According to the Superman Homepage, http://supermanhomepage.com/, Lucy Lane's accepted birthday is July 25. She is Lois Lane's younger sister. Lucy first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #36, April 1959. In the silver age of comics, Lois and Lucy's parents were Sam and Ella Lane of Pittsdale. In the post Crisis Superman continuity, the Lane sister's parents were known as Sam and Elinore Lane. Readers of the recent New Krypton storyline know that the post-Crisis Sam Lane was a general in the U. S. Army.
During the golden age, Lois had a neice whose name was Susie Thompkins, who vexed Superman almost as much as Mr. Mxyzptlk. During the silver age Susie's mother was ret-conned as Lois' married sister Lucy Lane Thompkins. living on Earth-2.
The silver age, or Earth-1 Lucy Lane was an airline stewardess. She dated Jimmy Olsen off and on during the silver age.
When John Byrne rebooted Superman continuity in the mini-series Man Of Steel, Lucy remained a stewardess. In issue five of the mini-series, which featured the origin of the first post-Crisis Bizarro, Lucy had been blinded during a hijacking attempt. Her vision was restored when this first Bizarro was disintegrated in a mid-air collision with Superman. This story reprised the original Bizarro story from the 1950's, in a Superboy story.
Lucy briefly dated Jimmy Olsen, but eventually began dating the young Daily Planet reporter, African-American Ron Troupe. They would marry and hava a child. Over time the family disappeared from Superman stories. General Lane supposedly died protecting the White House during the Our Worlds At War storyline. At the beginning of the recently concluded New Krypton storyline, it was revealed that Lucy had joined the Army in honor of her late father. Her relationship with older sister Lois was strained. What happened with Lucy's relationship with Ron, and their child, was unknown.
During the New Krypton plotline, it was revealed that Lucy had become the new Superwoman, in a costume similar to the one worn by the original, silver age Superwoman. Supergirl Annual #1 revealed the origin of Lucy's transformation into Superwoman, with the unique properties of her costume. In a battle against Supergirl, Lucy's suit was ripped, causing her powers to overload and explode. In Supergirl #50 it was revealed that Lucy was somehow resurrected, and apparently still operated as Superwoman. Her fate after the conclusion of the New Krypton story is unknown.
This has been a very brief summary of Lucy Lane's history. The rest of this episode will feature her earliest appearances, beginning with her first. Lucy Lane first appeared in the second story of Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #36, April 1959, titled simply Lois Lane's Sister. The story was written by Otto Binder, pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye. It has been reprinted in Showcase Presents: Superman Family vol. III. Unfortunately for me, I only have the first volume. For the plot summaries of the stories cited in this episode I used Mike's Amazing World Of DC Comics at http://dcindexes.com/.
One day Jimmy Olsen meets Lois Lane's sister Lucy, who is a blonde. He is immediately smitten with her and asked Lucy for a date. She agreed, but wasn't impressed with Jimmy. As a stewardess, Lucy soon went back to work ar her airline. Probably with a touch of jealousy, Jimmy was afraid Lucy would fall in love with someone else. So he bought a ticket for the same flight. Jimmy kept Lucy from accepting dates with two passengers, with help from Superman. Lucy was impressed by the trouble Jimmy had gone for her, and agreed to continue to date him. but when Jimmy proposed to her, Lucy declined. She refused to get married until her older sister Lois did. And so Jimmy's long wait began.
In real life today, I don't know if the modern woman would be impressed or creeped out, but this was typical of the silver age stories under the editorial control of Mort Weisinger.
Jimmy and Lucy did eventually marry, if only in an imaginary story, Superman Red And Superman Blue, which was published in Superman #162, July 1963. It was written by Leo Dorfman and pencilled by Curt Swan. After Superman was split into twins after a kryptonite experiment backfired, Lois and Lana marry their own Superman. At the ceremony, Jimmy and Lucy were members of the wedding party, and on the spur of the moment agreed to marry, and made it a triple ceremony. This story was reprinted in The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told, DC's Greatest Imaginary Stories and Showcase Presents: Superman vol. IV.
Subsequent stories chronicled the ups and downs of the relationship between Lucy and Jimmy.
The Most Hated Girl In Metropolis
Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #9, May 1959
Lucy brought sister Lois to Hollywood, after the Daily Planet reproter was shunned by her fellow staffers when an old story she had written but never filed was published, saying that Clark Kent was Superman. Lois was a surprise guest on the classic TV show This Is Your Life, which was an actual, long-running TV show. The article was a hoax to get Lois to go to Hollywood so she could appear on the show (with friends like these ...). The most bizarre part of the story was when Superman used an amnesiac man to stand in for Clark Kent so that both could appear on stage with Lois. Another typical Mort Weisinger edited story.
The Jimmy Olsen Signal Watch
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #38, July 1959
Jimmy gave Lucy a signal watch, so that she could alert him anytime she needed his help. Afterward Jimmy showed his fan club the different costumes he wore during his many adventures. Each time Lucy needed Jimmy he showed up in a different costume. Finally too embarrassed to tolerate it any more, Lucy returned the signal watch to Jimmy.
Jimmy Olsen's Wedding (same issue)
Jimmy broke a date with Lucy to go to the dentist. He fell asleep in the dentist chair and dreamed about marrying Lucy. In the dream Lucy was jealous of Jimmy's friendship with Superman, and made him choose between her and the Man of Steel. Jimmy chose Lucy and they got married. Their marriage was fairly happy. They had a son, Jimmy, Jr., who would become a friend with Superman like his father did. Lucy ended her jealousy of the Man of Steel when he saved the family. After the dental visit was over, Lucy asked Jimmy for a date, but he was hesitant. I wonder why?
Alias Chip O'Toole
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #49, December 1960
Lucy was starstruck by singer Chip OToole. Jimmy was a little jealous and disguised himself as O'Toole. He took Lucy out on a date, and she fawned over him. Later, Jimmy took Lucy out on a date as himself, and she acted cold toward him. Superman exposed Jimmy's disguise, and Lucy revealed that she saw through his disguise and wanted to teach him a lesson. Well played, Lucy, well played.
The Girl With The Green Hair
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #51, March 1961
Supergirl disguised herself as Ka Ra, a green haired woman from another world (years before Marvel's She-Hulk). She pretended to fall in love with Jimmy to make Lucy jealous, and her plan works. Jimmy is unaware of Ka Ra's real identity when he dates her, but eventually decides to stay with Lucy. (I have to wonder why Lucy would want Jimmy back.) Ka Ra "leaves" to return to her home planet. Lucy found a Ka-Ra robot a professor built as a gift (for Jimmy?) and believes Jimmy tricked her. So Jimmy lost both girls. Thanks, Supergirl, for nothing.
The Boy In The Bottle
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #53, June 1961
Jimmy exchanges places with Kandorian Van-Zee, who assisted Superman with an experiment. The machinery that allowed the two men to switch places malfunctioned, so Jimmy was stuck in the bottle city of Kandor. Using Kandor's monitors, I assume, Jimmy was able to observe Lucy with other guys, and becomes depressed. A Kandorian scientist removed Jimmy's memories of her to relieve his depression, before Superman was finally able to repair the machine and return Jimmy to full size. Jimmy still did not remember Lucy, however. She was intrigued by his new indifference; maybe she believed he was playing hard to get. Superman restored Jimmy's memories and his relationship with Lucy returned to normal, which bored her. Just another typical Mort Weisinger edited story.
Baby Jimmy Olsen
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #54 July 1961
Jimmy was disappointed that Lucy thought he was too young. So of course he drank Professor Potter's growth serum. But apparently it was past its expiration date, so Jimmy regresses to a toddler as a result. It seemed that he retained his adult intellect even though he could not talk. So he dressed as Superbaby and visited the Daily Planet offices in search of a cure. (I wonder why he didn't search the Professor's lab, but then if he did we wouldn't have had a story.) He failed, and made his way to Lois Lane's apartment. Lois assumed he was an orphan and took him in. Little Jimmy immediately showed affection for Lucy. Somehow he exposed her date as a gangster. The crook locked Jimmy in a room, from where Jimmy summoned Superman (perhaps with his signal watch). Superman helped Jimmy fake superpowers and made the girls and the gangster beleive he was the real Superbaby. After Jimmy defeated the gangster, Sueprman gave him the antidote.
The Battle Of The Sisters
Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #27, August 1961
Lois became jealous of her sister when Superman appeared to romance sister Lucy. Jimmy wasn't happy either, when it seemed that his best friend was putting the moves on his girlfriend. Superman proposed to Lucy, but she surprisingly declined. Lois learned that it wasn't the real Superman, but Kandorian Bor-Jak. He had switched places with the Man of Steel during another experiment and had fallen in love with Earth, and Lucy in particular. Lucy had turned him down because she did not want to move to Kandor. Bor-Jak returned to Kandor and Superman returned to full size on Earth.
Lois Lane - Gun Moll
Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #28, October 1961
A visitor brought a device to the Daily Planet offices, claiming that he could make people's evil tendencies become dominant. Lois was the only one who agreed to test the device on herself, showing her dominant impulsive tendencies. She soon became very rude. After Lucy discovered her role in a robbery, Lois kidnapped her sister. But Superman rescued Lucy, while Lois revealed that she was engaged to Lex Luthor. After a public wedding, they escaped to Luthor's hideout. Superman discovered the lair and melted Lois with his heat vision. It wasn't the real Lois, but a robot. The Man of Steel found the real Lois, kidnapped by Luthor, who Superman returned to prison.
Jimmy Olsen's Sweethearts
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #56, October 1961
Lucy stood up Jimmy on a date in Hollywood, so Jimmy decided to make her jealous (a favorite Mort Weisinger plot). Jimmy was seen dating Marilyn Monroe, Tuesday Weld, Gina Lollabrigida, Brigette Bardot and Jaynse Mansfield. The plan worked, as a jealous Lucy confronted Jimmy. He revealed that the girls were members of a look alike club, and he was doing a story about them. As expected, Lucy stormed out.
Don't worry, I won't end this podcast on such a down note.
Jimmy Olsen, Freak
Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #59, March 1962
A girl from another planet arrived on Earth and met Jimmy, who seemed to be a chic magnet for other-worldly girls.She gave him a belt which allowed him to have super powers. Jimmy found out that on her home world she has four other husbands, and so he wanted to back out. Superman helped his friend trick her to believe that Jimmy had two wives already, and she returned to her home planet alone. Lucy wanted to date Jimmy again after seeing him with another beautiful woman.
This was a bizarre story, even for the silver age. Playing tricks on people was a staple of editor Mort Weisinger. But at least we end this episode with Jimmy and Lucy back together.
Next episode: An Imaginary Summer 2010, Part II: Waverider And The Adventures Of Superman Annual #3, 1991!
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/.
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.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Episode #135: An Imaginary Summer, 2010: Waverider & SUPERMAN ANNUAL #2, 1991!
This summer will continue a tradition begun last year and feature some of the imaginary stories in Superman comics. For the first few episodes the featured stories will be the Superman Annuals from 1991. They were tie-ins, along with all of the other Annuals for the rest of DC's titles, with the two issue event mini-series Armageddon 2001. The first issue, cover dated May 1991, was published on March 12, 1991. It contained 64 pages sold for $2.00. It was written by Archie Goodwin and drawn by Dan Jurgens. They created the character that tied into all of the Annuals, Waverider.
He was originally Matthew Ryder. As a young boy he was saved from a collapsing building by a superhero that he does not remember the identity of. Sometime during his childhood one of the DC superheroes decided to establish order in society, killed all of the other heroes, and ruled the world as the dictator Monarch. As an adult Ryder volunteered for a project to enable someone to travel through time. In spite of the deaths of previous volunteers during the experiment, Ryder volunteered for the project. He survived and was transformed into the time traveling entity known as Waverider. His purpose was to travel back in time to discover the identity of the hero who betrayed his, or her, fellow heroes and became Monarch. Waverider would then kill Monarch and prevent his future from occurring.
He searched for the future dictator by touching each hero while invisible and in a moment seeing their future unfold. These future lives formed the stories that were told in the DC Annuals for 1991. The first of these Annuals to be featured on this podcast was Action Comics Annual #3 in episode #47, Superman For President, published on November 5, 2008.
The featured story for this episode is Superman Annual #3, 1991, published on April 19, 1991, containing 64 pages for the cover price of $2.00. Mike Carlin was the editor. The cover was pencilled by Dusty Abel and inked by Terry Austin. The story, Execution 2001, was written by Dan Jurgens, pencilled by Dusty Abel, inked by Terry Austin, John Beatty, Dick Giordano and Dennis Janke, colored by Glenn Whitmore and lettered by John Costanza. Dan Thorsland was the assistant editor.
The story began with Superman foiling an escape attempt out of the Stryker Island prison by a group of Intergang thugs, who used floating discs that had been smuggled into the prison to effect their escape. The Man of Steel then captured the crew of an Intergang support plane and added them to the prison population.
Waverider then followed Superman to the roof of the Daily Planet building, where Lois Lane waited for the Man of Steel. As they began a conversation, Waverider, who was able to keep himslef invisible to Superman's senses, touches him and in an instant watches Superman's future unfold.
He watched Clark and Lois marry. Sometime later, Mannheim blackmailed Metropolis with the threat of detonating a nuclear device. it was never meant to explode, but some malfunction caused the weapon to explode. The city of Metropolis is wiped away, including the entire staff of the Daily Planet, and Lois Lane.
After an undisclosed amount of time where Clark grieves for his late wife and friends, he married Lana Lang. He vowed that the destruction of Metropolis would never be repeated.
Superman modified his uniform. His cape had a high collar, and was attached to his uniform with some yellow discs, and he wore red gloves. He confronted a submarine, forcing it to surface. Superman then ordered the U. S. Naval crew to abandon ship, and then sunk the submarine using his x-ray vision.
At the White House President Forrest and his aides discussed how to stop Superman. He had increasingly begun to interfere with international relations, taking oil tankers and grain silos to impoverished nations. It was revealed that not all of the sailors had left the submarine before Superman sunk it. One aide suggested that there was one person who might be uniquely equipped to deal with the Man of Steel.
In Gotham City, the Batsignal shined against Gotham Tower. Mayor James Gordon met Batman and gave him an address that was written on a piece of paper. On one of Gotham's docks at the waterfront, Batman met President Forrest, who offered the Dark Knight the job of killing Superman. At first Batman refused, but the President challenged him to at least investigate the claim. Batman agreed to do that much.
At a Kansas farm Superman appeared in the basement after flying through a tunnel to avoid anyone discovering his secret identity. He briefly talked with Lana about his day, and then spent some time with Ma Kent. She was limited to a wheelchair, suffering from Alzheimer's. She thought Clark was still in high school. Bruce Wayne paid the Kents a visit. He pressed Clark to retire, and told him about the claims about the dead sailors. Clark informed Bruce that he used his x-ray vision to check the submarine for any stranded sailors before he sunk the sub. Bruce was releived. Clark changed into Superman and flew out through the basement tunnel, and referred to Lana as "Mrs. Kent". Bruce was shocked, and expressed his concern about the mental strain Clark was under. Lana told Bruce that Clark was haunted by the fact that he had not yet been able to dismantle Intergang.
In Washington, D. C. someone broke into a room that contained military records. He found the file on the sunk submarine and was able to confirm that a number of sailors were indeed left aboard the sub when it sank.
Sueprman was confronted by the Justice League, led by the Martian Manhunter. They fought, and Superman used Fire's powers against the League. John J'onzz became surrounded by flames and panicked. He had a heart attack and died in Fire's arms.
The Man of Steel knew that the authorities would be gunning for him now. He took Lana and Ma Kent to the Fortress of Solitude for their safety.
In the Batcave we discover that Tim Drake, now dressed as Robin, was the person who broke into the records room in the nation's capitol and discovered the truth about the dead sailors. Batman reminded him about what Superman told him, as originally presented in Action Comics #654, that he trusted Bruce to kill him if it ever became necessary. Batman contacted Clark at the Fortress, and convinced him to meet at Crime Alley in Gotham City.
In a scene reminiscent to The Dark Knight Returns, Superman met an armored Batman. They battled on the Gotham streets until Batman used the kryptonite ring to kill Superman. Batman wondered who would be sent to finish him off when his time came. Robin assurred Batman that he did the right thing. Batman disagreed, saying that it could never be called right.
Waverider confirmed that Superman would not become Monarch and left. Superman's only sensation about the contact was to mention to Lois that he had a brief feeling that someone had walked acroos his grave.
Next Episode: Happy Birthday, Lucy 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/.
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 Podcat and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
He was originally Matthew Ryder. As a young boy he was saved from a collapsing building by a superhero that he does not remember the identity of. Sometime during his childhood one of the DC superheroes decided to establish order in society, killed all of the other heroes, and ruled the world as the dictator Monarch. As an adult Ryder volunteered for a project to enable someone to travel through time. In spite of the deaths of previous volunteers during the experiment, Ryder volunteered for the project. He survived and was transformed into the time traveling entity known as Waverider. His purpose was to travel back in time to discover the identity of the hero who betrayed his, or her, fellow heroes and became Monarch. Waverider would then kill Monarch and prevent his future from occurring.
He searched for the future dictator by touching each hero while invisible and in a moment seeing their future unfold. These future lives formed the stories that were told in the DC Annuals for 1991. The first of these Annuals to be featured on this podcast was Action Comics Annual #3 in episode #47, Superman For President, published on November 5, 2008.
The featured story for this episode is Superman Annual #3, 1991, published on April 19, 1991, containing 64 pages for the cover price of $2.00. Mike Carlin was the editor. The cover was pencilled by Dusty Abel and inked by Terry Austin. The story, Execution 2001, was written by Dan Jurgens, pencilled by Dusty Abel, inked by Terry Austin, John Beatty, Dick Giordano and Dennis Janke, colored by Glenn Whitmore and lettered by John Costanza. Dan Thorsland was the assistant editor.
The story began with Superman foiling an escape attempt out of the Stryker Island prison by a group of Intergang thugs, who used floating discs that had been smuggled into the prison to effect their escape. The Man of Steel then captured the crew of an Intergang support plane and added them to the prison population.
Waverider then followed Superman to the roof of the Daily Planet building, where Lois Lane waited for the Man of Steel. As they began a conversation, Waverider, who was able to keep himslef invisible to Superman's senses, touches him and in an instant watches Superman's future unfold.
He watched Clark and Lois marry. Sometime later, Mannheim blackmailed Metropolis with the threat of detonating a nuclear device. it was never meant to explode, but some malfunction caused the weapon to explode. The city of Metropolis is wiped away, including the entire staff of the Daily Planet, and Lois Lane.
After an undisclosed amount of time where Clark grieves for his late wife and friends, he married Lana Lang. He vowed that the destruction of Metropolis would never be repeated.
Superman modified his uniform. His cape had a high collar, and was attached to his uniform with some yellow discs, and he wore red gloves. He confronted a submarine, forcing it to surface. Superman then ordered the U. S. Naval crew to abandon ship, and then sunk the submarine using his x-ray vision.
At the White House President Forrest and his aides discussed how to stop Superman. He had increasingly begun to interfere with international relations, taking oil tankers and grain silos to impoverished nations. It was revealed that not all of the sailors had left the submarine before Superman sunk it. One aide suggested that there was one person who might be uniquely equipped to deal with the Man of Steel.
In Gotham City, the Batsignal shined against Gotham Tower. Mayor James Gordon met Batman and gave him an address that was written on a piece of paper. On one of Gotham's docks at the waterfront, Batman met President Forrest, who offered the Dark Knight the job of killing Superman. At first Batman refused, but the President challenged him to at least investigate the claim. Batman agreed to do that much.
At a Kansas farm Superman appeared in the basement after flying through a tunnel to avoid anyone discovering his secret identity. He briefly talked with Lana about his day, and then spent some time with Ma Kent. She was limited to a wheelchair, suffering from Alzheimer's. She thought Clark was still in high school. Bruce Wayne paid the Kents a visit. He pressed Clark to retire, and told him about the claims about the dead sailors. Clark informed Bruce that he used his x-ray vision to check the submarine for any stranded sailors before he sunk the sub. Bruce was releived. Clark changed into Superman and flew out through the basement tunnel, and referred to Lana as "Mrs. Kent". Bruce was shocked, and expressed his concern about the mental strain Clark was under. Lana told Bruce that Clark was haunted by the fact that he had not yet been able to dismantle Intergang.
In Washington, D. C. someone broke into a room that contained military records. He found the file on the sunk submarine and was able to confirm that a number of sailors were indeed left aboard the sub when it sank.
Sueprman was confronted by the Justice League, led by the Martian Manhunter. They fought, and Superman used Fire's powers against the League. John J'onzz became surrounded by flames and panicked. He had a heart attack and died in Fire's arms.
The Man of Steel knew that the authorities would be gunning for him now. He took Lana and Ma Kent to the Fortress of Solitude for their safety.
In the Batcave we discover that Tim Drake, now dressed as Robin, was the person who broke into the records room in the nation's capitol and discovered the truth about the dead sailors. Batman reminded him about what Superman told him, as originally presented in Action Comics #654, that he trusted Bruce to kill him if it ever became necessary. Batman contacted Clark at the Fortress, and convinced him to meet at Crime Alley in Gotham City.
In a scene reminiscent to The Dark Knight Returns, Superman met an armored Batman. They battled on the Gotham streets until Batman used the kryptonite ring to kill Superman. Batman wondered who would be sent to finish him off when his time came. Robin assurred Batman that he did the right thing. Batman disagreed, saying that it could never be called right.
Waverider confirmed that Superman would not become Monarch and left. Superman's only sensation about the contact was to mention to Lois that he had a brief feeling that someone had walked acroos his grave.
Next Episode: Happy Birthday, Lucy 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/.
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 Podcat and, as always, thanks to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Episode #134: Truth, Justice And All That Stuff!
In honor of the recent Fourth of July holiday, this episode will focus on one of the most familiar phrases tied to Superman, "Truth, Justice and the American Way." Generations of Superman fans are familiar with that phrase. But its origins do not stretch back to Superman's beginnings. The phrase that described Superman in his earliest stories was, "Champion of the oppressed." he has also been known as, "The Man of Tomorrow", and more commonly, "The Man of Steel".
At the beginning, Superman was a lot different than he is today. He wa a lot rougher on the bad guys. The stories in Superman #1, published on May 18, 1939, according to http://dcindexes.com/, contains enough expamples of the Man of Steel's actions to filll this episode.
In the first story of the issue, an expanded version of the original Superman story from Action Comics #1, the Man of Steel forced a woman to confess to a murder she had committed. "Are you ready to sign a confession? Or shall I give you a taste of how that gun felt when I applied the pressure." Superman had earlier grabbed her gun and squezzed it into scrap metal. Superman then knocked down the Governer's door to give him the proof he needed to stop the execution of an innocent man.
Later in the issue Superman knocked a wife beater against the wall, hard.
After Lois was kidnapped, Superman caught the car, filled with her and her captors. After saving Lois and shaking the gangsters from the vehicle, he smashed the car against the rock, in a scene portrayed on the cover of Action Comics #1. Superman then hung one of the gangsters at the top of a telelphone pole, presumably by his belt.
In another story, Superman dragged a war lobbyist behind him while he ran across a telephone wire, then dropped to the sidewalk from a great height, with the frightened lobbyist in tow. With the information he gained, Superman then forced a munitions maker, who had been supplying both sides in a war, to enlist in the army. To make sure the businessman faced the horrors of war, Superman donned a uniform himself and made sure he learned his lesson. On the battlefield, the Man of Steel found a group of soldiers torturing a prisoner. Superman threw the torturer into the trees like a javelin. When a fighter plane fires on troops, Superman jumped into the air and shattered the propeller, allowing the plane and pilot to crash.
Back in the United States, Superman taught the owner of an unsafe mine a lesson by trapping he and his party in his mine, after the owner took his party inside the mine shaft. The Man of Steel purposely caused an avalance, and then saved everyone as their air was running out.
In the last story of the issue, Superman stopped a group of crooked gamblers who were trying to fix a college football game. To do this Superman kidnapped one of the team's benchwarmers, who looked like him, after giving him an injection to knock him out. The Man of Steel then took his place during the week's practice and earned a spot onto the starting lineup. Superman basically was a one man team, until late in the game, when he switched places with the real player.
Another example of a rougher Man of Steel came from the untitled story Europe At War from Action Comics #22, March 1940. While covering a European war as Clark Kent, Superman caught a bomber in the air, and threw it to the ground, where it crashed with the crew aboard. On an ocean liner heading across the sea, Superman spotted a submarine. He dove into the water, caught a torpedo heading toward the ship, and aimed it back at the submarine, destroying it.
Superman has also been known as The Man Of Tomorrow. When actor Ray Middleton became the first actor to wear a Superman costume, at the Superman Day of the 1939 - 1940 New York World's Fair, it was at the World of Tomorrow exhibit. Whether this is the source of that phrase I could not find out for certain. From 1996 - 1999, DC Comics published 15 issues of a quarterly Superman title, Superman: The Man Of Tomorrow. It would be published during the months with a fifth week during the era when four Superman titles were published each month.
Truth, Justice and the American Way was part of the introduction of every episode of the 1950's Adventures Of Superman TV show starring actor George Reeves. Comic book writer and editor Mark Waid has been attributed as saying that it became part of the introduction of the 1940's radio show, beginning in 1942. While I do subscribe to a podcast rebroadcasting that radio show, the latest episodes I have are not from that year. The ones I do have contain the intoduction, "... the neverending battle for Truth and Justice."
After just a few years, Superman quickly changed from a champion of the oppressed to a defender of the establishment. DC was quick to establish an editorial policy barring its heroes from killing, or allowing to die, any villains. They were one of the more conservative comic book publishers. Their control over Superman increased after Jerry Siegel joined the Army. Dc's control over Superman became complete after creators Siegel and Shuster were fired for suing their publisher.
During the 2006 movie Superman Returns, Frank Langella as Perry White was giving orders to the Daily Planet staff about Superman's return to Earth. One of the angles he wanted his staff to cover was, "Truth, Justice ... all that stuff." Apparently, director Brian Singer and the scriptwriters wanted to avoid the many connotations to "the American Way", and the many interpretations involved. They wanted to avoid any controversy about what would define the American Way.
Next Episode: An Imaginary Summer 2010!
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/
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.
At the beginning, Superman was a lot different than he is today. He wa a lot rougher on the bad guys. The stories in Superman #1, published on May 18, 1939, according to http://dcindexes.com/, contains enough expamples of the Man of Steel's actions to filll this episode.
In the first story of the issue, an expanded version of the original Superman story from Action Comics #1, the Man of Steel forced a woman to confess to a murder she had committed. "Are you ready to sign a confession? Or shall I give you a taste of how that gun felt when I applied the pressure." Superman had earlier grabbed her gun and squezzed it into scrap metal. Superman then knocked down the Governer's door to give him the proof he needed to stop the execution of an innocent man.
Later in the issue Superman knocked a wife beater against the wall, hard.
After Lois was kidnapped, Superman caught the car, filled with her and her captors. After saving Lois and shaking the gangsters from the vehicle, he smashed the car against the rock, in a scene portrayed on the cover of Action Comics #1. Superman then hung one of the gangsters at the top of a telelphone pole, presumably by his belt.
In another story, Superman dragged a war lobbyist behind him while he ran across a telephone wire, then dropped to the sidewalk from a great height, with the frightened lobbyist in tow. With the information he gained, Superman then forced a munitions maker, who had been supplying both sides in a war, to enlist in the army. To make sure the businessman faced the horrors of war, Superman donned a uniform himself and made sure he learned his lesson. On the battlefield, the Man of Steel found a group of soldiers torturing a prisoner. Superman threw the torturer into the trees like a javelin. When a fighter plane fires on troops, Superman jumped into the air and shattered the propeller, allowing the plane and pilot to crash.
Back in the United States, Superman taught the owner of an unsafe mine a lesson by trapping he and his party in his mine, after the owner took his party inside the mine shaft. The Man of Steel purposely caused an avalance, and then saved everyone as their air was running out.
In the last story of the issue, Superman stopped a group of crooked gamblers who were trying to fix a college football game. To do this Superman kidnapped one of the team's benchwarmers, who looked like him, after giving him an injection to knock him out. The Man of Steel then took his place during the week's practice and earned a spot onto the starting lineup. Superman basically was a one man team, until late in the game, when he switched places with the real player.
Another example of a rougher Man of Steel came from the untitled story Europe At War from Action Comics #22, March 1940. While covering a European war as Clark Kent, Superman caught a bomber in the air, and threw it to the ground, where it crashed with the crew aboard. On an ocean liner heading across the sea, Superman spotted a submarine. He dove into the water, caught a torpedo heading toward the ship, and aimed it back at the submarine, destroying it.
Superman has also been known as The Man Of Tomorrow. When actor Ray Middleton became the first actor to wear a Superman costume, at the Superman Day of the 1939 - 1940 New York World's Fair, it was at the World of Tomorrow exhibit. Whether this is the source of that phrase I could not find out for certain. From 1996 - 1999, DC Comics published 15 issues of a quarterly Superman title, Superman: The Man Of Tomorrow. It would be published during the months with a fifth week during the era when four Superman titles were published each month.
Truth, Justice and the American Way was part of the introduction of every episode of the 1950's Adventures Of Superman TV show starring actor George Reeves. Comic book writer and editor Mark Waid has been attributed as saying that it became part of the introduction of the 1940's radio show, beginning in 1942. While I do subscribe to a podcast rebroadcasting that radio show, the latest episodes I have are not from that year. The ones I do have contain the intoduction, "... the neverending battle for Truth and Justice."
After just a few years, Superman quickly changed from a champion of the oppressed to a defender of the establishment. DC was quick to establish an editorial policy barring its heroes from killing, or allowing to die, any villains. They were one of the more conservative comic book publishers. Their control over Superman increased after Jerry Siegel joined the Army. Dc's control over Superman became complete after creators Siegel and Shuster were fired for suing their publisher.
During the 2006 movie Superman Returns, Frank Langella as Perry White was giving orders to the Daily Planet staff about Superman's return to Earth. One of the angles he wanted his staff to cover was, "Truth, Justice ... all that stuff." Apparently, director Brian Singer and the scriptwriters wanted to avoid the many connotations to "the American Way", and the many interpretations involved. They wanted to avoid any controversy about what would define the American Way.
Next Episode: An Imaginary Summer 2010!
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/
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.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Episode #133: Happy Birthday, Dan Jurgens!
Dan Jurgens was born on June 27, 1959, in Minnesota, where he still lives. He is a comic book writer and artist most famous for his work on the Superman titles of the early 1990's, and for creating the superhero Booster Gold.
His interest in comic books began with the 1960's Batman TV show. Dan's first comic book was Superman #189, and the first comic book story to make an impact on him was Robin Dies At Dawn, in Batman #156, June 1963.
Dan studied art in college and worked as a graphic designer. His career as a comic book artist began when he showed his portfolio to comic book writer and artist Mike Grell, at an appearance at a comic book shop. Grell was so impressed with Dan's art that he gave Jurgens his first comic book work, as penciller on Warlord #63, November 1982. Dan would continue as penciller on the title through issue # 91, March 1985. He also drew for a variety of other titles, including Sun Devils 8 and 9, which he also scripted, and Tales Of The Legion Of Super-Heroes 322 - 325.
Jurgens' creation, Booster Gold, first appeared in the first issue of his own title cover dated February 1986. This first Booster Gold series lasted through issue #25, February 1988.
Dan Jurgens first worked on a Superman story with The Adventures Of Superman Annuual #1, 1987. That annual introduced the Wordbringer, an alien who lived on a vast spaceship, and collected living brains from beings across outer space to live on his spaceship. Superman investigated the mysterious disappearance of the residents of Trudeau, North Dakota.
Jurgens also drew the Deadman story that appeared in Action Comics Weekly issues 601 - 612. he also drew the DC Flash Gordon comic book through issue 9.
Dan first worked on the monthly Superman titles with Superman #29 as writer and penciller, and Adventures Of Superman #452, both cover dated March 1989. He would be a member of the Superman creative team through Superman #150, November 1999. At the beginning of Dan's time as a Superman creator, Art Thibert served as his inker, but Brett Breeding would become his regular inker through most of Jurgens' time on the Superman titles. He also created the villains Doomsday and Cyborg, who would loom large in the Superman titles.
The Death Of Superman storyline was told in the Superman titles cover dated October and November 1992. Funeral For A Friend occurred in the Superman books cover dated January - June 1993, and Reign Of The Supermen was told in the Superman titles cover dated June - October 1993.
Jurgens also served as the penciller for the Armageddon 2001 event mini-series. He co-created the hero Waverider with writer Archie Goodwin. Dan also created Agent Liberty, who first appeared in Superman #60, October 1991. The character had his own special issue with Agent Liberty Special #1 in 1992.
Dan Jurgens wrote and pencilled the Zero Hour miniseries, cover dated September 1994. This series served as a mini-reboot of the DC Universe, the first since Crisis On Infinite Earths about eight years before.
In 1995 he wrote and laid out the Superman Vs. Aliens mini-series, and Kevin Nolan did the finished art.
Dan has also worked for Marvel. He pencilled the first six issues of The Sensational Spider-Man in 1996. Three years later Dan wrote and pencilled the single issue special Superman / Fantastic Four. He served as the original writer for the Tomb Raider series for Top Cow/Image the same year.
In 2000, Dan Jurgens wrote and laid out the Titans / Legion of Super-Heroes: Universe Ablaze mini-series. He also wrote scripts for the titel Aquaman from issu 63, January 200, thorugh issue 75, January 2001.
Dan Jurgens returned to the character Superman as writer and penciller for the Superman: Day Of Doom four issue mini-series, cover dated January 2003, ten years after the Death Of Superman story. The following year he pencilled a few issues of Legion, from issues 35 - 38, late September - late October 2004.
For Marvel, Dan Jurgens worked on the titles Captain America and Thor.
He also pencilled four issues of Solar, from issues 46 - 50, inked by Dick Giordano. With inker Tom Grinberg, Dan wrote and pencilled issues 51 - 54.
Back at DC, Dan Jurgens pencilled the first four issues of the mini-series Crisis Aftermath: The Battle For Bludhaven, and issue six, cover dated June and July 2006. This was Dan's opportunity to dwell in Batman's world.
For the weekly series 52, he wrote and pencilled the back issue feature History Of The DC Universe for issues 2 - 10. Dan also did the same for the next weekly series Countdown for issues 49 - 38 (this series counted down for the issue numbers) on the back issue feature History Of The Multiverse.
Dan Jurgens wrote and pencilled the six issue mini-series Metamorpho: Year One, cover dated December 2007 - late February 2008.
He returned to a new Booster Gold monthly series with a new #1 cover dated October 2007, and is serving as a writer and penciller.
Dan also worked on Superman again, of sorts, with the twelve issue mini-series Tangent: Superman's Reign, cover dated May 2008 - April 2009.
In several interviews that have been posted on the internet (links to which will be posted at the end of this episode), Dan said that he does not prefer writing or drawing, but sees both as different aspects of the same job. He is most prould of his work on Superman and Booster Gold, because they represent strides in his career. If he could pick any series to write and draw, it would be Green Lantern, because he has enjoyed the cosmic type of stories when he has had a chance to work on them. Finally, the only thing that has bothered him about how other creators have portrayed Booster Gold has been when some have shown him to be an idiot. He was not referring to the classic Justice League International Blue Beetle stories. Dan doesn't see Booster as a perfect hero, but as one who at times gets in his own way.
The featured Dan Jurgens story of this episode is the three issue mini-series Superman / Domsday: Hunter / Prey, cover dated April - June 1994. The story was collected in a trade paperback the following year. Dan Jurgens wrote the story and laid out the art. Brett Breeding finished the art, Bill Oakley did the lettering and Greg Wright was the colorist. This mini-series was collected in Superman: The Doomsday Wars, first published in 1998, and Superman / Doomsday Omnibus, published in 2006.
This story began with Clark Kent having a recurring dream. It started with a scene from his childhood, when he had to go into the dark basement. It ended with him as an adult facing Doomsday. Eventually he told Lois that he had to fly into space to find out where exactly Doomsday's body was, so that noone else would think to use Doomsday for their own ends.
Doomsday was found by a passing cargo ship heading toward the planet Apokolips. The crew realized too late what it was, and Doomsday killed the entire crew as the ship flew to its destination. The ship landed on Apokolips and Doomsday began wreaking havoc on Darkseid's troops.
Cyborg appeared, having hidden his intelligence on a small piece of electronic equipment attached to Doomsday's back. Cyborg created a new body from the body and armor of one of Darkseid's dead soldiers. He planned on taking over Apokolips after Doomsday had killed everyone on the planet. Darkseid monitored events, not yet taking any action, even though he knew exactly what Doosday was, an unkillable force.
Before leaving Earth, Superman met Matt Rider and Waverider and demanded to know how to defeat Domsday. They were hesitant at first, not wanting to change the future.
Darkseid finally entered the battle after Apokolips' weapons were no match for Doomsday, but was severely injured. DeSaad contacted Superman at JLA HQ, asking for help. A Motherbox teleported Superman to Apokolips, but he was unable to catch Doomsday before DeSaad used a boom tube to teleport Doomsday off planet.
Book II began with Waverider wrestling with his conscience about helping Superman.
The Man of Steel used his Motherbox to heal Darkseid from his injuries while Cyborg decimated Apokolips' forces. Superman was joined by Waverider, who tells Superman of Doomsday's origin.
In the uncounted past a geneticist worked at an installation on an extremely hostile planet. His team grew a clone and ejected it into the hostile environment, which was killed by the violent creatures that lived outside. The team would collect genetic material from the remains and create another clone. This process was repeated innumberable times over many decades until the Ultimate was created, Doomsday's original name. Not only did he survive the hostile environment, but he killed the violent creatures that attacked him.
The Ultimate turned his attention to the installation, and attacked it, murdering everyone inside. He boarded a supply ship and escaped the planet, spreading terror across outer space. He finally landed on the planet Calaton, and was defeated for the first time by the artificial being Radiant. The planet's survivors wrapped Doomsday in a green containment suit and bound his body in steel cables, sending his body to float in space. Eventually he crashed on Earth and was buried deep underground. That was where the Death Of Superman story began.
Darkseid recovered and used his Omega Beams to kill Cyborg. Superman discovered that DeSaad had sent Doomsday back to Caladon.
Issue III began with the revelation that Cyborg was not really dead, but his intelligence was imprisoned in a small globe, for Darkseid to use and control later.
A boom tube sent Superman and Waverider to Caladon, too late to stop Doomsday from finally killing Radiant. Superman battled Doosday, stopping him from destroying a power plant, but not before being injured.
Waverider used his power to link with Doomsday in an attempt to find a way to defeat him. He discovers that Doomsday sees Superman as his creator. Superman realizes that the reason for that is because Doosday was created on the primitive planet of Krypton. The remnants of the cloning facility was used by ancient Krypton to create their own cloning technology, as shown in the 1987 mini-series World Of Krypton.
The battle raged on, and Doomsday broke Superman's left arm, and threw him into the power plant, destroying it. The Man of Steel found Waverider's wristband, and used it to teleport himself and Doomsday to the end of time. Waverider recuperated in time to follow Superman and retreive him, leaving Doomsday at the end of time.
The Motherbox used the last of its power to heal Superman's arm and restore his traditional costume. Superman then returned to Lois.
In the story Superman: The Doomsday Wars Brainiac would retreive Doomsday from the end of time to use for his own ends, which involved the kidnapped infant of Pete and Lana Ross. This story was also collected in the Superman / Doosday Omnibus.
Next episode: Truth, Justice And All That Stuff!
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/
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.
His interest in comic books began with the 1960's Batman TV show. Dan's first comic book was Superman #189, and the first comic book story to make an impact on him was Robin Dies At Dawn, in Batman #156, June 1963.
Dan studied art in college and worked as a graphic designer. His career as a comic book artist began when he showed his portfolio to comic book writer and artist Mike Grell, at an appearance at a comic book shop. Grell was so impressed with Dan's art that he gave Jurgens his first comic book work, as penciller on Warlord #63, November 1982. Dan would continue as penciller on the title through issue # 91, March 1985. He also drew for a variety of other titles, including Sun Devils 8 and 9, which he also scripted, and Tales Of The Legion Of Super-Heroes 322 - 325.
Jurgens' creation, Booster Gold, first appeared in the first issue of his own title cover dated February 1986. This first Booster Gold series lasted through issue #25, February 1988.
Dan Jurgens first worked on a Superman story with The Adventures Of Superman Annuual #1, 1987. That annual introduced the Wordbringer, an alien who lived on a vast spaceship, and collected living brains from beings across outer space to live on his spaceship. Superman investigated the mysterious disappearance of the residents of Trudeau, North Dakota.
Jurgens also drew the Deadman story that appeared in Action Comics Weekly issues 601 - 612. he also drew the DC Flash Gordon comic book through issue 9.
Dan first worked on the monthly Superman titles with Superman #29 as writer and penciller, and Adventures Of Superman #452, both cover dated March 1989. He would be a member of the Superman creative team through Superman #150, November 1999. At the beginning of Dan's time as a Superman creator, Art Thibert served as his inker, but Brett Breeding would become his regular inker through most of Jurgens' time on the Superman titles. He also created the villains Doomsday and Cyborg, who would loom large in the Superman titles.
The Death Of Superman storyline was told in the Superman titles cover dated October and November 1992. Funeral For A Friend occurred in the Superman books cover dated January - June 1993, and Reign Of The Supermen was told in the Superman titles cover dated June - October 1993.
Jurgens also served as the penciller for the Armageddon 2001 event mini-series. He co-created the hero Waverider with writer Archie Goodwin. Dan also created Agent Liberty, who first appeared in Superman #60, October 1991. The character had his own special issue with Agent Liberty Special #1 in 1992.
Dan Jurgens wrote and pencilled the Zero Hour miniseries, cover dated September 1994. This series served as a mini-reboot of the DC Universe, the first since Crisis On Infinite Earths about eight years before.
In 1995 he wrote and laid out the Superman Vs. Aliens mini-series, and Kevin Nolan did the finished art.
Dan has also worked for Marvel. He pencilled the first six issues of The Sensational Spider-Man in 1996. Three years later Dan wrote and pencilled the single issue special Superman / Fantastic Four. He served as the original writer for the Tomb Raider series for Top Cow/Image the same year.
In 2000, Dan Jurgens wrote and laid out the Titans / Legion of Super-Heroes: Universe Ablaze mini-series. He also wrote scripts for the titel Aquaman from issu 63, January 200, thorugh issue 75, January 2001.
Dan Jurgens returned to the character Superman as writer and penciller for the Superman: Day Of Doom four issue mini-series, cover dated January 2003, ten years after the Death Of Superman story. The following year he pencilled a few issues of Legion, from issues 35 - 38, late September - late October 2004.
For Marvel, Dan Jurgens worked on the titles Captain America and Thor.
He also pencilled four issues of Solar, from issues 46 - 50, inked by Dick Giordano. With inker Tom Grinberg, Dan wrote and pencilled issues 51 - 54.
Back at DC, Dan Jurgens pencilled the first four issues of the mini-series Crisis Aftermath: The Battle For Bludhaven, and issue six, cover dated June and July 2006. This was Dan's opportunity to dwell in Batman's world.
For the weekly series 52, he wrote and pencilled the back issue feature History Of The DC Universe for issues 2 - 10. Dan also did the same for the next weekly series Countdown for issues 49 - 38 (this series counted down for the issue numbers) on the back issue feature History Of The Multiverse.
Dan Jurgens wrote and pencilled the six issue mini-series Metamorpho: Year One, cover dated December 2007 - late February 2008.
He returned to a new Booster Gold monthly series with a new #1 cover dated October 2007, and is serving as a writer and penciller.
Dan also worked on Superman again, of sorts, with the twelve issue mini-series Tangent: Superman's Reign, cover dated May 2008 - April 2009.
In several interviews that have been posted on the internet (links to which will be posted at the end of this episode), Dan said that he does not prefer writing or drawing, but sees both as different aspects of the same job. He is most prould of his work on Superman and Booster Gold, because they represent strides in his career. If he could pick any series to write and draw, it would be Green Lantern, because he has enjoyed the cosmic type of stories when he has had a chance to work on them. Finally, the only thing that has bothered him about how other creators have portrayed Booster Gold has been when some have shown him to be an idiot. He was not referring to the classic Justice League International Blue Beetle stories. Dan doesn't see Booster as a perfect hero, but as one who at times gets in his own way.
The featured Dan Jurgens story of this episode is the three issue mini-series Superman / Domsday: Hunter / Prey, cover dated April - June 1994. The story was collected in a trade paperback the following year. Dan Jurgens wrote the story and laid out the art. Brett Breeding finished the art, Bill Oakley did the lettering and Greg Wright was the colorist. This mini-series was collected in Superman: The Doomsday Wars, first published in 1998, and Superman / Doomsday Omnibus, published in 2006.
This story began with Clark Kent having a recurring dream. It started with a scene from his childhood, when he had to go into the dark basement. It ended with him as an adult facing Doomsday. Eventually he told Lois that he had to fly into space to find out where exactly Doomsday's body was, so that noone else would think to use Doomsday for their own ends.
Doomsday was found by a passing cargo ship heading toward the planet Apokolips. The crew realized too late what it was, and Doomsday killed the entire crew as the ship flew to its destination. The ship landed on Apokolips and Doomsday began wreaking havoc on Darkseid's troops.
Cyborg appeared, having hidden his intelligence on a small piece of electronic equipment attached to Doomsday's back. Cyborg created a new body from the body and armor of one of Darkseid's dead soldiers. He planned on taking over Apokolips after Doomsday had killed everyone on the planet. Darkseid monitored events, not yet taking any action, even though he knew exactly what Doosday was, an unkillable force.
Before leaving Earth, Superman met Matt Rider and Waverider and demanded to know how to defeat Domsday. They were hesitant at first, not wanting to change the future.
Darkseid finally entered the battle after Apokolips' weapons were no match for Doomsday, but was severely injured. DeSaad contacted Superman at JLA HQ, asking for help. A Motherbox teleported Superman to Apokolips, but he was unable to catch Doomsday before DeSaad used a boom tube to teleport Doomsday off planet.
Book II began with Waverider wrestling with his conscience about helping Superman.
The Man of Steel used his Motherbox to heal Darkseid from his injuries while Cyborg decimated Apokolips' forces. Superman was joined by Waverider, who tells Superman of Doomsday's origin.
In the uncounted past a geneticist worked at an installation on an extremely hostile planet. His team grew a clone and ejected it into the hostile environment, which was killed by the violent creatures that lived outside. The team would collect genetic material from the remains and create another clone. This process was repeated innumberable times over many decades until the Ultimate was created, Doomsday's original name. Not only did he survive the hostile environment, but he killed the violent creatures that attacked him.
The Ultimate turned his attention to the installation, and attacked it, murdering everyone inside. He boarded a supply ship and escaped the planet, spreading terror across outer space. He finally landed on the planet Calaton, and was defeated for the first time by the artificial being Radiant. The planet's survivors wrapped Doomsday in a green containment suit and bound his body in steel cables, sending his body to float in space. Eventually he crashed on Earth and was buried deep underground. That was where the Death Of Superman story began.
Darkseid recovered and used his Omega Beams to kill Cyborg. Superman discovered that DeSaad had sent Doomsday back to Caladon.
Issue III began with the revelation that Cyborg was not really dead, but his intelligence was imprisoned in a small globe, for Darkseid to use and control later.
A boom tube sent Superman and Waverider to Caladon, too late to stop Doomsday from finally killing Radiant. Superman battled Doosday, stopping him from destroying a power plant, but not before being injured.
Waverider used his power to link with Doomsday in an attempt to find a way to defeat him. He discovers that Doomsday sees Superman as his creator. Superman realizes that the reason for that is because Doosday was created on the primitive planet of Krypton. The remnants of the cloning facility was used by ancient Krypton to create their own cloning technology, as shown in the 1987 mini-series World Of Krypton.
The battle raged on, and Doomsday broke Superman's left arm, and threw him into the power plant, destroying it. The Man of Steel found Waverider's wristband, and used it to teleport himself and Doomsday to the end of time. Waverider recuperated in time to follow Superman and retreive him, leaving Doomsday at the end of time.
The Motherbox used the last of its power to heal Superman's arm and restore his traditional costume. Superman then returned to Lois.
In the story Superman: The Doomsday Wars Brainiac would retreive Doomsday from the end of time to use for his own ends, which involved the kidnapped infant of Pete and Lana Ross. This story was also collected in the Superman / Doosday Omnibus.
Next episode: Truth, Justice And All That Stuff!
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/
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.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Episode #132 New Krypton: The Aftermath!
Superman: War Of The Supermen #4 (of 4) was published on the last Wednesday of May, and was a great ending to a great story. While the army of New Krypton ran through the rest of the heroes, the Superman family of superheroes were able to make a last stand against General Zod and his army, and save Earth.
Superman had good reasons to go to New Krypton. With Zod free and leading the military guild,
Kal-El needed to keep an eye on Zod, and his Aunt Allura as well. The Man of Steel wanted to be an example to new Krypton as he had been on Earth. He wanted to show them that, just because they were more powerful than humans, they shouldn't think of themselves as superior. And Kal wanted to train Kryptonians in the proper use of their superpowers.
The widescale destruction, including the destruction of the planet of New Krypton itself, was caused by the paranoia and megalomania of two men, Zod and General Lane. Both men tipped the scales against Earth and New Krypton figuring out how to peacefully coexist.
Zod and Lane had similar leadership philosophies, for the most part. Both were willing to risk their troops on dangerous missions with high risk of casualties, although Zod seemed more casual about sending troops to their doom.
Superman contrasted both men. He led his troops both physicaly and by example. And, whenever possible, he found a non-violent, or non-lethal solution to a conflict.
The Man of Steel's decisions on picking which heroes to protect Metropolis had far reaching effects. Ultimately, he picked the heroes who would eventually help him defeat both Zod and Lane. Now that's leadership. Conner Kent Superboy wielded the Phantom Zone Projector to send the last of Zod's troops back to the Zone, before Superman himself used it to send Zod back, and himself, after setting the projector to self-destruct afterward. The Guardian, Steel and Supergirl defeated Lane's forces, including Nemesis and Atlas. That scene had the only bad dialogue of the issue, between Guardian and Nemesis. No need to quote it here. And Steel got his revenge on Atlas.
There were things that Superman was powerless against. Zod's influence over New Krypton was such that they rejected Kal-El's example. Zod also manipulated Kal into helping train the very army that attacked his adopted planet. Chris Kent is now once again in the Phantom Zone. he sacrificed himself to send Superman back to Earth, while the Nightwing entity would guard Zod. Chris's exile is hopefully made easier by the presence of Mon-El, who played a key role in ensuring the Legion's future would exist.
Noone was untouched by the tragedy of the war between Earth and New Krypton. Superman was orphaned for the second time, after finding a group of Kryptonians so that he was no longer alone. Having gained a world that he had heard about but never experienced, only to lose it, had to be worse that knowing he was the last Kryptonian but never having experiencing his world. I wouldn't wish that for anyone.
Supergirl lost her world for the second time as well. Unlike Superman, she watched both of her parents die. so her grief is, in some respects, more personal even than Superman's.
What few survivors of New Krypton are now in the Phantom Zone, unless there are any remaining Kryptonian sleeper agents on Earth.
Lois lost her father, for a second time. She, and everyone else, thought he died defending the White House during the Our Worlds At War storyline. Not only did he commit suicide in front of her, but his animosity against anything Kryptonian put him at odds like never before with his oldest daughter. What does the future hold for her relationship with her sister Lucy, who was revealed as Superwoman. She was empowered by her father through experiments conducted at Project 7734. Will Lois get the truth about her father out, or will the world continue to consider General Lane a hero?
There are several questions remaining after the conclusion of War Of The Supermen. Have we seen the last of Zod? I would be interested in the ultimate fate of Chris Kent. I would like to see Chris freed from the Phantom Zone and adopted by Clark and Lois. I'm also curious about the future of Lucy Lane / Superwoman. The Guardian, his daughter and niece Billi have left Metropolis, and Billi, Mon El's old girlfriend, is pregnant with his baby. That should make an interesting storyline.
Next Week: Happy Birthday, Dan Jurgens!
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/
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.
Superman had good reasons to go to New Krypton. With Zod free and leading the military guild,
Kal-El needed to keep an eye on Zod, and his Aunt Allura as well. The Man of Steel wanted to be an example to new Krypton as he had been on Earth. He wanted to show them that, just because they were more powerful than humans, they shouldn't think of themselves as superior. And Kal wanted to train Kryptonians in the proper use of their superpowers.
The widescale destruction, including the destruction of the planet of New Krypton itself, was caused by the paranoia and megalomania of two men, Zod and General Lane. Both men tipped the scales against Earth and New Krypton figuring out how to peacefully coexist.
Zod and Lane had similar leadership philosophies, for the most part. Both were willing to risk their troops on dangerous missions with high risk of casualties, although Zod seemed more casual about sending troops to their doom.
Superman contrasted both men. He led his troops both physicaly and by example. And, whenever possible, he found a non-violent, or non-lethal solution to a conflict.
The Man of Steel's decisions on picking which heroes to protect Metropolis had far reaching effects. Ultimately, he picked the heroes who would eventually help him defeat both Zod and Lane. Now that's leadership. Conner Kent Superboy wielded the Phantom Zone Projector to send the last of Zod's troops back to the Zone, before Superman himself used it to send Zod back, and himself, after setting the projector to self-destruct afterward. The Guardian, Steel and Supergirl defeated Lane's forces, including Nemesis and Atlas. That scene had the only bad dialogue of the issue, between Guardian and Nemesis. No need to quote it here. And Steel got his revenge on Atlas.
There were things that Superman was powerless against. Zod's influence over New Krypton was such that they rejected Kal-El's example. Zod also manipulated Kal into helping train the very army that attacked his adopted planet. Chris Kent is now once again in the Phantom Zone. he sacrificed himself to send Superman back to Earth, while the Nightwing entity would guard Zod. Chris's exile is hopefully made easier by the presence of Mon-El, who played a key role in ensuring the Legion's future would exist.
Noone was untouched by the tragedy of the war between Earth and New Krypton. Superman was orphaned for the second time, after finding a group of Kryptonians so that he was no longer alone. Having gained a world that he had heard about but never experienced, only to lose it, had to be worse that knowing he was the last Kryptonian but never having experiencing his world. I wouldn't wish that for anyone.
Supergirl lost her world for the second time as well. Unlike Superman, she watched both of her parents die. so her grief is, in some respects, more personal even than Superman's.
What few survivors of New Krypton are now in the Phantom Zone, unless there are any remaining Kryptonian sleeper agents on Earth.
Lois lost her father, for a second time. She, and everyone else, thought he died defending the White House during the Our Worlds At War storyline. Not only did he commit suicide in front of her, but his animosity against anything Kryptonian put him at odds like never before with his oldest daughter. What does the future hold for her relationship with her sister Lucy, who was revealed as Superwoman. She was empowered by her father through experiments conducted at Project 7734. Will Lois get the truth about her father out, or will the world continue to consider General Lane a hero?
There are several questions remaining after the conclusion of War Of The Supermen. Have we seen the last of Zod? I would be interested in the ultimate fate of Chris Kent. I would like to see Chris freed from the Phantom Zone and adopted by Clark and Lois. I'm also curious about the future of Lucy Lane / Superwoman. The Guardian, his daughter and niece Billi have left Metropolis, and Billi, Mon El's old girlfriend, is pregnant with his baby. That should make an interesting storyline.
Next Week: Happy Birthday, Dan Jurgens!
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/
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.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Episode #131: Al Williamson, Superman Inker!
Originally, I had planned to highlight the series of backup stories, The Fabulous World Of Krypton, that ran in the back of Superman during the early 1960's. That was because June 16 is recognized as the day that Krypton exploded, according to our calendar (thanks to the Superman Homepage website). But, since the recent death of comic book artist Al Williamson, I thought I would highlight his contribution to Superman stories. He did not have a long run as a Superman artist, but it is worthy of note, and this would be my contribution to honoring his memory.
Al Williamson was born on March 21, 1931 in New York City and died on Saturday, June 12, 2010. He spent his early childhood in Bogata, Columbia, since that was his father's home country. Al returned to the United States at the age of 12.
He took art classes at Byrne Hogarth's Cartoonists & Illustrators School, and assisted Hogarth on the Tarzan Sunday pages as his first professional art work. Al made his professional comic book debut at the age of 17, drawing stories for western and adventure genres for a variety of publishers. He was the youngest artist for EC Comics during the late 1940's and early 1950's. Al was also noted for his science fiction story art. He also was an artist for comic strips such as Rip Kirby and Secret Agent X-9 (later renamed Secret Agent Corrigan), written by Archie Goodwin. Al was an artist for the Flash Gordon comic book, as well as the Warren horror titles Creepy and Eerie. He is also known as the artist for the comic book adaption of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
Beginning in the 1980's Al Williamson began a twenty year career as a comic book inker. He was having trouble finding comic book work for science fiction and adventure genres, since there was not as much of a market for them as for superheroes. According to Eddy Zeno's book Curt Swan: A Life In Comics, Al pencilled and inked an eight page story, The Living Legends Of Superman, for Superman #400, October 1984. Editor Julius Schwartz liked his work, and asked Al to ink the pencilled art for another Superman story. When he brought the finshed project back, Al was surprised to find that his paycheck was more than what he had received for his pencilled and inked art for his own stories. Al asked Julius if he had any more ink jobs and Julie replied that he was now the regular Superman inker, over Curt Swan's inks. Williamson served as the inker for Superman 408, June 1985, through 416, February 1986, except for the Julius Schwartz birthday issue, 411 (the topic of episode #78). Al also inked DC Comics Presents (the other Superman team-up book) issues 79 and 85-87. He pencilled tow Superman covers, issues 408 and 409.
Al was very impressed with Curt Swan's art. He was familiar enough with Curt's style as printed to notice how some of his other inkers had not followed Curt's excellent line work. Al was impressed with the proportions of Curt's figures, and his portrayal of action. He enjoyed inking Curt's pencils. In the book Superman At 50! The Persistence Of A Legend, Curt wrote in an essay that Al Williamson was one of his favorite inkers, and repeated his opinion in an interview printed in Eddy Zeno's book. Al also enjoyed working for Julius Schwartz. He found Julius professional and fair, if deadlines were met. Al described Julie as being tough but good, and he always had a check ready when the finished art was turned in.
Williamson's time at DC was short however. While he enjoyed working with Julius Schwartz, others at DC were not as nice. Al described them as downright rude. He began working for Marvel, and he pencilled or inked about 152 stories, and 89 covers for them.
Al retired to live in Pensylvania with his wife Corina.
This short biography does not do Al Williamson's career justice. In the days since his passing, there have been many other articles written about him online. For a more in depth biography do an online search for these articles.
While I am familiar with Al Williamson's career somewhat, and have liked examples of his art very much, the only example of his Superman inks I have is Superman #416, published on November 14, 1985. The cover was drawn by Eduardo Barreto, and portrayed an old Superman, with long white hair and a beard, standing in front of the key to the Fortress of Solitude. This issue was my favorite Lex Luthor story, as I mentioned way back in episode #1: My Top 10 Favorite Superman Stories! http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/2008/01/Episode_1_My_Top_10_Favorite_Superman_Stories-190956.html.
The Einstein Connection was written by Elliot S! Maggin, colored by Gene D'Angelo and lettered by Ed King. This story was reprinted in the trade paperback Superman Vs. Lex Luthor.
On a March 14 of some years in the past, Superman captured Lex Luthor after he escaped from prison, as he attempted to reach the New Jersey shore on a motorboat. Lex disappeared as he mentioned perfecting teleportation. Actually, he had made himself invisible, but Superman was able to follow him. the Man of Steel thought to himself that Luthor kept underestimating him, even though he was almost as smart as Lex. Superman followed Luthor after he had become visible again and hitched a ride on the back of a truck heading toward Princeton.
Luthor walked into an ice cream store and ordered a tutti-frutti cone with jimmies, just as He did, although we have no idea who Luthor referred to. The soda jerk behind the counter was actually Superman in disguise, and he easily captured Luthor, returning him to prison.
A few years later, Clark begged Perry to cover his flight to Europe to cover a story. Perry agreed after Clark said the magic words, what if the Eagle got the story first. Clark flew to Europe and disguised himself as a Frenchman as he visited a patent office. Lex Luthor was also in a disguise and working as a patent office clerk. After a disguised Superman presented the plans for a perpetual motion machine, Luthor rushed him out of the door, promising to let him know when a decision was made about his application, as he planned to steal it himself. Superman had seen through his disguise and captured Luthor again.
Finally, on March 14, 1984, Clark Kent received a phone call informing him that Lex Luthor had escaped prison again. As Superman, he flew to his fortress of solitude. Before he entered the Fortress, a giant elderly bearded Superman advised himeslf to let Luthor escape, this time. the young Superman ignored his older doppelganger and entered his Fortress. Inside, he searched the news service wire services he had installed for clues to Luthor's possible location. He decided to check out an archway made only of water that had appeared at a New Jersey lake. Near the archway, Luthor was in a building, studying the personal papers of someone. superman quickly captured Lex. Outside the Man of Steel saw another Luthor, this one in flying armor. Superman put Luthor down to check out this second one. Once he confirmed that it was a flying hologram, he caught the real Luthor again. While Superman checked out the fake Luthor, the real Lex saved a boy from drowning when the collapsed water arch washed him into the lake. Luthor didn't want him to drown on his birthday, although we don't yet know who he is.
We quickly find out. Luthor noticed that they were not flying toward prison. Superman flew Lex to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D. C., to the Albert Einstein statue honoring the centennial of his birth. A teary eyed Luthor simply said, "Happy Birthday, Sir!" Then Superman returned him to prison. End of story.
The second story, The Ghost Of Superman Future had the same creative team, except for Dave Andrews. In the distant future, Superman was interviewed by a group of future reproters on board of a space station. He answered a question about Lex Luthor, informing them that they explored the universe together, until Lex died. Superman asked to use the onboard Holocaster, a type of future TV (a few decades before HDTV.) He recorded a message, and we see a flashback to the scene in the previous story when the elderly Superman appeared outside the Fortress. We learn that the name of the boy Luthor saved was Calvin Anderson, who would grow up to become a world renowned criminal psychologist. He would grow up to cure Luthor of his criminal obsessions.
Superman beamed the message into the time stream, and recorded a copy onto a video tape (this story was created in the years before DVD's were released. He asked the reporters to mail it to the now elderly and retired Calvin Anderson, before flying into deep space again. This story was not reprinted.
I agree with Curt Swan's assessment on Al Williamson's inks. While his linework is thin, since he used a pen, it is not as lush as Crarles Paris' inks over Dick Sprang, for instance. but his inks give the art depth and dimension, and is a very recognizable, and enjoyable rendition of Superman.
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/
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.
Al Williamson was born on March 21, 1931 in New York City and died on Saturday, June 12, 2010. He spent his early childhood in Bogata, Columbia, since that was his father's home country. Al returned to the United States at the age of 12.
He took art classes at Byrne Hogarth's Cartoonists & Illustrators School, and assisted Hogarth on the Tarzan Sunday pages as his first professional art work. Al made his professional comic book debut at the age of 17, drawing stories for western and adventure genres for a variety of publishers. He was the youngest artist for EC Comics during the late 1940's and early 1950's. Al was also noted for his science fiction story art. He also was an artist for comic strips such as Rip Kirby and Secret Agent X-9 (later renamed Secret Agent Corrigan), written by Archie Goodwin. Al was an artist for the Flash Gordon comic book, as well as the Warren horror titles Creepy and Eerie. He is also known as the artist for the comic book adaption of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
Beginning in the 1980's Al Williamson began a twenty year career as a comic book inker. He was having trouble finding comic book work for science fiction and adventure genres, since there was not as much of a market for them as for superheroes. According to Eddy Zeno's book Curt Swan: A Life In Comics, Al pencilled and inked an eight page story, The Living Legends Of Superman, for Superman #400, October 1984. Editor Julius Schwartz liked his work, and asked Al to ink the pencilled art for another Superman story. When he brought the finshed project back, Al was surprised to find that his paycheck was more than what he had received for his pencilled and inked art for his own stories. Al asked Julius if he had any more ink jobs and Julie replied that he was now the regular Superman inker, over Curt Swan's inks. Williamson served as the inker for Superman 408, June 1985, through 416, February 1986, except for the Julius Schwartz birthday issue, 411 (the topic of episode #78). Al also inked DC Comics Presents (the other Superman team-up book) issues 79 and 85-87. He pencilled tow Superman covers, issues 408 and 409.
Al was very impressed with Curt Swan's art. He was familiar enough with Curt's style as printed to notice how some of his other inkers had not followed Curt's excellent line work. Al was impressed with the proportions of Curt's figures, and his portrayal of action. He enjoyed inking Curt's pencils. In the book Superman At 50! The Persistence Of A Legend, Curt wrote in an essay that Al Williamson was one of his favorite inkers, and repeated his opinion in an interview printed in Eddy Zeno's book. Al also enjoyed working for Julius Schwartz. He found Julius professional and fair, if deadlines were met. Al described Julie as being tough but good, and he always had a check ready when the finished art was turned in.
Williamson's time at DC was short however. While he enjoyed working with Julius Schwartz, others at DC were not as nice. Al described them as downright rude. He began working for Marvel, and he pencilled or inked about 152 stories, and 89 covers for them.
Al retired to live in Pensylvania with his wife Corina.
This short biography does not do Al Williamson's career justice. In the days since his passing, there have been many other articles written about him online. For a more in depth biography do an online search for these articles.
While I am familiar with Al Williamson's career somewhat, and have liked examples of his art very much, the only example of his Superman inks I have is Superman #416, published on November 14, 1985. The cover was drawn by Eduardo Barreto, and portrayed an old Superman, with long white hair and a beard, standing in front of the key to the Fortress of Solitude. This issue was my favorite Lex Luthor story, as I mentioned way back in episode #1: My Top 10 Favorite Superman Stories! http://supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/2008/01/Episode_1_My_Top_10_Favorite_Superman_Stories-190956.html.
The Einstein Connection was written by Elliot S! Maggin, colored by Gene D'Angelo and lettered by Ed King. This story was reprinted in the trade paperback Superman Vs. Lex Luthor.
On a March 14 of some years in the past, Superman captured Lex Luthor after he escaped from prison, as he attempted to reach the New Jersey shore on a motorboat. Lex disappeared as he mentioned perfecting teleportation. Actually, he had made himself invisible, but Superman was able to follow him. the Man of Steel thought to himself that Luthor kept underestimating him, even though he was almost as smart as Lex. Superman followed Luthor after he had become visible again and hitched a ride on the back of a truck heading toward Princeton.
Luthor walked into an ice cream store and ordered a tutti-frutti cone with jimmies, just as He did, although we have no idea who Luthor referred to. The soda jerk behind the counter was actually Superman in disguise, and he easily captured Luthor, returning him to prison.
A few years later, Clark begged Perry to cover his flight to Europe to cover a story. Perry agreed after Clark said the magic words, what if the Eagle got the story first. Clark flew to Europe and disguised himself as a Frenchman as he visited a patent office. Lex Luthor was also in a disguise and working as a patent office clerk. After a disguised Superman presented the plans for a perpetual motion machine, Luthor rushed him out of the door, promising to let him know when a decision was made about his application, as he planned to steal it himself. Superman had seen through his disguise and captured Luthor again.
Finally, on March 14, 1984, Clark Kent received a phone call informing him that Lex Luthor had escaped prison again. As Superman, he flew to his fortress of solitude. Before he entered the Fortress, a giant elderly bearded Superman advised himeslf to let Luthor escape, this time. the young Superman ignored his older doppelganger and entered his Fortress. Inside, he searched the news service wire services he had installed for clues to Luthor's possible location. He decided to check out an archway made only of water that had appeared at a New Jersey lake. Near the archway, Luthor was in a building, studying the personal papers of someone. superman quickly captured Lex. Outside the Man of Steel saw another Luthor, this one in flying armor. Superman put Luthor down to check out this second one. Once he confirmed that it was a flying hologram, he caught the real Luthor again. While Superman checked out the fake Luthor, the real Lex saved a boy from drowning when the collapsed water arch washed him into the lake. Luthor didn't want him to drown on his birthday, although we don't yet know who he is.
We quickly find out. Luthor noticed that they were not flying toward prison. Superman flew Lex to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D. C., to the Albert Einstein statue honoring the centennial of his birth. A teary eyed Luthor simply said, "Happy Birthday, Sir!" Then Superman returned him to prison. End of story.
The second story, The Ghost Of Superman Future had the same creative team, except for Dave Andrews. In the distant future, Superman was interviewed by a group of future reproters on board of a space station. He answered a question about Lex Luthor, informing them that they explored the universe together, until Lex died. Superman asked to use the onboard Holocaster, a type of future TV (a few decades before HDTV.) He recorded a message, and we see a flashback to the scene in the previous story when the elderly Superman appeared outside the Fortress. We learn that the name of the boy Luthor saved was Calvin Anderson, who would grow up to become a world renowned criminal psychologist. He would grow up to cure Luthor of his criminal obsessions.
Superman beamed the message into the time stream, and recorded a copy onto a video tape (this story was created in the years before DVD's were released. He asked the reporters to mail it to the now elderly and retired Calvin Anderson, before flying into deep space again. This story was not reprinted.
I agree with Curt Swan's assessment on Al Williamson's inks. While his linework is thin, since he used a pen, it is not as lush as Crarles Paris' inks over Dick Sprang, for instance. but his inks give the art depth and dimension, and is a very recognizable, and enjoyable rendition of Superman.
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/
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.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Episode #130: Happy Birthday, Ross Andru!
Comic book writer and editor Ross Andru was born on June 15, 1927 and died on November 9, 1993. He was most well known as the penciller for The Amazing Spider-Man, with almost career long collaborator inker Mike Esposito. Andru was also known as the co-creator of the Punisher, with writer Gerry Conway. Other stories say Andru worked from sketches supplied by Conway in designing the Punisher.
His early interest was in animation, but he switched to comic book art. He received art training from Burne Hogarth at the School Of Visual Arts in New York City. His first porfessional job was on the weekly Tarzan strip, working for Burne Hogarth. Andru's comic book career began in the early 1950's, along with his work relationship with Mike Esposito, who would ink much of his pencilled art over the years.
Together they drew for a number of publishers, such as Standard Comics, fawcett, and Ziff-Davis. Andru's earliest Marvel work was for the story When Time Stood Still for Marvel Tales #103, September 1951. He drew steadily for Marvel during 1955 and 1956, for such titles as Annie Oakley.
Ross Andru's long association with DC Comics also began in the 1950's. His first story art for them was in All-American Men Of War #6, August/September 1953. Throughout that decade, and into tieh 1960's, Andru pencilled stories for DC's various war titles.
His first superhero work with DC was for Wonder Woman #98, May 1958. He would draw Wonder Woman stories throu #172, September/October 1967, collaborating with writer Robert Kanigher. Together they created much of Princess Diana's silver age continuity and supporting cast. Andru also drew for other various DC titles, such as Suicide Squad, Brave And The Bold and Green Lantern.
During the early 1960's Ross Andru created the Metal Men with writer and editor Robert Kanigher. They made their first appearance in Showcase #37, March/April 1962. The Metal Men had their own title for 56 issues, 1 - 41, April/May 1963 to December/January 1969, and 42 - 56, published sporadically from February/March 1969 to February?March 1978.
Around 1971 Ross Andru returned to Marvel, with Sub-Mariner #37, May 1971. He drew for a variety of Marvel titles. He was the first artist for The Defenders, who premiered in Marvel Features #1, December 1971.
Ross Andru began his long stint on The Amazing Spider-Man with #127, December 1973 through #185, October 1978. The Punisher premiered in The Amazing Spider-Man #129, February 1974, creted by Andru and writer Gerry Conway.
In 1976, Andru pencilled the first DC / Marvel crossover, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider Man, written by Gerry Conway.
Ross Andru returned to DC Comics in 1978 as an editor and cover artist. He eventually returned to pencilling story art for such titles as Jonah Hex, Vigilante, Blue Beetle, Teen Titans Spotlight and other titles. He also contributed story art for the 300th issues of both Wonder Woman and World's Finest Comics.
He also did a small number of Superman stories. Andru pencilled about four stories for Superman, beginning with issue 204, February 1968, and ending with issue 216, May 1969. For Action Comics he drew seven issues, beginning with issue 363, May 1968 and ending with issue 393, October 1970. The majority of Andru's Superman stories were for World's Finest Comics issues 180, November 1968 through 195, August 1970. He also drew a handful of Lois Lane stories for Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane 105 through 110, May 1971.
The featured story for this episode is The Case Of The Lethal Letters, Ross Andru's first Superman story, which appeared in Superman 204, published on December 14, 1967. Mort Weisinger was still the editor (he would retire in 1970), and the cover featuring this story was drawn by Neal Adams. The story was written by Cary Bates, pencilled by Andru and inked b y Mike Esposito. The second and third stories were drawn by longtime Superman artist Al Plastino. Otto Binder wrote the second story, The Duplicate Superman. The third story was The Fortress Of Fear, written by Cary Bates.
The Case Of The Lethal Letters was reprinted in Limited collectors' Edition #C-31, October/November 1974. The cover was a picture of the Hugh J. Ward painting of Superman, which hung in DC Comics publisher Harry Donenfeld's office for many years. The painting can now be seen in the library of Lehman college in the Bronx, New York City. This edition also reprinted the Superman origin laid out by Carmine Infantino, finished by Curt Swan and inked by Murphy Anderson, with dialogue provided by E. Nelson Bridwell. The story began with Clark Kent being interviewed on a TV interview show hosted by Lorraine Delon. She asked Clark if the Daily Planet newspaper owed all of its success to Superman. Clark reminded her that Perry won his Pulitzer Prize long before Superman appeared. Suddenly Lorraine went into a trance and seemed to channel someone else, who warned Superman to give up his crimefighting career. The consequences if he didn't would be that harm would come to those closest of him. Then Lorraine came out of her trance and was dazed.
In the days after that, Clark kept his eyes peeled for trouble. A few days after the interview, he and Lana covered a new monorail that opened in Metropolis. Unknown to them, a mysterious person tampered with the controls. As soon as Lana boarded the monorail, the doors closed behind her, trapping her and separating her from Clark. As the monorail traveled down the track, someone warned that the train was traveling too fast, and was in danger of derailing. Clark quickly changed into Superman and saved the monorail moments after it flew off the track. After he put the train on the ground Superman discovered that Lana had disappeared without a trace.
The next day in his apartment, Clark received a telepathic message from mermaid Lori Lemaris. She was under attack by a sea creature. Moments later Superman flew into the ocean and watched her vanish before his eyes, before he could save her.
Superman did not leave anything to chance with Lois. He carried her in his arms as he flew over Metropolis. An unknown gunman hit Superman with a high tech rifle, stunning him and making him drop Lois. The Man of Steel recovered quickly, but Lois had disappeared into thin air.
That evening Superman made an appearance at TV station WMET and announced on the air that he was ending his crimefighting career. TV host Lorraine Delon seemed unusually pleased with the announcement as she left the station. She went to an abandoned warehouse which was her hideout (but isn't an abandoned warehouse always a criminal hideout?). There she had kidnapped Lana, Lori and Lois. Superman crashed through the wall to find two giant "L"'s. When they burst into flame Superman was suddenly weakened and in pain. Lorraine appeared, and took off her wig, revealing that she was actually Lorraine Lewis, a brilliant scientist who had disappeared. She informed Superman that the flaming letters radiated Q-energy, which she had discovered, from another dimension. It had the same affect on Superman as kryptonite.
She informed the Man of Steel that her motive for kidnapping the three women was jealousy, because she had wanted to prove herself worthy of being Superman's wife. The three women, however, had upstaged her, which we see in a series of quick flashbacks.
The first flashback was when the criminal Bal-Gra escaped the Phantom Zone. Lorraine had built a second Phantom Zone projector. Before she could adjust the settings to send Bal-Gra back to the Zone, Lois threw a small piece of gold krpytonite to the criminal. That stalled the criminal long enough for Lorraine to make the final adjustments and send him back to the Phantom Zone. But she felt that Lois had upstaged her.
In the second flashback, Lorraine was on stage, presenting a new invention to Superman at a banquet. A crazed gunman created a disturbance during the presentation. Lana Lang knocked down the gunman, but a shot grazed her arm. Once again Lorraine was upstaged by one of the women in Superman's life.
Later, Lorraine drove a mini-sub in the ocean, as she attempted to find an unmanned space capsule that had splashed down in the ocean, and was lost. Lori Lemaris and some other merpeople had found it and were taking it to the ocean surface.
After she reminisced about her humiliations, Lorraine decided to kill Superman with the Q-energy. But the Man of Steel had enough strength to break through the weak floorboards to get of range of the radiation. After he quickly recovered, Superman burst back through the floor on the other side of the warehouse, out of range of the radiation. That startled Lorraine, and she fell back onto the flaming "L"'s and was instantly cremated. Superman then rescued all three women.
I couldn't help but wonder, as I finished reading the story, why the warehouse didn't catch on fire, and why Lorraine wasn't poisoned by the Q-energy as well as Superman.
Overall, Ross Andru's art was good. He's not my favorite comic book artist, but in this story, his figures showed a lot of action. He drew a lot of diagonal figures, and in several places they extended beyond the panel borders, giving the art a 3-D effect. the only drawback to the layout was that in a few places, the panel flow had to be indicated by arrows. Otherwise Andru did a good job of panel layout.
For more information about the comic book career about Ross Andru, read the book Andru & Esposito: Partners For Life, written by Mike Esposito and Dan Best, published in 2006.
Next Episode: Al Williamson: Superman Inker!
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/
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.
His early interest was in animation, but he switched to comic book art. He received art training from Burne Hogarth at the School Of Visual Arts in New York City. His first porfessional job was on the weekly Tarzan strip, working for Burne Hogarth. Andru's comic book career began in the early 1950's, along with his work relationship with Mike Esposito, who would ink much of his pencilled art over the years.
Together they drew for a number of publishers, such as Standard Comics, fawcett, and Ziff-Davis. Andru's earliest Marvel work was for the story When Time Stood Still for Marvel Tales #103, September 1951. He drew steadily for Marvel during 1955 and 1956, for such titles as Annie Oakley.
Ross Andru's long association with DC Comics also began in the 1950's. His first story art for them was in All-American Men Of War #6, August/September 1953. Throughout that decade, and into tieh 1960's, Andru pencilled stories for DC's various war titles.
His first superhero work with DC was for Wonder Woman #98, May 1958. He would draw Wonder Woman stories throu #172, September/October 1967, collaborating with writer Robert Kanigher. Together they created much of Princess Diana's silver age continuity and supporting cast. Andru also drew for other various DC titles, such as Suicide Squad, Brave And The Bold and Green Lantern.
During the early 1960's Ross Andru created the Metal Men with writer and editor Robert Kanigher. They made their first appearance in Showcase #37, March/April 1962. The Metal Men had their own title for 56 issues, 1 - 41, April/May 1963 to December/January 1969, and 42 - 56, published sporadically from February/March 1969 to February?March 1978.
Around 1971 Ross Andru returned to Marvel, with Sub-Mariner #37, May 1971. He drew for a variety of Marvel titles. He was the first artist for The Defenders, who premiered in Marvel Features #1, December 1971.
Ross Andru began his long stint on The Amazing Spider-Man with #127, December 1973 through #185, October 1978. The Punisher premiered in The Amazing Spider-Man #129, February 1974, creted by Andru and writer Gerry Conway.
In 1976, Andru pencilled the first DC / Marvel crossover, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider Man, written by Gerry Conway.
Ross Andru returned to DC Comics in 1978 as an editor and cover artist. He eventually returned to pencilling story art for such titles as Jonah Hex, Vigilante, Blue Beetle, Teen Titans Spotlight and other titles. He also contributed story art for the 300th issues of both Wonder Woman and World's Finest Comics.
He also did a small number of Superman stories. Andru pencilled about four stories for Superman, beginning with issue 204, February 1968, and ending with issue 216, May 1969. For Action Comics he drew seven issues, beginning with issue 363, May 1968 and ending with issue 393, October 1970. The majority of Andru's Superman stories were for World's Finest Comics issues 180, November 1968 through 195, August 1970. He also drew a handful of Lois Lane stories for Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane 105 through 110, May 1971.
The featured story for this episode is The Case Of The Lethal Letters, Ross Andru's first Superman story, which appeared in Superman 204, published on December 14, 1967. Mort Weisinger was still the editor (he would retire in 1970), and the cover featuring this story was drawn by Neal Adams. The story was written by Cary Bates, pencilled by Andru and inked b y Mike Esposito. The second and third stories were drawn by longtime Superman artist Al Plastino. Otto Binder wrote the second story, The Duplicate Superman. The third story was The Fortress Of Fear, written by Cary Bates.
The Case Of The Lethal Letters was reprinted in Limited collectors' Edition #C-31, October/November 1974. The cover was a picture of the Hugh J. Ward painting of Superman, which hung in DC Comics publisher Harry Donenfeld's office for many years. The painting can now be seen in the library of Lehman college in the Bronx, New York City. This edition also reprinted the Superman origin laid out by Carmine Infantino, finished by Curt Swan and inked by Murphy Anderson, with dialogue provided by E. Nelson Bridwell. The story began with Clark Kent being interviewed on a TV interview show hosted by Lorraine Delon. She asked Clark if the Daily Planet newspaper owed all of its success to Superman. Clark reminded her that Perry won his Pulitzer Prize long before Superman appeared. Suddenly Lorraine went into a trance and seemed to channel someone else, who warned Superman to give up his crimefighting career. The consequences if he didn't would be that harm would come to those closest of him. Then Lorraine came out of her trance and was dazed.
In the days after that, Clark kept his eyes peeled for trouble. A few days after the interview, he and Lana covered a new monorail that opened in Metropolis. Unknown to them, a mysterious person tampered with the controls. As soon as Lana boarded the monorail, the doors closed behind her, trapping her and separating her from Clark. As the monorail traveled down the track, someone warned that the train was traveling too fast, and was in danger of derailing. Clark quickly changed into Superman and saved the monorail moments after it flew off the track. After he put the train on the ground Superman discovered that Lana had disappeared without a trace.
The next day in his apartment, Clark received a telepathic message from mermaid Lori Lemaris. She was under attack by a sea creature. Moments later Superman flew into the ocean and watched her vanish before his eyes, before he could save her.
Superman did not leave anything to chance with Lois. He carried her in his arms as he flew over Metropolis. An unknown gunman hit Superman with a high tech rifle, stunning him and making him drop Lois. The Man of Steel recovered quickly, but Lois had disappeared into thin air.
That evening Superman made an appearance at TV station WMET and announced on the air that he was ending his crimefighting career. TV host Lorraine Delon seemed unusually pleased with the announcement as she left the station. She went to an abandoned warehouse which was her hideout (but isn't an abandoned warehouse always a criminal hideout?). There she had kidnapped Lana, Lori and Lois. Superman crashed through the wall to find two giant "L"'s. When they burst into flame Superman was suddenly weakened and in pain. Lorraine appeared, and took off her wig, revealing that she was actually Lorraine Lewis, a brilliant scientist who had disappeared. She informed Superman that the flaming letters radiated Q-energy, which she had discovered, from another dimension. It had the same affect on Superman as kryptonite.
She informed the Man of Steel that her motive for kidnapping the three women was jealousy, because she had wanted to prove herself worthy of being Superman's wife. The three women, however, had upstaged her, which we see in a series of quick flashbacks.
The first flashback was when the criminal Bal-Gra escaped the Phantom Zone. Lorraine had built a second Phantom Zone projector. Before she could adjust the settings to send Bal-Gra back to the Zone, Lois threw a small piece of gold krpytonite to the criminal. That stalled the criminal long enough for Lorraine to make the final adjustments and send him back to the Phantom Zone. But she felt that Lois had upstaged her.
In the second flashback, Lorraine was on stage, presenting a new invention to Superman at a banquet. A crazed gunman created a disturbance during the presentation. Lana Lang knocked down the gunman, but a shot grazed her arm. Once again Lorraine was upstaged by one of the women in Superman's life.
Later, Lorraine drove a mini-sub in the ocean, as she attempted to find an unmanned space capsule that had splashed down in the ocean, and was lost. Lori Lemaris and some other merpeople had found it and were taking it to the ocean surface.
After she reminisced about her humiliations, Lorraine decided to kill Superman with the Q-energy. But the Man of Steel had enough strength to break through the weak floorboards to get of range of the radiation. After he quickly recovered, Superman burst back through the floor on the other side of the warehouse, out of range of the radiation. That startled Lorraine, and she fell back onto the flaming "L"'s and was instantly cremated. Superman then rescued all three women.
I couldn't help but wonder, as I finished reading the story, why the warehouse didn't catch on fire, and why Lorraine wasn't poisoned by the Q-energy as well as Superman.
Overall, Ross Andru's art was good. He's not my favorite comic book artist, but in this story, his figures showed a lot of action. He drew a lot of diagonal figures, and in several places they extended beyond the panel borders, giving the art a 3-D effect. the only drawback to the layout was that in a few places, the panel flow had to be indicated by arrows. Otherwise Andru did a good job of panel layout.
For more information about the comic book career about Ross Andru, read the book Andru & Esposito: Partners For Life, written by Mike Esposito and Dan Best, published in 2006.
Next Episode: Al Williamson: Superman Inker!
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