Superman, then, is the agent of modern fable — the most compelling
fable the 20th Century gave us….
At the heart of that myth and legend is Romance.
That is not the same as the weak, whiny demands of soapopera that begin with “characterisation” and crap on with demands for
ever more levels of “conflict”, “jeopardy”, “ensemble writing”, “tight
continuity” and all the rest of that bollocks. These things are unimportant.
Many of them just completely get in the way of the job at hand.
SUPERMAN requires only the sweep and invention and vision that
myth demands, and the artistry and directness and clean hands that
Romance requires.
SUPERMAN is about someone trying their best to save the world, one
day at a time; and it’s about that person’s love for that one whose intellect
and emotion and sheer bloody humanity completes him. It’s about
Superman, and it’s about Lois and Clark. And that’s all there is. That’s
the spine. That must be protected to the death, not lost in a cannonade
succession of continuing stories.
That’s what, in the continuing rush to top the last plotline, I see getting lost.
75 Years of Lois Lane: A chat with Dan Jurgens
dcwomenkickingass:
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Lois Lane’s first appearance in comics, I am speaking to several of the creators who have worked with Lois through the years as well as a Superman historian. Dan Jurgens has written (and drawn) Lois Lane many times over the past three decades most famously in The Death of Superman arc and the lead up and wedding of Lois and Superman. During Jurgens’ run Lois often had her own adventures
So Dan, what’s your first memory of Lois Lane?
That goes way back. When I was a kid, one of the independent TV stations was showing the 50’s “Superman” TV show in the afternoons, after school. While I’d been aware of Superman, that was my first exposure to Lois.
My first real comic memory is from SUPERMAN #194. One of the kids in the neighborhood had an older brother who let us read his comics and I remember finding this one particularly fascinating. It’s an imaginary story called “The Death of Lois Lane”. After being exposed to a unique type of Kryptonite, Superman lost his powers and any memory of being Superman. He married Lois and they had a son, who became Superboy.
Eventually, Luthor discovers Clark’s old secret and kills Lois. It’s very sad and the cover is quite memorable with Superman and his son looking at a mountain with Lois’ face carved into it, Mt. Rushmore style. It became something of an inspiration for the cover I drew for SUPERMAN #59.
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