Superman is an ongoing
comic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series featuring the
DC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
heroA hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
of the
same nameSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
. The character Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications
comic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
Action ComicsAction Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#1 in June 1938. The strip proved so popular that National launched Superman into his own self-titled comic book, the first for any
superheroA superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
, 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
SupermanSuperman was an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero of the same name. The second volume of the previous ongoing Superman title, the series was published from cover dates January 1987 to April 2006, and ran for 228 issues...
. In May 2006, it was returned to its original title and numbering. The title reached issue #700 in June 2010.
Superman is the first and only title to get a perfect 10 score from IGN for issue #712.
Publication history
Due to the Superman character's popularity after his premiere in
Action Comics #1Action Comics #1 is the first issue of the comic book series Action Comics. It features the first appearance of several comic book heroes, most notably the Jerry Siegel/Joe Shuster creation Superman.-Contents:...
, 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".
Superman ran uninterrupted until the mid-1980s, when DC Comics instituted a line-wide relaunch with the 1985 event maxi-series
Crisis on Infinite EarthsCrisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
. Folding their vast
multiverseThe DC Multiverse is a fictional continuity construct that exists in stories published by comic book company DC Comics. The DC Multiverse consists of numerous worlds, most of them outside DC's main continuity, allowing writers the creative freedom to explore alternative versions of characters and...
into a single shared
universeThe DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
, 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 MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
's
Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" is a 1986 comic book story featuring the DC Comics character of Superman. The story was published in two parts, beginning in Superman #423 and ending in Action Comics #583, both published in September 1986...
. 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.
Superman was relaunched with a new #1 issue in a
second volumeSuperman was an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero of the same name. The second volume of the previous ongoing Superman title, the series was published from cover dates January 1987 to April 2006, and ran for 228 issues...
in 1986, and was published concurrently with
The Adventures of Superman.
1986 revamp
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 HourZero Hour: Crisis in Time is a five-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by DC Comics in 1994. In it, the former hero Hal Jordan, who had until then been a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps, mad with grief after the destruction of...
crossover event and issue #1,000,000 (November 1998) during the
DC One Million"DC One Million" was a crossover storyline that ran through a self titled, weekly limited series and through special issues of almost all "DCU" titles published by DC Comics in November 1998...
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 WolfmanMarvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.-1960s:...
and artist
Jerry OrdwayJeremiah "Jerry" Ordway is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books.He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining classic Crisis on Infinite Earths , his long run working on the Superman titles from 1986–1993, and...
, 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 JurgensDan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for creating the superhero Booster Gold, and for his lengthy runs on the Superman titles Adventures of Superman and Superman , particularly during The Death of Superman storyline...
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 SteelSuperman: The Man of Steel is the title of a monthly American comic book series that ran 136 issues from 1991 to 2003. published by DC Comics, featuring Superman. As a consequence of introducing this series alongside its already existing titles, DC Comics was able to publish a new Superman comic...
and
Superman: The Man of TomorrowSuperman: The Man of Tomorrow is the title of a comic book series published by DC Comics that ran for 16 issues from 1995 to 1999, featuring the adventures of Superman. At the time, the four Superman titles were released weekly with an intertwining story...
. 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
homageHomage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to the Earth-2 Superman in the wake of events in the
limited seriesA limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
Infinite CrisisInfinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
.
For its last few years,
The Adventures of Superman was written by
Greg RuckaGregory "Greg" Rucka is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.-Career:Rucka's writing career...
. Notable plots included the villain
RuinProfessor Emil Hamilton is a fictional character in DC Comics' Superman titles. He is generally portrayed as a stereotypical absent-minded professor, with a gray beard and thick glasses and, at times, a "Mr. Wizard" type character...
, the attempted assassination of
Lois LaneLois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
and a number of well-regarded Mxyzptlk appearances.
Superman returns
SupermanSuperman was an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero of the same name. The second volume of the previous ongoing Superman title, the series was published from cover dates January 1987 to April 2006, and ran for 228 issues...
volume 2 reached issue #226 (April 2006) and was then canceled as part of the linewide
Infinite CrisisInfinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
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"One Year Later" was a 2006 storyline event running through the DC Universe. As the title suggests, it involves a narrative jump exactly one year into the future of the DC Comics Universe following the events of the Infinite Crisis event, to explore major changes within the continuities of the many...
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 CrisisCountdown, known as Countdown to Final Crisis for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of the last issue of 52...
, giving a different perspective on certain happenings that were shown in the weekly title, such as the events preceding the death of
New GodThe New Gods are a fictional race appearing in publications by DC Comics, as well as the title for four series of comic books about those characters. They first appeared in New Gods #1 , and were created and designed by Jack Kirby....
LightrayLightray is a DC Comics superhero. Created by Jack Kirby for the "Jack Kirby's Fourth World" meta-series, he first appeared in New Gods #1 .- Fictional character biography :...
.
In 2008, James Robinson replaced writer
Kurt BusiekKurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.-Early life:...
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 ComicsAction Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
, and
SupergirlSupergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...
that started a long-form narrative with the
New Krypton"New Krypton" is a Superman story arc written by Geoff Johns, James Robinson, and Sterling Gates with art by Gary Frank, Alex Ross, Renato Guedes, Jamal Igle and Pete Woods and published by DC Comics...
event. The majority of Robinson's run featured Mon-El and the
GuardianGuardian is a comic book fictional character, a DC Comics superhero, created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. He first appeared in Star Spangled Comics #7...
as the featured characters, while Superman himself had gone to live on the planet
New KryptonSuperman: World of New Krypton is a twelve-issue American comic book limited series produced by DC Comics. It is written by the team of James Robinson and Greg Rucka, who at the time of this publication are the current writers of the Superman and Action Comics titles, and illustrated by artist Pete...
. Robinson's last full issue was #699, tying into
Last Stand of New Krypton"Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton" is a 2010 crossover story arc in the various Superman comic book series published by DC Comics. It follows the events from World of New Krypton and leads directly into War of the Supermen....
, and he finished his run in a short story in issue #700 that returned Superman to Earth.
Reaching a milestone
In June 2010,
Superman reached issue #700, and writer
J. Michael StraczynskiJoseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
, a self-professed Superman fan who feels a personal connection to the character, 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. Artist
Eddy BarrowsEduardo Barros is a Brazilian comic book artist, better known by his pen name of Eddy Barrows. He is best known for his work at DC Comics on such titles as Birds of Prey, Countdown to Adventure, Action Comics, Superman, Teen Titans, and 52.-Early life:Barrows was born in Belém do Pará, Brazil...
, a previous
Action Comics artist and one of the artists on the
War of the SupermenSuperman: War of the Supermen is an American comic book limited series from DC Comics that serves as the culmination to the Superman line-wide event New Krypton...
event, is Straczynski's artistic collaborator.
Straczynski and Barrows began a year-long story entitled "
Grounded"Grounded" is a 2010-2011 comic book story arc that ran through the Superman monthly ongoing series. It was written by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Roberson, and penciled by Eddy Barrows, with covers by John Cassaday....
," that sees Superman begin a long walk across the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in order to regain the connection with his adopted home that he feels he lost while away on New Krypton.
Relaunch
DC Comics relaunched
Superman (volume 3) with issue #1 in September 2011, as part of the
2011 DC Universe rebootThe New 52 is a 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero books, in which all of its existing titles were cancelled, and 52 new series debuted in September 2011 with new #1 issues. Among the series being renumbered are Action Comics and Detective Comics,...
.
See also
- List of Superman comics
- List of DC Comics publications
- Batman (comic book)
Batman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27, published in May 1939. Batman proved to be so popular that a self-titled ongoing comic book series began publication in the spring of 1940...
- The Flash (comic book)
The Flash is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero of the same name. The character's first incarnation, Jay Garrick, first appeared in Flash Comics #1...
- Green Lantern (comic book)
Green Lantern is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics heroes of the same name. The character's first incarnation, Alan Scott, appeared in All-American Comics #16, and was later spun off into the first volume of Green Lantern in 1941. That series was canceled in 1949 after 39 issues...
External links