Action Comics #967, page 5
Title Splash with Jon Kent
By Tyler Kirkham
Written by Dan Jurgens
Graphite, ink and wash on bristol board
11 x 17 in.
Writer Dan Jurgens famously created Doomsday and killed Superman as architect of the Death of Superman storyline in 1992, which was adapted for the DCEU in 2016’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. He is one of the most read comic artist/writers to never win an Eisner Award, but is recognized as one of the great journeymen plotters.
Tyler Kirkham was a rising star from the Top Cow stable when he was tapped to join the post Flashpoint party at DC’s New 52 where he quickly became a fan favorite on Green Lantern: New Guardians and Teen Titans. It was his fresh take on DC’s youth heroes that made him a perfect match for Dan Jurgens’ ideas for Superman (and more specifically, Superboy) as part of the Action Comics Rebirth in 2016.
When I saw that this page was still available (and quite affordable) I was shocked, as it is one of the most ubiquitously contemporary images from DC comics of the last few years and part of a pitch-perfect teaming of artist and writer. Splash pages from Tyler Kirkham don’t generally remain available for long, and this particular splash page (which also happens to be a title page) is from the issue that kicked-off the next great era in Superman stories, “Men of Steel” part one.
It’s also a great showcase for another Dan Jurgens creation: the new half Kryptonian/Human Superboy.
All the elements of a great Kirkham page are here, not the least of which is his ability to showcase fabric without distracting from the story elements. His recent work on Spider-Man has been a clinic in dynamic composition, and this page is something of a foreshadowing for that. But the thing that I really love about this is how he perfectly captures the inquisitive exuberance of Jon Kent, the firstborn offspring of Superman and Lois Lane. As the son of eternal Boy Scout, Clark Kent, there is a real sense that the apple didn’t fall very far from the tree, and the visible zipper is a pronounced element of the new, hipper costume designs that emerged in Rebirth.
