As Byrne reaches the midpoint of his Superman run, he starts to put things together from his earlier issues…
We’re going to blast through these issues quickly, but they’re well worth your time. Great stories, largely self-contained. I”m starting with two splash pages. The one above and then this one, from Superman #10….
I love this because when I first saw it, I didn’t get he was using his x-ray vision–I thought there were skeletons in the elevator. Great splash page.
Now some quick hits from these issues, starting with Action #594:
Superman #11 has a new take on Mr. Mxyxptlk:
He’s handsome! And he makes Superman stupid, with a crossover reference to Mad Magazine’s Alfred E Newman…
Oh, and the title of this issue is perfect: The Name Game.
Oddly, we learn in issue #596 that Smallville is actually named after the town’s founder…
So if Superman is an adult and grew up in Smallville, how long has the Small family controlled the town? They must be gangsters.
Issue #12:
I always loved the classic Lemaris story. Apparently, John Byrne did too:
Later in the run…
Luthor creates a Supergirl based on Lana.
Let’s stop there. Next post will close out my review of the John Byrne Superman stories.