Right around the time Jeff and I were starting our Death and Return of Superman coverage I searched eBay for a copy of the Previews that contained the solicitations for Superman #75. Luck was with me that day and I managed to find one for a reasonable price. Soon after getting it in the mail I cut off the spine so I would have an easier time scanning the pages. You can see all of that right here, here and finally here. Sadly I have not had the same luck in finding the Previews that contained the solicitations for Adventures of Superman #500 or any of the chapters of Funeral For a Friend or Reign of the Supermen. I found one just now that had the AOS #500 solicit but the seller wanted nearly $30 bucks for it and frankly that is a bit too much for me at the moment.
While I don’t have the whole issue I do have some scans to share with you of the cover to that Previews and even one of the pages courtesy of my very good friend Alan Leach, Jr. Some time ago Alan sent me a huge box of promotional posters and included a file folder crammed with all sorts of news clippings and stuff cut out of Previews and poster inserts. Here are two of those odds and ends from the manilla folder.
Alan can correct me if I am wrong but I think the first image is not the actual cover to that edition of Previews but some kind of, for lack of a better word and you’ll pardon the pun, preview of the cover. It has a 3-D quality to it and boy did the scan end up being weird because it is pretty much solid black. I think it came out well enough. I really love the copy on the cover as well. It is over the top but still retains an air of mystery about it that takes me back to that era when we weren’t sure how everything was going to play out.
Long time readers of this blog probably have an inkling that I really love this sort of stuff. Given how my memory works I can remember where I was and what I was doing the first time I watch a movie or read a book or comic in such vivid detail that it’s like I’m back whenever that time period was when I re-watch or re-read something. Seeing artifacts like this gives more context to those memories, especially when it is something that I have never seen before. All of which is a long winded way of saying, “Thanks, Alan!”
More to follow…
The black 3 d Jerry Ordway image was the actual cover and the second page was the inside first page. What I sent was a dealer preview cover of the cover for dealers to put up. I actually bought two copies of that previews but I haven’t been able to find them. I know they’re in my garage but my garage looks like something out of American Pickers. I still have my Superman 75 previews sitting on top of my comic boxes I was going to send it to you back when you were posting that stuff but the you posted it so I figured you had a copy. It is neat to see all these artifacts. I hope you’ll be posting the promo posters soon.