Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen

Cover of Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #1. Art by Curt Swan and Stan Kaye.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
Schedule Bimonthly and later Monthly
Format Ongoing while in publication
Genre
    Publication date Sept-Oct 1954 - March 1974
    Number of issues 163
    Main character(s) Jimmy Olsen
    Creative team
    Writer(s)
    Penciller(s)
    Inker(s)
    Collected editions
    Jimmy Olsen: Adventures by Jack Kirby, Volume 1 ISBN 1-56389-984-1
    Jimmy Olsen: Adventures by Jack Kirby, Volume 2 ISBN 1401202594
    The Amazing Transformation of Jimmy Olsen ISBN 1401213693
    Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus, Vol. 1 ISBN 1401213448

    Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from September–October 1954 until March 1974, spanning a total of 163 issues.[1] Featuring the adventures of Superman supporting character Jimmy Olsen, it contains stories often of humorous nature.

    Publication history

    The 1952 television series Adventures of Superman co-starred actor Jack Larson, who appeared regularly as Jimmy Olsen. Largely because of the popularity of Larson and his portrayal of the character, National Comics Publications (DC Comics) decided to create a regular title featuring Jimmy as the leading character.[2] Curt Swan was the main artist on the series for its first decade.[3]

    Many of the issues include Jimmy undergoing a transformation of some form.[4] Some of these include:

    Lucy Lane was introduced in issue #36 (April 1959)[29] and became an on-again, off-again romantic interest of Jimmy Olsen. In issue #57, he marries Supergirl (Kara Zor-El/Linda Lee Danvers) after she loses both her powers and memories of being Supergirl, only for her to recover her powers and memories after their marriage; once she lets him know that she is Supergirl, he is perfectly happy with it.[30][31] She was also the anonymous "Miss X" whom Jimmy kissed in issue #44 to break the spell that turned him into a werewolf.

    When Jack Kirby began working at DC in 1970, he insisted on this title since it was the lowest selling in the publishing line and without assigned talent at the time so he wouldn't cost someone their job.[32][33] During his run, Kirby introduced many memorable characters, notably the Fourth World's New Gods, Darkseid, Project Cadmus and Transilvane.[34] He also reintroduced the Newsboy Legion and the Guardian. The faces of the Superman and Jimmy Olsen figures drawn by Kirby were redrawn by Al Plastino or Murphy Anderson.[35] Comedian Don Rickles guest starred in a two-part story by Kirby in issues #139 and #141.[36][37][38] Kirby left the series with issue #148 (April 1972).

    Lucy Lane was believed to have died in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #120 (March 1972)[39] but was later revived in a story in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #160 (October 1973).[40] Nick Cardy was the cover artist for Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen for issues #154-163.[41]

    In 1958, a second title was introduced, Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane, which revolves around another supporting character in a similar fashion. Both titles ended in 1974 by merging into The Superman Family. The new series would continue the numbering from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen.[42]

    A Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen Special one-shot was published in December 2008, following on from the "Atlas" storyline, and leading into Superman: New Krypton.

    Proposed TV series

    In 1959, the producers of the action/adventure series Adventures of Superman were hit by a snag as to how revive the now-canceled series after series star George Reeves had died that summer from a gunshot wound. Jack Larson, who played Jimmy in the series, was approached with the idea of continuing the franchise as a spin-off for two new seasons of 26 episodes each to begin airing in 1960. Titled Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, it would focus on a more serious angle of Olsen's rising career as a reporter and journalist with Larson reprising his role. In place of Reeves, stock footage of Superman flying and a look-alike stunt double to play the Man of Steel. Disgusted at the thought of the producers trying to cash in and make money over the death of Reeves, Larson rejected the proposal, and the project went unmade.[43]

    Collected editions

    See also

    References

    1. ↑ Irvine, Alex; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1950s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Jimmy Olsen got his own adventures in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #1. A comic remarkable for its inventiveness and longevity, it ran for 163 issues.
    2. ↑ Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman (2006)
    3. ↑ Daniels, Les (1995). "The Superman Family Strength in Numbers". DC Comics : Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes. Bulfinch Press. p. 118. ISBN 0821220764. Jimmy Olsen got its start in September–October 1954 at the height of Superman's television run, and the art job was assigned to Curt Swan. For Swan, his ten-year stint on Jimmy Olsen was 'like being introduced to the Superman Family'.
    4. ↑ Markstein, Don (2008). "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014.
    5. ↑ Binder, Otto (w), Swan, Curt (p), Burnley, Ray (i). "Jimmy Olsen, Speed Demon" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 15 (September 1956)
    6. ↑ Binder, Otto (w), Swan, Curt (p), Burnley, Ray (i). "The Radioactive Boy" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 17 (December 1956)
    7. ↑ Binder, Otto (w), Swan, Curt (p), Burnley, Ray (i). "The Super-Brain of Jimmy Olsen" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 22 (August 1957)
    8. ↑ Binder, Otto (w), Swan, Curt (p), Burnley, Ray (i). "Jimmy Olsen, the Bearded Boy" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 23 (September 1957)
    9. ↑ Binder, Otto (w), Swan, Curt (p), Burnley, Ray (i). "The Gorilla Reporter" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 24 (October–November 1957)
    10. ↑ Binder, Otto (w), Swan, Curt (p), Burnley, Ray (i). "The E-L-A-S-T-I-C Lad" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 31 (September 1958)
    11. ↑ Siegel, Jerry (w), Swan, Curt (p), Klein, George (i). "The World of Doomed Olsens!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 72 (October 1963)
    12. ↑ Schwartz, Alvin (w), Swan, Curt (p), Burnley, Ray (i). "The Jimmy Olsen from Jupiter" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 32 (October 1958)
    13. ↑ Binder, Otto (w), Swan, Curt (p), Burnley, Ray (i). "The Human Flame-Thrower!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 33 (December 1958)
    14. ↑ Bernstein, Robert (w), Swan, Curt (p), Forte, John (i). "The Human Octopus!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 41 (December 1959)
    15. ↑ Bernstein, Robert (w), Swan, Curt (p), Giunta, John (i). "Jimmy the Genie!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 42 (January 1960)
    16. ↑ Binder, Otto (w), Swan, Curt (p), Kaye, Stan (i). "The Wolf-Man of Metropolis!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 44 (April 1960)
    17. ↑ Bernstein, Robert (w), Swan, Curt (p), Kaye, Stan (i). "Miss Jimmy Olsen!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 44 (April 1960)
    18. ↑ Dorfman, Leo (w), Swan, Curt (p), Klein, George (i). "Leslie Lowe, Girl Reporter!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 67 (March 1963)
    19. ↑ Binder, Otto (w), Papp, George (p), Papp, George (i). "Jimmy Olsen's Female Fan!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 84 (April 1965)
    20. ↑ Dorfman, Leo (w), Schaffenberger, Kurt (p), Schaffenberger, Kurt (i). "The Day They Unmasked Mr. Action" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 159 (August 1973)
    21. ↑ Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #44 (April 1960); Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #67 (March 1963); Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #84 (April 1965); and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #159 (Aug. 1973) at the Grand Comics Database
    22. ↑ Cronin, Brian (January 25, 2013). "The Feminine Side of Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on November 23, 2013.
    23. ↑ Swan, Curt (p)Forte, John (i)"The Fat Boy of Metropolis!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 49 (December 1960)
    24. ↑ Siegel, Jerry (w), Swan, Curt (p), Forte, John (i). "The Giant Turtle Man" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 53 (June 1961)
    25. ↑ Siegel, Jerry (w), Swan, Curt (p), Klein, George (i). "The Human Porcupine" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 65 (December 1962)
    26. ↑ Siegel, Jerry (w), Forte, John (p), Klein, George (i). "Jimmy Olsen, the Bizarro Boy!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 80 (October 1964)
    27. ↑ Binder, Otto (w), Costanza, Pete (p), Costanza, Pete (i). "Hippie Olsen's Hate-In!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 118 (March 1969)
    28. ↑ Dorfman, Leo (w), Schaffenberger, Kurt (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "Olsen the Red, Last of the Vikings" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 154 (November 1972)
    29. ↑ Binder, Otto (w), Swan, Curt (p), Giunta, John (i). "Lois Lane's Sister!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 36 (April 1959)
    30. ↑ Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #57 (October 1961) at the Grand Comics Database
    31. ↑ Siegel, Jerry (w), Swan, Curt (p), Klein, George (i). "Jimmy Olsen Marries Supergirl!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 57 (October 1961)
    32. ↑ Evanier, Mark (2007). "Afterword". Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Volume 1. DC Comics. ISBN 978-1401213442.
    33. ↑ McAvennie, Michael "1970s" in Dolan, p. 141: "Since no ongoing creative team had been slated to Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen, "King of Comics" Jack Kirby made the title his DC launch point, and the writer/artist's indelible energy and ideas permeated every panel and word balloon of the comic."
    34. ↑ Levitz, Paul (2010). "The Bronze Age 1970-1984". 75 Years of DC Comics The Art of Modern Mythmaking. Taschen America. p. 447. ISBN 9783836519816. Kirby began introducing new elements to the DC Universe, building toward the introduction of a trio of new titles based on a complex mythology he called the Fourth World.
    35. ↑ Evanier, Mark (August 22, 2003). "Jack Kirby's Superman". News From ME. Archived from the original on April 22, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012. Plastino drew new Superman figures and Olsen heads in roughly the same poses and positions, and these were pasted into the artwork.
    36. ↑ McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 146: "In one of Jack Kirby's strangest tales, Jimmy Olsen met real-world funnyman Don Rickles' costumed likeness, 'Goody' Rickles."
    37. ↑ Kirby, Jack (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "The Guardian Fights Again!!!" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 139 (July 1971)
    38. ↑ Kirby, Jack (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "Will The Real Don Rickles Panic?!?" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 141 (September 1971)
    39. ↑ Bates, Cary; Vartanoff, Irene (w), Roth, Werner (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "Who Killed Lucy Lane?" Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane 120 (March 1972)
    40. ↑ Dorfman, Leo (w), Schaffenberger, Kurt (p), Schaffenberger, Kurt (i). "The Shadow from the Grave" Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 160 (October 1973)
    41. ↑ Coates, John (1999). "Art Index". The Art of Nick Cardy. Coates Publishing. p. 163. ISBN 1-887591-22-2.
    42. ↑ McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 159 "DC's 100-page Super Spectaculars were proving popular, so DC said goodbye to Supergirl, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane, and housed the characters together in Superman Family. Continuing the numbering from where Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen ended, the series featured classic reprints with new tales in the lead spot."
    43. ↑ Mangels, Andy (April 1993). "Superman: The Man of Screen". Wizard Superman Tribute Edition (1): 45. A Jimmy Olsen show was talked about, with footage mixed in from the previous Superman shows, but Jack Larson refused to even consider the project, calling it a 'sick case of necrophilia.'

    External links

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