Back in 1992, the wildest thing happened in comics – Superman died. Yes, he had died before back in Superman Vol. 1 #149, but that was well before our time. Most of us didn’t know about it as we didn’t have the internet, and it was an imaginary story, so you didn’t have to worry. Superman Vol. 2 #75, however, was the real deal. Funnily enough, both happened in November, so I guess this isn’t a good month for Superman. Now creators from that era have returned to help reflect and reminisce, add more to the event, and celebrate one of the most significant events in comics.
What is fantastic about this comic is its hook – even if you weren’t there to experience the Death of Superman, you can relive it and learn about it just like Jon Kent does. After learning about it from school, he gets a first-hand account from his mom. This is the perfect framing sequence to allow us to revisit the event with stunning art from Dan Jurgens. He captures some of the most striking panels and recaptures the awe from them. Treat yourself and check out this interview with Dan Jurgens talking about going back.
It’s great to see Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding working together. After that opening story, we get a tale with Ma and Pa Kent by Jerry Ordway and Tom Grummett. That was such a beautiful piece, as I remember feeling so horrible for the Kents as they watched their son die on TV. Jerry and Tom captured some feelings in their pages and made me miss when Ma and Pa Kent had that look in the comics. I’m glad they’ve also made their way out of comic book limbo.
The following two stories are the best gems as they explore from two other characters’ points of view. The Guardian was one of my favorite low-key heroes of Metropolis, and I remember his part in the event. Roger Stern and Butch Guice crafted these pages perfectly as they could be inserted into the original event adding more drama, experience, and character, a return to that beloved version of the Guardian. The last piece was a much-needed addition to one of the best characters to come out of the Death event, Steel. This one by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove gives us the moments with John Henry Irons as he was dealing with all the chaos of Doomsday. I’m so glad this exists, as now we have a deeper connection with John’s origins.
I strongly recommend getting this issue as it is the perfect companion piece to the Death event. Now I don’t see it skyrocketing to the value of being able to send your kids to college as we thought back then, but I can see it being highly sought after and being a pain to get on the secondary market. Plus, it’ll pair perfectly with the new Death of Superman Deluxe Edition that will come out in December of this year. I’m sure this sounds like a sales pitch for DC Comics, but I recommend getting a copy of the Polybag Variant, a regular copy of this special. I don’t want you to wait 20 years like I did to open a black polybag version of Superman #75, so don’t miss out!
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