Welcome to the sixty-sixth episode of From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast! This podcast has a simple premise; examine just about every Superman comic published between Man of Steel #1 in 1986 to Adventures of Superman #649 in 2006 in an informative and hopefully entertaining format.
Part index. Part commentary. Part history lesson. All podcast.
It’s another long one this week as the boys welcome back Jon Wilson to discuss one of the most important moments in the Post Crisis era which took place during the comics with the December 1990 cover date. In Superman #50, the final chapter of Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite, Clark not only struggles to regain his powers but also ask Lois a very important question. In Adventures of Superman #473 the Man of Steel (now back to full power) teams up with Green Lantern Guy Gardner to track down Hal Jordan. Finally in Action Comics #660 Lex Luthor makes a fateful decision regarding his illness. After all of this the guys discuss the renamed Adventures of Superboy #11 in addition to the usual Elsewhere in the DCU and Elsewhere, Elsewhere segments.
By the by: you can hear Jon on both Amazing Spider-Man Classics and Teenage Wasteland: An Ultimate Spider-Man Podcast.
Next Week: Cover date 1991 begins with Superman meeting the mysterious Mr. Z again for the first time, Clark visiting an old friend from high school and Plastic Man and Woozy Winks coming to Metropolis for a bizarre team-up.
No additional scans this week. Things have been crazy and Mike just didn’t have the time. They will return soon, though. Promise
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I’m going to expose myself as an ultra, ultra geek here. That scan of Superman #50? It’s actually from the second printing. The “Historic Engagement issue” line wasn’t on the first printing and another interesting difference is that in the original printing, the blue of Superman’s costume almost looks purple.
How do I know this? When the second printing came out, I bought the reprint despite having the original because I was convinced the first printing would be incredibly valuable and I wanted to be able to reread the story in the reprint without damaging it. (Look, it made sense when I was 10.)
Interesting. I bought this thing off the rack soon after it came out and never knew that. I kind of feel like I have been caught with my pants down or something but there it is on the first page. 2nd printing. This was a few years before they started putting the Roman numerals on the 2nd and 3rd printings.
I could be wrong about this, but I think it was almost immediately after this that DC started putting the Roman numerals on the reprints. I’m pretty sure the first few second printings of the Robin miniseries (which was released starting the following month) featured them.
My collection is halfway across the country at my parents’ house so unfortunately I can’t send you a scan of the first printing and show the color difference. By now, I’m pretty sure that this issue is easy enough to find in back issues, though. Maybe you’ve already located it in your store. (Another thing of note – and this might just be my copy – the color of several interior pages is less vivid in the reprint, particuarly during the sequence when Superman is back in costume.)
If you’re interested…. kinda small but you can see what I’m talking about.
http://americancomics.co.kr/design/index.php?tpl=5978.html
Sorry about the double post. Should have looked for this before my last post.
@ Bitter: You’re right that they started putting Roman numerals on this shortly after that. I remember buying the second printings of the Superman and Batman Armageddon 2001 tie-ins and I think those came out a few months after this.
Oh, and that issue with the GLs? One of my favorites ever. That cover is awesome.
I’m a bit confused. My copy has the same cover as the one Michael posted, but I see no notations inside that it’s a second printing. I’ve scoured the entire first page, the indicia, the letters pages… nothing
Great Rao, guys, could the first 10 minutes of this episode *be* any snarkier? Jon mentions his parents’ divorce, and all Michael can say is, “There ya go?” And the vitriolic “sands of Jupiter” controversy! I am assuming you all are good enough friends to weather such storms. 😉
After that, though, another nice episode. I am more optimistic than Michael that Clark and Lois’ marriage is going to stand the test of time, but I suppose I have no empirical evidence to back that up, and I’m prepared to eat my words should a dissolution be in the offing (just as I bet Jeffrey would not, in fact, abandon all new DC Comics if the super-marriage gets its own “brand new day”). If nothing else, it seems like an angle from the comics that some new media incarnation of the character might want to exploit in order to be perceived by the non-comics reading public as “new” and “innovative.” I can see the articles now: “….Only *this* time, Lois not only knows Clark is Superman, she’s married to him!” On the other hand, I guess the wedding was where the “Lois and Clark” TV show ended, right? Kind of a Maddie-and-Dave dynamic?
I enjoyed the way you underscored part of Jeffrey’s recap of issue 50 with the Williams score. I realize you probably did this because he basically asked for it , but it made a nice break in you format, and I’d encourage you to experiment with underscoring again. (Incidentally, I’ve also been meaning to compliment you on digging up appropriate “title clips” for each of the books — nice touch!)
NICE “First Contact” reference! (Although 0.68 seconds seems nearly an eternity to an android, not a computer ). Many Trekkie props to Jeffrey and Jon!
Michael, I’m curious: Did you enjoy the way Robinson et al. handled The Guardian over the last few years, in and around the New Krypton storyline? I only ask because I was not familiar with the character prior to his appearance in “Action” and the two Jimmy Olsen specials, and found him very intriguing. I’d be curious to hear what a long-time fan of that character, specifically, thought about his reintroduction (I take it?) into mainstream DC continuity.
“When he knows that he’s dying and has to argue with this stupid Clark Kent guy” — Jeffrey’s description of the situation made me think of issue 5 of “All-Star Superman.” Homage on Morrison’s part?
Only got partially through this ep today, but I am enjoying it!