Do you remember the days when 50% of all Superman stories had to do with the imminent destruction of Kandor? I'm very nostalgic for those years. I was never the world's biggest Superman fan, as I always preferred to supporting cast. The good news is that Len Wein manages to squeeze just about everyone into this story and makes it quite entertaining. This must have been one of my earliest exposures to Supergirl, and I remembering thinking that she was Supes' sister. Brainiac is the villain of the piece and he's been a personal favourite since back then. I likely bought this one based on the full pages ads that were omnipresent in DC comics at the time. It really seemed like this issue was going to be momentous. Well, it was a fun story, but not exactly Earth shattering. I do recall a fantastic two-page spread of Kandor. At the time, I was only 7 years old, so there is no way I truly appreciated Curt Swan's artistry. I'm still not a huge Superman fan, but I'd love to stumble upon this book in a dollar bin, as mine was lost a long time ago.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Memoirs of a Bronze Age Baby: Superman #338
Do you remember the days when 50% of all Superman stories had to do with the imminent destruction of Kandor? I'm very nostalgic for those years. I was never the world's biggest Superman fan, as I always preferred to supporting cast. The good news is that Len Wein manages to squeeze just about everyone into this story and makes it quite entertaining. This must have been one of my earliest exposures to Supergirl, and I remembering thinking that she was Supes' sister. Brainiac is the villain of the piece and he's been a personal favourite since back then. I likely bought this one based on the full pages ads that were omnipresent in DC comics at the time. It really seemed like this issue was going to be momentous. Well, it was a fun story, but not exactly Earth shattering. I do recall a fantastic two-page spread of Kandor. At the time, I was only 7 years old, so there is no way I truly appreciated Curt Swan's artistry. I'm still not a huge Superman fan, but I'd love to stumble upon this book in a dollar bin, as mine was lost a long time ago.
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9 comments:
This is my first time here. This looks like a fun site. I like the way your blog title plays off the historic book largely responsible for the Comics Code.
Is Kandor still in continuity? You're right--looking back Kandor came up almost every issue but in fairness, an entire city plopped in a fragile glass bottle would be high maintenance. I have a hard time keeping goldfish alive.
Scott:
Here's a bold confession: I really don't like Curt Swan's art. And I don't really like Superman all that much, either.
I feel like I have sinned.
Cheers,
Andrew
ComicsBronzeAge.com
James - thanks for stoppin by. The title came to me in a moment of great clarity and wisdom. I may also have been a little drunk.
Mark - I have no idea where Kandor fits into the current DCU. I'm amazed no one else wrote 'Fragile' on the side of the bottle.
Andrew - I hear you about Swan. His artwork doesn't really excite me, but I do find it attractive and iconic.
A very suspenseful cover!
J.A.P.
Honestly, I just picked this issue up from a bargain bin in the last two weeks. I owned it when I was a kid and I have fond memories of it. For about 3 or 4 years, I followed Superman pretty regularly as a kid (as regularly as the grocery store or convenience store had a new issue and I could convince my mom to buy one more comic) and I have been enjoying picking them back up in bargain bins and at sales.
I haven't yet read this issue again to see how it holds up, but I look forward to it. It's a pretty radical cover though. Back then I enjoyed the novelty of seeing Superman and Supergirl together in one issue, just like the thrill that came from finding Batgirl or Robin in an issue of Batman.
And as for Swan's art, I used to not enjoy it, but as I have grown older, I really appreciate it, especially on the Superman titles.
I remember buying this one... It certainly was the era of the Andru/Giordano covers. That would be a neat post, to look at some of them.
Thanks again for the trip down memory lane.
Fr. Dan Graves,
enjoying comics, movies, not much travel and much life, just north of Toronto.
Long time reader, first time poster. Loooved this issue. So much story in so few pages. This would have been a 12 issue mini-series with multiple tie-ins now!
Fr. Graves is thinking the same thing I was. You couldn't shake a stick at a DC Comic from 78 to 82-83ish without hitting an Andru/Giordano cover. They were THE cover team when I started reading DC. I still strongly associate DC with them.
Scott, your blog is great. It's a web highlight for me. Thanks!
-David B Stewart
Father Dan - it is great to see you again in these parts. If you ever head to a comic convention in Toronto - let me know, and we can meet up.
David
Thanks for stopping by and saying allow. I really appreciate your kind words.
The Andru/Giordano team did some terrific cover - often loaded with drama and impossible for a young child to resist.
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