As time goes by, I'm finding that, more and more, I'm coming to focus on comic art that meant something to me when I first got into comics. And this page is another example of just that. But this isn't just about a celebration of my start into this wild and wonderous hobby, but also for the series this page comes from, as today is a very sigificant day for it. For it was on this very day, 88 years ago, that Action Comics released its first issue, beginning a new era in comics and a new sub-gerne of it. It's brought Superman and his world to the masses. And part of that was to also give us our first glimpes of the supporting character spotlighted on this page, ace reporter Lois Lane!
Without a doubt, Lois Lane is easily one of the most important supporting characters in comic history. Not just as the long-time love interest of Superman, but for showcasing the professional woman in all their glory. You get to see both these aspects of her on his page. On the surface it seems nothing special, with her driving into Smallville, but her inner dialogue, showing how seriosuly she takes what she does and who she allows into her life, speaks right to the heart of who the character is. A moment like this is partly why I feel modern comic art is so lacking, now that the dialogue isn't on the page anymore (provided there even is a physical page of art). Without it, moments like this lose all their emotional context and empathetic resonance. A great character moment becomes nothing more than "a woman driving in a car" scene.
The legendary John Byrne, who was the writer/artist (and along with Jerry Ordway, is the man I associate as the premiere Superman artist the most) not just for this Superman series, but two of them at this time, shows his deftness in his understanding of the characters and what motives them. The blunt frankness of her thoughts, is right in line with one would believe a reporter to think, especially one with the experience of Lois Lane. Artistically, Byrne keeps the scene flowing by switch up from close-up shot, to outside ones, and back again. It's a trick called visual pacing, which Bynre is a master at. He's inked by two inker on this go-round, with Keith Willaims doing backgrounds, while Leonard Starr does the figure work. I like the lighter touch Starr give Byrne here. There's a silky softness to the work, which I'd not seen from Byrne's pencil's before. The sleek look of her hair in the first and last panels, with its luster and almost satiny smoothness, is a refined touch that really added something special to Byrne's portrayal of everyone's favortie big news reporter. And this issue is, in my mind, the one that begins the countdown to Lois learning the truth about Superman's dual identity, as she ponders the mystery she has come to investigate, which is "just who IS Clark Kent?"
I've always said that I'm a sucker for a great character page and this one certainly qualifies as such. And that it is one featuring one of the most significant supporting character in comic history, while posting it on the very day they were first brought to the public, is the kind of thing which can make collecting original comic art so interesting and a lot fun! Happy Superman Day to you all!
