THE RED KRYPTONITE TOUR (Part 8 - 1972 through 1999)

The last installment of this tour guided us through all the Red Kryptonite stories published in 1968 through 1971. Here's a link in case you missed it!

The Red Kryptonite Tour - Part 7 (1968 through 1971)

A quick reminder: in Superman #233 (January 1971). An experimental explosion conveniently transformed all kryptonite on Earth, including red kryptonite, into iron. The decision to take this too-convenient plot device away from writers was intentional as Superman's adventures transitioned into the Bronze Age. But let's be serious, it was inevitable that this glowing mineral would eventually return! Let's carry on!

THE ADVENTURE COMICS TOUR

Buckle up!  We're about to set off on a tour that will provide a front-row seat to some important DC history as we review Adventure Comics through the years. From its very beginning all the way into the modern era. This is the book that started life as a goofy humor anthology in 1935, then slowly morphed into one of the most important superhero titles DC ever published. Along the way you’ll discover how the series slowly found its title, how the explosive Silver Age era turned it into a "must-read" for many years, and revelations about format changes, cancellation, revivals, and creative risk.

Whether you’re a longtime fan or just curious, this tour shows how Adventure Comics was one of the books that helped build DC.

THE LOIS LANE AS COSTUMED HEROINE TOUR

She crash-landed into comics history in the exact same issue as Superman, Action Comics #1, 1938, and honestly, she’s been stealing the spotlight ever since. While the Man of Steel was busy bench-pressing cars and catching bullets, Lois was out there being a Pulitzer-chasing, mob-busting, danger-magnet reporter who refused to play damsel in distress.  She’s not just important; she’s essential. Without Lois, Superman is just a lonely alien in tights. With her? He’s got a heartbeat, a headache, and a reason to show up to work.

And yet, somehow, writers just couldn’t resist giving this ace reporter superpowers over and over again. Costume? Check. Superpowers? Frequently. Whether she’s donning a makeshift mask, borrowing Kryptonian abilities, or just weaponizing pure journalistic stubbornness, Lois Lane has been reinvented as a heroine more times than Superman and Batman have supposedly originally met!  Buckle up, because we’re about to celebrate every single time the Daily Planet’s star reporter has played costumed and/or powered heroine.  

THE LEGION OF SUBSTITUTE HEROES MEMBERSHIP TOUR

The Legion of Substitute Heroes (often called the "Subs") is a DC Comics team of 30th/31st-century super-powered teenagers rejected from the main Legion of Super-Heroes due to seemingly limited or impractical powers. They banded together to prove their worth as backup support.

The team has evolved through several iterations across numerous reboots with fluctuating rosters and tones, from earnest backup heroes to outright jokes, and then back toward more serious or reformed versions. 

On this tour, we will explore the team itself and look at all the heroes who have served as members. 

 

THE CAT GRANT LIVE-ACTION TOUR

Catherine Jane "Cat" Grant is a prominent supporting character in DC Comics, primarily associated with the Superman mythos. Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series, DC Comics built Superman from scratch, rendering him once again the sole survivor of Krypton.  Introduced in Adventures of Superman #424 (1987) by Marv Wolfman and Jerry Ordway, she was brought in as the new gossip columnist for the Daily Planet.

On this tour, we will look at the live-action portrayals she has had in film and on TV since her creation.

THE BATMAN ROOFTOP COVER HOMAGE TOUR

Back in 1966, right when Batman fever was exploding thanks to the TV show, DC put out a series of six promotional pin-ups. The rooftop shot of Batman and Robin, penciled by the legendary Carmine Infantino and inked by Murphy Anderson, is hands-down one of the most iconic images of the Dynamic Duo ever.

They featured the cool new chest emblem he’d just started wearing in the comics a couple of years earlier (the one created basically for trademark reasons), and they tilted the whole scene at that dynamic slanted angle that everybody fell in love with on the TV series. There they are, like the ultimate protectors of Gotham, ready to take on anything the night throws at them.

This image went everywhere.  It popped up on record covers, book covers, and yeah… even a 1973 puzzle-in-a-can that your Tour Director spent way too many childhood afternoons hunched over on the kitchen table trying to finish again and again!

And because it’s such a classic, comic artists have been paying homage to it on covers for decades. That’s exactly what we’re gonna geek out over on this tour... checking out all those awesome tribute covers and seeing how creators have riffed on this perfect Batman & Robin moment.

THE RED KRYPTONITE TOUR (Part 7 - 1968 through 1971)

The last installment of this tour guided us through all the red kryptonite stories published in 1966 and 1967.  Here's a link in case you missed it!

The Red Kryptonite Tour - Part 6 (1966 and 1967)

Now, we pick up with the next amazing array of Red K tales that were published in 1968 through 1971.  Comics were transitioning from the Silver Age to the Bronze Age, and the convenience and comedy of red kryptonite were slowly being phased out.