Superman Family
Encyclopedia
Superman Family was a DC Comics
comic book
series which ran from 1974
to 1982
featuring stories starring supporting characters in the Superman comics. The term "Superman Family" is often used to refer to the extended cast of characters (especially super-powered ones) of comics books associated with Superman.
Superman Family was an amalgamation of the titles Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane
and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, along with the first series of Supergirl
. The first issue, #164, took its numbering from Jimmy Olsen, which had reached issue #163 and thus had the most issues published. Lois Lane ended at #137, while the newly-launched Supergirl book had only made it to #10.
Superman Family went through two distinct phases. In its inception the three leads Jimmy Olsen
, Lois Lane
, and Supergirl
rotated new stories each issue with reprints for the other characters. Superman Family became the first DC Comics
80-page Dollar Comic
, consisting of 64 pages of new stories, beginning with issue #182 (March-April 1977). With that issue, the "framing element" was removed from the covers, and the book switched to printing all new material. It became a monthly series in 1981 starting with issue #207.
Other featured series in addition to "Lois Lane" (#s 166,169,172,175,178,181-222), "Supergirl" (#s 165,168,171,174,177,180,182-222), and "Jimmy Olsen" (#s 164,167,170,173,176,179,182-222) included:
DC published several other ... Family titles concurrent with Superman Family. These included Batman Family
(1975-78), Super-Team Family
(1975-1978) and Tarzan Family
(1975-76). As a rule, DC's other ... Family titles contained mostly reprints, and featured a higher page count (and higher price) than DC's normal books.
With issue #222 (Sept. 1982), Superman Family series was cancelled to make room for The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl, which briefly featured a Lois Lane back-up series.
DC Comics
DC 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...
comic book
Comic book
A 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 which ran from 1974
1974 in comics
This is a list of comics-related events in 1974.-Year overall:* From May to September, Marvel debuts their Giant-Size series, mostly double- or triple-length comics featuring their most popular characters...
to 1982
1982 in comics
-Year overall:* San Diego-based independent publisher Pacific Comics makes a strong push in the marketplace, following Jack Kirby's Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers with four new ongoing titles, Starslayer, Ms...
featuring stories starring supporting characters in the Superman comics. The term "Superman Family" is often used to refer to the extended cast of characters (especially super-powered ones) of comics books associated with Superman.
Superman Family was an amalgamation of the titles Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane
Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane
Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane was a comic book series published monthly by DC Comics focusing on the adventures of supporting character Lois Lane. The series began publication March/April 1958 and ended its run September/October 1974 with 137 regular issues and 2 80-page Annuals...
and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, along with the first series of Supergirl
Supergirl (comic book)
Supergirl is the name of six comic book series published by DC Comics, featuring various characters of the same name. The majority of the titles feature Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El.-Volume 1 :...
. The first issue, #164, took its numbering from Jimmy Olsen, which had reached issue #163 and thus had the most issues published. Lois Lane ended at #137, while the newly-launched Supergirl book had only made it to #10.
Superman Family went through two distinct phases. In its inception the three leads Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
, Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois 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 Supergirl
Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)
Kara Zor-El is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and related media, created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino. As Supergirl, Kara Zor-El serves as the biological cousin and female counterpart to DC Comic's iconic superhero Superman, created...
rotated new stories each issue with reprints for the other characters. Superman Family became the first DC Comics
DC Comics
DC 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...
80-page Dollar Comic
Dollar Comics
Dollar Comics was a line of DC Comics comic book publications issued from 1977 to 1983. They included the titles Superman Family, House of Mystery, G.I. Combat, World's Finest Comics, Batman Family, and Adventure Comics; as well as the series of specials with the umbrella title of DC Special Series...
, consisting of 64 pages of new stories, beginning with issue #182 (March-April 1977). With that issue, the "framing element" was removed from the covers, and the book switched to printing all new material. It became a monthly series in 1981 starting with issue #207.
Other featured series in addition to "Lois Lane" (#s 166,169,172,175,178,181-222), "Supergirl" (#s 165,168,171,174,177,180,182-222), and "Jimmy Olsen" (#s 164,167,170,173,176,179,182-222) included:
- "SuperboySuperboy (Kal-El)The original Superboy is a fictional superhero who appears in DC Comics. The name of Superman as a boy, Superboy has adventures that occur in the relative past to those of Superman and take place predominantly in his hometown of Smallville...
" (#182,191-196) — The adventures of the Earth-One Superman as a teenage superhero. This series continued from Adventure ComicsAdventure ComicsAdventure Comics was a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 and then revamped from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues , making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman...
#458 and led to the feature leaving the title for its own in 1980, The New Adventures of Superboy. - "The Private Life of Clark Kent" (#195-199, 201-215) — The adventures of Clark KentClark KentClark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
in which he used his powers and skills without becoming Superman. This feature had moved over from SupermanSuperman (comic book)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...
after issue #328 of that series. - "Mr. and Mrs. Superman" (#195-196, 198-199, 201-222) — The adventures of the Earth-TwoEarth-TwoEarth-Two is a fictional universe appearing in American comic book stories published by DC Comics. First appearing in The Flash #123 , Earth-Two was created to explain how Silver-Age versions of characters such as the Flash could appear in stories with their Golden Age counterparts...
SupermanKal-LThe Superman of Earth-Two is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Justice League of America #73 . He is a version of the Kryptonian superhero Superman from an alternate reality called Earth-Two...
and his wife, Lois Lane Kent. This feature had moved from SupermanSuperman (comic book)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...
after issue #329 of that series. - "KryptoKryptoKrypto, also known as Krypto the Superdog, is a fictional character. He is Superman's pet dog in the various Superman comic books published by DC Comics. Krypto's first appearance was in a Superboy story in Adventure Comics #210 in March 1955...
" (#182-192) — the adventures of Superman's dog with the aid of detective Ed Lacy. - "NightwingNightwingNightwing is a name that has been used by several fictional characters in the DC Comics Universe. It was conceived as a Kryptonian analogue to the character of Batman, with Nightwing's frequent partner Flamebird based on Robin...
and FlamebirdFlamebirdFlamebird is the name used by six different fictional comic book characters who have appeared in books published by DC Comics, specifically from the Superman and Batman mythos....
" (#182-194) — the adventures of the second Nightwing and Flamebird team of heroes (Van-Zee and Ak-Var) in the Bottled City of Kandor.
DC published several other ... Family titles concurrent with Superman Family. These included Batman Family
Batman Family
The Batman Family was a DC Comics comic book series which ran from 1975 to 1978, primarily featuring stories starring supporting characters in the Batman comics...
(1975-78), Super-Team Family
Super-Team Family
Super-Team Family is an comic book anthology series published by DC Comics in the 1970s that lasted for fifteen issues. The series published a mix of original and reprinted stories.- Publication history :...
(1975-1978) and Tarzan Family
Tarzan (comics)
Tarzan, a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared in the 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes, and then in 23 sequels. The character proved immensely popular and quickly made the jump to other media, including comics.-Comic strips:...
(1975-76). As a rule, DC's other ... Family titles contained mostly reprints, and featured a higher page count (and higher price) than DC's normal books.
With issue #222 (Sept. 1982), Superman Family series was cancelled to make room for The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl, which briefly featured a Lois Lane back-up series.
External links
- Superman Family at the Grand Comics Database