Superman by Byrne

Hi all! Dou you have a complete list of Superman by John Byrne? Thanks

2 Likes

Are you asking if DC Universe Infinite has all the Byrne issues or if us fans have a list of all the issues?

1 Like

Can try the Advanced Query at comics org which can search by issues, writer, etc.

1 Like

If somebody (us fans) has a curated reading order list

| superby1
October 17 |

  • | - |

Are you asking if DC Universe Infinite has all the Byrne issues or if us fans have a list of all the issues?

1 Like

Filter to DC

Ctrl+F: Superman, or pretty much all of it is all together at the top of the list, from 1986-1988.

3 Likes

John Byrne did Man of Steel #1-6, Superman (1987) #1-22, and Action Comics #584-600 and Annual #1.

…I wouldn’t recommend any of it, but there it is!

3 Likes

I forgot… He also did World of Krypton #1-4, World of Smallville #1-4, and World of Metropolis #1-4…

2 Likes

I love the Post-Crisis Superman era. It was my era from when I was a kid. They had limitations when it started (no Superboy, a limited amount of Kryponite, a revamp of the continuity) but it was how they worked within those limitations that made it special.

I’ve always loved the idea that Clark is the real person and Superman is the disguise. That carried over into Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which I loved because that’s my favorite version of Clark. And I love the supporting cast. They did interesting things with Jeb, Alice, Keith and even Perry’s son.

It wasn’t just Byrne, either. Jerry Ordway, Dan Jurgens, Tom Grummett Louise Simonson, Joe Kelly; so many writers and artists helped shape this era of Superman.

3 Likes

Thanks for the answers I think I will create a list from here

1 Like

Instead of all that, I’d probably recommend Whatever Happened to Man of Tomorrow, All-Star Superman, Action Comics (2011) #1-18 and 25-50, Superman (2011) #41-50, Superman: Birthright, Superman: Red Son, Batman/Superman (2019) #16-22, Superman and The Authority, and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest. You might have more fun…

2 Likes

Ive read all of that and it’s true it’s good! Thanks!

2 Likes

lol, good!

He also came back in the 2000s, but I don’t really recommend that run.

Really? I can’t remember those…

| SaintBrodie
October 17 |

  • | - |

He also came back in the 2000s, but I don’t really recommend that run.

John Byrne was the “art bot” for writer Gail Simone in that era.

1 Like

Why wouldn’t you recommend it? Just curious.

2 Likes

…and The Adventures of Superman #s 436-444.

If anyone wants to check out Byrne’s '05-'06 work on Action Comics, it runs #s 827-835. The most notable event in that short run is Livewire’s first in-continuity comic appearance, which occurs in #835.

4 Likes

Oh, right, he did fill-in for a little bit there…

Well, I don’t want to re-litigate too much as a lot of this has been well argued in the Superman Thread. I was also being a bit harsh when I said that. Not all of Byrne’s run was bad. However, a few things:

  1. Some have come out to say that they like how Byrne made Clark the “real” identity behind Superman. I hate this. It fundamentally changed who the character was. It, weirdly, made him less relatable to me as Superman went from being an outsider who had to find joy and fulfilment IN the things that made him different to someone who needed to constantly reassure everyone and himself that he was really just like everyone else DESPITE the things that made him different. It also took away from his mythic aura a bit. Again, I don’t want to reopen the old argument with this issue. This is just how I read it and it makes me like Byrne’s Superman much, much less.

  2. Spoilers ahead: There are some REALLY wonky and controversial storylines in Byrne’s run. The two I think of most in this regard are the story where Superman kills and the “dirty movie” storyline in Action Comics involving Big Barda. I don’t think Superman should have ever killed (even passively with Kryptonite), and the Big Barda story was just bizarre and cringe-worthy. There are a few good stories in his run, but… they weren’t all winners.

  1. It’s just kind of overrated in general. Man of Steel is given a lot of credit for modernizing Superman and grounding him a bit more. Still it has really over-the-top moments like Lucy Lane’s blindness being “cured” by Bizarro’s ashes. The majority of his run was just standard superhero material for the era. In my opinion, it’s not half as groundbreaking as it’s often hyped as being.

  2. You can see the roots of Zack Snyder’s take on Superman in Byrne’s work. Snyder took a lot of ideas from the Man of Steel comic and from World of Krypton when he made his movies. I know Snyder has his fans, so… some may like this. I didn’t enjoy Snyder’s take on the character and a big reason for that is I could see Byrne’s ideas behind it.

So, yeah… all in all I don’t think Byrne’s work on the character is quite what it’s been cracked up to be and I feel like there are much better Superman stories out there with better takes on the character.

3 Likes

@`TheCosmicMoth: I couldn’t disagree with you more in your assessment of John Byrne’s Superman run. I first encountered Superman in the comics of the mid-sixties and I think Byrne’s revamp was long overdue. Sales were continuously slipping due to poor writing and stagnation. Six kinds of Kryptonite, imaginary stories every other issue, millions of supermen and women in play at any time (The bottle city of Kandor had the population of New York City!). Superboy, Supergirl, Superdog, Super-Horse, Super Money, and Super Cat. Super Stupid!
Just too damn much “super”. Bryne’s take was a palette cleanser that returned the character to his special origin. Superman was once again unique in the world. And, yes, Clark is the real person. He’s the farm boy raised by two loving parents who gave him the gift of strong moral fiber, thus turning him into a good man. It’s the innate goodness and decency that makes him Superman, not his vast set of superpowers. Superman is the disguise. He’s basically a fireman. Clark is a professional, a loving son, and a soul mate to Lois. Without these connections “earth’s greatest protector” would be the planet’s worst nightmare.
I firmly believe the ten-year run (basically the “triangle era”) is the best run on the character since his inception in 1938.
And, yes, this amazing run was more than just John Byrne. So many other great creators were involved in this definitive run. Just take a look at @superby1’s post up top to see the amazing list of talent that made this era such an incredible and enjoyable run.
If I may quote a popular TV series of the mid-nineties: “Superman is what I can do. Clark is who I am”.
I only hope there is a forthcoming era Of Superman that returns to this iteration.

3 Likes

You were lucky. The 60’s were when Superman’s books were the most popular books in superhero comics. Most of the other comics at the time changed how they did things do be more like Superman in the Silver Age. All the Kryptonites and the super pets were a big part of that.

Did something need to change by the 80’s? Sure, it can’t be the 60’s forever. But it didn’t need to be how Byrne did it. Alan Moore described it as “throwing the baby out with the bath water.” I tend to agree.

You mean outside of Captain Marvel and Captain Atom who were also basically supermen…? Kal was the only Kryptonian in this era, but he wasn’t exactly unique in the DCU.

Yeah. I’ve heard all this before. These are all really nice sentiments. However, that’s all they are. In over ten years debating this issue, I just hear these sentiments but nothing that convinces me that you HAVE to characterize Kal this way or it’ll ruin the character. It’s just not true. Superman survived 50 years of not being characterized this way and modern stories that haven’t characterized him this way have been great. It really doesn’t need to be Clark as the main identity.

Honestly, I shouldn’t debate this issue much anymore because it tends to get me in trouble. However, let me throw this out there for all you “Triangle Era” fans, please name 5 stories in that time span (1986-1999) outside of Man of Steel, The Death of Superman, and the Reign of the Supermen that you actually think are great and explain how they actually make this the best era of the character. Because, outside those three stories I mentioned, that era is pretty thin to me considering it lasted over a decade.