I haven't been looking forward to this collection quite as much as the upcoming Superboy one, but still I'll likely get around to reading it sooner rather than later, hence the stub. (If anyone else wants to delve into it ahead of me, please feel free to do so.) This one includes Action Comics #266 & #277-278, Adventure Comics #287, Superman #142-143 & #147, Superboy #87, #90 & #92, Lois Lane #19-28 and Jimmy Olsen #47-56. I don't know why these issue in particular, but at least their choice demonstrates that someone has put some thought into it.
I used to like those b&w DC Showcase and Marvel Essential collections... at least I liked the idea of them. Although I would have preferred color, I bought the ones I didn't have and didn't expect to see reprinted in color any time soon, including the DC Showcase edition of Superman Family. I am pleased to report there there is very little duplication between the DCF volume and the four Showcase editions:
- Vol. 1 - Jimmy Olsen #1-22 and Showcase #9
- Vol. 2 - Jimmy Olsen #23-34, Showcase #10 and Lois Lane #1-7
- Vol. 3 - Jimmy Olsen #35- 44 and Lois Lane #8-16
- Vol. 4 - Jimmy Olsen #45-53 and Lois Lane #17-26
That's only 15 issues of duplication, and only with Showcase volume four.
(All covers illustrated by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye unless otherwise noted.)
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Hawkgirl was a married woman, so the suffix “girl” probably didn’t confuse the writers. Batgirl, being single, may have been mistaken for a teenager by inexperienced writers (and editors).
As for the Robin portrayed in the Batman TV show, he actually wore skin-colored leggings. Today the casting would have been different. An actor no older than 19 would have been cast and in the fashion today would not have had a problem shaving his legs.
SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #51:
BOBBY DARIN'S "DREAM CAR":
Superman's "Missions": 6
I was reading Jimmy Olsen at that time, but not this issue. I wouldn't have forgotten the cigar death! Lucy's statement on the cover kills me. The mystery woman is going to marry Jimmy, yet all Lucy can say is she always liked him. "That woman is stealing my amusing redheaded monkey!"
SUPERBOY #87:
Next, Lois probably thinks “Why don’t both of her names start with L?”
Bwah-ha-ha!
Luis Olaro de Moura Dantas provided quite a detailed rundown on the significant events and relationships in Barbara Gordon's life, with regard to the ups and downs of her age. The only thing I have to add is that her level of formal education was established when she was introduced in "The Million-Dollar Debut of Batgirl", Detective Comics # 359 (Jan., 1967). Barbara's own thoughts nail it down: "I made my Ph.D. at Gotham State University! I graduated summa cum laude!" Unless you're a Sheldon Cooper, even a fast-tracked post-graduate programme wouldn't get you your doctorate before you were twenty-four or twenty-five. Most folks are a lot older before they get to put initials at the end of their names.
Babs probably did graduate faster than normal, given what they called her "photographic memory" back in 1968. But even so, a minimum course load to get to a Ph.D. takes a certain amount of time. I guess they could have waived some requirements, and maybe she took courses in the summer. But even with all those assumptions, I still think we're all on the same page that she's no younger than mid-20s in "The Million-Dollar Debut of Batgirl." And Robin was still middle school or high school.
Dick Grayson is identified as "nineteen" in Crisis on Infinite Earths. This struck me at the time as too young, even given the problematic passing of time in comics. It felt like he should be in his twenties as Nightwing.
It struck me as wrong in 1985-86 as well, but I brushed it off thinking they were keeping him below 20 to qualify for TEEN Titans. And, of course, after Crisis all bets were off.
"Jimmy Olsen's 1000th Scoop!" by Robert Bernstein and Curt Swan - Jimmy Olsen is one scoop shy of 1000, at which time Perry White will award him with the proze he gves to all his reporters who hit that milestone: a special camera. But, for some reason, Superman follows behind Jimmy, preventing him from getting that 1000th scoop. The way the story is structured, we know the reason has something to do with the new Daily Planet globe recently installed on the roof of the building, but what? Don't even bother to guess. You'll never get it, not in a million years, so I'll just tell you.
Actually I did guess that Perry was an imposter (too nice, and when I looked for more evidence, noticed his cigar wasn't smoking). And I guessed that the Globe had something to do with it. For one thing, they spent a lot of time establishing the Globe on Chekov's mantelpiece. But more importantly, Curt Swan drew the gems on it with "Curt Swan Glowing Effect" and not "Curt Swan Shiny Effect." So they weren't just jewels -- they were active in some way. And when Superman started sabotaging Jimmy, it obviously had something to do with the fake Perry and mysterious Globe -- Jimmy getting his 1,000th scoop would obviously disrupt Superman's plan, whatever it was.
But no, I didn't guess the exact connection. It was another villain plan so convoluted, it was obviously back-engineered to get to where they wanted to be, which was Superman sabotaging Jimmy.
It was also another story that wouldn't have happened (and Superman's plan would have been more effective) with a simple conversation. "Jimmy, I'm working on a case that requires you to take the week off from work and not turn in any stories. I'll explain later." "OK, Superman!"
But that's not very much fun, is it? Better to puzzle the readers for a few pages, even if it doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
And, wow, alien suicide! Pretty harsh stuff for a DC book!
This story may not have been a dream, but it is certainly based on dream logic.
Agreed.
"The Girl with Green Hair!" by Otto Binder and Curt Swan (cover story) - We covered this story not too long ago (earlier this year, in fact) in the "DC Finest - Supergirl" discussion. Given the clue that the alien girl calls herself "Ka-ra" (and Jimmy "Jim-my") it's not too difficult to figure out what's going on here.
Yeah, in the Silver Age and now, it's pretty obvious. But what struck me (then and now) is Supergirl's commitment to the bit. "I want to have privacy and spend cozy evenings with you!" "On my world, when a girl likes a boy, she will do anything he commands! Name your wishes, master!" Now, I know sex didn't exist in Silver Age Superman stories -- Lois, Jimmy and Linda Lee all pine for literal kisses from their dates, which is apparently end game and doesn't lead anywhere -- but Supergirl is clearly spending a lot of alone time with a teenage boy and offering to do whatever he wants. They do establish that she sleeps on her ship (thereby taking "sleep with Jimmy" off the table) but I expect she'd have to do a lot of what we called "necking" and "making out," as we called it back then, to keep up the charade. Or do I just have a dirty mind? I like to think that, yes, they did "spark" a bit*, and it's because Supergirl genuinely likes Jimmy and enjoys it.
* Which is what my mother's generation called kissing in a parked car.
I'm sure there will be less disagreement this time surrounding which teen idols "Ricky Avalon" is based on, but even his car is based on Bobby Darin's DiDia 150 "Dream Car".
No argument here! This one is definitely a composite of the teen idols of the time, with the name suggesting Ricky Nelson and Frankie Avalon. And I didn't know the car was a specific reference to a third teen idol, Bobby Darin. Thanks for the history lesson!
"The Dream Detective!" - by Robert Bernstein and Curt Swan - Jimmy Olsen suddenly begins having clairvoyant dreams. ... Superman shows up and explains [SPOILER] that he "put on a special helmet I kept at my Fortress of Solitude which can transmit my thoughts to your brain--because it's tuned to the frequency of your signal watch!"
Uhhhh ... that is a very uncomfortable revelation. Why does Superman have such a thing? Oh, never mind, it makes the story work and will never be mentioned again.
"When Lana Lang First Suspected Clark Kent!" - (An Untold Tale of Superboy) by Robert Bernstein and George Papp - It's always jarring when DC inserts a Superboy story into an otherwise chronolocical reprint of Superman material.
Yeah, but I kinda like it when we get a quick George Papp or John Forte story to cleanse our palate. It makes me appreciated Schaffenberger and Swan all the more.
In this story, Ma and Pa Kent are throwing a party for the teenaged Clark and his friends. They are playing a rousing game of "pin the emblem on Superboy" when Lana starts to head toward the secret switch which will reveal Superboy's closet of robots. That's the whole plot, right there.
I don't think as a kid I was really worried. And certainly not now. There are about 3,000 ways Superboy could prevent Lana from pressing the trigger, or disabling the trigger. Assuming she hit at exactly the right spot, which seems unlikely. What REALLY puzzled me as a boy reading this story is why this game would be fun. "Pin the tail on the donkey" wasn't a party game for teenagers in the '60s and '70s, as far as I knew, and couldn't figure out why it ever was. As presented, it looks boring. Maybe there were sone other twists to it back then, like turning out the lights for some quick naughtiness.
This "threat" triggers a series of flashbacks as Clark recalls other time Lana has nearly revealed his secret.
That seems the point of the story, and I rather enoyed having multiple secret-identity stories at once, instead of just one. The flurry made them more entertaining, as I didn't have time to guess how Superboy would get out of each jam, so his solution would surprise me. (But not always convince me.) The use of medical records is interesting.
When she reaches the wall and presses the button, the robots hold the door closed from inside. THE END.
Didn't think of that one, so now there's 3,001.
"Krypto's First Romance!" by Jerry Siegel and George Papp - These two stories give an indication of which ones are included in DCF Superman Family. Superboy #87 had three stories, but only these two, one featuring Lana and the other Krypto, were included here.
This story made little me wonder if dogs could fall in love. My dog didn't seem so inclined.
And I didn't know the car was a specific reference to a third teen idol, Bobby Darin. Thanks for the history lesson!
Bobby Darin's "Dream Car" is on display at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Mo., right next to the Blue Flame, which set a land speed record in 1970 (since broken). My brother and I took my nephews there when they were just tots. The older one (now 42) saw the Blue Flame and kept saying, "Rocket!" "No, Ben, that's a car," we both corrected, but he kept insisting it was a rocket. "Fine, it's a rocket," we finally conceded.
There are about 3,000 ways Superboy could prevent Lana from pressing the trigger...
Or Ma or Pa Kent. I imagine Pa grabbing her gently by the shoulders and saying, "Whoa, there, young lady! Take off your blindfold an see where you are. We don't need you putting a pin hole in our simulated wood paneling!"
They could have established with one sentence that the pool gave Kolli telepathy as well as the Kryptonian suite of powers.
Check out the caption on page 3, panel 6: "The two dogs mentally speak..." Seems to suggest telepathy to me. (Just sayin'...)
Check out the caption on page 3, panel 6: "The two dogs mentally speak..." Seems to suggest telepathy to me. (Just sayin'...)
I glossed right over that. Hazards of reading with one eye. I've removed the offending graff.
"Pin the tail on the donkey" wasn't a party game for teenagers in the '60s and '70s, as far as I knew, and couldn't figure out why it ever was.
Just like the humans (and dogs!) post-puberty only wanting to kiss, the perception seems to be that teenagers are just taller kids. And why would the Kents allow a game called "pin the emblem on Superboy?”
They could have established with one sentence that the pool gave Kolli telepathy as well as the Kryptonian suite of powers.
Virtually every time any character became super in a Mort Weisinger book they received “the Kryptonian suite of powers.” I found this annoying, even as a boy. Did they think that their readers couldn’t understand or accept powers other than these?
SUPERMAN'S GIRLFRIEND, LOIS LANE #24:
"The Super Surprise!" by (unknown) and Kurt Schaffenberger - Superman gets into a jam and Lois saves him with her super powers. As little sense as these stories sometimes make, there's no way a reader could guess that [SPOILER] Lois Lane and Sylvia Zee of Kandor had switched places. Sylvia is from Earth but has super powers outside of the bottle city from the serum Korium-66-Beta (which only affects those with type A blood). [END SPOILER]
That's right, I couldn't guess the ending, and that makes it fun! Here are some of the things I want to mention:
None of which spoiled my enjoyment of the story a bit.
"The Perfect Husband!" by Robert Bernstein and Kurt Schaffenberger (cover story) - Lucy Lane enters Lois in the People Are Whacky television program, in which contestants are computer-matched with their perfect spouse. Lois is matched with Roger Warner, a Clark Kent lookalike who is rich, athletic and brave. His omnly "flaw" (if you want to call it that), which we find out on the last page, is that he is bald. He is so mortified that she has discovered his "one weakness" that he immediately leaves on a three-year trip around the world. (Perhaps his real flaw was vanity.) As he speeds away in his motorboat, Lois thinks, "But his baldness wouldn't have mattered... or would it?"
"Lois Lane... Traitor!" - Robert Bernstein and John Forte - Lois Lane travels to the "Near Eastern Kingdom of Pahla" to cover the brewing revolution. While there she wears a robe and veil, and tries smoking hashish.
This story would be more appropriately tiotled "Lois Lane... Assassin!"
Agreed.
As evidence against her, the have her approximate height, eye color, signature, a recording of her voice, and mjost damning of all, her fingerprints. If this weren't 1961, I would suspect a Lois Lane doppelgänger from an alternate Earth. Quite unexpectedly, I was actually surprised by who the attempted killer turned out to be. I approve.
Agreed!
And I guess Syvia wasn't watching Lois TV that day.
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