Assistant Editor's Month

By Chris Buchner



When the cat’s away the mice will play, and that’s true this April at the house of ideas. Marvel is releasing two one-shots called Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular. The premise is the Marvel staff is sick of the A-Listers the Marvel editors seem to favor and want their top picks to get some face-time, which brings us some D-list characters that could possibly be Marvel’s next break-out hit.



Twenty five years ago, it was the assistant editor’s who revolted at the House of Ideas for a month in 1984. In one of Marvel Comics’ more unique and creative crossover events, they concocted the premise that their editors had gone to the International Comic Con in San Diego, leaving the assistant editors in charge of all the books for the month of January. The result was many of the books featured bizarre, wacky and twisted stories indicated by the markings found at either end of this article. However, their approach to the concept varied between title and creative crew.



Uncanny X-Men Annual #7, for example, ambushed readers. The book had no markings of any kind to symbolize the event, and it started out like any other X-Men comic, helped by the fact it was written by series scribe Chris Claremont. Even when the Impossible Man, a powerful shape-shifting alien, showed up and stole their home, it was still reading like a typical book. It was only when the X-Men chased him around the world as he stole various items and ended up in the Marvel offices with a more stylized art style that the silliness began to take shape. The capper came when the Assistant Editor, Elliot R. Brown, broke the fourth wall to address the readers about the assistant editor takeover for the month. Featured in cameos were Marvel staff including Larry Hama, Michael Golden, Michael Hobson, Jim Shooter, Virginia Romita, Mark Gruenwald and a special appearance by then-President Ronald Reagan.



Alpha Flight #6 also lulled the reader into thinking it was a regular issue. It avoided all cover brandishing in favor of placing the Assistant Editor warning on the title page inside. It also read like a regular issue until writer/artist/creator John Byrne presented a battle between team member Snowbird and a winter creature named Kolomaq in the midst of a mighty snowstorm. The result was 6-pages of pure white panels with only the dialogue and captions describing the action. But, as not to let the reader feel ripped off for the sake of a joke, a 6-page back-up feature was added depicting the origin of team member Shaman. The Assistant Editor, Linda Grant, also got her licks in by putting a message at the end of the book.



Some books were in the middle of crucial storylines and couldn’t derail for the sake of the event. One such case was Iron Man vol. 1 #178, which fell during the acclaimed “Demon in a Bottle” storyline, during which Tony Stark, Iron Man’s alter ego, had become an alcoholic which in turn led to his downfall in life. But before Denny O’Neil could continue his dark deconstruction of Shell-head, future Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras opened the issue with a tale of a group of kids who faithfully imitated their heroes, the Avengers. Learning the real Iron Man was expelled from the team, the kids expelled their own. He turns to drowning his sorrows in soda pop until their enemy dons his own Iron Man “armor” to ruin their good names, driving the “real” Iron Man back to action. Captain America vol. 1 #289 also featured a backup story by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck where Cap’s then girlfriend, Bernie Rosenthal, dreamt she was Bernie America and fought against an amalgamation of Cap foes Red Skull and M.O.D.O.K. Both books fell under Assistant Editor Mike Carlin’s jurisdiction.





Then there are those whose very premise indicated the humor within. Take Marvel Team-Up #137, the oddball pairing of Spider-Man’s Aunt May and Franklin Richards, son of Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic by Mike Carlin and Greg LaRocque. May is turned into the newest herald of Galactus, the devourer of worlds, to have her help him satiate his great hunger. The result is she and Franklin gets him addicted to Twinkles, a parody of Twinkies. In the end, it turned out to be all a dream; first of Peter Parker, then of editor Danny Fingeroth, then Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, then Stan Lee, then Galactus, and finally a slue of Marvel readers themselves. And, of course, when David Letterman appears on the cover (or the fact all the Avengers’ heads on the cover are facing away from the reader) could anything but comedy be inside? Writer Roger Stern and penciler Al Milgrom (under the supervision of Assistant Editor Mike Carlin) have The Avengers set to appear on Late Night with David Letterman in Avengers vol. 1 #239, but the villainous Mechano-Marauder decides to make a name for himself by killing them on TV. Thinking he’s winning, Marauder takes some time to have an interview with Letterman, who promptly knocks him out with a giant doorknob, saving the Avengers.





Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #86 gave cartoonist Fred Hembeck the chance to do almost an entire issue of Spidey. In a humorous segment that bordered the serious Spidey tale, artist Al Milgrom wants to confront Editor Fingeroth for rejecting some of his art, but instead finds Assistant Editor Bob Denatale (responsible for the Marvel Team-Up issue as well) in control for the issue. He decides to go a new, unique way by having Hembeck draw the story from Bill Mantlo’s script. That is, until Fingeroth returns and tries to salvage that “blunder” by using Al’s last two pages to end the story. The main story itself, it should be noted, was actually a serious addition into the Spider-mythos continuing with ongoing subplots at the time.

Star Wars, while licensed for publication at Marvel, decided to go with the minimalist approach. The entirety of #79 was a standard issue, but there was a single page gag at the end where the assistant editor, once again Elliot Brown, demonstrates how to build your own Darth Vader costume out of common household items. Creator George Lucas isn’t amused and reprimands him.



The full list of Marvel Mags of Mirth and Mayhem:


Alpha Flight #6
Amazing Spider-Man #248
Avengers #239
Captain America #289
Conan #154
Daredevil #202
Dazzler #30
Defenders #127
Fantastic Four #262
G.I.Joe #19
Incredible Hulk #291
Iron Man #178
Indiana Jones #13
Marvel Tales #159
Marvel Team-Up #137
Micronauts #56
Moon Knight #35
New Mutants #11
Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #86
Power Man and Iron Fist #101
Rom #50
Saga of Crystar #5
Star Wars #79
Thing #7
Thor #339
Uncanny X-Men #177
Uncanny X-Men Annual #7

Who Watches the Watchmen?

By Chris Buchner

Alan Moore is no stranger to Hollywood, despite his personal distance from it. From Hell (2001), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) and V for Vendetta (2006) were the adaptations of his works in comics of the same name. The latest is Watchmen, based off Moore’s 1986-87 DC Comics miniseries with artist Dave Gibbons.

Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 where America is on the verge of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Superheroes have become unpopular among the public and a 1977 legislature was passed to outlaw them. All but sanctioned heroes The Comedian and Dr. Manhattan retired, with a third, Rorschach, operating outside the law. The story begins with the murder of The Comedian, and Rorschach investigating as the NYPD have failed to turn up any leads. Rorschach believes his death was part of a conspiracy to wipe out all costumed adventurers and warns his former comrades, leading each one to don their costumes again to save New York City.

Moore wanted to write a story featuring an unused line of superheroes that he could revamp as he had done with the 1954-63 British character Miracleman (also known as Marvelman in the UK). He wanted to examine what superheroes would be like in the real world. Originally looking towards Archie Comics’ Mighty Crusaders, Moore eventually wrote his pitch using the characters DC acquired from the defunct Charlton Comics in 1985. Moore’s belief was that as long as readers recognized the characters and got the shock and surprise value when you saw their reality it didn’t matter which set he used. The pitch was submitted to DC managing editor Dick Giordano. While Giordano loved the concept, he urged the writer to create an original cast as the story would have rendered most of the Charlton characters useless for future DC projects.

Gibbons, an artist who had worked with Moore before, heard about the treatment and asked to be involved. Giordano assigned colorist John Higgins because he liked his unusual style and lived close enough to Gibbons to allow human contact during the creation. Len Wein joined on as editor while Giordano stayed on to oversee, although both had a hands-off approach to the project allowing the creative talent to do what they needed to undaunted.

Moore and Gibbons designed the book to showcase the unique abilities of the comic medium and its strengths. As the story progressed, they realized the plot itself became irrelevant compared to how the story was told. They created their characters with inspiration from many sources, in particular by a Mad Magazine parody of Superman called Superduperman, although taken in the complete opposite direction for their purposes. While Moore came up with the characters’ defining characteristics, Gibbons was allowed creative freedom with his designs trying to make them as simplistic and easy to draw as possible, resulting in the characters:

Doctor Manhattan, aka Dr. Jonathan Osterman, is a government-sanctioned hero and works for the US Government. He gained superpowers when caught in an Intrinsic Field Subtractor in 1959. Moore, basing him on Charlton’s Captain Atom, wanted to give him a unique perspective on human affairs as he gradually grew from his own humanity, while Gibbons designed the character as being nude and trying to tastefully present that, reusing the skin motif from the character Rogue Trooper.

Rorschach, aka Walter Kovacs, is a vigilante who wears a mask with constantly shifting ink blots. He sees the world in black and white, and thus free to leave his own mark on a morally blank world. Moore used Steve Ditko as an inspiration, combining elements from his Mr. A and The Question characters.

Nite-Owl, aka Dan Dreiberg, is a retired hero who uses owl-themed gadgetry similar to Batman. Taking a cue from DC’s Blue Beetle, Moore incorporated a predecessor for the character in Hollis Mason, who used the same name. Gibbons used a design for Mason he created when he was twelve as the basis for Nite-Owl’s overall look.

The Comedian, aka Edward Blake, is the other government-sanctioned hero and the catalyst for the story when he’s murdered. He’s a ruthless, cynical and nihilistic character with deep insights into being a hero. He attempted to rape the original Silk Spectre in the 1940s and would later father her daughter. He was based on Charlton’s Peacemaker with elements of Marvel’s Nick Fury thrown in.

Ozymandias, aka Adrian Veidt, retired to run his own enterprise. He’s one of the smartest men on the planet, which leads him to look down on humanity with scorn that makes him the villain of the series. Moore was inspired by Alexander the Great and Charlton’s Thunderbolt, whom Moore admired for using his full brain capacity with full control over his mind and body.

Silk Spectre, aka Laurie Juspeczyk, is the daughter of the original and works for the government because of her relationship with Dr. Manhattan. Unlike the other characters based off the Charlton line, Moore felt he needed a female character in the group and took inspiration from DC’s Black Canary and Phantom Lady.

Moore began writing the series early on to try and avoid any delays suffered by other series at the time, but despite their best efforts the book did fall a couple of months behind schedule. Moore realized that his original plot only left them with six issues of story while they were contracted for 12. It was decided to break up the plot by alternating those issues with origin issues for the characters. Gibbons took pains to ensure the pages couldn’t be confused for any other comic, drawing in a particular weight of line and using a nine-panel grid for each page due to its “authority.” The cover to each issue served as the first panel to the story, and Gibbons often experimented with layout of the issue contents, such as issue 5’s symmetrical pages to go along with the story’s title “Fearful Symmetry.” Moore would also use the pages DC was unable to sell for ad space to do supplemental prose pieces, including fictional book chapters, reports and articles by the characters.

Tales of the Black Freighter was conceived by Moore as a comic that a kid in the comic would read throughout the series. Gibbons suggested a pirate theme and Moore went with it, figuring since the citizens of their fictional world had superheroes they wouldn’t be interested in superhero comics; instead allowing horror, science fiction, piracy and other genres to dominate the books. Moore was also a Berthold Brecht fan, and the Black Freighter was derived from Brecht and Kurt Weill’s song “Seeräuberjenny” (“Pirate Jenny”) from their Threepenny Opera. This story ends up, according to Moore, describing the story of Adrian Veidt.

Watchmen was a commercial and critical success, and helped DC surpass rival Marvel in the sales charts. Along with Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns miniseries, Watchmen was collected and marketed as a graphic novel, a term that allows a publisher to associate comic stories with novels and disassociate them from comics. The success of these graphic novels inspired bookstores and public libraries to give shelf space to them, which in turn led to new comic series to be commissioned on the basis of reprinting them in the collections for those new markets; a practice which continues today. The book has since been reprinted and re-released multiple times, including as a motion comic with voice acting on iTunes in 2008.

Moore had stated that if the series was well-received, he and Gibbons would most likely do a 12-issue prequel series focusing on the 1940s superhero group in the story, the Minutemen. However, Moore and DC had a falling out over ownership of this and other properties he had produced for them, as well as how his imprint America’s Best Comics, part of Wildstorm, was treated after DC bought Wildstorm in 1998. If DC should ever not use his creations for a year, the rights revert back to him and their respective artists. But, with several printings of the trade paperback collection as well as the reprint of the first issue released for the film at the book’s original $1.50 price tag, it doesn’t seem likely DC will let the rights lapse anytime soon.

The Watchmen movie had been in development as far back as 1986. Several directors and writers had been attached at its various stages, including David Hayter, Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Greengrass and Sam Hamm. Problems arose such as inadequate budget, creative differences and a conflicting desire to keep the script as true to the source as possible, and the project kept moving from one studio to another. Finally, in 2005, the project returned to Warner Bros. for the second time with producer Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin. Thanks to his work on 300, director Zack Snyder was approached to direct the film with Alex Tse writing.

As with 300, Snyder used the comic as a storyboard, but extended the fight scenes and added a subplot about energy resource to make the film topical. He also had Night Owl and Ozymandias’ looks designed to make Owl scarier and Ozymandias’ armor a parody of the rubber suits from the movie Batman & Robin. Series artist Dave Gibbons became an advisor for the film, but Moore has stated no interest in seeing the film, despite saying David Hayter’s screenplay was as close as it could get. Moore’s main reasoning is Watchmen was designed to only work in comics and not any other media; a challenge Snyder and company will try to overcome.

Watchmen comes to theaters March 6th, 2009. The Tales of the Black Freighter will be adapted into a direct-to-video animated feature released on March 11th. Series editor Len Wein has written the game Watchmen: the End is Nigh, available for download on March 4th. Watchmen collections are out now and available at your local comic shop and most book retailers.

http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/

http://www.watchmenvideogame.com/?ct=us

All in the Family

By Chris Buchner

I get a lot of comics each week, and with prices being what they are I get very hesitant to try out a lot of books that are priced over $3. Unfortunately, most independents end up in that range, but sometimes all it takes is a preview of what there is to get you to ignore that tag for a good story. That was the case for me with Dynamo 5. I had heard good things about the series, but the $3.50 per issue price for a property I wasn’t familiar with seemed like a lot to go on with faith alone. If it wasn’t for a colleague of mine brining a couple issues to our meetings, I would’ve ended up missing out on a great series.

Dynamo 5 is a superhero book created by Jay Faerber and Mahmud A. Asrar released through Image Comics. The book was spun off from Faerber’s other series Noble Causes, but is more action-driven than soap operatic and can be read without any prior knowledge of the other series. Spawning from a conversation Faerber had with editor Andy Helfer about how the Teen Titans were unique in that they were like a family, Faerber decided to run with that and create a team that was literally a family.

Captain Dynamo was the beloved protector of Tower City for 40 years after being exposed to an unidentified form of radiation that gave him his powers. However, Dynamo was far from being a Superman as he had a tendency to cheat on his wife, Maddie Warner, a former agent of the superhuman monitoring organization known as F.L.A.G. who posed as an award-winning investigative journalist. Dynamo was found naked and killed by poison in a hotel by a villain named Widowmaker. It was after his death Maddie learned about his infidelities, but there was the more pressing concern of who would protect Tower City.

Going through the information she found, Maddie was able to track down 5 of his possible illegitimate children. Bringing them together, she exposed them all to the same radiation that gave Dynamo his powers, giving them each one of his five powers, turning them into Dynamo 5:

Hector Chang, aka Visionary, is an intellectually curious 15-year-old geek from Canada who lives with his mother. He gains Dyanmo’s vision powers, which include lasers, x-ray and telescopic.

Spencer Bridges, aka Myriad, is half-human and half-alien, conceived when Dynamo visited an alien woman’s planet. He was brought to Earth for Dynamo to raise, but was left in custody of F.L.A.G. until he was smuggled out by a woman named Bridges and spent the rest of his childhood in a series of foster homes. He grew into an opportunistic womanizer, who only joined the team because Maddie paid him. He has the ability to shapeshift.

Bridget Flynn, aka Scrap, is a NYU Film School graduate whose Hollywood aspirations hit a dead end, leaving her selling tickets at a movie theater in LA where Maddie found her. She gain’s Dynamo’s super strength.

Gage Reinhart, aka Scatterbrain, is an Eastbridge, Texas high school football star and is the typical popular, arrogant jock. He gained Dynamo’s power of telepathy.

Olivia Lewis, aka Slingshot, is the daughter of a high-priced Washington, DC lawyer who attends Georgetown University where she volunteers for half a dozen different organizations. She gains Dynamo’s power of flight.

Together, they protect Tower City from their undersea base, the Aquarium, while still trying to maintain some semblance of their normal lives in their home towns.

The series has that old-school flair of long-running subplots, but each issue is divided into a singular adventure with one or two exceptions. Faerber makes each story as character-driven as it is defined by action, presenting that perfect blend that makes you care about the characters. Asrar is also a capable artist, his work looking fantastic on the book and a lot of the character designs inspired. It’s not easy to create a new superhero, let alone a team, in a market full of them that are worth a look, but if you like old-school superheroics but not all the dialogue they were crammed with, this is definitely a book you should check out.

The first 20 issues and an annual have already been released, as well as a $.99 cent 12-page #0 issue in February, a good jumping on point for new readers. Two trade paperback collections have also been released, Post-Nuclear Family and Moments of Truth.

Does Whatever an Obama Can

by Chris Buchner


On January 20th, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. Besides being the first black President in history, he also made headlines in the comic industry by stating he was a fan. That was all the motivation needed to take who many are treating like a real-life superhero and stick him where he belongs: in comics.



Savage Dragon #137 was released by Image Comics in August of 2008. By Erik Larsen, Dylan McCrae and Tom Orzechowski, this issue was designed to answer the question if Savage Dragon would once again run for President. During the 2004 campaign, he was a reluctant candidate until he learned his running mate was secretly a super villain bent on world domination. As Obama closely represents Dragon’s ideals, creator Erik Larsen had his character fully endorse Obama, especially on a special limited variant cover which was reused as the cover for the two additional printings.



Presidential Material: Barack Obama was released by IDW Publishing in October, 2008 by Jeff Mariotte, Tom Morgan, Len O’Grady and Robbie Robbins with a cover by J. Scott Campbell. Simultaneously released with a John McCain version, the comic is a biographical account of Obama’s life from childhood through the history campaign. The book sold well enough to merit additional printings, and was also collected into a flipbook with the McCain edition. Antarctic Press also released their own black and white biography comic called simply Obama: The Comic Book by Chris Allen and Doug Dlin.



Obama’s favorite character is Spider-Man. So, it’s only natural for Marvel to bring the two together. Editor Stephen Wacker authorized the historic team-up just a week before Amazing Spider-Man #583 went to press for its January release. Done by Zeb Wells, Todd Nauck, Frank G. D’Armata and Jared K. Fletcher, the five-page story is a tongue-in-cheek comedic epic involving one of Spidey’s rogues interrupting the inauguration process. And, of course, ol’ Web-Head is on hand to save the day. The issue received tremendous hype in the media, and flew out of stores, particularly the variant Obama cover, in a fashion reminiscent of The Death of Superman event with lines leading out the doors of comic shops. A second printing hit the shelves the following week.



Obama’s final comic appearance to date came in Thunderbolts #128, also in January from Marvel. After the events of Secret Invasion, the world police-force S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage Logistics Directorate) was dismantled and reassembled as H.A.M.M.E.R. and a new team of Avengers, both under the control of Norman Osborn, the former Green Goblin. With Osborn’s checkered past, naturally the new President would like to look into the man and the operations now protecting American soil. By Andy Diggle, Roberto De La Torre, Frank Martin, Jr., and Comicraft & Albert W. Deschense.

Webcomics

By Chris Buchner

What do newspapers, movies, TV shows and comic books all have in common? All of their content is available online. In the 21st century, the internet is more prominent than ever, but before the other media began finding their way onto it comics have been there for quite some time. These comics are called webcomics.

What is a webcomic? Simply put, it’s a comic available online created with a variety of mediums. Without the limitations of paper, these comics can be produced quickly and cheaply while not being forced to conform to a particular structure standard, and able to reach a much broader audience. Like their print counterparts, it has taken some time for webcomics to gain the respect and artistic recognition they deserve, but in recent years they’ve begun to get their own spotlight.

Before there was an internet as we know it today, there was Usenet and CompuServe. Usenet offered a place that functioned much like present day message boards for the free sharing of pictures and ideas, and CompuServe was the first to offer E-Mail and chat as well as a structured environment with many internet-related services in a user friendly interface. These are the services where the earliest webcomics found their roots as far back as 1986. Among them were Joe Ekaitis’ T.H.E. Fox and Where the Buffalo Roam which started out as a college strip in the Colorado Daily.

In the 1990s, webcomics began the shift into the world wide web with the introduction of the Mosaic browser when creators realized the freedom it offered. Bryan McNett created a hosting service called Big Panda, and then a webcomics portal that readers could use to find new works and creators. McNett, though, began to lose interest in the endeavor but sparked the creation of additional portals. Chris Cosby ran his own webcomic Superosity through Big Panda, but after his dealings with the site decided to create his own hosting service called Keenspot in 2000 with Terri Crosby, Darren Bluel and Nathan Stone. The plan was to have readers pay to see the strips and profit sharing with creators. In 2001, they formed Keenspace, offering free hosting services to creators. That would eventually become known as Comic Genesis with a focus on revenue through advertising. In 2000, Scott McCloud published a book called Reinventing Comics, which encouraged readers to embrace technology and take their comics onto the infinite space of the web. He believed webcomic creators could make just as good a living as those who worked in print.

Keenspot was a success, leading to more portals such as Joey Manley’s Modern Tales, Serializer and Girl-A-Matic. Hosting sites were also on the rise, such as Drunk Duck, Smack Jeeves and Webcomics Nation. While professional creators were doing original work on the web, they had also begun taking previously printed stories and creating new material for them online. Lea Hernandez, editor-in-chief of Girl-A-Matic, was one of the first to move her series, Rumble Girls: Silky Warrior Tansie, to the web after being dissatisfied with how Image Comics was handling it. Since then, many creators have begun to do the same, or at least create supplemental material to go along with what was being printed.

Slowly but surely, webcomics began to receive their due notoriety. As their popularity grew, comic awards began to take notice. In 2000, the Eagle Awards introduced a category for favorite webcomic. Following that, the Ignatz Awards and the largest comic award ever, the Eisner, added their own categories. The community also created their own awards, the Web Cartoonist’s Choice Wards, as a form of peer recognition.

Today, the line between print comics and webcomics gradually fades. Strips like PvP and Garfield Without Garfield have been published in both standard comic and collected book form. NBC’s TV show Heroes ran a webcomic on its site that filled in gaps between events of episodes and was later collected into a hardcover book. Meanwhile, in 2007 DC Comics began their own webcomics imprint, Zuda Comics. They also place several page previews for their upcoming vertigo issues, and PDF files of first issues of certain books to coincide with their release. Dark Horse puts its monthly anthology Dark Horse Presents on their Myspace page. Marvel has also recently began publishing their own all-ages webcomic strip on their site, as well as releasing free samples of certain upcoming publications and a library of back issues through their new Digital Comic subscription program.

Comics took some time to gain recognition in the artist world, and so too did webcomics within the comic world. As the internet began to grow and with the changing tastes of new readers leading towards the electronic, the print guys have begun to realize there’s something to what the web guys have been doing for some time. While it’s not likely print comics will disappear anytime soon, there is a viable market to be reached through the web, and many of the old warhorses of the industry are finally realizing it. With webcomics, creators have all the space they want to tell a story in any way they choose, can add things like animation or links, and they’re very cheap to produce. The comics industry is always looking for ways to hook in new readers, and by keeping up with the times and making the shift onto the web, they may succeed in doing just that.

Back to the 90s: Clone Saga

By Chris Buchner

We all know how the story goes by now. Shy bookworm Peter Parker attended a science exhibition in high school when an irradiated spider bit him. That spider transferred all of its abilities over to Peter, turning him into a human spider. Seeking to test his newfound abilities, he entered a wrestling match for cash and ended up become the TV sensation The Amazing Spider-Man. Peter’s ego had grown so large, he didn’t bother to stop a common thief who robbed the TV station where his show was filmed. That mistake ended up costing him the man who raised him like a father when his parents died; his Uncle Ben. The same robber broke into their house and killed Ben, and it was Spider-Man who caught him and learned that with great power must come great responsibility. From then on, he dedicated his life to being a superhero to honor his uncle.

But that’s just where the story begins. Over time, Spidey had come to make some great enemies, but none to the caliber of one Norman Osborn; an industrialist whose insanity drove him to become the Green Goblin. Eventually learning Peter’s identity, he sought to hurt Spider-Man at his weakest point; Peter’s life. What seemed like his greatest act of evil at the time, Goblin kidnapped Peter’s then-girlfriend Gwen Stacy and held her hostage atop the Brooklyn Bridge to lure Spidey there in Amazing Spider-Man #121. In the ensuing battle, Gwen was knocked from the bridge and though Spidey saved her from falling into the water, she was already dead. The following issue, Spidey sought revenge against Goblin, and during that confrontation his precognitive spider-sense helped him avoid a remote-controlled sneak attack by Goblin’s main transport, a goblin glider, and it instead ended up impaling Goblin with its pointed end.

That event would change Spidey’s life once again, but he wasn’t the only one affected. One Professor Miles Warren, a teacher at Empire State University where Peter and Gwen attended, had come to develop illicit feelings for his female pupil. Her death drove him mad, and he soon adopted the costumed identity of the Jackal. Blaming Spidey for her death, he tried several times to cause havoc and potentially kill Spidey. His greatest plan wouldn’t come into fruition until Amazing #149 by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru. Using DNA gathered from a class experiment and his genetics knowledge, Warren created a clone of Gwen who found herself back in Peter’s life. The tearful reunion was short-lived when Spidey was knocked out and awoke in Shea Stadium, former home of the New York Mets, facing fellow Daily Bugle staffer Ned Leeds strapped to a time bomb and another Spidey across from him.



The two Spideys duked it out, each one believing they were the true one, but Gwen eventually helped them call a stalemate long enough to rescue Ned and stop the Jackal. However, the bomb went off and one of the Spider-Men seemingly died in the blast, and supposedly Warren as well. Calling in a favor from Dr. Curt Connors, the one-armed scientist whose attempts to restore his arm turned him into the Lizard until Spidey stopped him, Spidey had him run genetic tests on both. Spidey never checked the results. He was satisfied that since his material was taken before he had met his current love, Mary Jane Watson, there was no way a clone could have his feelings for her. He threw out the results and dumped the “clone’s” body into a smokestack of an abandoned factory.

But that was just the beginning of the story.

Almost 20 years later, the Spidey books were slumping in the sales. As Spidey is Marvel’s flagship character, management wanted an event to not only bolster the popularity of the character and the books, but to rival DC’s “The Death of Superman” which was breaking tremendous sales records. Also, Marvel had recently undergone an in-house restructuring by families of books, and the Spider-Man editors began to feel pressure to compete with the X-Men family’s “Age of Apocalypse” event. As such, no idea was too outlandish, and it was eventually settled upon writer Terry Kavanagh’s suggestion of reintroducing the clone.

The story went that the clone had survived the blast despite all appearances and climbed out of the smokestack where he was dumped. Instead of fighting Peter again to claim the life, he decided that he WAS the clone and went on self-imposed exile adopting the name Ben Reilly (his uncle’s first name and aunt’s maiden name). For five years (in comic time), Ben wandered having his own adventures, tangling with a mysterious figured named Kaine, befriending a scientist named Seward Trainer and falling for his own red-head Elizabeth Tyne. It was also revealed that for a while he had been keeping in touch with Aunt May over the phone, depicted only as a shadowy figure so as to hide his identity from readers.

When May suffered a stroke and placed in a hospital, Ben returned to the city to see her. In doing so, he eventually encountered Peter. During this time, Peter’s life had grown progressively harder, driving him closer and closer to that fine line between hero and something else. The worst moment of all was the supposed return of his parents. Just when he finally accepted them, he had come to learn they were artificial constructs created by the shape-changing Chameleon with the help of Harry Osborn, the recently deceased second Green Goblin and Peter’s former best friend. All these moments drove Peter into becoming harsher, more violent, retreating to his costumed identity and deeming himself simply “The Spider.”

After a few clashes with each other, the spiders were forced to team up when the lives of the inmates of Ravenscroft Asylum were put in peril by the newly created all-powerful villain Judas Traveller, whose agenda was to analyze the true nature of evil and found a particular interest in the arachnids with the help of his associate, Scrier (who was later revealed to be the true source of Traveller’s powers). During this story, “Power and Responsibility,” a lot of clues were dropped directing the reader to think that just maybe Ben may be the true Spider-Man. The story, which ran through all four Spider-books, was presented in a flip-book format. While the story ran on one side a back-up feature dealing with the birth of a clone ran on the other.

Separated by an explosion that seemingly killed Ben, Peter set out on his path of self-redemption while Ben began his quest of finding his place in the world. This is when the Spider-books split between both characters for their own individual adventures. Peter got Amazing and Spectacular, while Ben got Web of and Spider-Man and both shared Spider-Man Unlimited. Peter’s story of redemption ran in the aptly titled “Back from the Edge” into “Web of Death.” It involved his being poisoned by the Vulture and needing to find the cure, which would eventually lead him back from the dark side into more familiar territory. Eventually, though, Peter succumbs to the poison and is saved by arch-rival Doctor Octopus, wanting the pleasure of killing Spidey himself in the future and now knowing his true identity. Spidey goes home to discover his wife Mary Jane is pregnant, a move to add drama by then-Editor-in-chief and long-time Spider-scribe Tom DeFalco, and Ock was killed by Kaine who had followed Ben to New York with an obsession with both spiders. This was done to show how bad-ass Kaine was; that he was a serious character not to be taken lightly in the stories to come.

Ben’s journey took place in “The Exile Returns” and “Web of Life,” where he creates a make-shift basic costume that ends up getting him dubbed the Scarlet Spider by Daily Bugle reporter Ken Ellis. Scarlet’s name and costume were meant to be running gags, both intentionally bad with the name grating on Ben’s nerves, although both lasted beyond their purpose. Ben’s story became crucial to highlight just how much like the classic Spidey readers were more familiar with he was. Without all the darkness lumped on him like Peter, he was still very much the wise-cracking, care-free hero Spidey always was. To further bolster his credit amongst the readers, he was pit against one of Spidey’s toughest villains, Venom. Venom and Spidey had come to an understanding in Amazing #375, and Venom left to San Francisco to become an anti-hero of sorts. Ben took Venom on not knowing about the arrangement, and readers saw how his moral compass was working with his disgust that Spidey would agree to such a thing. As well as to establish his cred, the story also highlighted how cool he was by designing new additions to his web-shooters; expanding impact webbing and paralyzing stingers. The plan worked, and the Scarlet’s Spider popularity would begin to grow.

The two heroes were reunited in the “Smoke and Mirrors” story, which presented the return of the Jackal. However, this time he had genetically modified himself to actually BE a human jackal, rather than just another costumed villain. More mysteries began to form, including why Peter and Ben were sharing dreams, who a third Peter Parker is revealed in Spectacular #221 and why Kaine was foreseeing Mary Jane’s death by an unknown assailant. The Jackal, along with being thrown in to make the reader believe he had a major hand in the recent events or was tied into plans of Traveller and his associate, Scrier, was brought back to explain clone degeneration. That’s a process in which the imperfect cellular make-up of a clone breaks down and they are reduced to nothing. This would prove to be valuable information down the line.

So far, the story was a success. Sales were up tremendously. Marvel’s marketing department, who very much had control over the company during the 90s, decided the best way to continue those sales was to continue the story. Originally, the saga was set to end with Amazing #400, where Aunt May would die from her recent illness and Ben would become the one, true Spider-Man. The original plan, helmed by DeFalco, was similar except that it was intended to have a tighter 3-act structure where Ben would take over for three months, Peter would return, and Ben would get his own series. Marvel restructuring, however, saw DeFalco removed as Editor-in-chief. Marvel gained five new EICs each in charge of their own groups: X-Men was Bob Harras, Marvel Heroes was Mark Gruenwald, Marvel Edge was Bobbi Chase, Lincensed Titles and Alternate universe was Carl Potts, and Spidey went to Bob Budiansky. Under Budiansky were editors Eric Fein, Glenn Greenberg and Tom Breevort, along with established group editor Danny Fingeroth. with the project falling into the jurisdiction of several editors-in-chiefs. Also looking to fuel the speculator market at the time, the Spider-books received various variant or special covers staring with Amazing #400.



As the saga progressed, it was revealed Kaine was the first of Jackal’s clones, raised like a son but cast out as soon as he showed signs of the degeneration process, when he accidentally got Peter indicted for murder because of their similar fingerprints. It was also revealed that the Jackal never really cloned anyone, but instead invented a virus that turned people into genetic copies of someone else. A new female Doctor Octopus debuted, both an associate of the original and daughter of Seward. The third Peter became Spidercide; an amped-up clone with the ability to shape shift and absolutely no moral guidance. A genetic test by Seward revealed that Peter was the clone, inciting him to join up with the Jackal and his crew but ultimately regained his senses to help Ben and the New Warriors stop him. Jackal, Spidercide and Kaine supposedly didn’t survive that battle.

Finally, the long-delayed moment happened. Peter decided it was too dangerous for a father-to-be to play hero anymore after nearly dying in “The Greatest Responsibility.” Peter and Mary Jane moved to Portland and out of the Spider-books, where Peter lost his powers in Spider-Man: The Final Adventure limited series. Ben became the sole spider hero in New York. However, marketing decided to squeeze the last bit of juice out of Scarlet’s popularity by temporarily renaming all the books for two months and even having him become a brief member of the New Warriors. Scarlet was soon discredited by a digital/cyber construct of himself created by female Ock using an FBI agent she captured infiltrating her organization. This forced Ben to become Spider-Man once and for all in Sensational Spider-Man #0, the series that replaced the cancelled Web. It should be noted that Web of Scarlet Spider ran two issues longer than the others, crossing over with New Warriors to conclude the Cyber Scarlet Spider story.

Fan reaction was mixed, but loud. Many long-time fans felt cheated that the man they’ve been following since Amazing #149 was nothing more than a fake, a cheap copy. Shortly after Ben donned the webs, readership began to steadily decline and the Spider-books found themselves right back where they started. Many creators, both involved with the project and just inside Marvel, also hated this direction and the confusing chaos that the whole thing had become. Here was a story envisioned with a clear beginning, middle and end, but stretched out so far and long past its welcome.





Despite all that, Ben had a good run as Spidey, getting an updated classic rogues gallery as well as some all-new additions. He had his own supporting cast, although often found himself interacting with those from “his” past, forcing his dying his hair blonde in order to minimize his resemblance to Peter. He also got his own run-in with symbiote possession when the Carnage symbiote, spawned from Venom’s suit and originally bonded with serial killer Cletus Cassidy, tried to bond with him and turned him into Spider-Carnage. However, behind the scenes things weren’t progressing smoothly. Current EIC Bob Budiansky did an about face on the plans and wanted Peter back as soon as possible but without the baggage of a family, going so far as to have Fabian Nicieza rewrite the ending of Final Adventure where Mary Jane would have had their baby. Marvel, starting to feel the effects of looming financial troubles (and eventual bankruptcy) downsized and consolidated the five EICs into one, that being Bob Harras. Bob decided to give Peter a mystery disease that would eventually restore his powers and changed the identity of the true mastermind behind it all.

Under Harras, who insisted on strict control over the plotting with very little compromise, the original Green Goblin who was killed over 20 years prior, was restored with the excuse that the formula that gave him his powers also gave him a kind of healing factor, allowing him to survive being impaled. He had been recovering on a tropical island somewhere orchestrating Peter’s downfall from afar. He had forced Seward to screw with the test results, making Peter the real one after all. This revelation, in the aptly titled story “Revelations,” was driven home when Ben took a fatal blow meant for Peter by the Goblin’s glider (a mirror to how he “died” years before) and disintegrated into dust due to clone degeneration (going against established standards for degeneration). Further insult to injury was, with Spider-Man #75, the final part of the clone saga, the book got Peter Parker added to its title. Not to be forgotten, Mary Jane is forced into labor by an associate of Osborn, Alison Mongraine, and their baby is supposedly born stillborn.

AFTERMATH

-Osborn took center-stage as a major Spidey villain again, entering Peter’s life by taking over the Daily Bugle and forcing himself to be part of his daily life. It was all culminated in the “Gathering of Five” story arc when Osborn attempted to gather mystic totems in order to gain ultimate power. Instead, he gained ultimate insanity and was defeated by Spidey in the following story “The Final Chapter.” Right after, the number of Spider-books were reduced to two and restarted from #1 with the hopes of simplifying Spidey’s continuity and attracting new readers. Several new characters, including the new heroic Green Goblin, Elizabeth Tyne and new villain Armada completely disappeared as a result of this.



-The original mastermind behind the Saga was set to be the mysterious Gaunt; a figure in heavy armor. In reality, Gaunt was the classic villain The Robot Master who needed that suit in order to survive. But under Harras, he became just another pawn in Osborn’s game.

-Alison Mongraine was depicted briefly in a few issues after the end of the Saga. It was strongly hinted that the Parker baby was still alive and that her death was another ploy by Osborn. Eventually, the baby was handed off to a cult of Scriers and then rescued by Kaine violently. This plotline was left dangling and Kaine was never seen again in the main books once the reboot occurred. Also, Marvel editorial has been adamant in its denial that the mysterious “package” was the baby, despite all evidence to the contrary.

-Aunt May and Doc Ock were resurrected. It was revealed that the Aunt May who died was an actress genetically modified to resemble her and planted by Osborn as part of his schemes, completely nullifying one of the most compelling Spidey stories at the time. Fan outcry was adamant when she died, and was just as loud at the preposterous nature of this retcon of her being buried alive on the Osborn estate. Tom DeFalco, who had written Ock’s death handled his return the first chance he could, not pleased with the decision in the first place. He had Ock’s girlfriend, Stunner, and the Female Ock, team-up with the ninja assassin guild The Hand and had them perform the same resurrection trick that revived Elektra in the Daredevil book.

-All references to the events of the Clone Saga were ceased upon the reboot. Only in recent years has any acknowledgement been slowly seeping back into stories; although in the form of jokes at the Saga’s expense. Peter David in his series Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man used Ben Reilly as an alias for the then-fugitive Peter. Brian Michael Bendis also did his own version of the Clone Saga in his book Ultimate Spider-Man.

-The largest and longest-lasting reference to the Clone Saga came in the form of Spider-Girl. Appearing in Marvel’s alternate universe title What If? vol. 2 #105, it featured a teenaged daughter of Spider-Man whose circumstances led her to donning the webs and taking up the mantle. Her design, and the entire universe she helped forge (the short-lived MC2 imprint) all came from the Clone Saga era of the books, ignoring all that came after. Kaine was given a make-over and included, as was the son of Elizabeth Tyne in the form of mysterious hero DarkDevil. The Scarlet Spider also got some play as the temporary identity for the daughter of the Black Cat, Felicity Hardy. Spider-Girl ran for 100 issues, then was re-launched as the Amazing Spider-Girl which will end after 30. For more on her check out Spider-Girl No More.

-The Clone Saga was featured in modified form as part of the series finale to Spider-Man: The Animated Series where Spidey meets versions of himself from other universes united to take out an evil version of himself. However, only the Scarlet Spider and Spider-Carnage made the cut as part of the cast from the actual Saga, the other Spider-Men featured were all short-lived incarnations from other points in the comics.



The Clone Saga went from a wildly popular story to almost destroying the Spider-books. It was a story with a clearly defined ending in site, but Marvel marketing forced the creators involved to stretch and expand the story. Ben Reilly was set up to be the Spider-Man everyone wanted back in the books, fun, carefree and single, but the decision to declare him the real one while Peter was the clone all this time only made many fans angry. The decision was quickly backpedaled, and a character many fans had come to love was removed as if he was inconsequential.

But, despite Marvel’s best efforts to distance themselves from the story, Ben Reilly continues to live on. He appears as an alternate costume in several recent games featuring Spider-Man, and as part of various toy lines licensed by Marvel. Marvel has also decided to give the clone one more moment in the spotlight in the new X-Men and Spider-Man mini-series, which spans the various decades and incarnations of both franchises. The Ben Reilly issue, #3, is set to ship in January.

Will there be more Ben Reilly yet to come? If there’s one thing the recent years of Marvel should show, it’s that no person or idea stays dead for long in comics.

KNOW YOUR CLONES:

READING ORDER:
Due to the enormity of this event, we’ll be presenting the issues involved by title. For a complete Clone Saga timeline, visit Samruby.com.

Amazing Scarlet Spider #s 1 & 2
Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #s 121 & 122, 129, 136, 144 -151, 391, 393-418
Amazing Spider-Man Annual ’96
Amazing Spider-Man Super Special #1
Avengers vol. 1 #400
Daredevil vol. 1 #354
DC Versus Marvel #s 1 & 4
Giant-Size Spider-Man #5
Green Goblin #s 1, 3, 10 & 13
Marvel Annual Report 1995
Marvel Fanfare vol. 2 #3
Marvel Versus DC #s 2 & 3
Maximum Clonage Alpha
Maximum Clonage Omega
New Warriors vol. 1 #59, 61-67, 70-71
Scarlet Spider #s 1 & 2
Scarlet Spider Unlimited #1
Sensational Spider-Man #s 0-11
Sensational Spider-Man Mini-Comic
Spectacular Scarlet Spider #s 1 & 2
Spectacular Spider-Man vol. 1 #s 25-31, 68, 142 & 143, 149, 200, 215-240
Spectacular Spider-Man Annual # 8
Spectacular Spider-Man Super Special #1
Spider-Man vol. 1 #s 48-75
Spider-Man Holiday Special 1995
Spider-Man Super Special #1
Spider-Man Team-Up #s 2-6
Spider-Man Unlimited #s 7-14
Spider-Man: 101 Ways to End the Clone Saga #1
Spider-Man: Dead Man’s Hand #1
Spider-Man/Punisher: Family Plot #s 1 & 2
Spider-Man: Funeral For an Octopus #s 1-3
Spider-Man: Redemption #s 1-4
Spider-Man: The Final Adventure #1-4
Spider-Man: The Jackal Files #1
Spider-Man: The Lost Years #0-3
Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1
Spider-Man: The Parker Years #1
Uncanny X-Men #339
Venom Super Special #1
Venom: Along Came A Spider #s 1-4
Web of Scarlet Spider #s 1-4
Web of Spider-Man #s 114-129
Web of Spider-Man Super Special #1
What If…? Vol. 1 #30
What If…? Vol. 2 #86

COLLECTED IN:
Spider-Man: Clone Genesis
Spider-Man: Revelations

OP/ED: The Loss Of Spider-Girl

By Chris Buchner

Spider-Girl is a great example of how things should be done.

A year ago for another website, I wrote an article entitled “The Marvel Tapestry,” in which I talked about how no matter the change of the creative team or overall direction of a particular book the comics seemed to flow as one continuous story. Almost like somehow, the writers of the past could see ten, fifteen years into the future and open the doors to subplots that the future writers would pick up and run with. Of course, obviously, it really was just a sign of talented writers who came on board and made sufficient use of what came before in order to craft their own tales.

This insight came from someone who started really reading the books after their having been around for 30 years and literally read them from new to old. Marvel, in the last decade, has taken that ability to build on what came before and completely reversed it with their constant desire to reboot books and characters in order to retool them. Instead of allowing the story to flow and change things through a natural form of progression, they decide to just scrap everything and start over as if nothing came before.

The reasoning behind a move like that is supposedly to allow new readers to jump into books. New readers are apparently intimidated by high issue numbers and years of back story which makes it hard to follow any of the new stories that come out. Of course, companies will cater to the potential new readers to replenish their aging audience. However, a lot of that audience (myself included) started reading in the technical middle of the story and were able to not only follow well enough to enjoy the stories, but also to enjoy them enough to want to go out and get the stuff that came before and that would come after.

Spider-Girl is how it should work. It stemmed from the controversial Clone Saga story in which Peter was temporarily replaced by his clone, Ben Reilly, and the Parkers were expecting their first child, May. Fan backlash caused a quick reversal on Peter’s replacement by having Ben die by the hands of the original Green Goblin, and the company felt a baby would age Peter too much so they had Goblin set up the contingency plan where Mary Jane would be forced into labor and the Parkers told their baby died in birth, but in actuality she was abducted by Goblin’s associates. From then on, the Clone Saga was slowly phased out of the consciousness of the Spidey books. The last traces of this story were when the deranged original clone, Kaine, rescued the baby violently. That new subplot was wiped out entirely when the books were rebooted from #1 in 1999 running from a new “streamlined” origin for Spidey by John Byrne in Spider-Man: Chapter One.

Now you know the back story of that era in the books, but here’s what you needed to read Spider-Girl:

Peter Parker was Spider-Man but retired.
Peter and Mary Jane had a baby that grew up into a young girl that inherited her fahter’s powers.
Green Goblin was Norman Osborn, who had a son who in turn had his grandson, Normie.
Both children decided to continue their family’s legacy.

All that was given to you within the very first issue. You could come into this story without knowing anything else but the basics. All that other detail was gradually filled in over the course of the series to some extent, although it was never really necessary or crucial to the story. For the most part, continuity in this series served as Easter eggs for long-time fans who have been reading Spidey books for a long time. A weighty hindrance it never became.

Let’s look at what else the book had to offer. The whole reason behind the Brand New Day debacle in the main Spider-books was because Spidey’s world had become too streamlined. Most of the supporting cast had been absent from its pages save Aunt May and Mary Jane. And Marvel’s stance on Mary Jane had become that her marriage to Peter was dull and aged the character too much which makes him unrelatable to new readers. Spider-Girl, not only did you have a single webslinger in the books, but fans of Peter and MJ also had the two happily together in supporting roles. May also had a wide array of supporting cast members, including friends in school and allies in costume. And none of these characters remained stagnant. Each one evolved over the course of the series in logical ways, each one got their own chance to shine in May’s world.

The book was also a return to classic storytelling. Each issue featured not only a self-contained main story, but had an ongoing subplot in the background that would build over each successive issue. Despite that, the story was never hard to follow because of Tom DeFalco’s use of captions or character dialogue to fill readers in on what came before, as well as Marvel’s patented first page recap of previous issues. There was no decompression, the stories were light and fun, heroes were actually fighting VILLAINS, and everything was done the way many Spider-Man fans wished it was still being done for some time.

Despite the book having something for everyone, it never became the runaway success it should have been. I often find it funny the books that make it to the top 10, hell the top 50 even, while others fall significantly lower. It’s a shame that this book escaped so many reader’s radar, and that it took the recent changes in the Spidey book to bring over others. Now I know, many of you are saying she had a pretty impressive run considering all the threats of cancellation and compared to the records of all other solo books starring Marvel heroines, but as the stories have not yet run out is that really enough? Is 16 pages quarterly in Amazing Spider-Man Family what May and company have come to deserve?

I encourage everyone to pick up some issues; either in their original form or in any of the inexpensive digests released collecting them and check Mayday out. And if you like it, pass it on to someone else. Good books, good characters, like this deserve to be kept in the spotlight and not relegated to a supporting feature. We also, those of us Spider-fans disillusioned by the new changes in the main title, need another option to get our Spider-fix. And for you female readers out there who feel these books cater too much to the men, this is definitely the book for you to check out.

My thanks to Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, Pat Oliffe, Sal Buscema and all others involved with the book for giving us over a decade of great tales.

Spider Girl: The End

By Chris Buchner

The little comic that could just ran out of steam.

Former Marvel Editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco had the idea of what it would be like if Spider-Man had a daughter that grew up to be a hero like him. The answer came in the pages of What If…?, Marvel’s look into alternate versions of its universe and characters. 1998’s issue #105 of the second volume brought us the tale of May “Mayday” Parker, aka Spider-Girl.

The premise carried on from the controversial Spider-Man Clone Saga that had just concluded two years prior. During this time, Peter Parker was dealing with an elaborate plot against him set in motion by Norman Osborn, the original Green Goblin. Out of that plot came Ben Reilly, Peter’s perfect double who was in self-imposed exile for 5 years before returning to the city and temporarily taking over the webs. Also at this time, Peter and his wife, Mary Jane, were expecting their first child. However, the Marvel brass felt a kid would age Spidey too much, so they had Osborn had plot to force Mary Jane into an early labor, and the child was pronounced dead. In later issues it was hinted that the baby was, in fact, alive and in the possession of the cult of Scriers. Peter’s first, and deformed clone, Kaine rescued a baby-sized item from the Scriers in Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #435 and the plot line was dropped from that point forward.

In the universe presented, the story takes place in the current day, but all the comics that came before took place 15 years or more in the past. Kaine had rescued baby May from the Scriers and returned her to the Parkers, where she grew up and developed spider powers by the time she was 15. At the same time, Normie Osborn, the grandson of Norman, sought to restore the family’s honor by eliminating the Parkers as the latest Green Goblin. May found Ben Reilly’s old spider gear in the attic of her house, donned them, and became Spider-Girl. From that point on, she took up crime fighting at first hindered, and then aided, by her concerned parents who wanted to spare her the spider lifestyle.

Following positive reviews of the issue, Tom DeFalco moved forth on his idea of a possible future universe in order to produce comics that were more accessible to a wider audience and without the hindrance of decades of continuity. The result was the Marvel imprint, MC2, or Marvel Comics 2. The original idea was to present 3 twelve-issue maxi-series, followed by three more the following year (it should be noted Spider-Girl actually received a 13th issue: a reprint of her first appearance under Spider-Girl #0). The first three were A-Next, featuring the next generation of Avengers, J2, the son of Juggernaut who was a hero, and Spider-Girl. Although both A-Next and J2 ended as scheduled, Spider-Girl proved popular enough to carry on.

The next books to come out of the line were Fantastic Five, the continuing adventures of Marvel’s first family, and Wild Thing, the daughter of Wolverine and Elektra. However, due to the collapse of a deal to sell all three books through Target and K-Mart as well as low sales, the other titles were cancelled after only 5 issues. Two mini-series spun out of Spider-Girl starring supporting allies, DarkDdevil and The Buzz, but Spider-Girl was essentially the only MC2 title left in publication.



Since her debut, readers have been treated to old-school storytelling courtesy of DeFalco and artists Ron Frenz and Pat Oliffe, with inks by another Spider-Man legend Sal Buscema. May has gained a massive and strong supporting cast during her run, as well as villains both modeled after ones her father faced and completely new. Much like comics used to be, each issue told a standalone tale, but also included a subplot that would build up along successive issues. This formula has allowed Spider-Girl to become the longest running title starring a female character in Marvel history, reaching 127 issues as of this article. She has also had alternate versions of her appear in comics and novels, her own action figures, and even became an alternate costume in the mutli-platform video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.

However, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. Despite initial interest, sales steadily dropped and the book was placed on the chopping block for cancellation twice. Because of a very vocal and loyal fan base that the character has amassed, the book was saved through many promotional initiatives by both the fans and DeFalco. The book was reprinted in Marvel’s then-new digest format initiative, earning respectable sales. So much so, that associate editor Nick Lowe announced that the book was safe from cancellation for the first time in November of 2005.

But, cancellation was exactly what came, in a sense. Spider-Girl was officially cancelled with the landmark 100th issue, but Marvel had decided to re-launch the title in the hopes of drawing in a new audience with a brand new #1 issue. The following month, Amazing Spider-Girl began with a new #0 done in the style of Marvel’s recent Saga books, which recapped everything that has happened to that point through prose with sparse images. May was also given a slight makeover, with a few details changed on her costume and her web-shooters made longer and slimmer. Unfortunately, the series continued to perform below Marvel’s satisfaction. On October 11th, 2008, they announced the cancellation of the series with #30, giving her a grand total of 134 issues between two volumes and an annual.



But, Mayday’s adventures may not be over yet. Marvel has claimed a love for the character, and has alluded to her becoming a 16-page back-up feature by DeFalco and company within the pages of Amazing Spider-Man Family, the third volume of the Spider-Man anthology that features original stories from various eras of his career and reprints of classic comics. This decision, though, has raised questions among fans over the fate of DeFalco’s series currently running in the book: Mr. & Mrs. Spider-Man, a prequel to Spider-Girl and MC2 in the days when May was just a toddler.

Spider-Girl had survived cancellation three times thanks to the efforts of fans and her creators, but has she met her final fate? Or will another Save Spider-Girl campaign keep her book going for just a while longer?

Virgin No More

By Chris Buchner



Another independent bites the dust.

Virgin Comics LLC and Virgin Animation Private Limited was a collaborative founded in 2006 by Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Group, author Deepak Chopra and his son Gotham, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, Sharad Devarajan and Suresh Seetharaman of Gotham Entertainment Group, South Asia’s largest comics publisher. The principle company was based out of Bangalore, India while the comic branch opened an office in New York City. The goal of the company was, as said by Devarajan, to “create content that not only reaches a global audience but also helps start a creative renaissance in India.”

Virgin had a two-fold vision:

The creation of original stories and character properties that tap into the vast library of mythology and re-invent the rich indigenous narratives of Asia in a unique, compelling, and entertaining way.

Collaborating with creative talent from around the world—from filmmakers, to writers, to musicians and other artists—to craft original stories and character properties initially in the form of comics and graphic novels subsequently to be developed into films, television, animation, gaming, wireless content, online, merchandise and more.

Virgin Comics’ initial lines were their flagship Shakti, Maverick and Director’s Cut. Shakti, which means power in Sanskrit, feature Indian mythology, art, history, classical stories and other related themes with a modern twist. Devi, by Siddharth Kotain featuring a modern take on a very ancient myth, and The Sadhu, by Gotham Chopra about revenge from an individual who was once a mystic, were the first titles released. Other titles included Ramayan 3392 A.D., The Asura Analogues, Beyond, Blade of the Warrior: Kshatriya, Buddha and others.



The Maverick line, later renamed Voices, was intended to feature both new talent and comics presented by actors and musicians. The first was by Eurythmics frontman Dave Stewart called Dave Stewart’s Walk In #1, written by Jeff Parker and loosely based on his real life experiences as a young man doing stage shows while suffering from moments of memory loss. Nicolas Cage and his son Weston brought out their story Voodoo Child with writer Mike Carey, set in a post-Katrina New Orleans and heavily featuring Voodoo Mythology. Porn Queen Jenna Jameson teamed up with writer Christina Z. to present Shadow Hunter, about an attractive woman who finds herself facing off against legions of hell. Other titles include Masked Magician based on the character from Breaking the Magician’s Code, The Stranded in a venture with Sci-Fi Channel, and an upcoming Hugh Jackman project called Nowhere Man.



The Director’s Cut line was designed to showcase the work of film directors and give them the unlimited freedom to do stories that might be impossible to do on screen with things like budget constraints. It was a big draw because of its ability to give directors a springboard with which to approach Hollywood with their ideas. One of their biggest and most hyped titles was John Woo’s Seven Brothers, a Chinese folklore with a modern twist added by writer Garth Ennis, and was too be the line’s debut comic. However, that honor fell to Snakewoman by Kappur and artist Zeb Wells. Another successful title was Guy Ritchie’s Gamekeeper, set to become a Warner Brothers motion picture that begins filming in 2009. Also in the line was Edward Burns’ Doc Walloper and Jonathan Mostow’s The Megas.



Virgin had also looked into a foray into graphic novels, including the environmental children’s book The Econauts. At New York Comiccon, Grant Morrison was said to be working with Virgin to produce websidoes based on the Mahabharata. They also started Coalition Comix on Myspace where users could suggest ideas for a comic. The first to come from that was Queen’s Rock by Mike Carey.

On August 26th, 2008, reports came out that Virgin had shut down its New York office. The company announced a restructuring plan with a relocation to Los Angeles. In September, it was announced that the company would be renamed Liquid Comics after a management buyout. Virgin will still own the rights to the comics its produced, and Liquid looks towards the future and continuing the initiatives which Virgin had started. Gotham Entertainment, which was kept as a separate entity, remains unaffected by all the changes. It’s reported Virgin’s troubles came at the withdrawal of Branson’s Virgin Group, which is suffering from its own financial troubles due to the current economy. But, publisher Devarajan is confident that they can continue to make comics without Branson like they did before.

Back to the 90s: The Death of Superman

By Chris Buchner



Featured Writers: Dan Jurgens, Louise Simonson, Roger Stern, Jerry Ordway, Karl Kesel, William Messner-Loebs, Gerard Jones

Featured Artists: Jon Bogdanove, Tom Grummett, Jackson Guice, Dan Jurgens, Dennis Janke, Denis Rodler, Walter Simonson, Curt Swan, M. D. Bright

In 1985, the DC Universe was rebooted in the crossover event “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” bringing sense and unity to a fractured continuity cause by the tonal change in stories between the Silver and Modern Ages of comics. One of these changes was a revamp of Superman, courtesy of John Byrne’s The Man of Steel mini-series. A dispute caused Byrne to leave DC, and Roger Stern took over the Superman books following Byrne’s blueprint. But, sales on the books steadily declined. DC tried to snag new female readers by changing the eternal Superman/Clark Kent/Lois Lane love triangle that had been in place since the characters’ creation in 1938. Byrne had already established that Lois was falling for Clark over Superman, and the creative team felt his continuing to keep his identity from her made him the biggest liar on the planet and thus tarnished the boy scout image of the character. So, they had him revealed his identity and a proposal later, the stage is set for the Superman wedding.

Except Warner Bros, owner of DC, had other ideas. They had cancelled the Superboy TV series to make way for the new Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman starring Dean Cain and Terry Hatcher in the lead roles. As the title implies, the focus was on the reporters and their budding romance, rather than the man of steel’s adventures. Plans to marry the two came up during production, and after a sit-down with the Superman writing staff it was agreed that the developing marriage plotline in the comics would be put on hold to allow the show to do the story first. Despite the aggravation over having a year’s worth of planned stories casually swept aside, the show had to go on and the comics needed a new original event to fill the gaping hole.



During some of the story meetings at DC where the Superman team would plan out an entire year’s worth of stories to make the four Superman books coordinated to feel like a weekly comic, writer Jerry Ordway had begun the running gag idea of killing Superman off. The gag intrigued editor Mike Carlin enough to eventually become an actual idea. In a world that had come to rely on Superman to solve all their problems, what would happen if they lost him?


DOOMSDAY IS COMING



Doomsday was created by writer/artist Dan Jurgens to be a big, hulking creature with bony protrusions all over that served as both armor and offensive weapons. His name was chosen simply because at the summit they wrote down “Doomsday for Superman,” and he literally was to be the end of Superman. However, nothing was revealed about the character in his first appearances. It would eventually be revealed that Doomsday was sent as a baby to a harsher ancient planet Krypton by the alien Bertron to become the ultimate life form. The infant was killed by the inhabiting creatures, and its remains would be harvested and cloned repeatedly to create a virtual accelerated form of natural selection. Eventually, he could adapt on his own and after killing all the creatures of Krypton he began an interplanetary tour of violence. It eventually took the destruction of a fifth of a world to put Doomsday down. His supposedly dead body was bound, placed in a casket and launched into space where it would eventually crash-land on Earth and end up deep underground.

Shrouded in a green body suit with one hand tied behind his back, Doomsday spent the last page of several comics hitting a steel door until he finally broke free of his prison in Superman: the Man of Steel #18. Thus began Doomsday’s rampage. The path of destruction eventually got the attention of the Justice League, composed of Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Maxima, Fire, Ice and Bloodwynd, who proceeded to attack the monster with absolutely no success. Superman entered the fray, rescuing Booster Gold from being flung into space and allowing him the honor of naming Doomsday within the comic.

What followed was a brawl between two titans, as Superman fought to keep Doomsday away from Metropolis while also trying to protect any innocents that happened to be in their path. The League offers what support they can, which is just about the same as their initial confrontation. In fact, the only true damage Doomsday seems to have taken from all of their best shots combined was to his outer covering, revealing his true self once and for all.

On the human side, the Daily Planet had gotten wind of the battle and dispatched its best reporter, and coincidentally Superman’s love interest, Lois Lane with photographer, and Superman’s friend, Jimmy Olsen to cover the story. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor (living as his own son as a cover for removing his brain from his cancer-ridden body into a younger cloned one) tried to dissuade the current Supergirl, also known as the shape-shifting protomass from another dimension called Matrix, from entering the fight and stay with him. Out of love for Lex, she did initially.



After trashing the mountain where Project Cadmus, a government genetic engineering project, was housed, the fight eventually moved into Metropolis where Doomsday decided to go after seeing an event for the city and a road sign leading there. The fight continues and the devastation brought outside the city now finds itself within. The police attempt to do their jobs, but have even less effect than the heroes have had to this point. Superman’s allies, the scientist Professor Hamilton and former longshoreman Bibbo Bibbowski, try to use a laser Hamilton invented but to no avail. Supergirl finally goes against Lex’s wishes and joins the fight, but one punch from Doomsday reverts her to her original humanoid state and takes her out.

Superman finally finds out that the bony protrusions on Doomsday’s body that could cut his skin could also be broken, hurting Doomsday for the first time since he escaped. The two titans slugged it out in the middle of the city, before each deliver the final blow that knocks both of them down. Superman, satisfied with the knowledge that he managed to stop Doomsday, succumbs to his injuries and seemingly dies in Lois’ arms.



The final four issues of the story, an artistic decision was made to use increasingly less and larger panels to fully encompass the scope of the action in the conflict. Adventures of Superman #684 was done entirely with 4 panels per page, Action Comics #684 had three, Superman: the Man of Steel #19 featured only two, and Superman vol. 2 #75 was done entirely with one image per page. Because each issue came out successively, the change was subtle and flowed very well between them. #75 also featured two covers; a special bagged edition with a tombstone on the whole cover, and the regular newsstand cover of Superman’s tattered cape flowing amidst the rubble. The latter cover sold the most.



The event was highly publicized in the media at just the announcement of the story, and many people lined up at their local comic shops to pick up sometimes several copies of Superman #75. But it wasn’t just comic fans; it was also those who knew of Superman but never read a comic up until that point. There were even pseudo funerals for the Man of Steel. However, not all fan response was positive. DC was bombarded with letters blasting them for killing off their favorite hero and an icon. Others had come to believe that it was nothing more than a publicity stunt that wouldn’t last in order to generate more interest in the books and raise what was then slumping and stagnant sales, especially when it was closely followed by the Batman “Knightfall” storyline (See BACK TO THE 90s: KNIGHTFALL).



Chuck Rozanski, owner of retailer Mile High Comics, wrote an essay in the Comics Buyer’s Guide where he blamed this story as having a significant role in the comic industry bust of the late 1990s (See COMICS: THE FOUR-COLORED HISTORY). Indeed, many speculators had snatched up copies of #75 in its special black bag with simple S-Shield on the front in the hopes that it would become a valuable collectible, but upon Superman’s return its value was gone. It was also attributed to opening the door wide open for companies to embrace the concept of comic book death (see COMIC BOOK DEATH) and resulted in many character resurrections. Many fans also felt the further appearances of Doomsday added nothing to the character and cheapened his initial threat to Superman.

And the creators behind it all? For a brief time, they were comparable to celebrities. Magazines and TV shows would call them up for interviews, malls would be filled with people waiting for autographs, they gained notoriety at conventions, they were invited to be extras on Lois & Clark, and even met Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel. And, like many celebrities involved in something controversial, they also received some death threats and at times were chased by fans.

WORLD WITHOUT A SUPERMAN

The Death of Superman was nothing more than a glorified grudge-match, and the creators behind the story knew this. That’s why the follow-up to the actual fight was so important. In “Funeral for a Friend,” Superman was given a grand funeral that most of the DC super heroes and all of Metropolis showed up to attend, including then-President Bill Clinton and his wife Hilary. The creative team also made a cameo within the crowd. A mausoleum was erected in Metropolis and every hero would sport a black arm band featuring the S-Shield.

The stories after the funeral dealt with the emotions of the general public and specific characters from Superman’s cast. Particularly heart-wrenching was the fact that Jonathan and Martha Kent, Superman’s adoptive Earth parents, could only watch the funeral on TV to preserve his secret identity as Clark Kent. To mourn their own way, the buried his childhood treasures near the crater where the rocket landed when they found him. That story came to a head when Lois, at this time engaged to Clark/Superman, had finally come to the Kents for emotional support after having avoid them to prevent making it real. These were arguably some of the finest moments to come out of the story as a whole.

The rest of the world who wasn’t mourning, it was business as usual. Without Superman, crime was on the rise and other Metropolis based heroes stepped up to fill the gap, including Team Luthor, a Lexcorp-sponsored team, but none of them could match up to the Man of Steel, Guardian and the vigilante Gangbuster. Project Cadmus had stolen Superman’s body from his mausoleum in what was believed an attempt to clone him, but Lois and Supergirl retrieved it. Supergirl would also go on to impersonate Clark Kent using her shape shifting abilities and the cover story that Clark was trapped in a well-stocked cellar from the Doomsday battle so as to reduce suspicion about why he disappeared the same time as Superman.

Jonathan Kent took the death of his son especially hard, and suffered a major heart attack. At this point, all the Superman comics went on a three-month hiatus. As great as the stories were that were being produced, DC felt that they couldn’t effectively sell the death of the title character if the books kept on going. The last Superman book published at the time was Newstime, which recounted Superman’s life and legacy like a memorial.

REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN

It was always intended for Superman to return, the question was: how to do it? At the DC summit meeting for the story, the creators figured that his return should have something to do with Krypton and his alien heritage. Another idea was thrown about to make Superman different somehow, and they came up with various concepts based on the different nicknames Superman has had over the years. Instead of picking just one, it was decided to go with all four based on writer Louise Simonson’s suggestion and a new story was born. The Superman titles began again, starting with Adventures of Superman #500 which followed Jonathan Kent into the Afterlife following his heart attack. There, he convinced Superman’s soul to come back with him. It was believed to be a hallucination, until upon his awakening the four Supermen made themselves known.



Superman #78 saw the introduction of The Man of Tomorrow created by Dan Jurgens, known as Cyborg Superman due to half of his body being replaced with augmented Kryptonian cybernetic technology. Science helped prove he was the real deal, but claimed amnesia prevented him from recalling how he got to this state or much of his past. Suspicious, but the idea there was that everyone was so desperate for the void to be filled in the people would accept anything.

Adventures of Superman #501 brought us Superboy (who later became simply Connor Kent when lawsuits over the rights to the name Superboy came into play in regards to an earlier version of Superman when he was a kid) created by Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett. Superboy was a teenaged version of Superman cloned from his DNA and that of Lex Luthor’s by Project Cadmus. Unlike Superman, however, Superboy had none of the vision powers and relied on tactile telekinesis to simulate the flying, strength and invulnerability of the original. He was also severely arrogant, which was attributed to the arrogance of youth.

Superman: the Man of Steel #22 received The Man of Steel, later renamed Steel, creaed by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove. Ironworker John Henry Irons was an ex-weapons designer for the military. Seeing a need to be filled as the weapons he created made it out into the streets, he created a suit of armor and wielded a large hammer, complete with a red cape and S-Shied on his chest. Irons never claimed to be Superman, but rather sought to represent his spirit and continue his legacy while making up for his own sins in the past.

Action Comics #687 introduced physically the closest incarnation of Superman, The Last Son of Krypton created by Roger Stern, later renamed the Eradicator. Unlike the others, he claimed to have all the memories of Superman but lacked any emotion and often dealt with criminals in a lethal fashion. He also had energy beams that emanated from his hands and a light sensitivity that forced him to always wear a strange pair of glasses. He was Superman if he never had his Earthly upbringing.

Each introductory issue featured two covers; one with the character posing, the other featuring a die-cut cover with their particular logo that opened up to a close pin-up of each character. The initial stories featured each of the Supermen returning to duty to protect the city. The public readily accepted Cyborg and Eradicator as the original, based on the scientific test by Hamilton that confirmed the Cyborg and Lois interviewing both of them to find they had some semblance of Clark’s memory. Also, it was solidified by the fact Superman’s body was once again missing from his mausoleum. However, both of these turned out to be a little more than copies.

The mystery became which, of any of these were, the REAL Superman? As the story progressed, it was revealed that the Eradicator was actually an ancient Kryptonian weapon. He stole Superman’s body and brought it to his Fortress of Solitude, a lair similar to Kryptonian architecture in the arctic, and placed him in a regeneration matrix. It would later be revealed that Superman was not really dead, rather he went into a form of hibernation to heal from his injuries, and the Eradicator was using the regeneration energies to power himself.

Meanwhile, the Cyborg turned out to be Hank Henshaw, whom Superman had dealings with before. After exposure to cosmic radiation in space caused his body to deteriorate, he was able to project his mind into a computer and from there into the birthing matrix that brought Superman to Earth. He went off into space alone, gradually becoming delusional and paranoid, blaming Superman for his condition and the deaths of his friends and wife. He constructed his new body using the matrix and his ability to control technology. During his space travels, he encountered Superman’s foe Mongul and forcibly recruited him for his revenge plot. Together, they destroyed Coast City, home of the Green Lantern Hal Jordan, and erected a towering construct called Engine City in its stead.

Superboy had escaped capture and with Eradicator believed dead returned to Metropolis to recruit Steel for help. There, they encountered and battled a Kryptonian battle armor before learning that the real Superman, having been released from the matrix greatly depowered, used it to get from the Fortress to there. They, along with Hal Jordan who returned from space, launched an assault on Engine City and saved Metropolis from becoming the second version. Superman’s powers were returned when the Eradicator covered him from a dose of gas made from Kryptonite, the only thing that can kill Superman, and it interacted with his physiology passing onto Superman to restore his powers and degenerated the Eradictor’s body to a lifeless husk. Superman then destroyed the Cyborg’s body, but Henshaw’s consciousness lived on.

AFTERMATH



The Wedding (remember the wedding? The whole reason this story had to happen?) ended up being delayed further in order to coincide with the wedding episode of Lois & Clark, so the Superman writers featured stories where the relationship between he and Lois became rocky and they separated for a time. It wouldn’t be until 1996 when Lois would return and the two made amends. Superman had cut his hair short as it had been long since his resurrection, and the two were wed in Superman: the Wedding Album; a giant one-shot featuring many creators from Superman’s run. Meanwhile, Superman was experiencing an increase in his powers, leading towards his becoming electrical. But that’s a story for another flashback.

Steel and Superboy would go on to have their own monthly titles. Superboy was a founding member of the team Young Justice and later became a Teen Titan. Just before the court ruled that the rights to Superboy had reverted to the estate of Jerry Siegel, the character was killed off in the recent event Infinite Crisis. Although, DC attributes that to just timing and not a direct cause for the character’s death.

Steel continued on as a hero, even joining the Justice League, until an eventual retirement but remained a close ally to Superman. He also scored his own movie in 1997 starring Shaquil O’Neil. Recently, he returned to active duty in the series 52 to save his daughter, Natasha, from the schemes of Lex Luthor. He briefly gained powers from Luthor’s Everyman Program, which created superheroes Luthor could control, and now led Natasha and other super powered victims of Luthor in the now-canceled series Infinity, Inc.

The Cyborg had battled Superman and Green Lantern many more times on many different fronts, his body often destroyed and his consciousness stored somewhere else until a new one could be built. Most recently, he became one of the fallen Green Lantern Sinestro’s Sinestro Corps in the hopes that it would lead to his ultimate demise. However, destroyed once again, he was found and revived by the technological race called Manhunters that he had taken over prior to Sinestro’s recruitment of him.

The Eradicator was killed and revived several times in a new form, as both a hero with the Outsiders and enemy to Superman. Eradicator’s last appearance to date was Superman #220, where he was seriously injured by an OMAC, a cyborg that took over a human host and became a lethal killing machine. It was mentioned during Infinite Crisis that he was in a coma at Steel’s headquarters, Steelworks.



Doomsday wasn’t done in the pages of the comics. Cast into space tied to a meteor by the Cyborg, he was still very much alive and Superman goes after his body in the mini-series Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey. His origin was revealed there and in his own 1995 annual featuring three stories of death and destruction he’s caused galaxies away. Superman: The Doomsday War saw Superman’s old foe Brainiac take over Doomsday’s mind and Superman must defeat them both to save his ex-girlfriend Lana Lang’s newborn baby. Superman: Day of Doom explored how the original fight affected those that knew Superman and introduced the new villain Remnant.

The destruction of Coast City led to DC revamping Green Lantern. Hal Jordan suffered a mental breakdown after using his power ring to rebuild the city, and was called back to Oa, the planet that houses the Green Lantern Corps, for punishment for using his ring for personal gain. Jordan rebelled, destroyed the Corps, and absorbed the power of the Corps’ main power battery turning himself into the entity known as Parallax. Kyle Rayner would be introduced as his replacement, and Parallax would become the central villain in the event “Zero Hour.” The Corps have since been restored and Jordan returned to normal after returning from the dead.

The story was adapted by Roger Stern into a novel called The Death and Life of Superman in 1993, followed by a young adult version by Louise Simonson called Superman: Doomsday & Beyond with Alex Ross’ very first work for DC on the cover. The story was also adapted into an audio dramatization for BBC Radio 5 and a videogame for the Super Nintendo and Sega Mega Drive consoles. Doomsday and elements of the funeral also made a couple of appearances in the animated Justice League/Justice League Unlimited shows, but Doomsday wouldn’t directly kill the animated Superman until 2007’s direct-to-video Superman: Doomsday.

The reaction was tremendous, and it changed the shape of comics in both good and bad ways. The idea was to take people’s perceptions that the story would essentially end happily (Superman will always live, Lois will always live, Jimmy will always live, etc) and completely throw that on its side. The creators did the unthinkable, and it paid off. Since then, the success of the story has attempted to be duplicated with various franchises and various properties, but none quite reaching the same level. Many more events have followed, but none have ever been The Death of Superman.



COLLECTED IN:

The Death of Superman TPB
Superman: World Without A Superman TPB
Superman: The Return of Superman TPB

DEATH OF SUPERMAN

Superman #73
Superman: the Man of Steel #18
Justice League #69
Superman #74
Adventures of Superman #497
Action Comics #684
Superman: the Man of Steel #19
Superman #75

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND

Adventures of Superman #498
Justice League America #70
Action Comics #685
Superman: the Man of Steel #20
Superman #76
Adventures of Superman #499
Action Comics #686
Superman: the Man of Steel #21
Superman #77
Adventures of Superman #500
Superman: The Legacy of Superman

REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN!

Action Comics #687-691
Adventures of Superman #501-505
Green Lantern #46
Superman #78-82
Superman: the Man of Steel #22-26
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