The content of this comic strip contains very strong language not permitted in the ongoing threads of this site. It also contains themes that some readers may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised for those who may be easily offended. The content has been cleared for posting by the moderators.
I said: I think it was because Superman was rapidly expanding its cast, and was still DC's most popular series, supporting a half dozen spinoff titles. Batman was not selling well in the late 50s/early 60s, so the editors thought theyd try whatever was working well for Superman.
thats actually DC's official explanation. I was just reading a recent DC trade paperback called Batman in the Fifties, and in one of the text pieces they say exactly that
but I can think of two or three other explanations
trademark establishment. all these comics companies are aggressive about establishing trademarks for new characters even if they dont use them much, and sue each other for perceived trademark infringements. DC trademarked the name Superwoman very early on, without creating such a character. Every couple years Lois Lane will temporarily gain superpowers, either in a dream or due to magic or kryptonite, and call herself Superwoman, then go back to normal at the story's end. Early in the 1940s, a rival company had a character called Roy the Superboy. As soon as that company (Archie actually) quit publishing that character, DC introduced Superboy: the Adventures of superman when he was a boy. Not sure why there was a sudden need to trademark Batwoman in 1956, but despite her disappearing in 1964 she's still round today and had a recent TV series, so theyre actively maintaining that trademark..
the Comics Code: CatWoman disappeared from Batman when the Comics Code was introduced. CatWomans design had been getting kinkier through the early 50s, with her costume now including a slitskirt, stilletoes, and a cat-of-nine-tails whip. and there was the moral ambiguity of Batman's attraction to a sexy criminal. Now the whipwielding badgirl was gone, and instead we had the unambiguously good girl character Batwoman as the principle female character in the series. Which relates to...
the moral panic over comics that lead to that code, specifically the allegations Batman and Robin were gay. in the early 50s there were boycotts, bookburnings, and a senate inquiry into the comic book problem. a whole vast topic in itself. a psychiatrist called Frederick Wertham wrote a book called Seduction of the Innocent, fueling much of the outrage, and in it he claimed Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson living together with their butler was a homosexual fantasy. a year after the Comics Code was imposed, suddenly Batman had a new female counterpart. Then a couple years later so did Robin. (of course all that blushing and stammering does nothing to prove they actually like girls) see this webpage I found that argues that exact cause and effect. (ironically, the modern day version of Kathy Kane is a lesbian)
Tornado was a short lived (22 issues) British comic that launched in 1979 and merged with 2000AD later that year due to low sales. It did have one very good strip called Victor Drago - obviously based on Sexton Blake.
Part Two next Monday…
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane was a title published by DC focusing on the adventures of Lois Lane. A total of 137 regular issues and two 80-page Annuals were published. Following the similar themed Superman’sPal, JimmyOlsen (covered previously) this was the second comic series based on a Superman supporting character. At the peak of its popularity in 1962, Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane was the third best-selling comic book in the USA, surpassed only by Superman and Superboy in sales.
This is a story from the first issue…
Anyone fancy an Elvis guitar?
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
story above by Otto Binder, art by Kurt Schaffenberger
like Binder, Schaffenberger had been employed by defunct rival Fawcett Publications in the 1940s and early 1950s, mostly drawing the various Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family titles, then coming to DC after DC sued Fawcett out of the comics business. He drew most of the Silver Age Lois Lane comics, and I like his sleek cartoony style, very expressive faces.
Lois already once had a solo backup series that ran briefly in the superman comic back in the 1940s. During the war, publishers were limited by paper rationing, and the page count of a comic book went down from 64 pages to 48 pages. Instead of having four full length Superman stories, they now had three Superman stories and one 4 page Lois Lane short story. In Batman, there was a similar 4 page backup series for Alfred the butler.
Here is the first of those Lois Lane backup stories from Superman 28, June 1944, written by Don Cameron, art by Ed Dobrotka (as reprinted in a 1970s issue of Lois Lane)
Lois Lane's solo title began with two tryout issues in Showcase 9 and 10, Aug and Oct 1957 . Upthread, CoolHand explained Showcase as a series of "pilot episodes". During the midfifties it was risky to start a new title, so DC used Showcase as an umbrella title to try out new series without the financial risk of actually starting a new series. We already saw upthread the The Flash debuted in Showcase 4. Lois Lane was the first of the Showcase tryout series to succeed in graduating to a regular title, but as with Jimmy Olsen, this was not surprising as Superman at the time was the one superhero comic audiences wanted to buy and was successful enough to support several spinoff titles.
but you know who was supporting multiple spinoff titles before Superman? Archie Andrews! check out these "coincidental" subtitles!
Superman's "Pal" was Jimmy Olsen, but there was already Archie's Pal Jughead starting 1950
and Lois Lane may have been Superman's "Girlfriend", but Archies's Girls Betty and Veronica also started 1950! I think DC was copying Archie with these spinoff titles.
lets see some more Silver Age Lois Lane covers.
and I gotta say, these Lois Lane comics are mostly ridiculous. Preposterous stuff. When first conceived in 1938, Lois was an admirable character, a feisty independent career woman, brave and resourceful, who only needed Supermans help because she dared take such risks in the name of her work. But by the time she got a solo series in 1958, womens roles had been redefined as stay at home housewives, and Lois was no longer obsessed with getting news stories, but with marrying Superman. Superman regarded her as a pest, and made her look silly issue after issue. plus she endured Amazing Transformations too. but for all the preposterousness, these are hilarious essential stuff, well served by Schaffenberger's cartoony art style
if you dont know this redheaded woman, thats Lana Lang. She was a character in the Superboy series, and showed up at the Daily Planet looking for work in Showcase 9. Making her Lois's rival for Supermans hand in marriage.
if your reading the word balloons and wondering who these old girlfriends are that Lois is jealous of: Lana we've met above. Lori Lemaris is a mermaid who Superman met before beginning his news career. Lyla Lerrol was a kryptonian film star who superman fell in love with when he travelled back in time to visit Krypton before it exploded (and in my opinion that story where he goes back to Krypton and falls in love is a seriously great silver age Superman comic, these silver age Superman comics arent all silly). and yes, all their names begin with the initials L. L. . Superman himself has noticed the coincidence before, no fool he.
Some of these stories are worse than crazy! The Lois title never appealled, maybe boys weren't the target audience, but thanks for all that reading and info, guys. The Elvis guitar looks hilarious!
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,802Chief of Staff
Did those spin-off comics sell in any number? They seem quite ridiculous…👀
I've never looked at this site before, dont know how reliable their data is, but it purports to answer the question and heres what they show as top sellers for 1961
I've highlighted the Superman related titles. He was in Justice League of America, but not every issue at this time.
theyre listing MAD seperately, its actually selling more than any comic
Uncle Scrooge is top selling comic book, and deserves to be. Carl Barks's Uncle Scrooge was more sophisticated than any superhero comic at the time.
Then the next four titles are all Superman or related. So yes, Lois Lane was selling very well at this point. that is what I understood: Superman was DC's best selling title in the Silver Age, and so successful it kept several related titles afloat.
I am surprised to see Batman is the next highest selling nonSuperman title, as I've often seen it stated it was selling poorly at this time, guess I understood wrong. Wonder Woman is the lowest selling of all superhero titles
a decade later, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, and Supergirl were all low sellers, and were merged in the giant sized title Superman Family. In the meantime Marvel had introduced its new approach to superhero comics, and taken over as number 1 superhero publisher. DC was struggling to adapt and having to try different things...
Clearly inspired by the Planet Of The Apes movie series this was an exciting saga of a post-apocalyptic Earth. Jack Kirby had jumped ship from Marvel to DC and this was his best comic that he created during his time there. As both writer and artist he was able to direct the series anyway he wished.
Kamandi is a teenage boy on a post-apocalyptic that has been ravaged by the “Great Disaster”, which devastated human civilization. Isolated pockets survive in underground bunkers, while most humans revert to savagery. By Kamandi's time (an unspecified period after the Great Disaster), the effects of radiation cause various animals to become anthropomorphic. He makes friends with a number of animals, including the dog scientist Dr. Canus, the tiger king Caesar, and his son Tuftan. Later additions to the cast include the alien Pyra, the primitive girl Flower, her twin sister Spirit, detective Mylock Bloodstalker, and his associate Doile.
The animal races are at war with each other, scavenging and fighting for resources, with the main conflict being between the Tigers and the Apes. The plot followed Kamandi's attempts to restore humanity's sentience in this new era of Earth A.D. while avoiding the various animal armies.
After 37 issues Kirby stepped down and the series went on until cancellation after issue #59. The title was cancelled unceremoniously in the “DC Implosion” of 1978 which saw several titles end. The final issue even carries the tagline of…Next - Into The Vortex.
Here is the first chapter of issue #1…
The map…
And the last page of the final issue…
The final two instalments (that were already drawn) were finally published in CancelledComicCavalcade.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Jack Kirby left Marvel (for the second time) in 1970, following increasing arguments over credit, pay, and ownership of his original art. He had been doing much of the plotting and character creation during the previous decade of Marvel's rise, yet was paid by the page as an artist, while Stan Lee was giving speeches on college campuses and interviewing with the media, claiming credit for everything. During the last couple years of the 60s, Kirby engaged in what we now call "quiet quitting", no longer introducing new characters, and repeating variations on previous plots. He was saving his new ideas for whenever someone wanted to pay him better.
Kirby was friends with Carmine infantino, who was now DC's editorial director. When Marvel refused to give Kirby a better contract, Infantino persuaded Kirby to come work for the Distinguished Competition (he'd already worked for them during two earlier periods: the war years, and briefly in the late 50s)
When he arrived at DC, he offered to take over whatever was their lowest selling title, if he could also introduce three brand new titles with creative freedom. In answer to @Sir Miles 's question above, the lowest selling title by 1970 was Jimmy Olsen. Kirby's first DC comic was Jimmy Olsen 133, Oct 1970, which he wrote and drew, with nobody else receiving credit for script.
over the next couple of issues, Kirby introduced characters and plot threads that led into his three brand new titles, an interrelated new corner of the DC universe he called the Fourth World. the three new titles were New Gods, Forever People, and Mister Miracle.
There was a complicated ongoing saga that linked the four titles (including Jimmy Olsen), about a pair of rival planetary rulers: Darkseid of Apokolips and High Father of New Genesis. The two rulers had traded their firstborns as a truce, to be raised on the others' planets, Orion being Darkseid's son and Mister Miracle being High Fathers son. When Mister Miracle escaped Apokolips and moved to earth, the pact between the two fathers was broken and they were at war again. and I admit I forget how the Forever People figure into this, let alone Jimmy Olsen, but they did. There was a lot of old testament theology, norse mythology, and epic science fiction in these comics.
These were all ideas Kirby developed while at Marvel, intending to introduce into later issues of Thor. But because he was increasingly unhappy at how his ideas were being exploited without proper acknowledgement or compensation, he set them aside and showed his sketches and outlines to Infantino when they met to discuss the new job offer.
I should point out, Kirby's attempts to write his own dialog demonstrated at least one reason he needed Stan Lee. Kirby's dialog is a slog, and his characters do not read as real people, the way they did when Stan Lee was scripting. But they do demonstrate his wild and prolific imagination.
thered been a lot of hype when Kirby joined DC (see the "Kirby's Here" text on each of the four covers), and these comics were fan faves but did not sell well, all being cancelled after only a year. Kirby then contributed a few more titles to early 70s DC, including Kamandi (seen above), the Demon, and OMAC (one man army command)
and an aborted attempt at a more adult oriented magazine sized title called in the Days of the Mob, which only lasted one issue
Kamandi was relatively successful. But the other titles did not last long, and Kirby felt DC was not treating him well, despite his friendship with Infantino. DC was still the more establishment, corporate minded of the two companies. And when his contract expired, Kirby returned to Marvel in 1976, taking over Captain America and Black Panther, two characters he'd created decades earlier.
but in the decades since, DC has reprinted the bejeebers out of their Kirby content, always with his name in huge text so Kirby Kollectors and Kompletionists know it exists. Same with the slightly smaller body of work Steve Ditko did for them.
They also have integrated all the Fourth World stuff into mainstream DC continuity. for example Mister Miracle was a member of the Justice League for a while in in the 90s.
I freely admit I cherrypicked the silliest looking Lois Lane covers. I was thinking we were enjoying the Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen and the Tails of the Superpets. I suppose I couldve picked some slightly less silly Lois covers, but thatd also be less fun. and I think Schaffenberger's style of art is well suited to comedy.
CoolHand you mention the Imaginary stories, and I think those were generally the best of the Superman comics of this era, as the concept allowed them to explore implications of the mythology to their natural limits without impacting the repetitive episodic nature of the regular series.
there were also some more serious minded Superman comics of the era, mostly written by Superman's returning creator Jerry Siegel, some of which could be called dark, brooding and introspective ... at least as far as kids comics of this era went. "Superman's Return to Krypton", from Superman 141 nov 1960, is one of the greatest examples of this type of silver age Superman story.
The content of this comic strip contains very strong language not permitted in the ongoing threads of this site. It also contains themes that some readers may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised for those who may be easily offended. The content has been cleared for posting by the moderators.
Comments
Glad you’re enjoying it, gents. This really is an outstanding tale and it will go on way into the New Year.
CONTENT NOTICE:
The content of this comic strip contains very strong language not permitted in the ongoing threads of this site. It also contains themes that some readers may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised for those who may be easily offended. The content has been cleared for posting by the moderators.
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THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH - Deviation Four - Point Pleasant - Part Two
Mark your calendar for next Thursday to read more of this fascinating tale.
Making us wait 😡
😁
Again. 😟
sorry to interrupt again, but I'm still thinking about why was there a BatWoman?
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sir miles said: I do find it strange that they kept adding Bat-characters 😵💫
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I said: I think it was because Superman was rapidly expanding its cast, and was still DC's most popular series, supporting a half dozen spinoff titles. Batman was not selling well in the late 50s/early 60s, so the editors thought theyd try whatever was working well for Superman.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
thats actually DC's official explanation. I was just reading a recent DC trade paperback called Batman in the Fifties, and in one of the text pieces they say exactly that
but I can think of two or three other explanations
More fascinating background, thanks, Caractacus 🍸
CONTENT ADVICE: Reader discretion is advised for those who may be easily offended.
DANGER GIRL (1998) Part Thirteen
More tomorrow…
Looking forward to it 👏🏻👏🏻
CONTENT ADVICE: Reader discretion is advised for those who may be easily offended.
DANGER GIRL (1998) Part Fourteen
And as it says…see how it all ends up next weekend.
Nice 😁
VICTOR DRAGO Part One
Tornado was a short lived (22 issues) British comic that launched in 1979 and merged with 2000AD later that year due to low sales. It did have one very good strip called Victor Drago - obviously based on Sexton Blake.
Part Two next Monday…
Very enjoyable, and yes looking forward to more!
It is enjoyable…hadn’t heard of this character or publication before…2000AD on the other hand 😁
SUPERMAN’S GIRL FRIEND, LOIS LANE (1958-1974)
Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane was a title published by DC focusing on the adventures of Lois Lane. A total of 137 regular issues and two 80-page Annuals were published. Following the similar themed Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen (covered previously) this was the second comic series based on a Superman supporting character. At the peak of its popularity in 1962, Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane was the third best-selling comic book in the USA, surpassed only by Superman and Superboy in sales.
This is a story from the first issue…
Anyone fancy an Elvis guitar?
story above by Otto Binder, art by Kurt Schaffenberger
like Binder, Schaffenberger had been employed by defunct rival Fawcett Publications in the 1940s and early 1950s, mostly drawing the various Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family titles, then coming to DC after DC sued Fawcett out of the comics business. He drew most of the Silver Age Lois Lane comics, and I like his sleek cartoony style, very expressive faces.
Lois already once had a solo backup series that ran briefly in the superman comic back in the 1940s. During the war, publishers were limited by paper rationing, and the page count of a comic book went down from 64 pages to 48 pages. Instead of having four full length Superman stories, they now had three Superman stories and one 4 page Lois Lane short story. In Batman, there was a similar 4 page backup series for Alfred the butler.
Here is the first of those Lois Lane backup stories from Superman 28, June 1944, written by Don Cameron, art by Ed Dobrotka (as reprinted in a 1970s issue of Lois Lane)
Lois Lane's solo title began with two tryout issues in Showcase 9 and 10, Aug and Oct 1957 . Upthread, CoolHand explained Showcase as a series of "pilot episodes". During the midfifties it was risky to start a new title, so DC used Showcase as an umbrella title to try out new series without the financial risk of actually starting a new series. We already saw upthread the The Flash debuted in Showcase 4. Lois Lane was the first of the Showcase tryout series to succeed in graduating to a regular title, but as with Jimmy Olsen, this was not surprising as Superman at the time was the one superhero comic audiences wanted to buy and was successful enough to support several spinoff titles.
but you know who was supporting multiple spinoff titles before Superman? Archie Andrews! check out these "coincidental" subtitles!
Superman's "Pal" was Jimmy Olsen, but there was already Archie's Pal Jughead starting 1950
and Lois Lane may have been Superman's "Girlfriend", but Archies's Girls Betty and Veronica also started 1950! I think DC was copying Archie with these spinoff titles.
lets see some more Silver Age Lois Lane covers.
and I gotta say, these Lois Lane comics are mostly ridiculous. Preposterous stuff. When first conceived in 1938, Lois was an admirable character, a feisty independent career woman, brave and resourceful, who only needed Supermans help because she dared take such risks in the name of her work. But by the time she got a solo series in 1958, womens roles had been redefined as stay at home housewives, and Lois was no longer obsessed with getting news stories, but with marrying Superman. Superman regarded her as a pest, and made her look silly issue after issue. plus she endured Amazing Transformations too. but for all the preposterousness, these are hilarious essential stuff, well served by Schaffenberger's cartoony art style
if you dont know this redheaded woman, thats Lana Lang. She was a character in the Superboy series, and showed up at the Daily Planet looking for work in Showcase 9. Making her Lois's rival for Supermans hand in marriage.
if your reading the word balloons and wondering who these old girlfriends are that Lois is jealous of: Lana we've met above. Lori Lemaris is a mermaid who Superman met before beginning his news career. Lyla Lerrol was a kryptonian film star who superman fell in love with when he travelled back in time to visit Krypton before it exploded (and in my opinion that story where he goes back to Krypton and falls in love is a seriously great silver age Superman comic, these silver age Superman comics arent all silly). and yes, all their names begin with the initials L. L. . Superman himself has noticed the coincidence before, no fool he.
Some of these stories are worse than crazy! The Lois title never appealled, maybe boys weren't the target audience, but thanks for all that reading and info, guys. The Elvis guitar looks hilarious!
Did those spin-off comics sell in any number? They seem quite ridiculous…👀
a quick google search led to this web page: Comichron - Comics History by the Numbers
I've never looked at this site before, dont know how reliable their data is, but it purports to answer the question and heres what they show as top sellers for 1961
I've highlighted the Superman related titles. He was in Justice League of America, but not every issue at this time.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 Uncle Scrooge Dell 853,928
2 Superman DC 820,000
3 Superboy DC 655,000
4 Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen DC 520,000
5 Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane DC 515,000
6 Tarzan Dell 509,355
7 Batman DC 485,000
8 Action Comics DC 485,000
9 World's Finest Comics DC 480,000
10 Adventure Comics DC 460,000
11 Archie Archie 458,039
12 Turok, Son of Stone Dell 377,145
13 Justice League of America DC 335,000
14 Detective Comics DC 325,000
15 Betty and Veronica Archie 308,227
16 Blackhawk DC 305,000
17 Flash DC 305,000
18 Archie Giant Series Archie 257,460
19 Green Lantern DC 255,000
20 Pep Comics Archie 250,317
21 Brave & Bold DC 245,000
22 Archie's Pals 'n' Gals Archie 244,897
23 Laugh Comics Archie 241,416
24 Adventures of the Fly Archie 240,452
25 Mystery in Space DC 240,000
26 Showcase DC 240,000
27 Archie's Pal Jughead Archie 238,640
28 Challengers of the Unknown DC 235,000
29 Wonder Woman DC 230,000
30 House of Mystery DC 225,000
31 Richie Rich Harvey 220,505
32 My Greatest Adventure DC 220,000
33 Rip Hunter, Time Master DC 215,000
34 Strange Adventures DC 210,000
35 Our Fighting Forces DC 210,000
36 House of Secrets DC 205,000
37 Star-Spangled War Stories DC 205,000
38 Sugar & Spike DC 195,000
39 Tales of the Unexpected DC 195,000
40 Tales to Astonish Marvel 184,895
41 Tales of Suspense Marvel 184,635
42 All-American Western DC 180,000
43 Forbidden Worlds ACG 178,600
44 Adventures into the Unknown ACG 165,200
45 Fox & The Crow DC 165,000
46 Unknown Worlds ACG 159,000
47 Rawhide Kid Marvel 150,162
48 Unusual Tales Charlton 136,414
999 Mad EC 1,209,918
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theyre listing MAD seperately, its actually selling more than any comic
Uncle Scrooge is top selling comic book, and deserves to be. Carl Barks's Uncle Scrooge was more sophisticated than any superhero comic at the time.
Then the next four titles are all Superman or related. So yes, Lois Lane was selling very well at this point. that is what I understood: Superman was DC's best selling title in the Silver Age, and so successful it kept several related titles afloat.
I am surprised to see Batman is the next highest selling nonSuperman title, as I've often seen it stated it was selling poorly at this time, guess I understood wrong. Wonder Woman is the lowest selling of all superhero titles
a decade later, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, and Supergirl were all low sellers, and were merged in the giant sized title Superman Family. In the meantime Marvel had introduced its new approach to superhero comics, and taken over as number 1 superhero publisher. DC was struggling to adapt and having to try different things...
I actually enjoy both the Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen series, the crazy situations, imaginary or not, were fun to read.
KAMANDI - THE LAST BOY ON EARTH! (1972-1978)
Clearly inspired by the Planet Of The Apes movie series this was an exciting saga of a post-apocalyptic Earth. Jack Kirby had jumped ship from Marvel to DC and this was his best comic that he created during his time there. As both writer and artist he was able to direct the series anyway he wished.
Kamandi is a teenage boy on a post-apocalyptic that has been ravaged by the “Great Disaster”, which devastated human civilization. Isolated pockets survive in underground bunkers, while most humans revert to savagery. By Kamandi's time (an unspecified period after the Great Disaster), the effects of radiation cause various animals to become anthropomorphic. He makes friends with a number of animals, including the dog scientist Dr. Canus, the tiger king Caesar, and his son Tuftan. Later additions to the cast include the alien Pyra, the primitive girl Flower, her twin sister Spirit, detective Mylock Bloodstalker, and his associate Doile.
The animal races are at war with each other, scavenging and fighting for resources, with the main conflict being between the Tigers and the Apes. The plot followed Kamandi's attempts to restore humanity's sentience in this new era of Earth A.D. while avoiding the various animal armies.
After 37 issues Kirby stepped down and the series went on until cancellation after issue #59. The title was cancelled unceremoniously in the “DC Implosion” of 1978 which saw several titles end. The final issue even carries the tagline of…Next - Into The Vortex.
Here is the first chapter of issue #1…
The map…
And the last page of the final issue…
The final two instalments (that were already drawn) were finally published in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade.
Jack Kirby left Marvel (for the second time) in 1970, following increasing arguments over credit, pay, and ownership of his original art. He had been doing much of the plotting and character creation during the previous decade of Marvel's rise, yet was paid by the page as an artist, while Stan Lee was giving speeches on college campuses and interviewing with the media, claiming credit for everything. During the last couple years of the 60s, Kirby engaged in what we now call "quiet quitting", no longer introducing new characters, and repeating variations on previous plots. He was saving his new ideas for whenever someone wanted to pay him better.
Kirby was friends with Carmine infantino, who was now DC's editorial director. When Marvel refused to give Kirby a better contract, Infantino persuaded Kirby to come work for the Distinguished Competition (he'd already worked for them during two earlier periods: the war years, and briefly in the late 50s)
When he arrived at DC, he offered to take over whatever was their lowest selling title, if he could also introduce three brand new titles with creative freedom. In answer to @Sir Miles 's question above, the lowest selling title by 1970 was Jimmy Olsen. Kirby's first DC comic was Jimmy Olsen 133, Oct 1970, which he wrote and drew, with nobody else receiving credit for script.
over the next couple of issues, Kirby introduced characters and plot threads that led into his three brand new titles, an interrelated new corner of the DC universe he called the Fourth World. the three new titles were New Gods, Forever People, and Mister Miracle.
There was a complicated ongoing saga that linked the four titles (including Jimmy Olsen), about a pair of rival planetary rulers: Darkseid of Apokolips and High Father of New Genesis. The two rulers had traded their firstborns as a truce, to be raised on the others' planets, Orion being Darkseid's son and Mister Miracle being High Fathers son. When Mister Miracle escaped Apokolips and moved to earth, the pact between the two fathers was broken and they were at war again. and I admit I forget how the Forever People figure into this, let alone Jimmy Olsen, but they did. There was a lot of old testament theology, norse mythology, and epic science fiction in these comics.
These were all ideas Kirby developed while at Marvel, intending to introduce into later issues of Thor. But because he was increasingly unhappy at how his ideas were being exploited without proper acknowledgement or compensation, he set them aside and showed his sketches and outlines to Infantino when they met to discuss the new job offer.
I should point out, Kirby's attempts to write his own dialog demonstrated at least one reason he needed Stan Lee. Kirby's dialog is a slog, and his characters do not read as real people, the way they did when Stan Lee was scripting. But they do demonstrate his wild and prolific imagination.
thered been a lot of hype when Kirby joined DC (see the "Kirby's Here" text on each of the four covers), and these comics were fan faves but did not sell well, all being cancelled after only a year. Kirby then contributed a few more titles to early 70s DC, including Kamandi (seen above), the Demon, and OMAC (one man army command)
and an aborted attempt at a more adult oriented magazine sized title called in the Days of the Mob, which only lasted one issue
Kamandi was relatively successful. But the other titles did not last long, and Kirby felt DC was not treating him well, despite his friendship with Infantino. DC was still the more establishment, corporate minded of the two companies. And when his contract expired, Kirby returned to Marvel in 1976, taking over Captain America and Black Panther, two characters he'd created decades earlier.
but in the decades since, DC has reprinted the bejeebers out of their Kirby content, always with his name in huge text so Kirby Kollectors and Kompletionists know it exists. Same with the slightly smaller body of work Steve Ditko did for them.
They also have integrated all the Fourth World stuff into mainstream DC continuity. for example Mister Miracle was a member of the Justice League for a while in in the 90s.
barbel sez: Some of these stories are worse than crazy! The Lois title never appealed, maybe boys weren't the target audience
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sir miles sez: Did those spin-off comics sell in any number? They seem quite ridiculous…👀
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
coolhand sez: I actually enjoy both the Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen series, the crazy situations, imaginary or not, were fun to read.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I freely admit I cherrypicked the silliest looking Lois Lane covers. I was thinking we were enjoying the Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen and the Tails of the Superpets. I suppose I couldve picked some slightly less silly Lois covers, but thatd also be less fun. and I think Schaffenberger's style of art is well suited to comedy.
CoolHand you mention the Imaginary stories, and I think those were generally the best of the Superman comics of this era, as the concept allowed them to explore implications of the mythology to their natural limits without impacting the repetitive episodic nature of the regular series.
there were also some more serious minded Superman comics of the era, mostly written by Superman's returning creator Jerry Siegel, some of which could be called dark, brooding and introspective ... at least as far as kids comics of this era went. "Superman's Return to Krypton", from Superman 141 nov 1960, is one of the greatest examples of this type of silver age Superman story.
Kamandi looks very ho-hum, as do all Kirby's "new" titles but that last one seems interesting.
Much appreciated!
@caractacus potts Thank for the impressive overview of Jack Kirby and the Lois Lane series 🍸
@Barbel I liked Kamandi 😁I had all 59 issues at one point.
WARNING - CONTENT NOTICE
The content of this comic strip contains very strong language not permitted in the ongoing threads of this site. It also contains themes that some readers may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised for those who may be easily offended. The content has been cleared for posting by the moderators.
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THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH - Deviation Five - Free Love - Part One
Next trip tomorrow…
I’ll be tuned in 😵💫😁
+1. 👍