Lois Lane (1986) #1

Lois Lane 1

Writer Mindy Newell gives Lois Lane a serious story to cover–a murdered child–which sends her into an obsessive panic. Newell shows not just Lois’s investigative work, but also how the pursuit affects her and those around her.

The Gray Morrow art is elegant and disturbing. It’s a perfect combination; he’s able to handle the talking heads parts and the more emphatic, quiet parts. Newell and Morrow push on the informative angle, but they compensate it with the rest.

Newell explores how disturbed Lois becomes, how single-minded. There are some plot contrivances–problems at work, Lucy in town–but Newell still just uses them to emphasize Lois’s irrationality and drive.

The comic’s also got a great domestic scene with Clark and Lana. Newell’s very deliberate when it comes to the characters, particularly in their thought balloons.

The comic is awkwardly paced, but Newell and Morrow execute it successfully.

Showcase 10 (September-October 1957)

The third Lois Lane story this issue–by Otto Binder, Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye–finally provides something to talk about. The two previous stories (with Binder writing one, Jerry Coleman another) are more sitcom. Well, except the Coleman one, but I’ll come back to it.

The third story features Lois getting superpowers from some Kryptonian gadgets Jor-El sent to Earth in a second rocket. They remained undiscovered until Superman was an adult. So Lois is racing around, saving people and having some problems since she’s not super-observant or indestructible. Binder never specifies Superman’s concern–it comes off as sexist, since there’s no explanations. He certainly never tries to train her. Not a super-mean Superman, but a selfish one.

Coleman’s story about Lois going blind is the issue’s best. Unlike Binder, he doesn’t portray either character as petty or moronic.

Boring and Kaye’s art is, well, boring.

Showcase 9 (July-August 1957)

Three Lois Lane stories and there’s no clear winner or loser. Otto Binder writes the second two, Jerry Coleman handles the first one. Even though the Coleman one features Lois and Lana Lang teaming up to figure out who Superman likes more, the second two probably show Lois as more of a twit. At least in the first one, there’s some problem solving.

The art–mostly from Al Pastino–is exhausting. The barrel-chested Superman, for example. One would think, for a girls’ comic, there’d be some emphasis on fashion and style. But no. Plastinos super-bland.

Maybe if Binder’s stories were funny it would help, but Superman’s such a bore, there’s nary an attempt.

The final story has Lois dreaming she’s married to Superman. Of his two, it has the most potential but Binder doesn’t even get imaginative in dreams.

It’s an exhausting waste of time, but not brainpower.