''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' is an
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
series published monthly by
DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
. The series focusing on the adventures of
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning ...
began publication with a March/April 1958
cover date
The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...
and ended its run in September/October 1974, with 137 regular issues and two 80-page Annuals. Following the similar themed ''
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen
''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from September–October 1954 until March 1974, spanning a total of 163 issues. Featuring the adventures of Superman supporting character Jimmy Olsen, it conta ...
'', ''Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane'' 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 United States, surpassed only by ''
Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
'' and ''
Superboy
Superboy is an identity used by several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series ...
'' in sales.
Publication history
Following a tryout in ''
Showcase'', DC decided to give Lois Lane her own ongoing series. The comic series focus on Lois' solo adventures, and sometimes with stories centered on Lois' romantic interest in
Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
and her attempts to maneuver him into marriage, only to fail due to a comic plot twist. In the early 1960s,
Lana Lang made regular guest appearances, generally as Lois' romantic rival. Artist
Kurt Schaffenberger drew most of the stories for the first 81 issues of the series, missing only issue #29. Schaffenberger's rendition of Lois Lane became cited by many
as the "definitive" version of the character. Singer
Pat Boone
Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films.
Boone ...
appeared in issue #9 (May 1959) before starring in
his own comic book series. "The Monkey's Paw", a story from issue #42 (July 1963), featured a
one-panel appearance, with his costume miscolored, by the defunct
Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel, the alter ego of radio reporter Billy Bats ...
'
Captain Marvel, who was not yet a DC character. The
letters page of #113 (October 1971) described it as "strictly a private joke" on the part of former Captain Marvel artist Schaffenberger. The story was reprinted in #104 (October 1970) with the costume coloring corrected. The
Catwoman
Catwoman is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, she debuted as "the Cat" in ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' #1 (spring 1940). She has become one of the superhero Batman' ...
made her first
Silver Age
The Ages of Man are the historical stages of human existence according to Greek mythology and its subsequent interpretatio romana, Roman interpretation.
Both Hesiod and Ovid offered accounts of the successive ages of humanity, which tend to pr ...
appearance in #70 (November 1966). In issue #80 (January 1968), Lois' fashions were updated to a more contemporary look.
By the 1970s, the stories began to reflect growing social awareness: Lois became less fixated on romance and more on current issues. In the controversial story "I Am Curious (Black)!" in #106 (November 1970), Lois uses a machine that allows her to
experience racism firsthand as an
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
woman. The series saw the debut of the Silver Age heroine "
Rose & The Thorn" in a backup feature that ran from #105 (October 1970) through #130 (April 1973). Editor
E. Nelson Bridwell had several characters and plot concepts from
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
's "
Fourth World" appear in issues #111–119 (July 1971 – February 1972). Lois' sister,
Lucy Lane, was believed to have died in issue #120 (March 1972) but the character was later revived.
In 1974, the title ended, as ''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' had earlier that year. Both would be merged into ''
The Superman Family'', which chronologically continued from the elder title, premiering with issue #164 (April–May 1974). The release of the last issue of ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' was delayed for several months due to a nationwide paper shortage.
Other Lois Lane titles
The character has appeared in several self-titled miniseries and one-shots including:
* ''Lois Lane'' – a two issue limited series published in August and September 1986.
* ''Superman: Lois Lane'' – a one-shot published in June 1998 as part of the "Girlfrenzy!"
Fifth-week event.
* ''Flashpoint: Lois Lane and the Resistance'' – a three-issue limited series published August 2011 – October 2011 as part of the ''
Flashpoint'' crossover.
* ''Superman: Lois Lane'' #1 – a one-shot published in April 2014.
* ''Lois Lane'' – a 12-issue limited series by writer
Greg Rucka
Gregory Rucka (born November 29, 1969) is an American writer known for the series of novels starring his character Atticus Kodiak, the creator-owned comic book series '' Whiteout'', '' Queen & Country'', '' Stumptown'' and '' Lazarus'', as well ...
and artist
Mike Perkins
Michael Perkins (born 20 November 1969) is a British comic book artist known for his inking work and full art duties on comic books such as Ed Brubaker's List of Captain America titles#Captain America (Brubaker era), run on ''Captain America ( ...
released in July 2019.
Collected editions
* ''
Showcase Presents
''Showcase Presents'' is a line (comics), line of black-and-white paperback books that were published by DC Comics (from 2005 - 2016) at an average rate of two per month. Much like Marvel Comics' ''Essential Marvel'' volumes, each book usually incl ...
: Superman Family''
** Volume 1 includes ''Showcase'' #9, 576 pages, March 2006, .
** Volume 2 includes ''Showcase'' #10 and ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #1–7, 520 pages, February 2008, .
** Volume 3 includes ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #8–16, 576 pages, March 2009, .
** Volume 4 includes ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #17–26, 520 pages, March 2013, .
* ''
Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane Archives'' Volume 1 – collects ''Showcase'' #9–10 and ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #1–8, 264 pages, January 2012, .
* ''Superman in the Fifties'' – includes ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #8, 192 pages, October 2002, .
* ''Showcase Presents: Supergirl'' – includes ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #14, 528 pages, November 2007, .
* ''DC's Greatest Imaginary Stories, Vol. 1'' includes ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #19 and 51, 192 pages, September 2005,
* ''Superman in the Sixties'' – includes ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #20 and 42, 240 pages, October 1999, .
* ''Superman: The Bottle City of Kandor'' includes ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #21, 76, 78; 200 pages, October 2007,
* ''Catwoman: Nine Lives of a Feline Fatale'' – includes ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #70–71, 208 pages, July 2004, .
* ''Batman Arkham: Catwoman'' includes ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #70-71, 248 pages, September 2021,
* ''DC's Greatest Imaginary Stories, Vol. 2'' includes ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #89, 144 pages, June 2010,
* ''Diana Prince: Wonder Woman Vol. 2'' – includes ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #93, 176 pages, August 2008, .
* ''Superman in the Seventies'' – includes ''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane'' #106, 224 pages, November 2000, .
* ''Lois Lane: A Celebration of 75 Years'' – special anniversary anthology, celebrating Lois Lane' seventy-five years in comics. Includes ''Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane'' #1, 5, 16, 23, 42, 106; 384 pages, November 2013, .
See also
* ''
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen
''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from September–October 1954 until March 1974, spanning a total of 163 issues. Featuring the adventures of Superman supporting character Jimmy Olsen, it conta ...
''
* ''
The Superman Family''
References
External links
*
''Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane''at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
{{Superman publications, state=collapsed
1958 comics debuts
1974 comics endings
Comics about women
Comics by Arnold Drake
Comics by Robert Kanigher
Comics spinoffs
DC Comics titles
Humor comics
Romance comics
Superhero comics
Lois Lane
Superman spinoff titles
Superman titles