Superboy: The Comic Book
Encyclopedia
Superboy is the name of several comic book
series published by DC Comics
, featuring characters of the same name
. The first three titles feature the original Superboy
, the legendary hero Superman
as a boy. Later series feature the second Superboy
, who is a partial clone of the original Superman.
. It began publication in 1949, four years after the character's debut in More Fun Comics
#101 (January 1945). The majority of the stories were set in the rural town of Smallville during the character's youth. The supporting cast included Superboy's adoptive parents Jonathan and Martha Kent, his over-inquisitive classmate and neighbor Lana Lang
, best friend Pete Ross
(who was secretly aware of Superboy's true identity as Clark Kent
), Police Chief Parker, and the super-powered canine Krypto
. With the exception of a teenage Lex Luthor
, who was a frequent foe of the Boy of Steel, almost none of the featured villains appeared more than once.
Beginning in the early 1960s, several stories featured appearances by the futuristic Legion of Super-Heroes
. The Legion starred in their own backup feature starting with #172 (March 1971). With issue #197 (September 1973), the Legion became permanent co-stars, and the cover logo became "Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes" while the title of the book itself remained Superboy. With #222 (December 1976), the cover logo became "Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes" and the book's title itself followed with #231 (September 1977). Starting with #259 (January 1980), the title was changed to Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 2), and the Boy of Steel left the team and the book. Though Superboy later rejoined, he made only occasional appearances in the series that once bore his name, and the series remained a Legion book until its last issue, Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #354 (December 1987).
For much of this period, DC also published Superboy tales in Adventure Comics
, which began featuring the Boy of Steel regularly in issue #103 (April 1946).
The second series was actually titled The New Adventures of Superboy. It was launched to provide readers with monthly Smallville-based Superboy tales, which largely disappeared after the Legion became co-stars of the original Superboy title. The series continued monthly publication for a total of 54 issues, with virtually all issues being pencilled by longtime Lois Lane
artist Kurt Schaffenberger
.
Superboy Spectacular #1 (cover dated March 1980) was DC's first direct sales-only title.
Briefly, the series also included a back-up feature, Dial H for Hero
(which originated in House of Mystery
in 1966).
, as opposed to the regular DC Universe
. Its intent was to explore some of the unseen tales and events that the TV series could not. The series originally carried the cover title Superboy: The Comic Book, although the title in the indicia was simply Superboy. After issue #11, the series changed its cover title to The Adventures of Superboy, a change reflected in the indicia beginning with #18. The series remained in publication for 22 issues.
limited series, the original Superboy was erased from mainstream DC continuity, with Superman beginning his superhero career as an adult in his early twenties. In 1993, DC Comics began Reign of the Supermen, the third arc of its Death of Superman
storyline. The prelude to this arc, Adventures of Superman
#500 (June 1993), introduced a new Superboy. A hybrid clone of Superman and a human male, the character (eventually named "Kon-El
") was given his own title (Volume 3), which ran for 102 issues (including #0 and #1,000,000). For a portion of this period, Kon-El also appeared in the companion title Superboy and the Ravers, which ran for 19 issues.
and with art by Pier Gallo. In this series, Kon-El, living under the secret identity of Conner Kent, lives with Martha Kent and Krypto
in Smallville, the town he protects as the second Superboy.
It was announced by DC comics that all of their series will come to an end and be relaunched in September 2011, and with this announcement, Superboy will end with issue 11.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, featuring characters of the same name
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC....
. The first three titles feature the original Superboy
Superboy (Kal-El)
The original Superboy is a fictional superhero who appears in DC Comics. The name of Superman as a boy, Superboy has adventures that occur in the relative past to those of Superman and take place predominantly in his hometown of Smallville...
, the legendary hero Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
as a boy. Later series feature the second Superboy
Superboy (Kon-El)
Superboy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. A modern update of the original Superboy, who is a younger version of Superman, the character first appeared in Adventures of Superman #500 , and was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.Originally...
, who is a partial clone of the original Superman.
Volume 1 (1949-1977)
The first series featured the original Superboy, a teenage incarnation of the Man of SteelSuperman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
. It began publication in 1949, four years after the character's debut in More Fun Comics
More Fun Comics
More Fun Comics, originally titled New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine a.k.a. New Fun Comics, was a 1935-1947 American comic book anthology that introduced several major superhero characters and was the first American comic-book series to feature solely original material rather than reprints of...
#101 (January 1945). The majority of the stories were set in the rural town of Smallville during the character's youth. The supporting cast included Superboy's adoptive parents Jonathan and Martha Kent, his over-inquisitive classmate and neighbor Lana Lang
Lana Lang
Lana Lang is a fictional supporting character in DC Comics' Superman series. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist John Sikela, the character first appears in Superboy #10...
, best friend Pete Ross
Pete Ross
Peter Joseph "Pete" Ross is a fictional character who appears in the Superman comic books published by DC Comics. He was introduced in Superboy #86 .-Pre-Crisis:...
(who was secretly aware of Superboy's true identity as Clark Kent
Clark Kent
Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
), Police Chief Parker, and the super-powered canine Krypto
Krypto
Krypto, also known as Krypto the Superdog, is a fictional character. He is Superman's pet dog in the various Superman comic books published by DC Comics. Krypto's first appearance was in a Superboy story in Adventure Comics #210 in March 1955...
. With the exception of a teenage Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
, who was a frequent foe of the Boy of Steel, almost none of the featured villains appeared more than once.
Beginning in the early 1960s, several stories featured appearances by the futuristic Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
. The Legion starred in their own backup feature starting with #172 (March 1971). With issue #197 (September 1973), the Legion became permanent co-stars, and the cover logo became "Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes" while the title of the book itself remained Superboy. With #222 (December 1976), the cover logo became "Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes" and the book's title itself followed with #231 (September 1977). Starting with #259 (January 1980), the title was changed to Legion of Super-Heroes (volume 2), and the Boy of Steel left the team and the book. Though Superboy later rejoined, he made only occasional appearances in the series that once bore his name, and the series remained a Legion book until its last issue, Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #354 (December 1987).
For much of this period, DC also published Superboy tales in Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics was a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 and then revamped from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues , making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman...
, which began featuring the Boy of Steel regularly in issue #103 (April 1946).
The New Adventures of Superboy (1980-1984)
Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane
Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane was a comic book series published monthly by DC Comics focusing on the adventures of supporting character Lois Lane. The series began publication March/April 1958 and ended its run September/October 1974 with 137 regular issues and 2 80-page Annuals...
artist Kurt Schaffenberger
Kurt Schaffenberger
Kurt Schaffenberger was an American comic book artist. Schaffenberger was best known for his work on Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family , as well as his work on the title Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane during the 1950s and 1960s.-Early career:Schaffenberger was born on a farm in the...
.
Superboy Spectacular #1 (cover dated March 1980) was DC's first direct sales-only title.
Briefly, the series also included a back-up feature, Dial H for Hero
Dial H for Hero
Dial H for Hero is a comic book feature published by DC Comics about a mysterious dial that enables an ordinary person to become a superhero for a short time, by selecting the letters H-E-R-O in order. Each time it is used, the dial causes its possessor to become a superhero with a different name,...
(which originated in House of Mystery
House of Mystery
The House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series. It had a companion series, House of Secrets.-Genesis:...
in 1966).
Volume 2: Superboy: The Comic Book (1990-1992)
The third series (Volume 2) is different from other Superman or Superboy titles in that it is set in the continuity of the Superboy television seriesSuperboy (TV series)
Superboy is a half-hour live-action television series based on the fictional DC Comics comic book character Kal-El's early years as Superboy. The show ran from 1988–1992 in syndication...
, as opposed to the regular DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
. Its intent was to explore some of the unseen tales and events that the TV series could not. The series originally carried the cover title Superboy: The Comic Book, although the title in the indicia was simply Superboy. After issue #11, the series changed its cover title to The Adventures of Superboy, a change reflected in the indicia beginning with #18. The series remained in publication for 22 issues.
Volume 3 (1994-2002)
After the Crisis on Infinite EarthsCrisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
limited series, the original Superboy was erased from mainstream DC continuity, with Superman beginning his superhero career as an adult in his early twenties. In 1993, DC Comics began Reign of the Supermen, the third arc of its Death of Superman
The Death of Superman
"The Death of Superman" is a 1992 comic book storyline that occurred in DC Comics' Superman titles. The completed multi-issue story arc was given the title The Death and Return of Superman....
storyline. The prelude to this arc, Adventures of Superman
Superman (comic book)
Superman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications comic book Action Comics #1 in June 1938...
#500 (June 1993), introduced a new Superboy. A hybrid clone of Superman and a human male, the character (eventually named "Kon-El
Superboy (Kon-El)
Superboy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. A modern update of the original Superboy, who is a younger version of Superman, the character first appeared in Adventures of Superman #500 , and was created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett.Originally...
") was given his own title (Volume 3), which ran for 102 issues (including #0 and #1,000,000). For a portion of this period, Kon-El also appeared in the companion title Superboy and the Ravers, which ran for 19 issues.
Volume 4 (2010-2011)
A new Superboy series starring Kon-El debuted in November 2010, initially written by Jeff LemireJeff Lemire
Jeff Lemire is a Canadian comics artist and writer. He is the author of the Essex County Trilogy, Sweet Tooth and The Nobody. Lemire is known for a his moody, humanistic stories and sketchy, cinematic, black-and-white art....
and with art by Pier Gallo. In this series, Kon-El, living under the secret identity of Conner Kent, lives with Martha Kent and Krypto
Krypto
Krypto, also known as Krypto the Superdog, is a fictional character. He is Superman's pet dog in the various Superman comic books published by DC Comics. Krypto's first appearance was in a Superboy story in Adventure Comics #210 in March 1955...
in Smallville, the town he protects as the second Superboy.
It was announced by DC comics that all of their series will come to an end and be relaunched in September 2011, and with this announcement, Superboy will end with issue 11.
Volume 5 (2011-Current)
As part of the DC Comics company wide relaunch in September 2011, Superboy began with a new issue number 1. This new series is written by Scott Lobdell and has art by RB Silva and Rob Lean. The solicit lists that this new series will feature Superboy grown from a combination of Kryptonian and human DNA and be a clone that has become a weapon.See also
- Adventure ComicsAdventure ComicsAdventure Comics was a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 and then revamped from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues , making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman...
- Superboy and the Ravers
- Smallville#Comic books - tie-in to the SmallvilleSmallvilleSmallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
television series
External links
- Superboy comics at the DC Database Project