Posts Tagged ‘John Byrne’

November 9th, 2015  Posted at   Supergirl Mondays

Supergirl MondaysSupergirl Mondays is a weekly celebration of the Girl of Steel, who has graced the pages of DC Comics in a variety of forms for more than five decades.

This feature’s primary focus is to take an issue-by-issue look back at Supergirl’s adventures in the post-Crisis universe. From an artificial being on a mission to save her home world, to an Earth-born angel on a mission to save her soul, each Monday, before the airing of “Supergirl” on CBS, reflect on the earliest days of the incredible and winding journey of a frequently divisive, sometimes confusing, but always entertaining era for the Maid of Might.


In this issue

Adventures of Superman #441

Issue: ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #441
Cover date: June 1988
Cover price: 75 cents ($1 Can./40p U.K.)
Cover by Jerry Ordway
Story: “The Tiny Terror of Tinseltown”

Credits

Enryb Nhoj, scripter/co-plotter
Yawdro Yrrej, penciller/co-plotter
Eknaj Sinned, inker
Nillot Ynohtna, colorist
NamzuGed Trebla, letterer
Retteatsrettiw Eener, assistant editor
Nilrac Ekim, editor
Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Overview

In Antarctica, the scientists talk about how the mysterious woman is awake but has been drifting in an out of conciousness and unable to speak. Just then, the woman staggers weakly into the room, pleading for help. The men ask if she can tell them who she is or where she came from, and she gives a cryptic reply.

"I ... am Supergirl!"

Thoughts

This issue’s installment is another one-page interlude in the middle of a larger, unconnected Superman story. Supergirl’s story is a slow-burn that plays out over the course of several months. This issue provides the first time the woman has been referred to as “Supergirl” — even if she is calling herself that — but gives no real clues toward the mystery of her identity or origin. But, the baby-steps approach works to prolong the mystery and keep the reader intrigued.

Next time on Supergirl Monday: North, Miss Teschmacher. Due north.

November 2nd, 2015  Posted at   Supergirl Mondays

Supergirl MondaysSupergirl Mondays is a weekly celebration of the Girl of Steel, who has graced the pages of DC Comics in a variety of forms for more than five decades.

This feature’s primary focus is to take an issue-by-issue look back at Supergirl’s adventures in the post-Crisis universe. From an artificial being on a mission to save her home world, to an Earth-born angel on a mission to save her soul, each Monday, before the airing of “Supergirl” on CBS, reflect on the earliest days of the incredible and winding journey of a frequently divisive, sometimes confusing, but always entertaining era for the Maid of Might.


In this issue

Adventures of Superman #440

Issue: ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #440
Cover date: May 1988
Cover price: 75 cents ($1 Can./40p U.K.)
Cover by Dave Gibbons and Jerry Ordway
Story: “The Hurrieder I Go”

Credits

John Byrne, scripter/co-plotter
Jerry Ordway, penciller/co-plotter
Dennis Janke, inker
Tony Tollin, colorist
Albert DeGuzman, letterer
Mike Carlin, editor & nervous breakdowns
Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Overview

sgm002-001

Thoughts

This less-than-one-page interlude (the entire scene is included above) gives another look at the mystery woman found in the Antarctic ice in the previous month’s SUPERMAN, but serves only to deepen the mystery of who she is, namely due to the fact that the scientists determine she had been there for several hundred years — predating Superman’s debut by, oh, several hundred years.

One thing interesting from a publishing standpoint is that this interlude comes in a different title than the first. Both titles were written by John Byrne at the time (albeit with Jerry Ordway on co-plotting duties for ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN), and they interconnected nature of the two gave readers an early taste of what was to come across four Superman titles just a few years down the road.

Next time on Supergirl Monday: An awakening!

October 26th, 2015  Posted at   Supergirl Mondays

Supergirl MondaysAs Supergirl takes flight in her newest incarnation in the form of her first live-action television show, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at an era for the character that is not only one of the most divisive, but also likely will be, in time, one of the most historically ignored: the post-Crisis Supergirl.

Coming into comics with the death of Superman, “Funeral For a Friend” and “Reign of the Supermen,” the post-Crisis incarnation of Supergirl also is one that cemented a love of the character that, for me, is nearly as strong as my love for Superman. And while there are podcasts, blogs and Tumblrs, centered on this era of Superman comics, none have done so with a specific focus on Supergirl’s story.

So to that end, we begin Supergirl Mondays, a weekly issue-by-issue retrospective of the Maid of Might’s story in the post-Crisis universe. Each Monday, before the airing of “Supergirl” on CBS, take a look back at the the earliest days of the incredible, winding and, yes, at times, somewhat confusing journey of the all-new, all-different Supergirl.

But first, a little history

While DC Comics’ copyrighting of the Supergirl name goes back to 1944, and a few of female characters calling themselves Supergirl (or even Superwoman) appeared throughout the next 15 years, the most well-known version of the character, Kara Zor-El, Superman’s Kryptonian cousin, debuted in ACTION COMICS #252 (cover date May 1959) in “The Supergirl From Krypton,” which was written by Otto Binder and illustrated by Al Plastino.

The character was an immediate success and went on to fill the back-up slot in that book for more than a decade. She then moved over to headline DC’s long-running ADVENTURE COMICS in 1969, where she stayed until getting her own self-titled, although short-lived, book in 1972. As comics moved into the Bronze Age, Supergirl shifted into a recurring spot in the then-new SUPERMAN FAMILY, her guest appearances in Superman-related stories increased exponentially, and she was given her own self-titled book in 1982.

Unfortunately, despite also starring in her own big-screen movie in 1984 (a move spurred on by the success of the Christopher Reeve series of Superman films), the character’s fate was sealed with DC’s landmark CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS in 1985 when DC editorial chose to kill the character in an iconic moment for the series and DC history. In the wake of that series, Superman’s history was rewritten, and Kara Zor-El no longer existed as DC sought to return Superman to being the sole survivor of Krypton.

But, despite the new editorial direction, the disappearance of Kara Zor-El didn’t mean Supergirl was gone forever.

The beginning

Superman (Vol. 2) #16

Issue: SUPERMAN (Vol. 2) #16
Cover date: April 1988
Cover price: 75 cents ($1 Can./40p U.K.)
Cover by John Byrne
Story: “He Only Laughs When I Hurt!”

Credits

Story and pencils by John Byrne
Inking by Karl Kesel
Coloring by Tom Ziuko
Lettering by John Costanza
Editing by Michael Carlin
Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Overview

After the main story details Superman’s inaugural run-in with Oswald Loomis, a.k.a. the Prankster, an epilogue takes us to later that night in Antarctica where heat sensors alert a group of U.S. Navy scientists of something buried within the ice. Investigating further, the men are stunned by what they find.

Superman #16, Page 22 final panel

Thoughts

I can only imagine what readers of the time — especially those who had been reading the books since before the reboot and, perhaps, still were mourning the loss of a much-beloved character — thought of this shocking end.

Is this Kara Zor-El returned somehow? A new character? A hoax? A dream? An imaginary story?

Adding to the mystery is Byrne’s redesign of the costume, which with exceptions of the lack of a headband and touch of red on her shoulders — and the hardly noticeable red piping on the top of her boots rather than yellow, is essentially the same as the final costume worn by Kara.

It’s an interesting way to begin the story of a new Supergirl, that much is sure.

Next time on Supergirl Monday: The mystery deepens.

August 11th, 2013  Posted at   Super-Random Super-Panel
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Super-Random Super-Panel #134

June 12th, 2013  Posted at   Super-Random Super-Panel
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Super-Random Super-Panel #117