Comics

Superman Comics Index (from 1986)

Regular Titles

1988

Millennium crossovers

• Notable Issue: Millennium #1 (Jan)
  Steve Englehart, Joe Staton, Ian Gibson
  One of the Guardians of the Universe and his spouse return to Earth to announce that humanity is approaching its next step in evolution and that ten people will be evolved. However, the Manhunters will try to prevent this and have assembled numerous agents to accomplish this, including Lana Lang. Earth's heroes have been assembled to protect the ten chosen ones.

• Notable Issue: Millennium #2 (Jan)
  Steve Englehart, Joe Staton, Ian Gibson
  Clark is confronted by Lana, who threatens him to stay out of the war between the Guardians and the Manhunters. The Guardians visit the ten chosen seeking to have them join in building the future. Commissioner Gordon, another Manhunter, attacks Batman. Harbinger's historical account is revealed to be the source of the Manhunters' limitless knowledge.

• Superman #13 (Jan)
  John Byrne, John Byrne, Karl Kesel
  Millennium, week 2
  First Toyman; Dr. Kelley can't find anything wrong with Luthor's hand; English MI-7 tell Superman that Schott is in Metropolis wanting to kill Luthor, escaped capture by Global Guardian's Godiva; Superman attacked by toy figures, finds Toyman's hideout but he's disappeared; Toyman has been abducted by someone; Lana threatens Clark that the Manhunters will disclose his identity if he interferes between the Guardians and the Manhunters; Superman follows Lana to Smallville.

• Notable Issue: Millennium #3 (Jan)
  Steve Englehart, Joe Staton, Ian Gibson
  Two of the chosen are murdered, but the rest are escorted by the heroes to the Green Lantern Citadel in California. The Manhunters continue their plan to prevent the evolution of the chosen. Harbinger attacks the Manhunters cloaked world, but is captured and Tom Kalmaku has disappeared.

• Adventures of Superman #436 (Jan)
  John Byrne/Jerry Ordway, Jerry Ordway, John Beatty
  Millennium, week 3
  In Smallville Clark talks with Pete and Dr. Whitney, is stunned by Pete; Manhunter Whitney explains how Manhunters monitored Jor-El on Krypton, were prevented from capturing Kal-El's matrix by the Guardians, caused the unusual blizzard, replaced Dr. Whitney, children were made sleeper agents; Superman escapes and Whitney's android self-destructs.

• Notable Issue: Millennium #4 (Jan)
  Steve Englehart, Joe Staton, Ian Gibson
  The chosen begin their training at the Green Lanterns Citadel, but Floronic Man has contact with a Manhunter. Batman, Jim Corrigan, Spectre, Captain Atom and the Suicide Squad are closing in on the Manhunter headquarters. Harbinger is tormented by her captors, who let her escape and recapture her.

• Action Comics #596 (Jan)
  John Byrne, John Byrne, John Byrne/Keith Williams
  Millennium, week 4
  Spectre reflects on the Guardians creation of the Manhunters and the Green Lantern Corp, finds in Smallville that the children delivered by Whitney are apparently dead; Superman and Spectre enter a false spirit plane being used by the Whitney Manhunter and destroy it, freeing the souls of the Smallville people to return to life in their bodies; Spectre explains to Lana and the Kents about what happened.

• Notable Issue: Millennium #5 (Feb)
  Steve Englehart, Joe Staton, Ian Gibson
  The heroes have destroyed the Manhunter headquarters in the swamps of Louisiana and their activities in Smallville. Booster Gold remains on the side of the Manhunters, but Firestorm has come back. An alien Green Lantern helps Harbinger try to escape. The immortals begin their instruction of the chosen and Superman leads a group of heroes to attack the Manhunter's home world.

• Notable Issue: Millennium #6 (Feb)
  Steve Englehart, Joe Staton, Ian Gibson
  The heroes who've attacked the Manhunter home world have freed the Harbinger and pursue the Highmaster through space. A counter attack requires all the pursues to transfer their lives into Superman and Hal Jordan. One of the chosen seeks to leave and one has doubts. Beetle discovers a manhunter threat from within the Earth.

• Superman #14 (Feb)
  John Byrne, John Byrne, Karl Kesel
  Millennium, week 6
  Superman and Green Lantern (Hal Joran) are pursuing the Manhunter Highmaster between dimensions to where the Guardians and Zamorans plan to mate to create a new race of Guardians; Superman and Jordan destroy the Highmaster.

• Notable Issue: Millennium #7 (Feb)
  Steve Englehart, Joe Staton, Ian Gibson
  The heroes have defeated the Manhunters in space and under the Eath's surface. A Manhunter plot to destroy the Earth itself is prevented, when Booster Gold apparently changes sides again. The chosen are ready for the final step in the transformation process, but Booster takes one of them.

• Adventures of Superman #437 (Feb)
  John Byrne/Jerry Ordway, Jerry Ordway, John Beatty
  Millennium, week 7
  Lois has a date with Jose; Jose as Gangbuster stops Combattor (Henry Lawrence Chin) from kidnapping Lois, but suffers a spinal injury, while Chin is killed; Celia Windward, one of the Chosen, talks with Luthor about Combattor; Luthor decides to find out more about Gangbuster.

• Notable Issue: Millennium #8 (Feb)
  Steve Englehart, Joe Staton, Ian Gibson
  The chosen are advanced to their evolved form. Tom declines the opportunity, but is given the powers, if he should need them in the future without being transformed. Xiang becomes Gloss, Takeo becomes Ram, Gregorio becomes Extrano, Betty embodies the Earth, Celia becomes Jet and Floro remains the same. The Oans disappear.

• Action Comics #597 (Feb)
  John Byrne, John Byrne, Leonard Starr & Keith Williams
  Lois finally sees Smallville, after investigating what happened to Clark and Lana after Lana confronted Clark in the Planet, sees Manhunter ship, finds Superman with Lana; Lois asks Superman if he's Clark Kent; the Kents tell Lois that they raised Superman and Clark together; Lois leaves furious how Clark and Superman have used her; Lana tells Lois that Clark loves Lois; Lois and Superman visit Jose in hospital.

• Superman #15 (Mar)
  John Byrne, John Byrne, Karl Kesel
  Superman loses a flying thief; Maggie talks with Toby Raynes about her missing daughter; Maggie asks Jimmy staying with his Mom to summon Superman with his signal watch; Maggie tells Superman about her divorce in Star City, and her missing kid; Superman and Maggie track down Skyhook in St. Christopher's church, after a winged child is found; Superman saves Jamie, returns her to her Dad in Star City.

• Adventures of Superman #438 (Mar)
  John Byrne/Jerry Ordway, Jerry Ordway, John Beatty
  First Brainiac; Clark, Cat, Adam, and Jimmy visit a circus; Cat and Jimmy meet Milton Fine, 'The Amazing Brainiac' who says he has real powers and has detected the mind of Vril Dox from Colu; when Clark is nearby, Dox takes over Fine's body and attacks Superman and the circus; after Fine is defeated, Fine insists to Superman that Dox is real and will return.

  [Trade Paperback Collection: Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 7 reprints Superman #13-15, Action Comics #596-597 and Adventures of Superman #436-438]

• Action Comics #598 (Mar)
  Paul Kupperberg /John Byrne, John Byrne, Ty Templeton
  First Checkmate; Superman reflects on problems and his interest in Wonder Woman after seeing her again during the fight against the Manhunters; Clark sees Cat; while Superman and a Checkmate knight deal with the Fist of Allah who have seized the Weisinger carrier, a Checkmate knight rescues Lois who's been kidnapped by people kidnapping the Quraci ambassador; Checkmate has the ambassador killed.

• Superman #16 (Apr)
  John Byrne, John Byrne, Karl Kesel
  First Prankster, Supergirl (Matrix); Morgan continues to publicly complain about Superman; Oswald Loomis is causing hazardous pranks in Metropolis, kidnaps Lois to have her report that he's protesting Morgan Edge canceling his Uncle Oswald Show; Morgan talks with his benefactor from Apokolips; Loomis tells Lois that he hopes his attacks will change his outdated image and make him rich, tries to kill Morgan, surrenders quickly to Superman, later escapes; in Antarctica scientists find a buried female body dressed in a costume similar to Superman's; Jimmy talks with homeless Pete.

• Adventures of Superman #439 (Apr)
  John Byrne/Jerry Ordway, Jerry Ordway, John Beatty
  while visiting Jose in hospital, Henderson has Lois see a damaged robot Superman who insists he is the real Superman; Clark finds them after being told by Alice; the robot flies Clark and Lois to a base where they rescue Cat, Adam, and Jimmy being held by Col. John Morrison and his private army; later Superman explains the now destroyed robot was built by him as an experiment to help when Jimmy uses his signal watch and Superman is busy, and that he's decided he won't build any more since the robot failed.

• Action Comics #599 (Apr)
  John Byrne, Ross Andru, John Byrne/Keith Williams
  (Bonus: Joe Calchi, Britt Wisenbaker, James Scott)
  Metal Men find Dr. Tinker, who they had hired to repair Tin, working on a new robot using the remains of Tin; Luthor destroys the Metal men's bodies and admires Tinker's Kryptonoid Man that uses Tin's responsometer as modified by Luthor; Superman finds the Kryptonoid Man causes him only pain and manages to restore the Metal Men.
  Bonus story: Jimmy goes on vacation and investigates the Gallus cult.

• Superman #17 (May)
  John Byrne, John Byrne, John Byrne
  Perry has Clark talk with Sarah Olsen about Jimmy; Jimmy talks with Pete Shoemaker; Clark tries stopping the Silver Banshee, then tries by masquerading as Batman; Bevan McDougal tries stopping his sister, the Banshee (Siobhan McDougal) but she escapes; Superman meets Sarah Olsen; Alice tells Clark that Wonder Woman's publicity agent Myndi Mayer called.

• Adventures of Superman #440 (May)
  John Byrne/Jerry Ordway, Jerry Ordway, Dennis Janke
  Superman tests another Superman robot with Emil, thinks of his upcoming date; Jerry White visits Jose; doctor tells Jose he won't walk; in Gotham Batman hands Superman the Scrapbook and says he figured out he's Clark Kent but hasn't told Robin - Superman lets Batman know he knows Batman is Bruce Wayne; Luthor uncovers something to blackmail Maggie; Scientists are studying the Supergirl; Superman hands the scrapbook to Ma who confesses it's hers, finds Wonder Woman (Diana) for their first date.

• Notable Issue: Wonder Woman #16 (May)
  George Perez & Len Wein, George Perez, Bob Smith
  Wonder Woman battles the Silver Swan and decides to meet with Superman. Hermes is attacked on Mount Olympus and tries to summon Diana.

• Action Comics #600 (May)
  John Byrne/Roger Stern, John Byrne/Kurt Schaffenberger/Dick Giordano/Curt Swan/Mike Mignola, Mike Mignola/Murphy Anderson/John Beatty/Jerry Ordway/George Perez
  Superman's 50th Anniversary issue.
  Hermes summons Wonder Woman to Olympus where Darkseid and DeSaad have attacked, and Superman follows her; Darkseid reflects on his learning that Olympus was created from New Genesis, has Amazing Grace attack Superman, Kalibak attack Wonder Woman, then tricks Superman into fighting Wonder Woman; Superman and Wonder Woman decide to stay friends; Lois thinks about Superman being with Wonder Woman; Luthor tries blackmailing Maggie, learns his kryptonite ring has poisoned him and he'll probably lose his hand; Jimmy helps Superman when a wavefront of radiation from Krypton reaches Earth; while deluded because of the radiation, Superman fights Man-Bat (Kirk Langstrom); after recovering Superman has Man-Bat find Hawkman to help.

• Superman #18 (Jun)
  John Byrne, Mike Mignola, Karl Kesel
  Superman returns to Krypton with Hawkman (Katar Hol) and Hawkwoman (Shayera) and finds the planet in the process of forming a new planetoid caused by the pull of gravity; Superman uses a lead-lined spacesuit to fly above Krypton, and begins hallucinating what might've happened if Kryptonian fleets had come to Earth (similar to 1994's Superman: The Man of Steel Annual); back on Earth Superman fails to create a serum to make him immune to Kryponite.

• Adventures of Superman #441 (Jun)
  John Byrne/Jerry Ordway, Jerry Ordway, Dennis Janke
  Mr. Mxyzptlk causes trouble in Hollywood; Cat tells Adam that Jimmy is a cute kid; Lois talks with Ronnie Chin; Brainiac; Supergirl becomes conscious with amnesia; an Australian oil plant is sabotaged (by Metallo); near Jupiter a spaceship heads for Earth; first use of Big Belly burgers.

• Action Comics Weekly #601
  Faster than a Speeding Bullet! Superman Strip - Part 1.
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, John Beatty
  Clark Kent hears a cry for help and Superman responds in time to stop a man from being gunned down.

• Action Comics Weekly #602
  "They Can Run But They Can't Hide!" Superman Strip - Part 2.
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, John Beatty
  Superman saves a man threatened by a group of armed men in a railyard. Superman captures one of the thugs, but as the others flee one falls before an approching train.

• Superman #19 (July)
  John Byrne, John Byrne, John Beatty
  Supergirl decides to fly to Smallville; Superman checks a spaceship in the West River and briefly loses his powers; Lois says she's not interested in Clark; Clark meets Mrs. Olsen; Mrs. Olsen sees a photo with her missing husband, Jake; Luthor has lost his right hand; Superman manages to stop an escape attempt by Killgrave, but finds his powers being 'switched' off; Dreadnaught attacks saying Psi-Phon has transferred Superman's powers to him.

• Action Comics Weekly #603
  "More Powerful Than a Locomotive!" Superman Strip - Part 3.
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, John Beatty
  Superman saves the fallen killer from being killed by a train and takes off after the two remaining hitmen. When one tries to back out of the contract, the other kills him with a weapon that Superman is unable to identify.

• Adventures of Superman #442 (July)
  John Byrne/Jerry Ordway, Jerry Ordway, Andy Kubert
  Superman escapes for help from Emil as Clark; Lois helps Jose get back home; Aquaman, Elongated Man, Captain Marvel, and Martian Manhunter try stopping Dreadnaught; Supergirl reaches Smallville; Clark Kent stops Dreadnaught and Psi-Phon impressing Lois; Mrs. Olsen talks with Jimmy about his work.

• Action Comics Weekly #604
  "Final Escape?" Superman Strip - Part 4.
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, John Beatty
  Superman captures the fleeing killer, but the killer prefers death and uses a device that blows him up.

• Action Comics Weekly #605
  "After Math" Superman Strip - Part 5.
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, John Beatty
  A state police officer sees the explosion and discovers what happened from Superman. The man saved by Superman arrives on the scene and begins worshiping Superman as a religious figure.

• Notable Issue: The Doom Patrol #10 (July)
  Paul Kupperberg, Erik Larsen, Gary Martin
  Metallo attacks the Doom Patrol seeking specially designed parts from Robotman Cliff Steele. Superman hears the report of the battle, while visiting with Lana and files to the site to find the Doom Patrol defeated and Metallo and Cliff missing.

• Action Comics Weekly #606
  "The True Believer" Superman Strip - Part 6.
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, John Beatty
  Bob Galt, the man rescued by Superman expresses his belief that Superman is a god to be worshiped and describes how his life mirrors that of a deity.

• Superman #20 (Aug)
  John Byrne, John Byrne, Karl Kesel
  Part 2 of story with the Doom Patrol and Metallo; continued from Doom Patrol #10; Lana shows Supergirl to the Kents; someone is killing people with voodoo dolls; Perry asks Alice if she lives in the office; Superman, joined by the Doom Patrol, finds Robotman (Cliff Steele) fighting Metallo in Kansas City.

• Adventures of Superman #443 (Aug)
  Jerry Ordway, John Statema, Doug Hazlewood
  Jimmy and Clark are in the Middle East looking for journalist Henry Kanfeld; Clark learns Kanfeld is probably dead; Jimmy meets Tehra; Superman follows them into a dimension; Tehra tells Superman her people are exiled aliens who moved from Earth to an inter-dimension and now use dead human bodies to create hybrid matrixes; Tehra's brother Husque trapped in a void, uses Jimmy's mind to create a living robot which defeats the Exile's emperor who was using Kenfeld's body.

• Action Weekly #607
  "Familiar Face?"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, John Beatty

• Action Weekly #608
  "Questions and Mysteries"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, John Beatty

• Action Weekly #609
  "And There Will Be a Sign!"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, John Beatty

• Action Weekly #610
  "Show and Tell"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, John Beatty

The Supergirl Saga (3 parts)

• Superman #21 (Sept)
  John Byrne, John Byrne, John Beatty
  part 1 - Superman meets the Supergirl - who appears to be Lana - following him from Kansas City; when he suggests going to Metropolis, she thinks he's an imposter and attacks; Superman finds Lana and the Kents kidnapped at Lana's farm; Perry sends Jimmy and Lois to Ireland after the Silver Banshee; Superman shows Supergirl Metropolis and Luthor, figures she is from the alternate universe which had a Superboy mentioned by the Legion of Superheroes; Supergirl says the events involving Superman fighting Superboy happened 10 years ago, takes Superman to her universe and introduces her Lex Luthor.

• Adventures of Superman #444 (Sept)
  John Byrne/Jerry Ordway, Jerry Ordway, Dennis Janke
  part 2 - Superman reflects on what he knows about the Time Trapper who learning that the Legion of Superheroes was created by being inspired by a supposed Superboy in the past, took a moment in time of the universe and pruned the "pocket universe" so that only Krypton and Earth existed and shaped the timeline so that Krypton produced Superboy on the Earth, but no other superheroes; Pete Ross explains after Superboy disappeared into the 30th century, the Kents died, and Lana and Pete met Luthor, how Luthor found a time viewer in Superboy's hidden lab and was tricked by the Phantom Zone criminals (General Zod, Quex-ul, Zaora) into freeing them, how Luthor organized a resistance with Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan, Oliver Queen, how Luthor found the Superman who Pete had seen with Superboy, how the Phantom Zoners destroyed Earth's atmosphere killing almost everyone, how Luthor sent Supergirl to Superman's universe 200 years into the past in the Antarctic.

• Superman #22 (Oct)
  John Byrne, John Byrne, John Byrne
  John Byrne's last regular work on Superman
  part 3 - the Phantom Zoners kill everyone in Smallville Station except Luthor; Luthor has Superman use gold kryptonite on the Phantom Zoners to remove their powers and be captured; Luthor says Supergirl was built from protomatter after Lana was killed, then dies; Superman uses green kryptonite to execute the Phantom Zoners when they threaten to escape and destroy his Earth; Superman takes Supergirl to be cared for by the Kents and Lana.

• Adventures of Superman #445 (Oct)
  Jerry Ordway, Jerry Ordway, Dennis Janke
  Brainiac is killing people, including Pete Shoemaker, to find a cure to salvage Fine's body that is rejecting Brainiac; Cat is lectured by Perry about her drinking; Jose is contacted by Advanced Research Laboratories, unaware ARL is connected to Luthor; Jimmy learns from Maggie that Milton Fine was released from Bellevue hospital; Superman rescues Jimmy and Cat from Brainiac, who attacks Superman.

• Action Weekly #611
  "... Beyond Motal Men!"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, John Beatty

• Action Weekly #612
  "Where Lurks The Evil?"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, John Beatty

• Action Weekly #613
  "Wicked Business!"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson

• Action Weekly #614
  "Death Comes Calling..."
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson

• Superman #23 (Nov)
  Roger Stern, Mike Mignola, P. Craig Russell
  Roger Stern begins writing
  Batman shows Clark a stolen antique book which has pages describing the Silver Banshee's fights and adds new pages; Jimmy and Lois go to Castle Broen, ancestral home of the Clan McDougal, captured by Bevan and Seamus McDougal; Superman arrives with the clan's book and is attacked by the Silver Banshee until the Crone appears and destroys the castle and apparently with it kills the three McDougals.

• Action Weekly #615
  "Fatal Flaw?"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson

• Adventures of Superman #446 (Nov)
  Jerry Ordway, Jerry Ordway, Dennis Janke
  A new Gangbuster (Superman) returns; Max Carter escapes during a weapons heist at LexCorp; Morgan hires Cat; Dr. Happersen at ARL helps Jose walk.

• Action Weekly #616
  "Dead Men Tell No Tales"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson

• Action Weekly #617
  "Missing Person"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson

• Action Weekly #618
  "Out On The Town"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson

• Notable Issue: Secret Origins #32 (November)
  "All Together Now" - Origin of the Justice League.
  Keith Giffen, Peter David & Gardner Fox, Eric Shanower
  Seven aliens are sent to Earth to battle one another for their race's leadership. The Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Black Canary, Green Lantern and the Flash each defeat one of the aliens individually and work together to defeat the sixth. As they approach the location of the seventh, they arrive to see Superman disposing of the defeated alien and departing. The five heroes agree to form the Justice League and work together.

• Superman #24 (Dec)
  Roger Stern, Kerry Gammill, John Beatty
  Perry visits the ill Dr. Faulkner; campaigning for President, Sen. Herbert Forrest snatches a photo with Superman; Dr. Tom Moyers cures Faulkner but controls Rampage to sabotage Forrest's campaign by exposing Forrest's involvement with the C.I.A. and Qurac; Superman helps Faulkner capture Moyers; Faulkner makes a new regulator collar and is hired by S.T.A.R.

• Adventures of Superman #447 (Dec)
  Jerry Ordway, Jerry Ordway, Dennis Janke
  Superman finds Quraci mines in Metropolis' harbor; Gangbuster rifles the Quraci delegates' quarters; Luthor pays for surgery on Milton Fine's brain tumor; Clark saves Luthor and reporter Toby Raynes from assassin Max Carter; Gangbuster gets a tip from Bibbo and finds Carter who confesses working for Intergang; Luthor hires a hitman who kills Carter; Lois sees Jose can walk; Henderson asks Jose about Gangbuster who is suspected of killing Carter.

• Notable Issue: Swamp Thing #79 (Dec)
  Superman saves Lex Luthor from being attacked by the Swamp Thing.

• Action Weekly #619
  "Protective Shield?"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson

• Action Weekly #620
  "Too Late, The Hero?"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson

• Action Weekly #621
  "Let The Punishment Fit The Crime"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson

• Action Weekly #622
  "Seed Of Doubt"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson

• Action Weekly #623
  "Revelations"
  Roger Stern, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson

• Superman #25
  Roger Stern, Kerry Gammill, John Beatty
  Luthor demonstrates to Brainiac the effects of a bionic implant placed in his brain when the brain tumor was removed; Clark is tired and experiences nightmares caused by Brainiac; when Superman looks to check on Fine, Brainiac attacks again and makes Superman think he has committed suicide, but Brainiac instead goes to Luthor to show he's removed Luthor's controls and now wants to be 'partners'.

• Adventures of Superman #448
  Jerry Ordway, Jerry Ordway, Dennis Janke
  Willy Hargreaves, the hitman who killed Carter, and was injured by a rigged gun when doing so, feels suicidal, talks with Superman; Amanda McCoy talks with Matt Stockton; Jose visits Lois, who warns him that ARL is linked to Lexcorp; alien invaders approach Earth; Gangbuster taunts Hargreaves; Clark meets Jose, tells him he's working on an Intergang story; Matrix is with the Kents; Dubbilex detects Invasion.

Superman Comics Index (1986-2011)

Introduction

This listing is done in the order for when a comic book issue was published.

Note: Remember, the month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic was on sale.

The Writer, Penciller and Inker for each issue is listed under the Comic's Title and Date.

CONTENTS:

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