Lois Lane #1 and 2
August and September 1986
Cover art by: Gray Morrow
Story: When It Rains, God Is Crying
Writer: Mindy Newell
Art: Gray Morrow
This is one of those socially conscious comics that comes out from time to time. This one dealing with missing children. I thought it was a pretty good miniseries myself that I picked up out of the 50 cent bin. I mostly picked it up for the Gray Morrow art.
Here we have Lois trying to get her next big story once she learns a child is found murdered at some docks. She sweet talks Inspector Bill Henderson into getting a closer look at the crime scene. She was not prepared for what she sees once the police let her look at the body. Lois and Henderson sort of team-up, but when Henderson goes on 3 weeks vacation later in the story, Lois gives him a piece of her mind.
Which brings us to Lois getting very emotionally attached to her story. You can see it eating her up more and more as she visits families that have had a child stolen from them. One of the families does not want to talk to her, and police have to escort her off the family’s property. When she goes to a home for runaway children. She also gets some push back from some at the Daily Planet, and then when she does get them to print her story she refuses to turn it in until she feels it is ready. Which causes her editor to get more irritated at her. This is not a typical happy ending comic, at the end we learn the child was never identified nor a killer brought to justice.
There is also a subplot with her sister Lucy. They are barely speaking to each other, but by the end they are at least on better terms.
Make no mistake this is a Lois Lane comic. Superman doesn't appear in a single panel. Clark shows up 3 times, and Jimmy makes an appearance, but it is Lois' show for sure. This is a Lois Lane anyone can root for. One you can actually seeing men falling for.
Now the art just fantastic. For the women, everyone of them had a different hair style. Everyone wore clothes that you can actually believe they would wear. Gray Morrow had a long tenure doing comic strips and it really served him well here.
Replies
I remember this book -- and I remember mostly being impressed with its ambition (a plainclothes story in a superhero universe), than entertained by it at the time. Gray Morrow is one of those artists whom I didn't "get" on first read. I'll have to take another look at this and seek out more of his work, as I'm doing with Dan Spiegel now.
I would have liked to have seen this book as one of the DC Comics Presents 100-page issues.
I'm not sure, but it might be included in the upcoming Lois Lane 75th anniversary collection.
ETA: Nope, it's not included. That's a missed opportunity, but I can understand not wanting to devote that page count to one story.
I like the cover.