Kurt Schaffenberger was an iconic artist of the Gold and Silver ages. He was also a great cultural influence through his public interest art. He reached his peak with the Lois Lane series 1958-1968. Here, his knack for creating handsome heroes and gorgeous women came to the fore.
Back in 1962, comic art was routinely shredded after production, so only a few pieces survive. This is page 4 of the story, "The Immortal Lois Lane" that appeared in Lois Lane #37, November 1962 (and page 13 of the issue). In it, she has a rivalry with Lucretia Borgia, who looks exactly like Lana Lang for the affections of Leonardo da Vinci, who looks exactly like Superman. Leonardo uses Lois for the model for his immortal Mona Lisa.
It is of special interest to me in that it depicts Lois being sent back to 1530 five years before my novel, A California Dreamer in King Henry's Court takes place and, inexplicably, at least 24 after the Mona Lisa was actually done and 11 years after the death of both Leonardo and Lucretia.
It is a beautiful page with all three main characters shown in a unique light. It also illustrates the kind of slam bang move-the-plot-along story telling of the era and the narrative shortcuts used to get a story told in 8 to 10 pages. It is a rare surviving example of Kurt Schaffenberger at the height of his artistic ability.
