Superman Through the Ages! Forum

So far, we have a stub article for Black Lightning himself... but no article for Suicide Slum, or any of the poorer areas of Metropolis, except for Little Africa (http://superman.nu/wiki/index.php/Little_Africa).

Black Lightning appeared in one issue of DC Comics Presents and a run in World's Finest. But the bulk of his activities and origin were in his own series, which lasted for 12 issues (one unpublished until later.) The entire series took place in Metropolis, and while not all involved Superman, his adventures would help better define Metropolis itself.

I therefore nominate the "Black Lightning" series to be canonized in Supermanica. While I don't yet have the series, I'd be willing to get it and write the entries. Looking forward, along with the really weird Dahr-Nel saga, this will give us enough articles for Black History Month features.

Thoughts?

There was a little more on Black Lightning that I wanted to add, like his war against the new leader of The 100, etc.  Some conversation went in the direction that although they were Metropolis-based, and some involved Superman or Superman characters, it would open up a lot of grey areas.  I'm ambivalent either way, because it seems that if these stories get let in, then some others will have to be also.  I tried to at least sneak in references to Inspector Henderson, etc.  

There is something to be said of at least covering the canonical references before expanding them again, but I don't have a hard opinion.  A Suicide Slum entry would be cool, Jimmy Olsen references abound, and a mention could be made to Black Lightning there.

While a really big expansion (Justice League of America, for example) would be overwhelming, we're talking about 11 issues (possibly 12, depending on when the last one was finally published.) So far, we have endless references to other planets Superman has traveled to, other dimensional realms, etc...but this would help us get a better feel of Metropolis itself. These are also some of the earliest issues in which Inspector Henderson appeared in the comics.

(Coincidentally, did you know that Roberty Shayne, who played the Inspector on tv, was investigated during the Red Scare? George Reeves came to his defense...they could have both been commies! So saith Wikipedia...)

One other thing...I haven't experimented with Supermanica categories yet, other than making the Scientists category...but would it be possible in the entries category to create links that let you browse by letter? Because of everyone's hard work, and the growth of Supermanica this year, it's getting kind of hard to browse those entries...

If it's got Inspector Henderson, it's got my vote.

Perhaps we could only mention characters and their activites from this series if said characters appear in the Canonical Sources; but any characters that don't appear in any of the Canonical Sources wouldn't be mentioned.  Sort of a lesser grade status.

Any other thoughts?

:s:

Well, the Lightning series is '77, Henderson appears in a number of stories starting in '74...one thing I will ask, Black Lightning does have an entry, The 100 has an entry, Inspector Henderson has an entry, an entry for Suicide Slum would be good -- so why should all of Black Lightning adventures from the Black Lightning title be chronicled in detail as opposed to say Rose and the Thorn?

No, Superman appeared in many comics not included so why should Black Lighting be treated any different?

I say he shouldn't since those comics do not matter to the Superman mythos, and far less than the comics Superman himself were in.

She had practically all of her adventures in Lois Lane, a few with Superman in them...mostly against the 100...when I wrote her entry I tried to focus on who she was, what she battled, and list the Superman crossovers.  And Lois Lane is a canonical source.  I like Black Lightning and think he should be in the Supermanica, I even think some mentions should be made of his stories, spelling out the references in full.  I'm just not sure they should be canonical.  Actually, that seems sort of what Rao said. :) A good suicide slum entry should have Black Lightning in it as well, and there is a lot of Jimmy Olsen stuff to add to it as well.

It would just seem weird to me to have a detailed Black Lightning entry when he lasted about a year, and at the same time, other heroes are mostly limited to the canonical sources.

You must have edited your post, I swear you asked what comics Rose and the Thorn were in... 8)

Then I realized it was a stupid question :p

So I decided to stay on topic instead :)

It happens  :P

8)

Looking at the Metropolis entry, its all info pre-1970s...it would be good to have a paragraph or section talking about Little Africa and Suicide Slum.

Sure, that would be the perfect place for it.

I know very little about those two places, so someone else needs to go ahead and do them justice.

Gangbuster?

Two things have stopped me from adding those things...

1. The Suicide Slum thing is a little ambiguous as it was a Kirby creation for the original Newsboy Legion, and not really identified as a part of Metropolis until the revival in the Jimmy Olsen series of the 70s.

2.  I have tried to add Bronze Age info as much as possible and stay within canonical sources, but because the world of DC was becoming more interconnected by then, it gets beyond my expertise...because I really didn't LIKE the Bronze Age, and I actively avoided the comics, LOL...  8)

But we do need good Bronze Age info that follows the writing style of TGSB.

I'll put some limited info in, though.

It would really be cool if the 70s Jimmy Olsen stuff could be added, though, both to the Olsen entry and any new entries.

Supergirl's series, which was about the same size, is canonical. So I guess the final determination would be whether Black Lightning could be considered a "Superman family" title or not. For this standard, the first Supergirl series could be used: While it was the only Superman Family title to actually have a member of Superman's family in it, it was published in the 70s, ran for only 10 issues, and took place in a Metropolis suburb, with characters that do not appear in other canonical sources.

First, let's take a look at Black Lightning's chronology as a character.

He first appeared in Black Lightning #1.

Inspector Henderson appeared in issue #3, with Clark Kent interviewing him for WGBS.  Issue #4 is a Jimmy Olsen issue, where Olsen is treated as Black Lightning's equal. Officer Corrigan and Superman also appear in this issue.

Issue #5 is titled "Nobody Beats a Superman."  In this issue, Black Lightning justifies why he is needed in a city that already has Superman, after the two converse and then face off against the Cyclotronic Man.

In issue #7, there is a big new revelation about Inspector Henderson's son.  

(Issues #1-8 are generally considered one complete arc.)

Issue #11 was the last, and was written by Dennis O'Neil. O'Neil then continued the series in World's Finest #256-#261. During this time, Black Lightning also appeared with Superman in DC Comics Presents #16 and in two issues of Justice League for America, where he rejected League membership.

Supergirl #1-10 is considered canonical for SUPERMANica. Superman never appears in this book, (though Kandor shows up once,)  yet Superman and related characters appear throughout the Black Lightning series (nearly 50% more, in fact :) )

LINKAGE?

Last Son of Krypton is considered Canonical in Supermanica because two comics refer to the novel Miracle Monday, which then refers to it. The linkage of Black Lightning to the canonical sources is much more direct. O'Neil's Black Lightning stories in World's Finest (a canonical source even by TGSB standards) refer to the Black Lightning series, and continue directly from those issues.

Black Lightning's first 20 appearances in the comics are Superman-related: Black Lightning #1-11, World's Finest #256-259, DC Comics Presents #16, JLA #173-174, and World's Finest #260-261. He was thus, in the 1970s, a Superman character. After 1980 he became more closely associated with Batman, appearing in Detective Comics, joining the Outsiders, and coming back for two more issues of World's Finest...but then again, Batman is fairly welcome in Supermanica as well. 8)

That's all for now! Sources used in my research:

http://www.dcuguide.com/chronology.php?name=blacklightning2

http://www.dcuguide.com/chronology.php?name=supergirlprec

http://www.comictreadmill.com/CTMBlogarchives/2005/2005_Monthly/2005_03.php

And the poll is open (http://superman.nu/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2998).

:s:

An interesting fact from my weekend reading:

According to World's Finest 258 (I think), the secret headquarters of the 100 is located beneath the Metropolis Superman Museum!