Superman -Curt Swan and the 1986 change.......

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 01 Jun 2006, 10:37

The 1986 Crisis went a bit wrong for me....it got rid of the fun ideas of Superman.like Kandor...Brainiac...Superboy...kryptonite...Bizarro...fortress of solitutute....supergirl.....krypto...lex as a mad scientist......visiting strange planets...time travel ...imaginary stories (Bananaman should have a imaginary story!)etc...

Also making superman not so super and breaking the law and not caring...why we have Batman do to that!!

Curt Swan may not be Jack Kirby But his clear lines and simplicity was great for these fun stories.

I know a change had to be made.But I felt it went too far......
Its a bit like the fantastic four with Sue losing a baby for example do we want it that realistic and gritty......Marvel of the 60's is my favourite.

What do other people think......have we forgotten how to have fun with our super heros........

http://theages.superman.ws/welcome.php

john56peter756brit · Post by **john56peter756brit** » 01 Jun 2006, 10:52

yes mr gray i think we have lost it, i think you are spot on with your thought's, the 60's was the best time for those comic's.maybe it was because i was brought up on them. from john britton.

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 01 Jun 2006, 12:42

Peter Gray wrote:The 1986 Crisis went a bit wrong for me....it got rid of the fun ideas of Superman.like Kandor...Brainiac...Superboy...kryptonite...Bizarro...fortress of solitutute....supergirl.....krypto...lex as a mad scientist......visiting strange planets...time travel ...imaginary stories (Bananaman should have a imaginary story!)etc...
(snip)

What do other people think......have we forgotten how to have fun with our super heros........

Every now and then the Superman concept is changed. Remember, originally he could only leap an eighth of a mile, and most of the fun ideas you list didn't appear until he'd been around for a decade or two.

All of those concepts you mention that were ditched in 1986 have been reintroduced gradually since with a modern spin.

Personally I prefer the Fifties/early Sixties stories too but Superman has always changed with the tone of the times. (Not much fun in the Thirties for example. He was quite aggressive then).

Lew

Joe McDonald · Post by **Joe McDonald** » 01 Jun 2006, 13:15

I have a massive amount of affection for 50s/60s Superman - I grew up reading those books and you just can't beat stuff like Superman Red/Superman Blue.

But I do think that the '86 reboot came at the right time.

With the exception of Alan Moore's era-closing two parter, the Superman stories of the early late 70s/early 80s rank as some of the most poorly-scripted mainstream superhero stories ever written.

And while I think that, professionally, John Byrne has pretty much lost it these days (and, personally, appears to have gone mad - just check out his Byrne Robotics forum if you want to read page after page of intolerant ranting) - his run on Superman (aided and abetted by Marv Wolfman and the superb Jerry Ordway) is sublime stuff.

Innovations like turning Luthor into the man who owns Metropolis (actually Wolfman's idea) and keeping Ma and Pa Kent alive have echoed throughout all other representations of Superman (Lois & Clark, Superman Animated, Smallville) to this day.

There's no doubt that Byrne & Co showed a deep love, understanding, appreciation and aptitude for Superman that few other creators (other than Curt Swan and Moore & Gibbons) demonstrated in the early 80s.

Knowsnowt · Post by **Knowsnowt** » 01 Jun 2006, 15:33

See lots of Superman stuff at
http://www.superdickery.com/galleries.html

Knowsnowt · Post by **Knowsnowt** » 01 Jun 2006, 15:36

http://www.superdickery.com/galleries.html

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 01 Jun 2006, 23:04

http://mud.mm-a6.yimg.com/image/2110502272

http://uk.search.yahoo.com/search/image ... 1&ei=UTF-8

Jimmy marrying King kong girl by Superman.......

Now thats silly

Thanks for the link it is sooo funny.......love Spider-man fighting the Walrus

Comics UK