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Post by swansong on Jul 18, 2024 3:10:16 GMT -5
Hey everyone! Welcome to our Superman in the Eighties review thread! We're kicking things off with comics cover-dated January 1980, even though they might have hit the stands in late 1979. We'll start with Superman Vol. 1 #343, DC Comics Presents #17, and Action Comics #503. Along the way, we'll see Marv Wolfman first attempt at "modernizing"the Man of Tomorrow, the return of classic writer Elliott S. Maggin, the Crisis tie-ins, and the weird, transitional period that followed, the rise of Ambush Bug  , ..., if this continues with Byrne and so on I dont know! Not a big fan! But it would be interesting to see "old" Wolfman versus "new" Wolfman as he is the only(?) writer who wrote lots of pre-crisis AND post-crisis Superman. For now, we'll focus on Superman's solo adventures and leave out Justice League, World's Finest, and Superboy stories. Exception: I will review DC Comics Presents... why that? I dont know. Just because I feel like it and they are still somewhat Superman focused... World's Finest I leave out because... we dont want to make this one about Batman, he has enough exposure  So... let’s dive in (soon), share your thoughts on the era, what do you remember?! - have some fun revisiting Superman's adventures in the 80s! Let's kick it off with AI created derivate Superman trying to depict that era and dont violating any content policy   |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 18, 2024 14:11:10 GMT -5
The computer forgot the Daily Planet building.
I read a few Superman & Action in this era, but DC Comics Presents was the only one I bought with any consistency, though more in its first couple of years. I had one or two of the Wolfman issues...more of the Cary Bates and Elliot Maggin stuff.
I met Mike Gold at a convention some years ago and he overheard me recommend Maggin's Superman novels to someone and he told me the story of how he ended up firing Maggin. Apparently, for whatever reason, Maggin stopped turning in his scripts and Gold decided to stop paying him for work not accomplished. Then, at a convention, Maggin came up and sucker punched him and then everyone around got between them before Gold retaliated (he's a big, solid-looking dude, too). Said he never did know why Maggin stopped submitting his work or why he seemed surprised that he would be fired over it. Maggin did portray himself as a hothead (saying he wrote Green Arrow's dialogue in his own voice), in Justice League of America #123-124.
Should be interesting, since I was reading other things, through most of this period, apart from the odd issue here and there.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 18, 2024 14:19:55 GMT -5
I was never a Superman reader; the longest stretch I followed was the Man of Steel limited series.
Still, I did get a few pre-Crisis issues (of Action Comics, I believe). I enjoyed Gil Kane's work on Superman, and while I don't think Brainiac had needed a redesign, his metallic form was appropriately spooky!
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Post by nairb73 on Jul 18, 2024 15:08:32 GMT -5
Looking forward to this thread!
That cover date is right about when my comic book reading took off...and I'd just started kindergarten!
But this is the point where my parents regularly let me get comics from stores(mostly 7-11) that had spinner racks, after a year of those 'Comic Paks' from department stores.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Jul 18, 2024 16:55:10 GMT -5
I have a major soft spot for early 80s Superman because that's when first started picking up those comics. Looking forward to the thread.
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Post by Duragizer on Jul 18, 2024 21:30:16 GMT -5
I've read a smattering of these stories, most notably the first few issues featuring the new Brainiac and the Alan Moore stories. I'm not a fan of the Earth-One Superman, and these certainly didn't change my mind on the character, though I do prefer this version of Brainiac over most other versions.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 19, 2024 0:03:32 GMT -5
No World’s Finest?! I am boycotting this thread because it’s discriminatory to Batman!
Not really. I bought Superman and Action on and off between 1982 and 1984, and I’ve filled in a few of the holes in the last year or so. For me, the big draw is all the Gil Kane art.
I’ll be following along until you get to the issues where I started reading it. I think it’s around Action #530.
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Post by swansong on Jul 19, 2024 5:10:21 GMT -5
 Superman #343 Story: "The Last Days of Metropolis!" Writer: Denny O'Neil Penciler: Curt Swan Inker: Frank Chiaramonte The legendary introduction of Moximus the Magician! Looking at the cover, I was expecting Superman to fight Maxie Zeus in this issue – funnily enough, the story was written by Denny O'Neil, who I think introduced the character a few months before as a serious threat to Batman. I don't know, but by the late 70s and early 80s, Denny O'Neil – if my memory serves me well – produced a lot of questionable stories. I remember the "Great Gotham Kangaroo Race" or something, which seemed more like a lost bet turned in and then unexpectedly approved as a story. Denny O'Neil is on record not liking Superman very much. His Sandman saga – which is another one of those "soft reboots" of the Superman titles, this time in the early 70s, is in general widely revered. Of course, like many writers, the first step is to depower Superman. Overall, I think O'Neil's reputation is a little bit too high – the good stories from the "new darker and realistic" Batman are more courtesy of Neal Adams and writers like Frank Robbins. So, long talk about O’Neil – why? Well, this is the sort of story where there is not much to write home about. Moximus the magician is in Pompeii and has a vision of the famous volcano business – no one believes him – and a vision of Superman – who he thinks is some sort of evil spirit. His magic fails to save the city, so he uses a spell to hibernate! In 1979, Lewis Lang (yes, the father, an archaeologist) is digging out the ruins. Lois Lane is also there. Of course, with the relics on board a ship, the sorcerer breaks out, cannot control his powers, and suddenly everything is burning! Superman appears and saves the ship! The magician faces our hero and declares him to be evil because he was not born on Earth or something, as he can see – so he takes control of an experimental rocket – Superman flies in – but is trapped inside the rocket by the sorcerer! But Superman manages to break free – he confronts the sorcerer – who suddenly declares that he does not see Superman as evil anymore – why? I don't know – he vanishes and suddenly decides it's time to fight Batman! If he ever did, I don't know… As you can see from my stream of thought summary – this story is just a bunch of nonsense. Was Denny O'Neil just phoning this in or in a serious midlife crisis and just having read a book about Classical antiquity (Maxie Zeus, remember)? Curt Swan's art is always good – that goes without saying – but as often, Chiaramonte’s inks don't do him justice. Overall – crap. 1.5/5 What a way to start a thread. |
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Post by swansong on Jul 19, 2024 5:15:20 GMT -5
I met Mike Gold at a convention some years ago and he overheard me recommend Maggin's Superman novels to someone and he told me the story of how he ended up firing Maggin. Apparently, for whatever reason, Maggin stopped turning in his scripts and Gold decided to stop paying him for work not accomplished. Then, at a convention, Maggin came up and sucker punched him and then everyone around got between them before Gold retaliated (he's a big, solid-looking dude, too). Said he never did know why Maggin stopped submitting his work or why he seemed surprised that he would be fired over it. Maggin did portray himself as a hothead (saying he wrote Green Arrow's dialogue in his own voice), in Justice League of America #123-124. Interesting... When is that supposed to have happened? I think Maggin had a fallout with Julius Schwartz in the late 70s. Legend has it Schwartz wanted to show his authority and changed something about Maggin's story "The Toughest Newsboy In Town" (or something), about Perry White finding out about the Manhattan Project (if I recall correctly). Maggin then inked his name out by sneaking into the printing room. Or something like that. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Jul 19, 2024 6:10:50 GMT -5
Superman is my favorite character. Do you plan on going in order of publication, or are you skipping around? Also , welcome to the forum.  |
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Post by swansong on Jul 19, 2024 6:18:08 GMT -5
Superman is my favorite character. Do you plan on going in order of publication, or are you skipping around? Also , welcome to the forum. basically in order of publication. I will basically follow the chronology from dcuguide, just in case there are some special stories, waiting, like Gerber's Phantom Zone mini-series, I might include that. but slowly slowly... soon i will be on vacation for three weeks and wont be able to post, but perhaps prepare the reviews . And... thanks! |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jul 19, 2024 8:22:38 GMT -5
I'm really excited for this. First off, I love seeing someone new to the community "go for it" with a project like this, right off the bat. Way to go! Second, as the guy who has been charting Superman's era immediately following this one, this is going to be a fascinating contrast to the stuff I've been examining. I really do hope you'll get to Byrne. It will be fascinating to see you tackle the same issues with a Pre-Crisis perspective! |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 19, 2024 10:11:51 GMT -5
I met Mike Gold at a convention some years ago and he overheard me recommend Maggin's Superman novels to someone and he told me the story of how he ended up firing Maggin. Apparently, for whatever reason, Maggin stopped turning in his scripts and Gold decided to stop paying him for work not accomplished. Then, at a convention, Maggin came up and sucker punched him and then everyone around got between them before Gold retaliated (he's a big, solid-looking dude, too). Said he never did know why Maggin stopped submitting his work or why he seemed surprised that he would be fired over it. Maggin did portray himself as a hothead (saying he wrote Green Arrow's dialogue in his own voice), in Justice League of America #123-124. Interesting... When is that supposed to have happened? I think Maggin had a fallout with Julius Schwartz in the late 70s. Legend has it Schwartz wanted to show his authority and changed something about Maggin's story "The Toughest Newsboy In Town" (or something), about Perry White finding out about the Manhattan Project (if I recall correctly). Maggin then inked his name out by sneaking into the printing room. Or something like that. He didn't specify; but he was an editor at DC, before co-founding First Comics, in 1983, then came back in 1986. My impression was pre-1983. Doesn't preclude him being hired right back by another editor, though. |
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Post by nairb73 on Jul 19, 2024 12:25:29 GMT -5
I met Mike Gold at a convention some years ago and he overheard me recommend Maggin's Superman novels to someone and he told me the story of how he ended up firing Maggin. Apparently, for whatever reason, Maggin stopped turning in his scripts and Gold decided to stop paying him for work not accomplished. Then, at a convention, Maggin came up and sucker punched him and then everyone around got between them before Gold retaliated (he's a big, solid-looking dude, too). Said he never did know why Maggin stopped submitting his work or why he seemed surprised that he would be fired over it. Maggin did portray himself as a hothead (saying he wrote Green Arrow's dialogue in his own voice), in Justice League of America #123-124. Interesting... When is that supposed to have happened? I think Maggin had a fallout with Julius Schwartz in the late 70s. Legend has it Schwartz wanted to show his authority and changed something about Maggin's story "The Toughest Newsboy In Town" (or something), about Perry White finding out about the Manhattan Project (if I recall correctly). Maggin then inked his name out by sneaking into the printing room. Or something like that. I don't recall the specific 'thing Perry discovered' in that story, but Maggin had Perry going to jail for not revealing his sources(at the end!), and Julie just wanted 'Magoon' to skip that sort of 'realism', and do a proper 'comic story' ending. Maggin decided his DC career could die on that hill, and went on to write a couple of barely-remembered Marvel fill-ins(something for 'Star Wars', in its trippy early days, and a Hulk story where he is captured so an alien can...collect dirt from his fingernails, and save his homeworld). Eventually, all was forgiven between 'B.O' and 'Magoon', and Elliot and his exclamation point returned to Superman. |
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Post by nairb73 on Jul 19, 2024 12:34:46 GMT -5
Superman #343 Story: "The Last Days of Metropolis!" Writer: Denny O'Neil Penciler: Curt Swan Inker: Frank Chiaramonte The legendary introduction of Moximus the Magician! Looking at the cover, I was expecting Superman to fight Maxie Zeus in this issue – funnily enough, the story was written by Denny O'Neil, who I think introduced the character a few months before as a serious threat to Batman. I don't know, but by the late 70s and early 80s, Denny O'Neil – if my memory serves me well – produced a lot of questionable stories. I remember the "Great Gotham Kangaroo Race" or something, which seemed more like a lost bet turned in and then unexpectedly approved as a story. Denny O'Neil is on record not liking Superman very much. His Sandman saga – which is another one of those "soft reboots" of the Superman titles, this time in the early 70s, is in general widely revered. Of course, like many writers, the first step is to depower Superman. Overall, I think O'Neil's reputation is a little bit too high – the good stories from the "new darker and realistic" Batman are more courtesy of Neal Adams and writers like Frank Robbins. So, long talk about O’Neil – why? Well, this is the sort of story where there is not much to write home about. Moximus the magician is in Pompeii and has a vision of the famous volcano business – no one believes him – and a vision of Superman – who he thinks is some sort of evil spirit. His magic fails to save the city, so he uses a spell to hibernate! In 1979, Lewis Lang (yes, the father, an archaeologist) is digging out the ruins. Lois Lane is also there. Of course, with the relics on board a ship, the sorcerer breaks out, cannot control his powers, and suddenly everything is burning! Superman appears and saves the ship! The magician faces our hero and declares him to be evil because he was not born on Earth or something, as he can see – so he takes control of an experimental rocket – Superman flies in – but is trapped inside the rocket by the sorcerer! But Superman manages to break free – he confronts the sorcerer – who suddenly declares that he does not see Superman as evil anymore – why? I don't know – he vanishes and suddenly decides it's time to fight Batman! If he ever did, I don't know… As you can see from my stream of thought summary – this story is just a bunch of nonsense. Was Denny O'Neil just phoning this in or in a serious midlife crisis and just having read a book about Classical antiquity (Maxie Zeus, remember)? Curt Swan's art is always good – that goes without saying – but as often, Chiaramonte’s inks don't do him justice. Overall – crap. 1.5/5 What a way to start a thread. My first 'spinner rack' issue of SUPERMAN. I think it may have been the first I'd heard of Pompeii or anything to do with ancient Rome. Basically just a 'Superman vs. Magic Guy' story, which didn't really hold up with later re-reading. The Batman thing seemed confusing at the time. I soon realized the 'only time will tell' ending caption was a typical cop-out for 'Yeah,this character blows, but let us know, anyway'. Edit: After writing this, I decided to go back and actually read it, and...yeah, I think 'El Jefe' O'Neil got to the last page a few minutes before the deadline, uttered a Kryptonian swear word, and opted for 'mystery'. We see nothing that could have changed Moximus's mind...unless he 'literally' contacted 'Earth-Prime, and read Denny's mind. And that actually would have been a better ending. The 17-page format of this era quite often didn't help pacing and development...but this seems too long. The bit on page 5, where Superman saves a tanker 'caught in a flaming sea', stayed with me, even as I forgot everything else over the years. And, incidentally, O'Neal's use of Jimmy Olsen here is...painful. Lois with Professor Lang seems unusual, but is forgotten, as he could have been any generic archaeologist. |
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, ..., if this continues with Byrne and so on I dont know! Not a big fan! But it would be interesting to see "old" Wolfman versus "new" Wolfman as he is the only(?) writer who wrote lots of pre-crisis AND post-crisis Superman. 
