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124-630: Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster , she first appeared in Action Comics #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning journalist for the Metropolis newspaper the Daily Planet and the primary love interest of the superhero Superman and his alter ego, Clark Kent . In DC continuity, she

248-487: A naturalistic style of superheroes with human failings, fears, and inner demons - heroes who squabbled and worried about the likes of paying the rent. In contrast to the super-heroic do-gooder archetypes of established superheroes at the time, this ushered in a revolution. With dynamic artwork by Kirby, Steve Ditko , Don Heck , and others, complementing Lee's colorful, catchy prose, the new style became very popular among teenagers and college students who could identify with

372-509: A rattlesnake in the woods near the Lane family farm. The snake was scared away by one of Kal-El's baby toys which had landed nearby in one of Jor-El's experimental rockets. During Lois' adolescence, she won a youth contest run by the Daily Planet , with the prize being a trip to Metropolis to spend a week working as a cub reporter for the newspaper. There, she first met Clark Kent of Smallville, who

496-493: A tabloid -sized, 10-by-15-inch (250 mm × 380 mm), 36-page magazine with a card-stock, non-glossy cover. An anthology , it mixed humor features such as the funny animal comic "Pelion and Ossa" and the college-set "Jigger and Ginger" with such dramatic fare as the Western strip "Jack Woods" and the " yellow-peril " adventure "Barry O'Neill", featuring a Fu Manchu -styled villain, Fang Gow. Issue #6 (Oct. 1935) brought

620-528: A 12-issue series by writer Greg Rucka and artist Mike Perkins investigates threats and conspiracies in the DC Universe. Lois is the character most commonly associated with Superman, and throughout their long history , she has always been the most prominent love interest in Clark Kent/Superman's life. In the 1990s, after Clark proposes to Lois and reveals to her that he is Superman, she married him in

744-479: A Lexcorp subsidiary ARL. Another major change made was that Lois did not fall in love with just Superman, although she was attracted to him. One reason was the revised nature of the Superman/Clark Kent relationship. In the original Silver Age stories, Superman had been the man who disguised himself as Clark Kent. In this newly revised concept, it was Clark Kent who lived a life in which his activity as Superman

868-437: A Siegel/Shuster creation from the slush pile and used it as the cover feature (but only as a backup story) in Action Comics #1 (June 1938). The duo's alien hero, Superman , was dressed in a cape and colorful tights. The costume, influenced by Flash Gordon 's attire from 1934, evoked circus aerial performers and circus strongmen, and Superman became the archetype of the " superheroes " that would follow. In early 1939,

992-455: A US Army General, in areas such as hand-to-hand combat and the use of firearms. She has one younger sibling, her sister Lucy Lane . Lois is a journalist for the Daily Planet , one of the best investigative reporters and the best at the newspaper she works at. Lois has shown obtaining superpowers and becoming a superhero, some of her superhero identities are Superwoman and Red Tornado of Earth 2. Aspects of Lois' personality have varied over

1116-475: A character that Jerry co-created and allow him to live in this unbelievable poverty?" In the late 1970s, DC Comics agreed to pay both Siegel and Shuster a stipend of $ 20,000 per year for life, but Joanne Siegel was not satisfied and continued the fight, even after her husband died in 1996. She filed a lawsuit in 1999 seeking partial ownership of the Superman character. In 2006, Siegel won a partial summary judgment in

1240-718: A collection of English-language newspaper inserts originally published in Europe as the 1837 book Histoire de Mr. Vieux Bois by Rodolphe Töpffer . The G. W. Dillingham Company published the first known proto-comic-book magazine in the US, The Yellow Kid in McFadden's Flats , in 1897. A hardcover book, it reprinted material—primarily the October 18, 1896, to January 10, 1897, sequence titled "McFadden's Row of Flats"—from cartoonist Richard F. Outcault 's newspaper comic strip Hogan's Alley , starring

1364-527: A coma. Lois later awakes from her coma at the hospital, with Jonathan Carroll at her side. Lois manifests psychic powers and helps Superman fight the Psychic Pirate. During the fight, Lois learns that Clark is Superman but falls back into a coma. After defeating the Psychic Pirate, Superman brings Lois back to the hospital. Later, the Parasite attacks the hospital and attempts to steal Lois' powers. Superman tricks

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1488-412: A criminal enterprise for one of her stories. At the end of the week, Clark paid off Lois' bet (an ice cream sundae ), and the two returned to their respective hometowns. Lois would meet Superboy (but not Clark Kent) again during her adolescence while attending an all-girls summer camp near Smallville. There, Lois met Lana Lang, a fellow camper, for the first time. Lois would make further attempts at landing

1612-425: A daughter together, Laura Siegel, who later recalled, "My father said she not only posed for the character but from the day he met her it was her personality that he infused into the character. She was not only beautiful but very smart and determined, and she had a lot of guts; she was a courageous person." In a profile of Joanne Siegel, NPR noted, "Though a number of actresses played [Lois Lane] on television and in

1736-632: A distilled drop of The Bleed and administers it to Lois through a kiss, restoring her to full health. Lois is later seen in Final Crisis #6, one of the few still free humans. After the events of Superman: New Krypton Superman must leave Earth for an undetermined amount of time swearing off his Earthly connections in the eyes of his fellow Kryptonians to keep an eye on General Zod the New Kryptonian military commander, but he secretly tells Lois he still considers her his wife and will come back to her. In

1860-508: A drug that transformed her into a monster. As Lois investigates the Cartel, she gets captured and taken to the Cartel's headquarters. There, Lois finds out the Cartel had been capturing people who had been mutated by the drug. Lois escapes and rescues Amanda when the captured monsters cause a riot. As she returns home, Lois finds out Lucy had been taking the drug. As Lucy apologizes for putting all three in danger, Lois chooses to publish her story about

1984-453: A few problems (such as a brief reappearance of Clark's former college girlfriend, the mermaid Lori Lemaris ). Lois eventually decided to take an overseas assignment to assert her independence and not be dependent on Clark, who had begun to overprotect her. When Clark became convinced Lois was in danger, he and her father Sam allied to aid her secretly. When Lois returned to Metropolis, she had been through several life-threatening exploits and

2108-495: A form of radiation that inhibits his cells' ability to absorb solar radiation, subjecting himself to kryptonite as a form of chemotherapy. With his powers restored, Clark reconciles with Lois, accepting that she exposed his identity for good reasons. In the New 52: Futures End , set five years in the possible future of the New 52-verse. Lois is considered the most successful freelance reporter on

2232-590: A gradual decline, due to a shift away from print media in the wake of television and the impact of the Comics Code Authority . The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a superhero revival and superheroes remained the dominant character archetype throughout the late 20th century into the 21st century. Some fans collect comic books, helping drive up their value. Some have sold for more than US$ 1 million. Comic shops cater to fans, selling comic books, plastic sleeves ("bags") and cardboard backing ("boards") to protect

2356-569: A gun and commits suicide. Later, Lois visits the imprisoned Lucy. She expresses disbelief on what her sister has become. Lois says while she will not miss her father, she will miss her sister. In Superman: Grounded , Superman begins a journey through America to reconnect with the American people, and Lois, though confused at first, supports his choice. Lois later travels to Rushmark and finds an old college friend Brian, who invites her to have dinner with him and his wife. When Lois leaves Brian's home she

2480-448: A haircut that made her look more like actress Teri Hatcher , and her eyes were typically violet to match her character on Superman: The Animated Series . From the late 1980s through the 1990s she was depicted with auburn hair in the comic books. In the 1940s, Lois had a newspaper comic strip, Lois Lane, Girl Reporter , a direct spin-off of the Superman comic strip running at the time. A similarly titled comic series began appearing in

2604-531: A job with the Daily Planet during her teenage years and spent time writing for her hometown's newspaper, the Pittsdale Star . Upon finishing high school, Lois left Pittsdale and attended Raleigh College to study journalism. While in college, Lois worked for the student newspaper, the Raleigh Review , as a reporter and eventually its co-editor. After graduating from college, Lois became permanently employed at

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2728-520: A journalist and as a woman, she had to get on with her life. After the 1985–1986 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths writer John Byrne revised the Superman legend and eliminated the Silver Age version of Lois from continuity. Before this happened, a final non-canonical imaginary story Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? was written by Alan Moore , meant as a send-off for the pre-Crisis versions of

2852-497: A journalist to be Superman's love interest, Lois Lane . Shuster hired her as a model for Lois, and his depiction of Lois was based on his drawings of her hairstyle and facial features. Interviewed in 1996 by The Plain Dealer , she recalled, "I remember the day I met Jerry in Joe's living room. Jerry was the model for Superman. He was standing there in a Superman-like pose. He said their character

2976-569: A lawsuit with DC Comics. The Court found that Joanne Siegel and her daughter had successfully recaptured the Superboy copyright in 2004 and opined that the television program Smallville was infringing the Siegels' copyright. In 2008, Siegel secured a further ruling from a federal court in Los Angeles restoring her husband's co-authorship share of the original Superman copyrights. In a 72-page decision,

3100-596: A million copies a month each; comics provided very popular cheap entertainment during World War II especially among soldiers, but with erratic quality in stories, art, and printing. In the early 1940s, over 90 percent of girls and boys from seven to seventeen read comic books. In 1941, H. G. Peter and William Moulton Marston , created the female superhero character Wonder Woman , who debuted in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941) and Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman in 1942. MLJ 's Pep Comics debuted as

3224-520: A point where he didn't need any more. We became such good friends by that time we decided we would always stay friends." Lois Lane made her debut in Action Comics #1 (June 1938), the first published Superman story. Lois is the daughter of Ella and Sam Lane , in earlier comics, her parents were farmers in a town called Pittsdale. The modern comics depicts Lois as a former Army brat , born at Ramstein Air Base with Lois having been trained by her father,

3348-449: A profound impact upon the American comic-book industry. Their popularity, along with mainstream media attention and critical acclaim, combined with changing social tastes, led to a considerably darker tone in comic books during the 1990s nicknamed by fans as the "grim-and-gritty" era. The growing popularity of antiheroes such as Wolverine and the Punisher exemplified this change, as did

3472-442: A promotional item to consumers who mailed in coupons clipped from Procter & Gamble soap and toiletries products. The company printed 10,000 copies. The promotion proved a success, and Eastern Color that year produced similar periodicals for Canada Dry soft drinks , Kinney Shoes , Wheatena cereal and others, with print runs of from 100,000 to 250,000. Also in 1933, Gaines and Wildenberg collaborated with Dell to publish

3596-523: A recovered piece of Superwoman's costume. Lois hands her exposé in and the government is after her for treason. With agents on her tail, she makes a mad dash for it. When Lois is in custody, her father Sam Lane is there to greet her in an interview room in an unnamed facility. Sam tells Lois the only reason he has been lenient with her is because she is his daughter, while he does love her the planet will always come first over his family and threatens to make her disappear forever if she continues. Lois returns to

3720-408: A span of mere minutes when he returned to ask for his job back. Clark elected to repay Lois by finally letting go of his self-imposed inhibitions and passionately kissed her. The two became a couple, and eventually, Lois accepted a proposal of marriage. Clark shortly after revealed to her that he was Superman. DC Comics had planned on Lois and Clark being married in 1993's Superman vol. 2 #75. With

3844-520: A superhero, science-fiction and adventure anthology, but after the title introduced the teen-humor feature "Archie" in 1942, the feature's popularity would soon eclipse all other MLJ properties, leading the publisher to rename itself Archie Comics . Following the end of World War II, the popularity of superheroes greatly diminished, while the comic-book industry itself expanded. A few well-established characters such as Superman , Batman and Wonder Woman continued to sell, but DC canceled series starring

Lois Lane - Misplaced Pages Continue

3968-494: A ten-cent pricetag [ sic ] on the comic books". When Delacorte declined to continue with Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , Eastern Color on its own published Famous Funnies #1 (cover-dated July 1934), a 68-page giant selling for 10¢. Distributed to newsstands by the mammoth American News Company , it proved a hit with readers during the cash-strapped Great Depression , selling 90 percent of its 200,000 print, although putting Eastern Color more than $ 4,000 in

4092-402: A third of all North American sales in the early 1950s. Its 90 titles averaged a circulation of 800,000 copies per title for every issue, with Walt Disney's Comics and Stories peaking at a circulation of three million a month in 1953. Eleven of the top 25 bestselling comic books at the time were Dell titles. Out of 40 publishers active in 1954, Dell, Atlas (i.e. Marvel), DC, and Archie were

4216-477: A thousand times", and fly her to her destination. When asked on a Sunday morning talk show what she would do if trapped in an underground mine with rescue impossible before the air ran out, Lois admitted that she would impatiently await Superman because "I've got a deadline to meet." Eventually, Lois realized that she had wasted a good part of her career by staying in Metropolis for Superman's sake and left. As both

4340-522: A time as one of California's early car saleswomen, she sold new and used Chevys from a lot in Santa Monica , to help support the family. Siegel lived in the Marina Del Rey in Los Angeles in her later years. Siegel devoted herself to reclaiming the original Superman copyright. At one point, she called the publisher of Superman and said, "How can you sit by and continue to make millions of dollars off of

4464-503: A true comic book. But it did offer all original material and was sold on newsstands ". The Funnies ran for 36 issues, published Saturdays through October 16, 1930. In 1933, salesperson Maxwell Gaines , sales manager Harry I. Wildenberg , and owner George Janosik of the Waterbury, Connecticut , company Eastern Color Printing —which printed, among other things, Sunday-paper comic-strip sections – produced Funnies on Parade as

4588-751: A way to keep their presses running. Like The Funnies , but only eight pages, this appeared as a newsprint magazine. Rather than using original material, however, it reprinted in color several comic strips licensed from the McNaught Syndicate , the Ledger Syndicate , and the Bell-McClure Syndicate . These included such popular strips as cartoonist Al Smith 's Mutt and Jeff , Ham Fisher 's Joe Palooka , and Percy Crosby 's Skippy . Eastern Color neither sold this periodical nor made it available on newsstands , but rather sent it out free as

4712-503: A while. When Lois is kidnapped by Lisa Jennings, a woman who wants to destroy Superman, he rescues her. With the danger over. Superman apologizes to Lois about what happened in Des Moines. Lois replies that she wrote the article anyway, saying that she was a reporter before she was his wife. Knowing that his wife did the right thing, Superman kisses her. The two then return home. In 2011, DC Comics relaunched its titles and its main continuity

4836-407: A working girl whose priority was grabbing scoops. What inspired me in the creation was Glenda Farrell, the movie star who portrayed Torchy Blane, a gutsy, beautiful headline-hunting reporter, in a series of exciting motion pictures. Because the name of the actress Lola Lane (who also played Torchy) appealed to me, I called my character Lois Lane. Strangely, the characterization of Lois is amazingly like

4960-456: A year. In 1929, Dell Publishing (founded by George T. Delacorte, Jr. ) published The Funnies , described by the Library of Congress as "a short-lived newspaper tabloid insert" and not to be confused with Dell's 1936 comic-book series of the same name. Historian Ron Goulart describes the 16-page, four-color periodical as "more a Sunday comic section without the rest of the newspaper than

5084-465: Is also his wife and the mother of their son, Jon Kent , the newest Superboy in the DC Universe . Lois' physical appearance was originally based on Joanne Carter , a model hired by Joe Shuster. For her character, Jerry Siegel was inspired by actress Glenda Farrell 's portrayal of the fictional reporter Torchy Blane in a series of films. Siegel took her name from actress Lola Lane . Depictions of

Lois Lane - Misplaced Pages Continue

5208-428: Is among the best-known female comic book characters. Actress Noel Neill first portrayed Lois Lane in the 1940s Superman film series and later reprised her role in the 1950s television series Adventures of Superman , replacing Phyllis Coates from season two. Margot Kidder played the character in four Superman films in the 1970s and 1980s, Kate Bosworth in the 2006 film Superman Returns and Amy Adams in

5332-486: Is met by Superman. The two reaffirm their love to each other and go to Chicago. There, Lois helps Superman arrest a violent father who has been attacking his wife and son. Later, Lois and Superman investigate a factory in Des Moines . Lois wants to publish an article, which would reveal the workers' illegal activities, but Superman forces her not to. Feeling betrayed, Lois returns to Metropolis and does not speak to Superman for

5456-460: Is taken symbolically as the beginning of a new era, although his success was not immediate. It took two years for the Flash to receive his own title, and Showcase itself was only a bimonthly book, though one which was to introduce a large number of enduring characters. By 1959, the slowly building superhero revival had become clear to DC's competitors. Archie jumped on board that year, and Charlton joined

5580-399: Is to save his wife's life. The story is continued in the 3D tie-in comic Superman Beyond , where the female Monitor Zillo Valla stops time around Lois, allowing Superman to leave her side for a while, recruiting him and several of his multiversal doppelgangers in a mission to save the entire Multiverse, promising care for Lois. After defeating the dark Monitor Mandrakk, Superman brings back

5704-673: The Superman comic book in 1944, starting with Superman #28. In 1958, DC Comics gave Lois a comic book series, Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane . The series focuses on her solo adventures and start publication in April 1958. In the 1960s, the series was one of DC's most popular titles and was the top ten best-selling comic books in America. She had a series featured in The Superman Family comic book from 1974 to 1982. Released in 2019, Lois Lane ,

5828-596: The DC Extended Universe . Teri Hatcher portrayed Lois in the 1990s television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Erica Durance in the 2000s series Smallville . Elizabeth Tulloch played the character in the television series Superman & Lois . Rachel Brosnahan will play Lois Lane in the upcoming film Superman (2025). Writer Jerry Siegel first conceived Lois Lane in 1934, when Siegel and Joe Shuster were still developing Superman. A major influence on Lois' characterization

5952-444: The Daily Planet under cover of night and explains all to Perry. She points out the whole paper is at risk and everyone connected to it if her exposé runs. Perry understands and though he must protect the paper he is first and foremost a good journalist and nudges Lois in the right direction; he will not run the story but noted it must get out to the people somehow. Enlightened, she quits the Daily Planet , as Lois gets her edge back. It

6076-531: The Daily Planet . Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen later joined the Planet ' s staff but Lois remained the newspaper's star reporter, winning the Pulitzer Prize . She was very dependent on Superman, however; he told her that having to rescue her so often from problems she caused prevented him from helping others. For example, when late for a deadline Lois jumped off a cliff expecting Superman to catch her "as he has done

6200-476: The Daily Planet . This backstory was attributed to the Lois Lane of Earth-One. As summarized in various stories, Lois was born to Sam and Ella Lane and grew up on their farm in the small town of Pittsdale. At the age of two, Lois suffered measles , and at the age of three, whooping cough . At an unspecified time during Lois' childhood, her younger sister Lucy Lane was born. While Lois was a toddler, she encountered

6324-599: The Flash and Green Lantern and converted All-American Comics and All Star Comics to Western titles, and Star Spangled Comics to a war title. The publisher also launched such science-fiction titles as Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space . Martin Goodman 's Timely Comics , also known as Atlas, canceled its three formerly high-selling superhero titles starring Captain America (created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby ),

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6448-601: The Human Torch , and the Sub-Mariner , briefly reviving the characters in 1954 only to cancel them again shortly thereafter to focus on horror, science fiction, teen humor, romance and Western genres. Romance comics became strongly established, with Prize Comics ' Young Romance and with Young Love , the latter written and drawn by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; those two titles' popularity led to an explosion of romance comics from many publishers. Dell 's comic books accounted for

6572-516: The Phantom Zone rift, trapping himself inside with Zod's forces, leaving Lois without her son. In the second issue of Final Crisis , Lois and Perry are caught in an explosion triggered by Clayface destroying the Daily Planet and Lois is critically injured. In the third issue, it is revealed that only Clark's heat vision is keeping her heart beating. Clark is visited by a mysterious phantom who insists that he must depart Earth immediately if he

6696-670: The Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency held hearings on comic book indecency from April to June 1954. In the wake of these troubles, a group of comics publishers, led by National and Archie, founded the Comics Code Authority in 1954 and drafted the Comics Code, intended as "the most stringent code in existence for any communications media". A Comic Code Seal of Approval soon appeared on virtually every comic book carried on newsstands. EC, after experimenting with less controversial comic books, dropped its comics line to focus on

6820-657: The Yellow Kid . The 196-page, square-bound, black-and-white publication, which also includes introductory text by E. W. Townsend , measured 5 by 7 inches (130 mm × 180 mm) and sold for 50 cents. The neologism "comic book" appears on the back cover. Despite the publication of a series of related Hearst comics soon afterward, the first monthly proto-comic book, Embee Distributing Company's Comic Monthly , did not appear until 1922. Produced in an 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 -by-9-inch (220 mm × 230 mm) format, it reprinted black-and-white newspaper comic strips and lasted

6944-492: The "definitive" version of Lois, and he was often asked by DC editor Mort Weisinger to redraw other artists' depictions of Lois Lane in other DC titles where she appeared. So many stories depicted Lois and marriage that the cover of a 1968 80-Page Giant that reprinted several such stories, the "All-Wedding Issue", described the magazine as "featuring Lois' schemes and dreams to marry Superman!". The series Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane became one of DC's most popular titles,

7068-530: The 1950s and 1960s Silver Age comic books . Lois gained her first series of stories (without Superman) starting with Superman #28 (May–June 1944), Lois Lane, Girl Reporter , running in the Superman comic book for a number of years, had Lois defeating bad guys and getting front-page stories on her own, without any help from Superman. In the Golden Age comics, Lois had a niece named Susie Tompkins, whose main trait

7192-467: The 1960s, DC, and then Marvel, began to include writer and artist credits on the comics that they published. Other notable companies publishing comics during the Silver Age included the American Comics Group (ACG), Charlton , Dell , Gold Key , Harvey Comics , and Tower . Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll were featured, as the anti-authoritarian underground comix made waves in 1968, following

7316-457: The 1970s coincided with the appearance of comic-book specialty stores across North America. These specialty stores were a haven for more distinct voices and stories, but they also marginalized comics in the public eye. Serialized comic stories became longer and more complex, requiring readers to buy more issues to finish a story. In the mid-to-late 1980s, two series published by DC Comics , Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen , had

7440-553: The 1970s depicted Lois again as fully capable and less reliant on Superman. She engaged in more adventures without Superman being involved and was much less interested in discovering Superman's secret identity. Lois had a series featured in The Superman Family (an anthology title started in the mid-1970s after the cancellation of Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane and Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen ) from 1974 to 1982. In her series, Lois regularly battled criminals and often defeated them using her quick wits and considerable skill in

7564-542: The 1990s changing the format and distribution of their comic books to more closely resemble non-comics publishing. The " minicomics " form, an extremely informal version of self-publishing , arose in the 1980s and became increasingly popular among artists in the 1990s, despite reaching an even more limited audience than the small presses. The development of the modern American comic book happened in stages. Publishers had collected comic strips in hardcover book form as early as 1842, with The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck ,

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7688-515: The 36-page Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , which historians consider the first true American comic book; Goulart, for example, calls it "the cornerstone for one of the most lucrative branches of magazine publishing". Distribution took place through the Woolworth's department-store chain, though it remains unclear whether it was sold or given away; the cover displays no price, but Goulart refers, either metaphorically or literally, to "sticking

7812-580: The American comic book has been adapted periodically outside the United States, especially in Canada and the United Kingdom . While comics can be the work of a single creator, the labor of creating them is frequently divided between a number of specialists. There may be a separate writer and artist , or there may be separate artists for the characters and backgrounds. Particularly in superhero comic books,

7936-675: The CCA) stopped publishing crime and horror titles, which was their entire business, and were forced out of the market altogether, turning to magazine publishing instead. By 1960, output had stabilized at about 1,500 releases per year (representing a greater than fifty percent decline since 1952). The dominant comic book genres of the post-CCA 1950s were funny animals, humor, romance , television properties, and Westerns . Detective, fantasy , teen, and war comics were also popular, but adventure, superheroes, and comic strip reprints were in decline, with Famous Funnies seeing its last issue in 1955. In

8060-572: The Cartel. Some time after this, an organisation led by the mysterious 'HODOR-ROOT' learn Superman's secret identity, prompting him to share that information with Lois. When HODOR-ROOT try to analyse Clark's new 'Super-Flare' power, Lois reveals his identity to the public in the hope of removing their blackmail card, but this forces Clark to go on the run, hunted by criminals and law enforcement as some apparent side-effect of his Super-Flare has depleted his powers. Superman eventually learns that his depleted powers are due to Vandal Savage infecting him with

8184-523: The Court ruled that Jerry Siegel was entitled to claim a share of the United States copyright to Superman while leaving intact DC Comics' international rights to the character. Following the ruling, Joanne Siegel told the press, "We were just stubborn. It was a dream of Jerry's, and we just took up the task." In 2009, Siegel was honored in Cleveland by having Parkwood Avenue renamed "Lois Lane" in her honor, as she

8308-655: The Kryptonian martial art of Klurkor, taught to her by Kryptonian survivors in the bottle city of Kandor . There were several cameos of the New Gods , including Desaad and Darkseid . Lois Lane was the backup series in The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl in 1982 to 1983. During the Silver and Bronze Age, Lois' backstory became more fully fleshed out, with various stories explaining her life before becoming employed at

8432-587: The Modern Horror age. But as of 2009 historians and fans use " Bronze Age " to describe the period of American mainstream comics history that began with the period of concentrated changes to comic books in 1970. Unlike the Golden/Silver Age transition, the Silver/Bronze transition involves many continuing books, making the transition less sharp. The development of the " direct market " distribution system in

8556-523: The Parasite into absorbing Lois' psionic energy. The power overwhelms the Parasite, causing him to collapse. Lois awakens from her coma but she does not seem to remember Superman's identity. Lois is the main character in the Superman: Lois Lane #1 one-shot. In this story, Lois' sister, Lucy, asks for her help in finding her roommate Amanda Suresh, who had been kidnapped by a mysterious group called "the Cartel." According to Lucy, Amanda had been taking

8680-515: The alias name "Author X." While Clark continues his superhero duty, protecting cities and civilians quietly behind the scenes. Their son, Jonathan, eventually began to develop superpowers of his own (similar to those of his father Superman) and learned the truth about his parents' true origin. American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States , on average 32 pages, containing comics . While

8804-407: The angsty and irreverent nature of characters like Spider-Man , Hulk , X-Men and Fantastic Four . This was a time of social upheaval, giving birth to a new generation of hip and more counter-cultural youngsters, who found a voice in these books. Because Marvel's books were distributed by its rival, National, from 1957 until 1968 Marvel were restricted to publishing only eight titles a month. This

8928-408: The art may be divided between: The process begins with the writer (often in collaboration with one or more others, who may include the editor and/or the penciller) coming up with a story idea or concept, then working it up into a plot and storyline , finalizing it with a script . After the art is prepared, the dialogue and captions are lettered onto the page from the script, and an editor may have

9052-471: The bandwagon in 1960. In 1961, at the demand of publisher Martin Goodman (who was reacting to a surge in sales of National's newest superhero title The Justice League of America ), writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four for Atlas, which now re-named itself Marvel Comics . With an innovation that changed the comic-book industry, Fantastic Four #1 initiated

9176-511: The character have varied spanning the comics and other media adaptations . The original Golden Age version of Lois Lane, as well as versions of her from the 1970s onwards, portrays Lois as a dauntless journalist and intellectually equal to Superman. During the Silver Age of Comics , she was the star of Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane , a comic book series that had a light and humorous tone. Lois has appeared in various media adaptations and

9300-499: The characters, including Lois. Published at the same time but in Earth-One continuity was a two-issue miniseries, Lois Lane , in which she investigates missing children. Lois underwent a character alteration beginning with John Byrne's The Man of Steel miniseries, which significantly rewrote Superman's origin and history. In this modern version of events, Lois was portrayed as a tough-as-nails reporter who rarely needed rescuing. She

9424-720: The comic book Superman: The Wedding Album (December 1996). The couple's biological child in DC Comics canon was born in Convergence: Superman #2 (July 2015) a son named Jonathan Samuel Kent, who eventually becomes Superboy . In the Golden Age comics, Lois was an aggressive, career-minded reporter for the Daily Star (the newspaper's name was changed to the Daily Planet in Action Comics #23 in 1940). After Clark Kent joined

9548-494: The comic books. An American comic book is also known as a floppy comic . It is typically thin and stapled, unlike traditional books . American comic books are one of the three major comic book industries globally, along with Japanese manga and the Franco-Belgian comic books . The typical size and page count of comics have varied over the decades, generally tending toward smaller formats and fewer pages. Historically,

9672-529: The comic-book debut of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , the future creators of Superman . The two began their careers with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval", doing the first two installments before turning it over to others and, under the pseudonyms "Leger and Reuths", they created the supernatural -crimefighter adventure Doctor Occult . In 1938, after Wheeler-Nicholson's partner Harry Donenfeld had ousted him, National Allied editor Vin Sullivan pulled

9796-432: The countercultural era. Legal issues and paper shortages led to a decline in underground comix output from its 1972 peak. In 1974 the passage of anti-paraphernalia laws in the US led to the closing of most head shops, which throttled underground comix distribution. Its readership also dried up as the hippie movement itself petered out in the mid-1970s. Wizard originally used the phrase "Bronze Age", in 1995, to denote

9920-459: The country. Some cities passed laws banning comic books entirely. In 1954, psychiatrist Fredric Wertham published his book Seduction of the Innocent , where he discussed what he perceived as sadistic and homosexual undertones in horror comics and superhero comics respectively, and singled out EC Comics due to its success as a publisher of these genres. In response to growing public anxiety,

10044-564: The darker tone of some independent publishers such as First Comics , Dark Horse Comics , and (founded in the 1990s) Image Comics . This tendency towards darkness and nihilism was manifested in DC's production of heavily promoted comic book stories such as " A Death in the Family " in the Batman series (in which The Joker brutally murdered Batman's sidekick Robin ), while at Marvel the continuing popularity of

10168-471: The early days of comic books, this practice had all but vanished during the 1940s and 1950s. Comic books were produced by comic book companies rather than by individual creators (EC being a notable exception, a company that not only credited its creative teams but also featured creators' biographies). Even comic books by revered and collectible artists like Carl Barks were not known by their creator's name— Disney comics by Barks were signed " Walt Disney ". In

10292-444: The final say (but, once ready for printing, it is difficult and expensive to make any major changes), before the comic is sent to the printer. The creative team, the writer and artist(s), may work for a comic book publisher who handles the marketing, advertising, and other logistics. A wholesale distributor, such as Diamond Comic Distributors , the largest in the US, distributes the printed product to retailers. Another aspect of

10416-449: The form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of Action Comics , which included the debut of the superhero Superman . This was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II . After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the comic book industry rapidly expanded and genres such as horror, crime, science fiction and romance became popular. The 1950s saw

10540-539: The future. All these marriages were either annulled or otherwise forgotten. Lois became more and more popular during the 1950s, and after appearing as the lead character in two issues of DC Comics' Showcase in 1957, DC created an ongoing series for Lois, titled Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane . The series ran for 137 issues, beginning in April 1958 to October 1974. Most stories were about Lois' romance with Superman, and were drawn by artist Kurt Schaffenberger . Schaffenberger's rendition of Lois became cited by many as

10664-483: The introduction of the Comics Code Authority in the wake of Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency , which, ignoring the social problems caused by the wars of 1939–45 and 1950–52, sought to blame those problems solely on comics. While there was only a 9% drop in the number of releases between 1952 and 1953, circulation plummeted by an estimated 30–40%. The cause of the decrease is not entirely clear. Television had begun to provide competition with comic books, but there

10788-439: The issues of Action Comics Lois has reunited with Christopher Kent who has aged to adulthood in the past months and became the new Metropolis hero Nightwing . Supergirl and Lana visit Lois' apartment to tell her the bad news that her sister Lucy Lane was killed during a battle with Supergirl . Lois does not believe that her sister is dead and refuses to accept the news until she has irrefutable proof. Lois asks Supergirl for

10912-623: The late 1940s and early 1950s horror and true-crime comics flourished, many containing graphic violence and gore. Due to such content, moral crusaders became concerned with the impact of comics on the youth, and were blaming comic books for everything from poor grades to juvenile delinquency to drug abuse. This perceived indecency resulted in the collection and public burning of comic books in Spencer, West Virginia and Binghamton, New York in 1948, which received national attention and triggered other public burnings by schools and parent groups across

11036-433: The major players in volume of sales. By this point, former big-time players Fawcett and Fiction House had ceased publishing. Circulation peaked in 1952 when 3,161 issues of various comics were published with a total circulation of about one billion copies. After 1952, the number of individual releases dropped every year for the rest of the decade, with the biggest falls occurring in 1955–56. The rapid decline followed

11160-454: The movies over the years, Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel always said that his wife, Joanne ... inspired the character of Lois Lane." Despite the success of Superman in comic books, television and motion pictures, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster had sold the copyright to Detective Comics for $ 130. The Siegels led a modest lifestyle, their daughter recalled: "My mother and father lived in complete poverty for many, many years." Siegel worked for

11284-490: The paper and Superman debuted around the same time, Lois found herself attracted to Superman but displeased with her new journalistic competition in the form of Kent. Starting early as the 1940s, Lois began to suspect that Clark Kent was Superman, and started to make various attempts at uncovering his secret identity , all of which backfired because of Superman's efforts. The first such story appears in Superman #17 (July–August 1942). This theme became particularly pronounced in

11408-454: The planet and her blog "The Fast Lane" is one of the most read and well-respected sources of news in the world. In the miniseries Convergence , which featured many Post- Crisis DC Universe characters, including a married Superman and his pregnant wife Lois Lane, deal with the impending birth of their child, as Superman is called to protect the city. Convergence shows the birth of their son, Jon Kent . Following Convergence , DC announced

11532-559: The process involved in successful comics is the interaction between the readers/fans and the creator(s). Fan art and letters to the editor were commonly printed in the back of the book, until, in the early 21st century, various Internet forums started to replace this tradition. The growth of comic specialty stores helped permit several waves of independently-produced comics, beginning in the mid-1970s. Some early examples of these – generally referred to as "independent" or "alternative" comics – such as Big Apple Comix , continued somewhat in

11656-558: The professional name "Joanne Carter". She worked for a ship builder in California during World War II . After the war, Siegel moved to New York, where she ran into Jerry Siegel at a costume ball to raise money for cartoonists. Both had been married and divorced previously. They were married in 1948 and lived in Connecticut and New York before moving to California in the 1960s. They remained married until Jerry Siegel's death in 1996. They have

11780-505: The publication of Robert Crumb 's irregularly published Zap Comix . Frank Stack had published The Adventures of Jesus as far back as 1962, and there had been a trickle of such publications until Crumb's success. What had started as a self-publishing scene soon grew into a minor industry, with Print Mint , Kitchen Sink , Last Gasp and Apex Novelties among the more well-known publishers. These comix were often extremely graphic, and largely distributed in head shops that flourished in

11904-545: The real-life personality of my lovely wife. Artist Joe Shuster based Lois' physical appearance on a model named Joanne Carter . Carter had placed an ad in the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper in the Situation Wanted column, advertising herself as a model. Shuster corresponded with her and hired her as the model for Lois Lane. Shuster's depiction of Lois was modeled on her hairstyle and facial features. "To me she

12028-650: The red. That quickly changed, with the book turning a $ 30,000 profit each issue starting with #12. Famous Funnies would eventually run 218 issues, inspire imitators, and largely launch a new mass medium . When the supply of available existing comic strips began to dwindle, early comic books began to include a small amount of new, original material in comic-strip format. Inevitably, a comic book of all-original material, with no comic-strip reprints, debuted. Fledgling publisher Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications, which would evolve into DC Comics , to release New Fun #1 (Feb. 1935). This came out as

12152-401: The same or otherwise getting Superman into marriage. Superman's rationale for resisting her matrimonial desires was that marrying her would put her in increased danger from his enemies and that she could not keep his secret identity hidden. Regardless, Lois married several times in the Superman stories of this era, including to a Superman impostor from Kandor, the villainous Zak-Kul and a man from

12276-436: The same. Stories showed Superman using various means to protect his secret identity from Lois, including his Superman robots or Batman disguising himself as Clark/Superman. By the end of the 1960s, as attitudes toward women's role in American society changed, Lois' character changed as well. In Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #80 (Jan. 1968), the character's fashions were updated to a then more contemporary look. Stories in

12400-620: The satirical Mad —a former comic book which was now converted to a magazine format in order to circumvent the Code. DC started a revival in superhero comics in 1956 with the October 1956 revival of its former golden age top-seller The Flash in Showcase #4. Many comics historians peg this as the beginning of the Silver Age of American comic books, although Marvel (at this point still known variously as both Timely and Atlas ) had started reviving some of its old superheroes as early as 1954. The new Flash

12524-408: The size was derived from folding one sheet of Quarter Imperial paper (15 in × 11 in or 380 mm × 280 mm), to print 4 pages which were each 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 by 11 inches (190 mm × 280 mm). This also meant that the page count had to be some multiple of 4. In recent decades, standard comics have been trimmed at about 6.625 x 10.25 inches. The format of

12648-532: The spin-off comic book series Superman: Lois and Clark , debuting in October 2015 by Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks . The eight-issue series is set several years after the Convergence event, where Clark and Lois and their son Jon have been living and working in the New 52 universe. The couple now lives in California and has changed their last name to White (a tribute to Perry White). Lois has become an anonymous author, publishing several critically acclaimed books under

12772-418: The strongest relationships in comics. In 2006, the couple took the next step in adopting a newly arrived Kryptonian boy, who they named Chris Kent . The boy is later discovered to be the son of Jor-El 's foe, General Zod . Although initially uneasy about raising a super-powered child, Lois has shown immense aptitude of being 'Mommy Lois.' Following a devastating battle with Zod, Chris sacrificed himself to seal

12896-622: The success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at National Comics Publications (the future DC Comics) to request more superheroes for its titles. In response, Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman , who debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). The period from the late 1930s through roughly the end of the 1940s is referred to by comic book experts as the Golden Age of comic books . It featured extremely large print-runs, with Action Comics and Captain Marvel selling over half

13020-495: The then-upcoming television show Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman , DC decided they did not want to have the two married in the comics and not married on TV. Partially as a result of this, Superman was killed in Superman #75 instead, dying in Lois' arms after a battle royal with the monster Doomsday . After a period of time, Superman returned to life, and both he and Lois resumed their relationship, though not without

13144-473: The third best-selling comic in 1962 and 1965. The title featured the first appearance of the Silver Age Catwoman , after an absence from the comics for over a decade. While Lois is suspicious of Superman's secret identity as early as Superman #7 (1940), her suspicions grew during the early Silver Age, with many stories in her series focusing on her attempts to prove Superman and Clark Kent were one and

13268-417: The tradition of the earlier underground comics , while others, such as Star Reach , resembled the output of mainstream publishers in format and genre but were published by smaller artist-owned ventures or by a single artist. This so-called " small press " scene (a term derived from the limited quantity of comics printed in each press-run) continued to grow and diversify, with a number of small publishers in

13392-450: The various X-Men books led to storylines involving the genocide of superpowered "mutants" in allegorical stories about religious and ethnic persecution. In addition, published formats like the graphic novel and the related trade paperback enabled the comic book to gain some respectability as literature. As a result, these formats are now common in book retail and the collections of US public libraries . Joanne Siegel Siegel

13516-524: The work of nearly every living artist who had ever worked on Superman. The issue was published during the week of October 6, 1996, coinciding with an episode of the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman , which featured the wedding of the two characters. The Wedding Album itself spent part of its opening pages accommodating and reconciling the then-current comic storyline of Lois and Clark having broken off their engagement. Since their marriage, Clark and Lois continue to be one of

13640-470: The years, depending on the comic book writers handling of the character and American social attitudes toward women at the time. In most incarnations, she is shown to be an independent person who is smart, determined and strong-willed. Her physical appearance has varied over the years, depending either on contemporary fashion or media adaptations. In the 1990s, when the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman began airing Lois received

13764-536: Was Lois Lane. She was a great inspiration for me, though. She encouraged me, she was very enthusiastic about the strip; it meant a lot to me." Shuster said about Joanne Carter. Joanne Carter married co-creator Jerry Siegel in 1948. On working with Joe Shuster for Lois Lane, Carter said in the 1983 Nemo magazine interview: "Joe was redrawing the strip, and it was going to be more realistic, rather than cartoony. I used to model for him every Saturday until he had enough drawings. He made so many stock drawings that it got to

13888-408: Was a cloud with a silver lining, and proved the making of Marvel, allowing the company to concentrate its brightest and best talent on a small number of titles, at a time when its rivals were spreading their creative talents very thin across a huge number of monthly titles. The quality of Marvel's product soared in consequence, and sales soared with it. While the creators of comics were given credit in

14012-542: Was acknowledged to be the model for the "Superman" character from which the street name derives. Upon hearing this, Siegel commented in an interview with People , "Beauty is valueless if you're not sending a message. Being associated with such a role-model as Lois Lane is the greatest honor that could've been bestowed upon me." Siegel died on February 12, 2011, at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica. Following her death, Siegel's lawyer noted, "All her life she carried

14136-407: Was actress Glenda Farrell and her portrayal of the fictional reporter Torchy Blane in a series of Warner Bros. films. The Torchy Blane movies were popular second features during the later 1930s. On the conception of Lois Lane, Siegel stated in the 1988 Time magazine: My wife Joanne was Joe's original art model for Superman's girlfriend Lois Lane back in the 1930s. Our heroine was, of course,

14260-464: Was also a rise in conservative values with the election in 1952 of Dwight Eisenhower . The Comics Code Authority, a self-censoring body founded to curb the juvenile delinquency alleged to be due to the crime and horror comics, has often been targeted as the culprit, but sales had begun to drop the year before it was founded. The major publishers were not seriously harmed by the drop in sales, but smaller publishers were killed off: EC (the prime target of

14384-525: Was born in Cleveland, Ohio , in 1917, the daughter of Hungarian immigrants. In 1935, while still attending high school, she placed an advertisement in Cleveland's The Plain Dealer offering her services as a model. The ad stated: "Situation Wanted — Female ARTIST MODEL: No experience." Joe Shuster, who was working on a new comic character, Superman, responded to the ad. Prior to the modeling sessions, Shuster's co-creator, Jerry Siegel, had developed an idea for

14508-601: Was decidedly secondary. Lois initially resented the rookie Clark Kent getting the story on Superman as his first piece when she had spent ages trying to get an interview. This sometimes ill-tempered rivalry remained the case until The Adventures of Superman #460–463 and Action Comics #650. Following Clark's brief rampage under the influence of the Eradicator , Lois was hesitant to forgive Clark for "selling out" to Collin Thornton and running Newstime Magazine, but forgave him in

14632-437: Was depicted as strong, opinionated, yet sensitive. Lois' first real relationship in this version was with Jose Delgado , who she later discovered acted as a vigilante. José's legs are shattered in a battle with a Lexcorp cyborg /human hybrid gone amok. Delgado eventually recovered. He and Lois would have several on and off experiences together before the relationship completely disintegrated, due to Delgado accepting help from

14756-665: Was getting into trouble by telling exaggerated tall tales and fibs to adults. Susie's last appearance was in Superman #95 (February 1955). Subsequent comics presented Lois' only sibling, Lucy, as single and childless. When the reading audience of superhero comic books became predominately young boys in the mid to late 1950s, the focus of Superman stories shifted toward science fiction inspired plots involving extraterrestrials , fantasy creatures, and bizarre plots. Lois' main interests in various late 1950s and 1960s stories became vying with her rival Lana Lang for Superman's affections, attempting to prove Clark Kent and Superman were one and

14880-403: Was going to fly through the air, and he leaped off the couch to demonstrate." The New York Times wrote, "Ms. Siegel was the first in a long line of Lois Lanes, who have included Phyllis Coates , Noel Neill , Teri Hatcher , and Erica Durance on television, as well as Margot Kidder in the movies." Following her modeling work for Shuster, she worked as an artist's model, sometimes using

15004-635: Was later revealed she never really quit the Daily Planet . Lois learns her father's forces destroyed New Krypton . She is kidnapped by Lucy and taken to Sam's secret base. There, Lois argues with her father, countering his insistence on regarding the Kryptonians as "rabid dogs" by pointing out that they naturally regard him as a genocidal maniac after he destroyed their planet. In the war between New Krypton and Earth, Supergirl finds them and threatens to kill Sam. Lois stops her, saying her father will be judged for his war crimes. Refusing to go to trial, Sam takes

15128-547: Was rebooted with the New 52 . Lois now works for Morgan Edge heading up the media division of the Daily Planet . She views Clark as a friend and is unaware that he is Superman. Lois investigates the story of twenty people who developed metahuman powers after being kidnapped by Brainiac. Her search leads her to a U.S. senator, who revealed to be one of the Twenty. The senator dies, but not before transferring his powers to Lois, who falls into

15252-405: Was slightly amused when Clark informed her his powers had been depleted, and that he was her editor (due to Perry White 's cancer). Upon discovering Clark still had her wedding ring within a handkerchief, Lois warmly broke down, teasing Clark and finally agreeing to become his wife. Lois and Clark were finally married in the comic book Superman: The Wedding Album (December 1996), which featured

15376-416: Was the other winner of the contest. Lois found Clark dull and became more interested in asking him for information about Superboy after learning Clark came from Smallville. During the week in Metropolis, Lois made a bet with Clark to see who would get the most scoops , which turned out to be Lois, as Clark was forced to constantly go into action as Superboy. Lois met Superboy for the first time while uncovering

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