl traveled into the past and met Jonathan and Martha Kent. She had decided to practice hiding her secret identity to prove to Superman that she was ready to be adopted when she returned to her own time. Supergirl disguises herself as their neice, Linda Kent, as far as Clark knows. The Kents are in on the secret. Theough a series of events, Supergirl succeeds in keeping her secret from everyone, including Superboy, Krypto and Lana Lang. But one evening, Supergirl entered the Kent home through a window, instead of using the secret tunnel. That proved to her that she was not quite ready yet to protect her secret identity on her own. Supergirl returned to her own time, sad at not being ready to be adopted.

Next Episode: How Clark Kent Met Lois Lane!

Join the Superman Fan Podcast and My Pull List groups on facebook, and follow the podcast and blogs on twitter @supermanpodcast.


Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League Of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network!  http://www.comicspodcasts.com/, and is now a proud member of the Superman WebRing of websites.

Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.

The theme of this podcast is Plans In Motion, composed by Kevin MacLeod, and part of the royalty free music library at http://incompetech.com.

My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/. Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com.

Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics.

Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Episode #145: Last City Of Krypton: Superman #200!

With the recent publication of the Elseworlds story, Superman: Last Family Of Krypton, I thought this would be a perfenct opportunity to look at an earlier imaginary story about Kryptonians arriving on Earth. Super-Brother Against Super-Brother first appeared in Superman #200, October 1967, published on August 3, 1967. The issue contained 32 pages for 12 cents. Mort Weisinger was the editor, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein. Cary Bates wrote this story, which was drawn by Wayne Boring. I missed this issue when it was originally published, but bought my copy a few years ago from my old comic shop in Tavares, Florida, at its second location.

The story began when Jor-El confirmed that Krypton's unstable radioactive core would explode in a chain reaction any day now. He had built a small rocket which would allow his toddler son, Kal-El, escape his planet's doom.

Before Jor-El could save his son, a stange, alien spaceship approached Krypton and shrunk Kryptonopolis. Of course, this was done by Brainiac, who placed the city in a bottle. to replicate its atmosphere. But he did not do it, at least in this story, to capture the city. In this imaginary story, Brainiac was not evil, but wanted to save the city from Krypton's doom. He also revealed that he was not a humanoid alien, but a living computer.

Jor-El asked Brainiac to save the rest of Krypton's population. Brainiac was willing to try, after building a stronger shrinking ray. The one he used to skrink Kryptonopolis had burned out. Brainiac succeeded, but by the time his ship returned to Krypton, everyone aboard could only watch the planet blow apart. Brainiac promised to find a way to restore Kryptonopolis to its normal size.

Brainiac would sometimes shrink himself in order to visit Kryptonopolis to visit Jor-El and his family. During one such visit, Brainiac informed Jor-El that he would not be able to enlarge the city. He had discovered that the only known source of the rare element used in the shrinking ray had been depleted.

As life continued on Kryptonopolis, Jor-El and Lara had a second son. During a Kryptonian version of a christening, Brainiac was named the godfather, and named the boy Knor-El, after the man who designed Brainiac's brain circuits.

As Kal-El and his brother Knor grew, Brainiac continued his search for a new source of the rare element he needed, to no avail. The two boys worked together one time to save a man and his skycar when he fell out of the vehicle. Kal-El pursued a career in science, while Knor-El trained in law enforcement.

Finally, one day, Brainiac discovered a new source of the rare element he needed on an uninhabited planet. Kryptoniam workers began building holding tanks for the element. A metoer shower approached Brainiac's ship on a collision course. Brainiac's weapons malfuntioned, and were unable to destroy the meteors. Brainiac's ship is heavily damaged by the colliding meteors, and it approached Earth, barely intact. The ship had just enough power for Brainiac to use his Levitator beam to safely place the bottle city of Kryptonopolis on a deserted field, before his death ina collision with a skyscraper.

The people of Kryptonopolis built a memorial in Brainiac's memory. Jor-El used the city's monitor screens to explore their new home of Earth. He found that the planet's citizens suffered from a lot of crime in their society. Later, in a lab where the tanks were built to hold the rare element, Jor-El discovered that enough of the element had been gathered to enlarge one man, but who? Research indicated that a Kryptonian on Earth would have super powers because of its yellow sun and lesser gravity.

A competition was organized among the young men of Metropolis to decide who would serve as a super hero on Earth. During the first competiotion, the contestants were given flying rocket belts and had to dodge flying energy bubbles. Half of the prospects were eliminated. The next competition was a type of giant chess game, where heach man remote-controlled one piece on the board. More contestants were disqualified. The thrid event was a race with moving hurdles. The final two candidates were both sons of Jor-El, Kal-El and Knor-El.

The final contest was that each man would face a fighting robot. Both men used different strategies. Kal-El used his headband to cover the robot's eyes, while Knor-El figured out his robot's vulnerable spots and struck them. Knor-El won the competition and earned the Superman costume. Kal-El congratulated his brother, but was very disappointed.

Knor-El left the bottle city, and used the tiny amount of the rare element to enlarge himself to normal size for the first time in his life. After relishing in his new super powers, Knor-El built a citadel in the ocean floor where he kept his home city safe. While Kal-El wished that he could take his brother's place, Knor-El adopted a secret identity of Kent Clarkson and got a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet newspaper.

After being given the assignment of covering a prison riot, Clarkson (Knor-El) revealed himself as Superman for the first time by capturing the convicts who had kidnapped the warden.

Later, an alien ship landed on Earth near Metropolis, and Superman greeted them. They exposed him to kryptonite, knocking him out. When Jor-El, using the city's monitor screens, could find no trace of Knor-El on Earth, Kal-El feared his brother could be in danger. Using his scientific knowledge, Kal-El had earlier succeeded in synthsizing the rare enlarging element. He used it to enlarge himself after leaving the city's bottle and flew to rescue his borther from the invading aliens. They exposed him to the kryptonite, but a side effect of the synthesized element was that it did not harm him. Kal-El grew to a giant and he attacked the aliens. He was joined by his brother, who had awoken from a kryptonite induced coma. Together they defeated the aliens and banished them from Earth.

Knor-El talked his brother into becoming a second superheo for Earth, Kal-El became Hyperman. He took the secret identity of LeBlanc, a reporter for the Metropolis Star.

At the end of the issue, the editors honored the 100th Anniversary of Canada becoming a united Federation.

Next Episode: It Was 50 Years Ago Today!

Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com/


Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com .

My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/ . Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com .

Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics.

Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Episode #144: Superman Legacy Month Week II: My Earliest Superman Stories!

As I continue sharing my personal Superman legacy, this episode I feature the earliest Superman stories I can recall reading when I was a boy in the early to mid-1960's. The editor for all of these stories was Mort Weisinger.

Superboy Meets Robin The Boy Wonder, originally published in Adventure Comics #253, October 1958, released around August 28, 1958. The editor was Mort Weisinger, and the cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye. It was reprinted in Superboy #133 (which I have a copy of), The Greatest Team-Up Stories Ever Told and Superboy: The Greatest Team-Up Stories Ever Told. After Superman was mortally wounded from a booby trapped Sueprboy souviner, Robin travelled back in time to warn Superboy and destroy the disguised bomb.

The Army Of Living Kryptonite Men from Superboy #86, January 1961, published around November 17, 1960. The cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye. The story was written by Jerry Siegel and drawn by George Papp. It was reprinted in 80 Page Giant  #11 (which I may have had a copy of because the cover looked familiar), Legion Of Super-Heroes Archives vol. I, Superman Vs. Lex Luthor and Showcase Presents: Legion Of Super-Heroes vol. I. The young Lex Luthor invented a way to mentally control rocks, including some kryptonite asteroids. He used this new invention to trap Superboy, who is saved by the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Superman #181, November 1961, published on September 16, 1965. The cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein. The Super Scoops Of Mona Vine was written by Leo Dorfman, pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein. There was no reprint information on this story. The daughter of the largest shareholder of Daily Planet stock used parts from a destroyed Superman robot to out scoop Clark, Lois and Jimmy. The Superman of 2965 was written by Edmond Hamilton, pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye. It was reprinted in Superman: Past And Future. This story introduced the Superman of the mid-30th Century, his supporting cast at the Daily Interplanetary News, his arch villain and his mortal weakness, which is not kryptonite.

Exit Batman - Enter Nightman from World's Finest Comics #155, February 1966, published around December 9, 1965. The cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein, who also did the story art. The story itself was written by Edmond Hamilton. It has been reprinted in Showcase Presents: World's Finest vol. III. This was the first comic book that I can remember my Father buying for me. For their 1,000th case together, Superman has Batman solve the case of the identity of the Man of Steel's new partner Nightman. Superman had Batman chase his own cape, so to speak, as payback to the mystery the Caped Crusader presented the Man of Steel on his birthday. This occurred in the earlier story, The Super Key To Fort Superman, from Action Comics #241, June 1958, reprinted in The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told, Superman: The Man Of Tomorrow Archives vol. I and Showcase Presents: Superman vol. I.

The Cape And Cowl Crooks from World's Finest Comics #159, August 1966, published on June 9, 1966. The cover was pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein. The story wsa written by Edmond Hamilton, pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein. This story was reprinted in Superman/Batman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told and Showcase Presents: World's Finest vol. III. Superman and Batman face evil doppelgangers who turn out to be Perry White and Commissioner Gordon, who were exposed to one of Superman's trophies in his Fortress of Solitude. It leaked a gas which turns people evil.

Superman And Batman - Brothers! from World's Finest Comics #172, December 1967, published on October 26, 1967. The Norman Rockwell style cover was drawn by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein. The story was written by a teen aged Jim Shooter, pencilled by Curt Swam and inked by George Klein. It was a classic imaginary story where the Kents adopted a teen Bruce Wayne after his parents were murdered, and Clark and Bruce began their crime fighting careers as brothers.

Next Episode: Last City Of Krypton: Superman #200!

Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com/


Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com .

My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/ . Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com .

Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics.

Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Episode #143: Superman Legacy Month Week I: My Favorite Superman Artists, After Curt Swan Of Course!

Since my birthday is in the month of September, I thought I would use some of the episodes this month to highlight my personal Superman legacy. In this episode I want to share my favorite Superman artists, after my favorite, Curt Swan.

I've divided them into two groups, using the 1986 John Byrne mini-series Man Of Steel as the dividing line. Those artists whose careers were mainly in previous decades I've grouped together in the Classic catagory. The artists whose careers are more current I've put in the Modern group.

Classic:

Wayne Boring: subject of episode #76. For more information visit http://www.wayneboringcom.blogspot.com/.
Kurt Schaffenberger: subject of episode #5.
Al Plastino and Jim Mooney: I grouped them together because I find their art styles very similar. Mooney was the subject of episode #13. For more information about Al Plastino: http://www.alplastino.com/alplastino/Welcome.html.
Neal Adams: subject of episode #77. For more information about Neal Adams: http://www.nealadams.com/, http://www.nealadamsentertainment.com/.

Modern:

John Byrne: subject of episode #25. For more information about John Byrne: http://www.byrnerobotics.com/.
Jerry Ordway: for more information: http://ordstersrandomthoughts.blogspot.com/.
Alex Ross: subject of episode #110. For more information about Alex Ross: http://www.alexrossart.com/.
Stuart Immonen: http://www.immonen.ca/. To read his web comic, Moving Pictures, about the theft of European art by the Nazi's during WWII, go to http://www.immonen.ca/comics/.

Classic:

Wayne Boring: Just as Curt Swan is the iconic Superman artist from the 1960's through the mid-1980's, Wayne Boring was the iconic Superman artist of the 1950's. His Superman fit the 50's ideal of the muscular man, a big barrel chest and thick waist. He drew a solid Man of Steel. Boring got his start with the Siegel and Shuster Cleveland studio during the early years of Superman comics, and worked his way into being the main Superman artist for many years. He didn't draw Superman flying very dynamically. His Man of Steel looked as if he flew sideways. And when Superman was surprised while flying, he looked as if he ws putting the brakes on, or sliding into base in midair. But I enjoy his art regardless. Boring conveyed emotion on his faces.

Kurt Schaffenberger: He was the iconic silver age Lois Lane artist. His clean style made it no surprise that he had been one of the Captain Marvel artists from the 1940's to the mid-1950's. Kurt was perfect for the mostly humorous and light hearted Lois Lane title. His Superman was different from Curt Swan's or Wayne Boring's styles, but is still  a great Man of Steel.

Al Plastino and Jim Mooney: Their art styles are hard for me to differentiate, so I grouped them together. Both artists had a simple art style for a simpler era in comic book history. Their art serviced the story well, and conveyed the emotions of their characters well. Both men had long careers, with Mooney drawing into the 1990's.

Neal Adams: his realistic art style was groundbreaking in the late 1960's and early 1970's. His sense of almost photorealism in comic book art has been continued by Alex Ross and others today. Adams raised the bar for comic book artists, combining excellent knowledge of anatomy with sophisticated page layouts. He also knew how to draw various body and facial types. My favorite Neal Adams cover was the wrap-around cover for DC 100 Page Super Spectacular #6, which depicted the Earth-1 superheroes on the front, and the Earth-2 heroes on the back. Inside was a key which identified all of the characters. Adams' Earth-1 Superman was stockier and a little shorter than the taller, yet still muscular Batman.

Modern:

John Byrne: I couldn't leave off the comic book creator who laid the foundation for the modern Superman. I was first exposed to his art with the first issue of Charlton Comshort lived comic book series Doomsday +1. While his style has vastly improved since the mid 1970's, I still enjoyed his drawing back then. His Superman is iconic for modern times, and including a hint of Christopher Reeve (without channeling him as Gary Frank does, even though I enjoy his style also). The rebooted Superman begun by John Byrne fits a more modern time while being faithful to the character's roots. My only criticism is that sometimes Byrne had too much story to fit on a page. In a few issues he would wind up with a very narrow panel across the bottom of the page, with a talking head almost drowning among the word balloons. Fortunately, that only happened a few times.

Jerry Ordway: His career with DC Comics began just a few years before Byrne's Man Of Steel series, but he was part of Superman's reboot with the retitled The Adventures Of Superman, which continued the numbering of the original Superman title. The most prominent feature of Ordway's Superman is the chin of steel. His style reminds me a little bit of John Severin. A lot of the Superman stories Ordway worked on in Adventures concentrated on Clark Kent and the rest of the Superman supporting cast, which I miss in current Superman stories. He doesn't skimp on background detail, and draws different body types well. He made Clark Kent's world come to life.

Alex Ross: He is often called the Norman Rockwell of comic books, and to me, that's a high compliment. He has a classic, photo realistic art style. Unlike other comic book artists with similar styles he is able to depict motion and action well, without drawing panels that seem too stiff or posed. I find his version of Superman the iconic version for current times. His painted art brings an almost 3-D quality to comic books. While his art is pretty to look at, he doesn't forget to tell the story.

Stuart Immonen: I first saw his art on the Legion Of Super-Heroes, then on Superman, and later the mini-series Superman: Secret Identity. He has a classic, realistic style on these titles, giving his figures a 3-D look. They have depth and shape. He is also able to convey emotion. I can believe it when he once stated in an article that Curt Swan was one of his inspirations.

Next Episode: Superman Legacy Month Week II: My Earliest Superman Stories!

Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com/


Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com .

My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/ . Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com .

Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics.

Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Episode #142: Revenge Is Life - Death To Superman: SUPERMAN #414!

This episode features part two of the main story which was published in DC Comics Presnets #87, featured in Episode #138: The Origin Of Superboy Prime: DC Comics Presents #87! Superman #414, December 1985, was published on September 12, 1985. It contained 32 pages and sold for 75 cents.  The editor was Julius Schwartz, and the cover artist was Eduardo Barreto. The story was written by Elliot S! Maggin, pencilled by Curt Swan, inked by Al Williamson (in the podcast I misidentified the inker as Murphy Anderson), lettered by Ed King, and colored by Gene D'Angelo. There have been no reprints of this story, but you can read it online here: http://superman.nu/tales2/revenge/.

The story began with a tank, crewed by the Superman Revenge Squad, destroyed a Superman statue in Metropolis. Then they sliced into the Superman Museum. From there the Revenge Squad flew to the Fortress of Solitude and hacked into the Fortress's computers and leave a message.

A beam shot from the Fortress, across space, to New Krypton. Van-Zee had just returned home to his wife Sylvia after a day's work, when he received an alert from Superman's Fortress.

The scene then returns to the ending of DC Comics Presents  #87, when Superboy Prime was sucked into a vortex and Superman was knocked out by an energy beam from the Superman Revenge Squad ship. Then the Man of Steel was wrapped like a mummy, as Jimmy Olsen followed the story from the Daily Planet's flying newsroom (helicopter). Jimmy called the story in to Clark Kent at the Planet office. We see that Clark's computer simulated Kent, including his voice, and typed up the story as Jimmy reported it. That's one way to protect a secret identity. Another of the developing news stories is the recent report of Supergirl's death.

The Superman Revenge Squad ship left Earth and flew to New Krypton. The ship displayed the mummified body of Superman, exposing his face, to the citizens of New Krypton. Van Zee led the Superman Emergency Squad, now the Kandorian Armada, in defending New Krypton from their attackers. The Revenge Squad ship was actually a hologram, broadcast from the real ship.

Superman had been retreived inside the Revenge Squad ship, unwrapped and shackled to a wall. The Man of Steel watched the attack. Van Zee learned that the invasion was controlled remotely, and began searching for the site.

The Superman Revenge Squad activated a mind control device, affecting the entire population of New Krypton. Then Superman grabbed the back collar of one of the Squad's crew, who dropped a remote control of some kind. When one of Superman's bonds disappeared, he was able to grab the device with his free hand and free himself.

Superman was attacked by the Kandorians, and defeated by Van Zee. His wife Sylvia dropped a small device into Superman's hand, and he used the device to send the Superman Revenge Squad to the Phantom Zone.

Free from the Revenge Squad's control, Van Zee explained to Superman, and us readers, what happened after he received the alert from the Fortress of Solitude. The message they received from the Fortress was for Van's wife Sylvia to carry a portable Phantom Zone projector. Since she was from Earth, and not Kryptonian, Sylvia was not affected by the mind control device.

Superman flew to Earth in a spaceship, since New Krypton orbited a red sun, which rendered Superman powerless. He retreived the body of Supergirl, wrapped in her cape and suspended at the point in space where the gravity of the Earth and Moon were balanced. Superman then returned to New Krypton so that her parents could grieve for their late daughter.

Next Episode: Superman Legacy Month, Week I: My Favorite Superman Artists, After Curt Swan Of Course!

Superman Fan Podcast is a proud member of the League of Comic Book Podcasters at http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league and the Comics Podcast Network! http://www.comicspodcasts.com/


Superman Fan Podcast is at http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/ . Send e-mail about this podcast to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com .

My Pull List is my spoiler free comic book review blog of the titles I read every week. It can be found at http://mypulllist.blogspot.com/ . Send e-mail about this blog to mypulllist@gmail.com .

Superman and all related characters are trademark and copyright DC Comics.

Thanks for listening to the Superman Fan Podcast and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.