Last month, we asked our readers which comics TV series deserved its dedicated spin-off, like the upcoming “Batman ’89” and “Superman ’78” series at DC. The winner was Adventures of Superman, a show we are well familiar with at Multiversity, but a surprising winner nonetheless. We promised a We Want Comics on the winner, and so here we are, attempting to find a way to make interesting comics from this source. I’ve got some ideas, let’s dig in.
So one of the difficulties with this series is that in it, Clark doesn’t become Superman until, essentially, we meet him. That eliminates a Superboy comic from this universe, and I can’t think of anything more boring than a comic if George Reeves Clark as a teenager, just being smug to everyone he comes in contact with. So, that means that these stories would have to, essentially, start when the series begins.
I think one approach for these comics would be to present them simply as ‘missing tales’ from the various seasons. The benefit of delineating by season is that you could do some stories in black and white for the first two seasons, and in color for the final four. The issue with this approach is that, by and large, these episodes are pretty boring. There are often times crooks with dumb henchmen who get felled by Superman with nearly no effort. So, if you wanted to match the tone of the series, you’d need to give Superman some pretty low-rent villains and easy to escape situations.
However, no matter what shape the comics took, there would need to be backups featuring some of the characters that populate this world. Whether it is farmer Sylvester J. Superman, or one of the many kooky scientists played by Sterling Holloway, there are a lot of these characters that would make for fun, short stories. I don’t think any of them could necessarily carry ore than a few pages at a time, but that’s all they’d be asked to do.
Speaking of characters that may not be able to carry an entire comic, it would be fun to see some sort of Daily Planet comic that had nothing to do with Superman. We’ve learned a lot about Perry, Lois, and Jimmy over the six seasons of the show, and there is enough weirdness there to dig into. Perry, especially, is a conundrum, as we know that he is apparently a world class chemist and used to be a hell of a reporter. Maybe an “Adventures of Young Perry White” series would be fun?
If we really want to dig into the tone of the 1950s, I think a Lois Lane romance comic could be a lot of fun. Despite Noel Neill being the second best selling pinup during World War II, and clearly the best actor on the show, she was often written to be perpetually single. I think we should tear that up and let Lois be a lady about town, going on dates with all sorts of folks and having fun adventures with them.
Similarly, a “Misadventures of Jimmy Olsen” comic would be a natural for this era, as the stories practically write themselves. Jimmy is such a buffoon on Adventures that his comic would be a perfect, slap-sticky adventure that kids would love. Whether he has to impersonate a gangster or burn a million dollars, Jimmy was often the engine that kept the show going. By having Superman need to save his skin each month would mean lots of guest appearances.
The final character that could make for a fun series lead is Inspector Henderson, who is often shown as a pretty capable cop. Give him a gritty “Metropolis PD” comic, lean into some noir-inspired art, and we have a fun book on our hands. Plus, he and Clark Kent can continue their will they/won’t they romance in each issue!
That just leaves Superman himself, and I think that the only place to go with Superman is wacky. The latter seasons had a lot of weird episodes that involved pseudo-science, but they could only go so far due to budgets and special effects. But if the goal is to make comics that carry the spirit of Adventures of Superman, the choices are either go weird or go local thug, and there just isn’t enough meat on that bone. So, let Superman visit Mr. Zero’s planet! Make him split in half more often to take on dueling threats! Make that mind-reading burro a regular part of the cast! More time travel!
The best parts of Adventures of Superman were the parts that married a fantastical hero with stories that were fun and unique. To honor the series, it makes sense to attempt a similar style, and while I’m not exactly sure how it would work, it would be fun to attempt.
