"The K-Metal from Krypton" is an unpublished
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
story written by
Jerry Siegel
Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996)Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./ Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, in ...
in 1940 and originally illustrated by the
Joe Shuster
Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 (c ...
Studio.
[Jones, Gerard. ''Men Of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book'', 2004, pg. 181-183, ] The reason why National Comics (later to become
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
) never published the story is not known. This storyline features the precursor to
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous r ...
called "K-Metal" and Lois learning that Clark Kent is Superman.
Like all Superman stories of the 1940s, the adventure originally had no title. The earliest known occurrence of the name "The K-Metal from Krypton" for the tale was in
Gerard Jones
Gerard Jones (born July 10, 1957) is an American writer, known primarily for his non-fiction work about American entertainment media, and his comic book scripting, which includes co-creating the superhero Prime for Malibu Comics, and writing for ...
' 2004 book ''Men of Tomorrow''.
The story remained forgotten and unknown from 1941 until 1988, when Jerry Siegel's original script and story outline was rediscovered in deep storage in the
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
library by
Mark Waid
Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Dar ...
.
[Waid, Mark. ''K-Metal: The "Lost" Superman Tale'', ]Alter Ego
An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...
#26, 2003
Restoration
The surviving original story pages were worked on by
Wayne Boring
Wayne Boring (June 5, 1905 – February 20, 1987) was an American comic book artist best known for his work on Superman from the late 1940s to 1950s. He occasionally used the pseudonym Jack Harmon.
Biography Early life and career
Boring attend ...
, Paul Cassidy, Dan Komisarow,
Leo Nowak, and John Sikela. Artist
Jon Bogdanove
Jon Bogdanove is an American comics artist and writer. He is best known for his work on ''Power Pack'' and '' Superman: The Man of Steel'', as well as for creating the character Steel with writer Louise Simonson in 1993.
Career
Comics
After at ...
has agreed to contribute new artwork to the project. The comic was being restored, colored and published online, but was never completed. The website includes all completed pages. For uncompleted pages, scans of the original artwork or script page are also included. The restoration team is looking for any copies of the missing pages that they can find, and aim to replace any redrawn pages with restorations of originals if available.
References
External links
Online restored comicbookPage 17 original Shuster Studio artwork discovered
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