Superman (comic book)
| Superman | |
|---|---|
 Cover of Superman #1 (June 1939). Art by Joe Shuster. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly, with some bi-weekly and bi-monthly runs. |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Publication date | June 1939 - August 2011 |
| Number of issues | 714, 14 Annuals, 3 Specials |
| Main character(s) | Superman Lois Lane Jimmy Olsen Lex Luthor |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Current: Chris Roberson J. Michael Straczynski |
| Penciller(s) | Joe Shuster Wayne Boring Curt Swan Carlos Pacheco Renato Guedes |
| Inker(s) | Murphy Anderson Bob Oksner Jesus Merino |
| Creator(s) | Jerry Siegel Joe Shuster |
Superman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications comic book Action Comics #1 in June 1938. The strip proved so popular that National launched Superman into his own self-titled comic book, the first for any superhero, premiering with cover-date June 1939. Between 1986 and 2006 it was retitled The Adventures of Superman while a new comic book used the title Superman. In May 2006, it was returned to its original title and numbering. The title reached issue #700 in June 2010.
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[edit] Publication history
Due to the Superman character's popularity after his premiere in Action Comics #1, National Allied Publications decided to launch an entirely new magazine featuring a single character, which at that time was unprecedented. Superman #1 appeared on the shelves in the Summer of 1939. Superman now also had the distinction of being the first hero-character featured in more than one comic magazine. By issue number 7, Superman was being hailed on the covers as the "World's Greatest Adventure Strip Character".[1] Superman was the first DC title with a letters column as a regular feature beginning with issue #124 (September 1958).[2] Writer Jim Shooter and artist Curt Swan crafted the story "Superman's Race With the Flash!" in Superman #199 (Aug. 1967) which featured the first race between the Flash and Superman, two characters known for their super-speed powers.[3] Julius Schwartz became the title's editor with issue #233 (Jan. 1971) and together with writer Denny O'Neil and artist Curt Swan streamlined the Superman mythos, starting with the elimination of Kryptonite.[4] DC's parent company Warner Communications reinstated the byline for Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster which had been dropped decades earlier [5][6][7] and the first issue with the restored credit was Superman #302 (August 1976).[8] The series reached issue #400 in October 1984. That issue featured work by several popular comics artists including the only major DC work by Jim Steranko as well as an introduction by noted science-fiction author Ray Bradbury.[9] Superman ran uninterrupted until the mid-1980s, when DC Comics instituted a line-wide relaunch with the 1985 event maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths. Folding their vast multiverse into a single shared universe, Superman and his supporting cast would receive a massive overhaul at the hands of writer/artist John Byrne. One last story was published to give a send-off to the former status quo: Alan Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?. The story's first part saw publication in Superman #423, which would be the last issue before the title was relaunched with its legacy numbering as The Adventures of Superman.[10] Superman was relaunched with a new #1 issue in a second volume in 1986,[11] and was published concurrently with The Adventures of Superman.
[edit] 1986 revamp
| The Adventures of Superman | |
|---|---|
 Cover of The Adventures of Superman #649 (April 2006), by Ivan Reis, the "final" issue of the series under that title. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Publication date | January 1987 – April 2006 |
| Number of issues | 226, 0, 9 Annuals, 1,000, 000 |
| Main character(s) | Superman |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Jerry Ordway |
| Artist(s) | Jerry Ordway Tom Grummett Stuart Immonen |
The Adventures of Superman was numbered from issue #424 (January 1987) to issue #649 (April 2006), for a total of 228 monthly issues (including issue #0 (October 1994) published between issues #516 and #517 during the Zero Hour crossover event and issue #1,000,000 (November 1998) during the DC One Million crossover event) and nine Annuals published between 1987 to 1997.
When the book was relaunched in late 1986 under its new title, the creative team initially was writer Marv Wolfman and artist Jerry Ordway, but the writing chores were taken over by John Byrne after a year. Ordway would then become both writer and artist by 1988. Writer/artist Dan Jurgens would take over running the title from 1989-1991. By the late 1980s, the plots of the Superman books were often linked during the first few years of the series run. To coordinate the storyline and sequence of event, from January 1991 to January 2002, "triangle numbers" (or "shield numbers") appeared on the cover of each Superman comic book. During these years, the Superman storylines ran with the story continuing through the titles Superman, Action Comics and later in two further series, Superman: The Man of Steel and Superman: The Man of Tomorrow. After February 2002, the integration between the Superman titles became less frequent, and the remaining issues of The Adventures of Superman commonly carried self-contained stories. The final issue (#649), however, was part of a three-part crossover with Superman and Action Comics, an homage to the Earth-2 Superman in the wake of events in the limited series Infinite Crisis.
For its last few years, The Adventures of Superman was written by Greg Rucka. Notable plots included the villain Ruin, the attempted assassination of Lois Lane and a number of well-regarded Mxyzptlk appearances.
[edit] Superman returns
Superman volume 2 reached issue #226 (April 2006) and was then canceled as part of the linewide Infinite Crisis event. The Adventures of Superman was returned to its original title, Superman, with issue #650 (May 2006), as a part of the One Year Later banner. Action Comics had continued publication normally. The annual editions after the retitling back to volume 1 continued starting with Annual #13. The book also participated in the weekly series Countdown to Final Crisis, giving a different perspective on certain happenings that were shown in the weekly title, such as the events preceding the death of New God Lightray.
In 2008, James Robinson replaced writer Kurt Busiek after his 25-issue run on the title. Robinson's run on the title began with the The Coming of Atlas story arc and began a link between Superman, Action Comics, and Supergirl that started a long-form narrative with the New Krypton event. The majority of Robinson's run featured Mon-El and the Guardian as the featured characters, while Superman himself had gone to live on the planet New Krypton. Robinson's last full issue was #699, tying into Last Stand of New Krypton, and he finished his run in a short story in issue #700 that returned Superman to Earth.[12]
[edit] Reaching a milestone
In June 2010, Superman reached issue #700, and writer J. Michael Straczynski, a self-professed Superman fan who feels a personal connection to the character,[13] took over writing duties with a short story in the issue, and will have his run on the title begin in earnest with issue #701.[14] Artist Eddy Barrows, a previous Action Comics artist and one of the artists on the War of the Supermen event, is Straczynski's artistic collaborator.[15]
Straczynski and Barrows began a year-long story entitled "Grounded," that sees Superman begin a long walk across the United States in order to regain the connection with his adopted home that he feels he lost while away on New Krypton.[12]
[edit] Relaunch
DC Comics launched Superman (volume 3) with issue #1 in September 2011, as part of the 2011 DC Universe reboot.[16] DC announced in October 2011 that Dan Jurgens will be co-writing, as well as drawing, the Superman title with Keith Giffen. Their first issue will be #7 released in 2012.[17]
[edit] See also
- List of Superman comics
- List of DC Comics publications
- Batman (comic book)
- The Flash (comic book)
- Green Lantern (comic book)
[edit] External links
- Superman Homepage The Superman Homepage - up to date information & reviews.
- Superman sales figures for 1960-1987 at The Comics Chronicles
[edit] References
- ^ Superb Manifestations at the Superman Homepage
- ^ Irvine, Alex; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1950s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. "This issue of Superman was the first DC comic to include a letters column that would become a regular feature, though readers' letters were published in issue #3 of Real Fact Comics in July 1946."
- ^ McAvennie, Michael "1960s" in Dolan, p. 124: "Since the dawn of comics' Silver Age, readers have asked 'Who's faster: Superman or the Flash?' Writer Jim Shooter and artist Curt Swan tried answering that question when the Man of Steel and the Fastest Man Alive agreed to the U.N.'s request to race each other for charity."
- ^ McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 144 "New editor Julius Schwartz, new scripter Denny O'Neil, and regular artist Curt Swan removed the Man of Steel's greatest weakness from the face of the Earth."
- ^ Lambert, Bruce (August 3, 1992). "Joseph Shuster, Cartoonist, Dies; Co-Creator of 'Superman' Was 78". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE6D71330F930A3575BC0A964958260. Retrieved 2008-08-12. Archived 12 Aug 2008.
- ^ "Man and Superman". Time. January 5, 1976. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947632,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-12. Archived 12 Aug 2008.
- ^ Associated Press (June 28, 2006). "Superman co-creator has humble Canadian roots". CTV. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060628/superman_returns_cdn_060628/20060628?hub=Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
- ^ McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p.170 "For the first time since 1947, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's names were back in Superman comics, and listed as the Man of Steel's co-creators."
- ^ Manning, Matthew K. "1980s" in Dolan, p. 209 "The Man of Steel celebrated his 400th issue in star-studded fashion with the help of some of the comic industry's best and brightest...the issue also featured a visionary tale written and drawn by Jim Steranko, and an introduction by famous science-fiction author Ray Bradbury."
- ^ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 226 "The original Superman title had adopted the new title The Adventures of Superman but continued the original numbering of its long and storied history. Popular writer Marv Wolfman and artist Jerry Ordway handled the creative chores."
- ^ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 226 "For the second time in his history, Superman's self-titled comic saw a first issue...a new series was introduced...written and drawn by the prolific Byrne."
- ^ a b Robinson, James, Jurgens, Dan, and Straczynski, J. Michael (w). Superman 700 (June 2010), DC Comics
- ^ Reflections: J. Michael Straczynski Part II @ CBR
- ^ J. Michael Straczynski to write Superman and Wonder Woman Starting in July @ DC's The Source
- ^ DC's The Source - Unveiling JMS' Superman Artist
- ^ The New Superman Titles Are Here, Grant Morrison on "Action Comics", Comics Alliance, June 10, 2011
- ^ Burlingame, Russ (October 16, 2011). "Dan of Steel: Dan Jurgens on Joining Team Superman". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. http://www.webcitation.org/65jnhELvJ. Retrieved February 26, 2012. "Superman editor Matt Idelson contacted Keith and me and basically said, “Hey! How would you guys like to co-write, conspire and Dan draw Superman?” We started batting around different ideas, thoughts and notes and had a “go” a day or two later."
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