Superman Through the Ages! Forum

Ok, so every now and again in my research I find a series of strips that make me burst out laughing in the library (and cause me to get a stern glare from the librarian...)

This is from Episode 68 "Koffee with the Kents" from the 1951 daily strip.
The gist of it is, during the episode, Superman is booked on Lois and Clark's morning radio show (go with me...they are married, and have a radio show).  So in he comes, and sits down next to Clark Kent.

Cut to the outside world, and a newspaper strip reader is confused as to how Superman is shown in the same panel as Clark Kent.  So naturally he heads over to Wayne Boring's studio to have him explain it.
(http://www.thespeedingbullet.com/downloads/boring1.jpg)
(http://www.thespeedingbullet.com/downloads/boring2.jpg)

So Boring decides it'd be simpler for Superman to explain it to him, and he calls him in (evidently he's been using him as a model to make his drawings more accurate....seriously...it says that).  In order to convince the man that he is real, Superman proceeds to trash Wayne Boring's studio.
(http://www.thespeedingbullet.com/downloads/boring3.jpg)
(http://www.thespeedingbullet.com/downloads/boring4.jpg)


Anyhow, these are just a few strips from this storyline, but I bet it was as fun to create as it was to read :)

I think that is awesome.

I wonder if that is the only time Boring drew himself into the strip or comics...

I'm sure it wouldn't have happened in the comics.

Having read many hundreds of Superman, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Supergirl, and Legion of Super-Hero stories edited by Mort Weisinger, I can tell you that not one of them features an appearance by a member of the creative team, whether it be writer or artist.

Of course, it was different in the Schwartz-edited comics where the writers and/or artists made an occasional appearance.

It's true that Mort didn't like to pull back the curtain and remind the young readers that someone was actually writing and drawing these stories the way that Julius Schwartz (or Stan Lee) often did.

The only real exception I can think of is "The Night of March 31st!" from SUPERMAN # 145 (and reprinted in the recent SHOWCASE PRESENTS SUPERMAN VOL. 2)... the story where weird and inexplicable things keep happening as an April Fools joke. There is one panel where Clark is changing to Superman in the Daily Planet storeroom as usual, but two guys who appear to be Curt Swan and Morty are standing right there watching him, unnoticed. Of course, that story is obviously a special case.

Kurt Schaffenberger liked to draw "cameo appearances" of a guy who looked like him in the background of many of his stories (maybe inspired by Alfred Hitchcock making cameo appearances in his films?).

I've read that story a few times, Continental, but I failed to recognize them in previous readings. I must dig up that comic and have another look.

That case was obviously an "in-joke" (especially considering the comedic nature of the story), rather than a public acknowledgment of the writer or artists involved.

Aren't there Superman stories (I know there is a green arrow story) involving cartoonists/comics strips?

Man, how I loved Wayne Boring's style! He is almost unknown here, but some reprint gave me the chance to see some of his works. Wonderful. The first Superman/Batman team up is one of my favorite stories from the pre-Crisis era and, for me, his best work.

some websites:

http://www.wayneboring.com/

http://www.pigdogproductions.com/wayne%20boring.html

http://www.supermanartists.comics.org/superart/wayneboring.htm

IIRC there's one from the Golden Age that involves a newspaper comics page...

There's also one from the Silver Age (reprinted in "Showcase Presents Superman" volume 2) where Lois becomes a comic strip cartoonist and creates her own superhero, which mysteriously comes to life...

Y'know what's REALLY funny about this?

Wellll...

It's not Wayne Boring.

I know it SAYS Mr. Boring, but that's Win Mortimer drawing, which makes it all the funnier. I only had to LOOK at it once to realize it was Win Mortimer. Both Boring and Mortimer have their own style, and they are very distinct, at least to me.  

Besides, and quoting from www.wayneboring.com, "Wayne left the daily comic strip in 1948 and returned to drawing comic book stories, most of which were inked by Stan Kaye.  (The comic strip was taken over by Win Mortimer.)"

And this is a 1951 strip, right?

I don't know if Boring was a bigger "name" then and they continued to credit him even with Mortimer ghosting, but there is no doubt about it---that's Mortimer drawing it.

---Al

Well that's interesting...its certainly the case that previous artists/writers or originators of strips sometimes keep the credit line after they've moved on, do less of the work, or die, I'm still interested in how much is up in the air about these newspaper strips...is it possible that Boring was doing the writing and left story lines after he moved on from the strips and got continued billing?

As far as I know, that sort of thing happens quite a lot, or at least it used to - I seem to remember that something like it happened on the Kurtzman/Elder Flash Gordon strips, amongst others. It's still sort of weird that Win Mortimer would illustrate this, a bit sick actually. Could it have been a result of some sort of editorial policy or something? Did DC want to identify Boring as the only guy who drew Superman, maybe?

Actually, that quote is from www.supermanartists.comics.org (wayne boring's site masks the link addresses...it's an external link).

From what I've found though, I have Boring leaving in mid 1949.

However, I will admit that I didn't make the connection, and indeed it is more funny thinking it is Win having Superman trash Wayne Boring's studio.  As to why it was Boring? Well, his name was still on the strip, either because it was more recognizable (having drawn the daily for so many years), or to simplify things (as he was still doing the Sundays)....

I don't know what either Boring or Mortimer looked like then, so which one was being DRAWN?

Boring never did any writing on the Superman strip, which was mainly in the hands of Alvin Schwartz, and (apparently) Jack Schiff and Bill Finger.

Thanks of the info, there. 8)