Comments on: Showcase Presents Superman Family

By: James kosmicki

James kosmicki — Wed, 24 May 2006 22:08:49 +0000

I’m pretty positive that it’s about the publishing dates. DC didn’t have faith in the 50′s in Lois being able to pull her own weight in her own series. Notice that Jimmy (being a kid himself) was assumed to have natural appeal to the audience and started with his own series. This really wasn’t done very often back then. Almost every strip was tried out somewhere first.

Lois, being a superhero related book but focused on a female lead, was obviously considered a bigger risk, and thus not only was Lois’ series held back, but she had to prove her sales-worthiness in Showcase first.

I’ve read in the past that the main reason these characters were even considered for solo series was the popularity of the Superman TV show that emphasized the characters. One can only imagine that DC figured there were no older Superman readers angling for a Perry White solo series.

I’m guessing that Volume 2 will still be a bit Jimmy focused in the early going, but by the middle it will balance out more to half Lois and half Jimmy. eventually the Supergirl stories should be included too, if they are truly doing the strips that became the Superman Family book in the 70′s. but those were all backup strips until she kicked the Legion out of Adventure IIRC.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Wed, 24 May 2006 01:33:11 +0000

David, I suspect that the mostly-Jimmy focus is just an artifact of the publishing dates.

Or maybe they think a Lois solo wouldn’t sell.

By: Dan Coyle

Dan Coyle — Tue, 23 May 2006 17:31:45 +0000

Man, I just read “Jimmy Olsen’s Super-Illusions”, where after Jimmy Olsen accidentally takes a picture of Clark changing into Superman, so Superman spends the whole next day doing crazy things (Like flipping a house and moving inanimate objects) and making it look like only Jimmy can see them, so at the end of the day when Jimmy develops the film, when he sees Clark he’ll think it’s all another hallucination… and when Jimmy wakes up the morning after that, Superman has switched his negatives with blanks so Jimmy will think the previous day is all a dream.

Wow. Superman IS a dick.

By: Dan Coyle

Dan Coyle — Tue, 23 May 2006 05:09:49 +0000

I’m about halfway through this and I find it fascinating. More entertaining than the Superman Showcase, actually, probably because the inspired lunacy kind of runs out with Supes proper but Jimmy Olsen can get into any sort of wackjob adventure. Marbles! Jungle boy! Invisibility!

I can’t decide if Superman is simply a well-meaning father figure to Jimmy or a manipulative, sociopathic prankster. Probably a little bit of both.

By: David Oakes

David Oakes — Mon, 22 May 2006 20:54:40 +0000

Shouldn’t that be “*Because of* this extra edge, Jimmy is noticeably reckless…”?

Since there is certainly enough material (and more!) for both a full Jimmy Olsen TPB as well as one for Lois, any reason why they would drop her in this way? (Or for that matter, why they would use the “Superman Family” title for Jimmy, when it is a book in and of itself, all ready for TPB treatment?)