Thursday, 26 May 2022

LOIS LANE COVER GALLERY, INCLUDING LAST ISSUE... (UPDATED)

Copyright DC COMICS

In an earlier post on Lois Lane covers I said that I had around half a dozen yet to show, but was waiting for a trio of better condition copies to arrive first.  Well, not only have they now arrived, but I also took the opportunity of buying another dozen issues which I never previously owned (that I recall) before.

Lois Lane's mag lasted to #137, and then - along with Jimmy Olsen and Supergirl, became part of Superman Family, at first a bi-monthly then monthly mag, which continued the numbering from Jimmy Olsen's title.  Anyway, I promised you I'd let you see some more LL covers so here they are.

Incidentally, regarding issue #54, I bought my first copy of this sometime in the '60s and obtained a replacement - h'mm, when exactly?  In the '80s I think, but could've been the '90s.  Trouble was, it had a bookseller's stamp on the cover and splash page, hence me requiring a better copy.  That's it above.










Below, the final 7 issues of Lois's own mag.  She had a far longer run than any of Jack Kirby's DC titles (combined), so she has nothing to complain about.  Of course, being a woman, that won't stop her.  (Sexist?  Me?)

So in exactly which issue do we first meet Melba?  Is it this one...

...or this one?  H'mm, looks like someone might've slipped up, eh?






Below, a 2 part mid-'80s Lois adventure, which I thought you might like to see for the sake of completeness.  Got a favourite cover from the ones on show here?  Then feel free to share it with your fellow Crivvies, effendis.


11 comments:

  1. Imagine if instead of Jimmy Olsen, "King" Kirby had taken over Lois Lane. My mind is blown!

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  2. They're all good Kid ( the last 4 are a bit average) but 103 is my favourite as it sums up the feel of the Lois Lane comic of the time. I also really like the classic issue 54 cover.

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  3. That's certainly a 'what if?' scenario worth considering, RJ. Writer Robert Kanigher actuaslly borrowed a few Kirby Fourth World ideas for use in Lois's mag, so it's easier to imagine than one would at first think.

    ******

    My favourite cover is 102, McS, the story of which continues in 103. As I recently received and read 103 before 102, I was surprised to later learn that it wasn't a complete story; a bit like the Zha-Vam tale in three issues of Action Comics.

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  4. As I mentioned on the previous Lois Lane post, some of the later LL comics are better than the mainstream Superman titles were were at the time. 134, 135 and 137 are all particularly worth reading. And, as I believe our host Mr Robson pointed out, there is some really nice John Rosenberger art on display too.

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  5. I wasn't familiar with John Rosenberger's art until I recently acquired the issues he drew, DS, and was surprised at just how good he was. It's a shame that it took Werner Roth's death for him to get the gig though.

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    1. Unfortunately I think Mr Rosenberger passed away before his time, but like you I was surprised and impressed by his art when I acquired a load of Lois Lane issues at a bargain price a few years ago.

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  6. I think No 86, the 80-page Giant is my favourite, Kid. Probably because it is a Neal Adams cover, but also because I absolutely loved the 80-page Giants from the sixties and early seventies, whatever the title of the book. Those Giants were like getting a summer special multiple times per year.
    Looking at the later Lois Lane covers, they somehow seem to have something missing from them. I feel that once DC comics went back to 20 cents (6p) from 25 cents (7.5p), the cover artwork somehow became more basic. Less detail in the backgrounds. Perhaps the ink and printing method changed, or the art direction changed, but something was lost. Difficult to put a finger on it, thoguh.

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  7. Funny you should pick that ish, B, because I was just finishing reading it at around the time you were typing your comment. What's more, I think it's the first time I've read the mag, even though I've had it for decades. It may've been a replacement for one I had back in the '70s, though I suspect the cover just seemed familiar because I'd seen ads for it when it was first published.

    Regarding the later covers, as 137 was the last issue, it could be that the title's cancellation was known far in advance and therefore not much effort was put into the covers of a soon-to-be expired mag.

    Where are you now? Portsmouth, Scotland, or back in America?

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  8. I'm currently in England at in-laws, then up to Scotland next week, then a week in the London area before heading back to the US. Hope to get down to Portsmouth again that week, if poss.

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  9. Hope you're having a great time. If you manage back down to Portsmouth, say hello to the place for me, will you? It's been around 35 years since I was last there, though it only seems a few at most.

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  10. What I was impressed by, DS, was the way he drew Superman landing on the ground after being in flight - I thought it was very realistic looking. His layouts and visual storytelling were also first class.

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