COMIC BOOK COVER OF THE WEEK

COMIC BOOK COVER OF THE WEEK


Welcome, welcome, welcome, comic book afficianados!  It's you guy, Professor Mike back yet again with another comic book cover, and the story behind the issue!  This week, we're taking a peek back to 1986, and the Post-Crisis era...commonly now known as the "Bronze Age".  We turn our focus to one of the MOST importatnt series in DC Comics history, as Writer/Artist John Byrne reboots Superman for the modern age.  So, let's check out the skinny on this issue, and the impact it had on the DC Universe.




THE MAN OF STEEL #1  


COVER:  John Byrne, Dick Giordano
WRITER:  John Byrne
ARTIST:  John Byrne
INKS:  Dick Giordano
COLORS:  Tom Ziuko
LETTERS:  John Constanza
EDITOR:  Andrew Helfer
COVER DATE:  October 1986
PUBLISHER:  DC Comics


TAGLINE:  The Comics Event of the Century!


STORY TITLE:  "Prologue:  From Out of the Green Dawn..."
                          "Chapter One:  The Secret"
                          "Chapter Two:  The Exposure"
                          "Epilogue:  The Super-Hero"




The Man of Steel #1 was a series a long time coming for DC Comics.  For years, they had felt that their flagship character had gotten long in the tooth, and--quite frankly--too powerful and unrelatable to the average reader.  His popularity dwindling, they had hired famed Marvel and primary Uncanny X-Men artist, John Byrne, who had also just finished a stint on the first family of Marvel, the Fantastic Four.  Byrne had a HUGE task in taking the Metropolis Marvel, and re-vamping him for the modern times.  In the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths, he was the ONLY Superman left, having the Golden Age Superman leave with his wife Lois, Superboy, and Alex Luthor of Earth 4, enter a sort of eternal limbo, thus taking them OUT of DC Continuity.  This was all part of DC's process to streamline their continuity, and thus only having ONE Superman, ONE Batman, ONE Wonder Woman, and so on.  Byrne was given A LOT of rope in order to modernize Superman, by depowering him to a more relatable level, re-tell his backstory with his Kryptonian parents, as well as reviving his Earth parents, Johnathan and Martha Kent, having them alive and well.  We also see an appearance from Lana Lang as well as our intrepid reporter, Lois Lane.  The stage gets set to bring Superman up to date, make him more down to earth, and re-introduce new audiences to him.  Byrne does an amazing job giving us a modern day Man of Steel.




THE STORY:  Through four different chapters of this issue, we get to see Krypton, as Jor-El and Lara worry about their only son, as they know Krypton is doomed.  Lara is concerned about Jor-El's decision to send their only child to Earth, but he informs her that he will have great powers there, and can benefit their kind.  Krypton erupts, and Jor-El sends his only infant son on his way, as Krypton explodes.

We then see a teenage Clark Kent in Smallville, discovering his abilities, and learning to fit in.  His parents end up showing him the rocket he came to Earth in.  Clark is shocked by this discovery, and feels he needs to leave Smallville to discover his origins.  He winds up in Metropolis, saving a jet plane from crashing.  He meets Lois Lane, Later, he heads back home to Smallville, scared of the attention he recieved while saving the plane.  

In the epilogue, we see Clark embrace his destiny, and chooses to be a champion of humanity by adopting the role of Superman.




*********************************************************************************

This issue was stunningly good.  Byrne really embraces the history and heritage of Superman VERY well with his storytelling, which, I believe, he borrowed A LOT from the original Superman movie.  His visual stylings have always been superb.  I really enjoyed his take on Krypton, and that was later used for a mini-series as well.  He gives Kal-El the human element that had long been lost with Superman, what with all the amazing powers he was given.  He's still the Mightiest hero on the planet...but he's not so completely invincible that he can't take a whipping.  Byrne gives a nice pace to his re-telling of Superman's origin, and his Superman visually has probably been my favorite of all time...my deep respects to the late Curt Swan and Wayne Boring before him, but I truly believe that Byrne took the Christopher Reeve look, and adapted it into his own style. I like that we have both the Kents alive and well---for the forthcoming years, they would be an integral part of what made Clark Kent more down-to-earth.  We also get a brief glimpse of Lana Lang, who would later be one of his many friends who knew Clark had powers BEFORE he went to Metropolis.  We also get our first glimpse of Lois Lane.  And it was interesting that we get an interaction between the two before his first actual appearance as Superman.  That sets up the 2nd issue, where it's about Lois pursuing his story.  All in all, a great way to bring the Big Blue Boy Scout into the modern day (at the time in 1986, anyway), and a terrific jumping on point to new readers.