Superman's Girlfriend LOIS LANE #35 - Scheming Up and Teaming Up!
Man, it’s amazing to me what comics I can find, beat up, in $1 bins! Another classic Superman/DC artist that I prefer to Curt Swan, the oft-forgotten Kurt Schaffenberger, here with an early 60’s ‘modern-ish’ theme. I really like the way he uses shadows and shading to show depth and perception.
(Superman's Girl-Friend LOIS LANE #35 - Cover Dated August 1962 - on Newsstands June 26th, 1962 - cover art by Kurt Schaffenberger)
Schaffenberger doesn’t get the recognition of a Curt Swan, but just looking at an opening splash page like this and you can see he had a clear vision and a sure line. You can tell what's going on just by their body language. THIS is how you convey information through art!
(Superman's Girl-Friend LOIS LANE #35 - Cover Dated August 1962 - on Newsstands June 26th, 1962 - art by Kurt Schaffenberger)
Women in Romance Comics (and let us make no mistake, Lois Lane was a Romance Comic first and foremost) are always scheming and competing. Lois doesn’t realize it, but that behavior to get ahead with a story is going to follow into her love life as well!
(Superman's Girl-Friend LOIS LANE #35 - Cover Dated August 1962 - on Newsstands June 26th, 1962 - art by Kurt Schaffenberger)
Scheming, competing and sometimes outright nuts! Lois will destroy the computer of the future (someone else’s property) to keep her rival from winning Superman!
Aw, that’s sweet! Psychotic, but sweet!
I love this very simple and yet informative panel. Even with minimal space, he gives the characters body language and facial expressions that are telling.
(Superman's Girl-Friend LOIS LANE #35 - Cover Dated August 1962 - on Newsstands June 26th, 1962 - art by Kurt Schaffenberger)
I want both of these! Remember a time when it didn’t seem like a rip off that they were putting out an EXTRA comic for your favorite title, called an Annual?
(Superman's Girl-Friend LOIS LANE #35 - Cover Dated August 1962 - on Newsstands June 26th, 1962 - art by Kurt Schaffenberger, various on the Batman Annual)
I can’t help but make these comparisons right here in the same comic - Swan’s work looks very bland to me compared to Schaffenberger. Both these characters appear stiff and unemotional as they look at a photo of Superman saving Lois.
Leo Dorfman's story (previous) with Schaffenberger is fun, even if Lois goes a little goofy with jealous and over competitiveness. It's difficult to balance that in DC's line of books - keep it light - with a bit of 'oh no, what will happen next' - without drifting too far either way - serious drama or absurd kiddie stories.
(Superman's Girl-Friend LOIS LANE #35 - Cover Dated August 1962 - on Newsstands June 26th, 1962 - art by Curt Swan)
Jerry Siegel’s story here is a bit hokey - Lois loses her memory, Superman reveals his secret identity to eventually shock her out of it, but she conveniently forgets. Maybe I'm being a bit hard on it, but with Swan's bland art, it just doesn't entertain me the way the previous story did.
And below: Superman as a player... even this humorous exchange is rendered rather blandly.
(Superman's Girl-Friend LOIS LANE #35 - Cover Dated August 1962 - on Newsstands June 26th, 1962 - art by Curt Swan)
The final story we get Dorfman and Schaffenberger back for a Lois Lane story featuring Supergirl. I'm all about that! Schaffenberger's inks are even more to my liking in this story, as he seems to have gotten a brush he wants to work with!
His layouts tell the story, as Supergirl remains rigid to show her strength here (an unmovable object) while action happens all around her. She gets her civilian clothes shot off, so it's a good thing she remembered to wear her costume!
(Superman's Girl-Friend LOIS LANE #35 - Cover Dated August 1962 - on Newsstands June 26th, 1962 - art by Kurt Schaffenberger)
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