USENET Fandom - Fan reaction to John Byrne taking over Superman in the mid-80s: Byrne vs Bates and all about Power Girl

Before we had the World Wide Web, we had UseNet. Developed in 1980, UseNet allowed a collection of computer users to interconnect via dial-up modems and post messages onto newsgroups (which resemble BBSes). Anywhere and anytime comic fans are able to congregate, you know they will be exchanging opinions and ideas about comic books - particularly DC comic books. In today's segment, Chris Sheehan examines what online comic fans were saying about Crisis on Infinite Earths. Please note: usernames have been removed for privacy reasons.
 

Over the past several entries, we looked at SM’s discussion piece wherein he opines on the no-longer-rumor of John Byrne coming in to revitalize the Man of Steel for the complex 1980’s DC Comics fan. Today we will finish up looking at the conversation his post encouraged.

On October 10, 1985 prolific netterhack JM addresses our previous piece’s Negative-Nellie TM’s concerns when he posts:

JM brings up some good points. It’s odd hearing an observation of Byrne’s "nostalgia dredging" even some thirty odd years ago. That is one of the more common contemporary Byrne complaints, so finding that it was also a fan-concern in the mid-1980s is quite eye-opening. I echoed this same complaint during John Byrne’s unfortunate 2004 Doom Patrol revival, which saw the team returned to a more back-to-basics approach, which frustratingly attempted to cancel out all that came before it.

It appears JM is cautiously optimistic about Byrne’s impending arrival, comparing it to what writer Cary Bates has brought to the table over the past several years. From my time digging through the usenets and any historical accounts available, I've concluded that folks were kind of burnt out on the kind of pre-Crisis stories Mr. Bates was serving up. He was responsible for the overlong Trial of the Flash epic, which perhaps invited the sort of fan-malaise his name brought with it. Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Mr. Bates would take on the revitalized Captain Atom in a wonderful series.

The final response to SM’s initial missive comes to us from JG, who on October 24, 1985 had this to say about Power Girl:

Well, here’s a good one. I suppose we can look at this a couple of different ways.

First, let’s play it straight. JG’s opening line is oddly prescient, as it points out the post-Crisis Power Girl thinks she’s from Krypton. Initially during this era Power Girl did believe herself to be a relation to the Man of Steel. In the hotly discussed Secret Origins v2 #11 (1987), she finds herself onboard her symbio-ship... which appeared to have actually weathered the Crisis. She is an amnesiac with only the dimmest of memories of being raised on a sort of alien landscape. When she gives her ship the command to "find family", it zeroes in on Superman. It is, of course revealed that she is in actuality a descendant of the Lord of Atlantis himself, Arion, who had manipulated the situation to make Kara believe she was of Kryptonian heritage.

The Power Girl/Arion connection

Now with that out of the way, let’s take this on with the snark in which I feel it was intended. Ol’ JG is clearly having a bit of fun here referencing the whole nebulous Phoenix-Jean Grey dynamic over in Marvel’s X-Men.

Following Jean Grey’s apparent transformation into the Phoenix in Jamaica Bay, and later "darkening" and death, the X-Men were left without one of their founding members. When Marvel sought to expand the X-Men comics line with titles such as New Mutants and X-Factor, editorial had the idea to have the "original five" mighty mutants reassemble… the only problem was, Jean was dead. It was a hotly controversial and publicized death to boot, so it would certainly be a challenge to undo.

In issue #286 of Fantastic Four (1986), written by "You Know Who" (John Byrne wrote this, but left his name off perhaps to illustrate his disagreement with the proceedings), Jean Grey was found by the Fantastic Four and the Avengers alive and kicking in a Cocoon at the bottom of Jamaica Bay. As it would turn out the Phoenix Force and Jean Grey were two distinct beings rather than one in the same... this would assuage Jean of any of the guilt for the atrocities committed by the Phoenix entity, rendering her completely innocent and thereby "useable" once more. Well played there, JG... your snarky remark made me bust out some of my Marvel knowledge.

Jean Grey cocoon

That wraps up our coverage on SM’s John Byrne/The Man of Steel related entry (a subject that we will be sure to revisit). Next time we will be checking out the reaction to the arrival of another outsider to an established character, when we sit in for Alan Moore’s Anatomy Lesson from Swamp Thing #21. As I mentioned in our last several pieces... I know some corners of the interwebs have amazingly knowledgeable and passionate Superman fans, so if you have any additions or corrections, please feel free to contact me in care of this website. Thank you for reading.

-Chris

Can't wait for the next installment in this series of articles? For more of Chris Sheehan, check out his highly recommended Chris is on Infinite Earths blog.

USENET fandom - more on Byrne's Superman revamp

Before we had the World Wide Web, we had UseNet. Developed in 1980, UseNet allowed a collection of computer users to interconnect via dial-up modems and post messages onto newsgroups (which resemble BBSes). Anywhere and anytime comic fans are able to congregate, you know they will be exchanging opinions and ideas about comic books - particularly DC comic books. In today's segment, Chris Sheehan examines what online comic fans were saying about Crisis on Infinite Earths. Please note: usernames have been removed for privacy reasons.

Over the past couple of entries, we dove in on SM’s discussion piece wherein he opines on the no-longer-rumor of John Byrne coming in to revitalize the Man of Steel for the complex 1980’s DC Comics fan. Today we will check in with some of the conversation his post encouraged.

On October 18, 1985, just three days after the initial post, one CF replied with:

As we discussed in the last entry, CF would not have to wait all that long to once more experience stories about the Phantom Zone and... "Supergirl". During the three-part Supergirl Saga starting in Superman v2 #21 (September, 1988), Byrne would sorta-kinda reintroduce both concepts. He would sadly have to wait quite a while for the reappearance of the one-true Krypto who would not show his snout until the Return to Krypton storyline that occurred in the year 2000.

DC would try to hold the Krypto-faithful over by including him as part of the Time Trapper’s pocket universe, and also as something of an Easter Egg several years later. Superman’s fav’rit fan, Bibbo Bibbowski, found a stray dog and hoped to name him Krypton after the home planet of his fav’rit sooperhero, but the fella he got to engrave the pup’s nametag only chiseled in the first six letters.

Eben and Sarah? What in the world? Okay. As it turns out, who we know as Jonathan and Martha Kent went through some naming-pains throughout their history. Originally they went by the names Sam and Molly, however, in 1942, a man by the name of George Lowther wrote a novel called The Adventures of Superman. In this novel, he named Superman’s adoptive parents Eben and Sarah Kent. These names would carry over to the Adventures of Superman 1950’s television series as well.

The names we are familiar with were introduced in the pages of Superboy stories in the early 1950’s. Their passing was covered in Superman #161 (May, 1963). As it turns out, shortly following Clark’s high school graduation, his adoptive parents take a trip to the Caribbean where they both contract a fatal tropical disease and pass in short order. Not the way you’d expect them to go... but, here we are.

The next day, October 19, 1985 RW piped in with the following:

Ai yai yai.

Power Girl is a toughie. Before the Crisis, Power Girl (Kara Zor-L) was Superman’s Kryptonian cousin. Sounds fairly reasonable. She shares a nearly identical origin to the Man of Steel, however, the rocket her parents loaded her into during the Fall of Krypton took much longer to arrive on Earth(2). Still, perfectly reasonable. She would go on to join up with the Justice Society of America, and becomes a full-fledged member when the Earth-2 Superman steps down.

Post-Crisis (and post-Man of Steel) the word came down that Superman was the sole survivor, the true last-son, of Krypton. Rather than shuffle Power Girl off to comic book limbo, DC Comics decided to tweak her character. The post-Crisis Power Girl believed herself to be the cousin of Superman, however, she was in fact now of Atlantean descent. She is told that she is related to the wizard Arion, of all people… further, in Secret Origins #11 (1987), she learns that she has been in suspended animation for thousands of years before waking out of it.

Secret Origins #11 (1987)

A couple of decades later due to the Infinite Crisis storyline, Kara’s Kryptonian heritage is finally reinstated. She reconnects with the Superman and Lois Lane of Earth-2, and plays a rather sizable role in the universe/continuity-shattering event.

That’s all we have room for this time, I try to keep these a reasonable (read: not overwhelming) length. Next time we will continue with discussion prompted by SM's initial post, including some umbrage taken with John Byrne's mention of the Bible. As I mentioned in our last couple of pieces... I know some corners of the interwebs have amazingly knowledgeable and passionate Superman fans, so if you have any additions or corrections, please feel free to contact me in care of this website. Thank you for reading.

-Chris

Can't wait for the next installment in this series of articles? For more of Chris Sheehan, check out his highly recommended Chris is on Infinite Earths blog.

Review of Arion, Lord Of Atlantis ongoing series

Arion, Lord of Atlantis started as a back-up feature in the Warlord (issue #55 to be exact) back in 1982. Apparently, then-editor Laurie Sutton mentioned to Paul Kupperberg in passing that Dragonsword (the Warlord’s current back-up feature) wasn’t going to last forever and they were going to need a new back-up feature to run. The only requirement for something to be a back-up feature in the Warlord was that it had to be of the sword and sorcery/fantasy genre. Kupperberg suggested a story about a young mage and Sutton requested that it be set in Atlantis - and that, my friends, is the origin of Arion, Lord of Atlantis. The hardest part of the whole creation process was coming up with a name for Arion (which was finally decided at the last possible minute) - other potential names included Orion, Atlan and Tynan. Arion was ultimately created by Kupperberg (writer) and Jan Duursema (artist).

The Arion, Lord of Atlantis back-up feature ran from Warlord #55 to #62 (1982). The back-up feature was alright and focused heavily on myth and magic and cosmic blah blah blah, but I found the language was very ‘Old English’ (i.e.: 'nay’, 'ye’, 'verily’,…) and that took away from my enjoyment of the series*. Nevertheless, it still set up the premise of a plot and some interesting story elements/characterization and it was enough to please fans. By the time the back-up feature ended, Arion had his own ongoing series the following month - which is relatively unheard of for a back-up feature. Although we shouldn’t dismiss the power of a back-up feature… Legion of Super-Heroes started as a back-up feature and look how they turned out. Conquerors of the Barren Earth then replaced Arion as the Warlord’s back-up feature once Arion got his own ongoing series.

In the early 70s, the sword-and-sorcery genre was experiencing a revival. The most notable example of this was Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian published in 1970. In an attempt to cash in on this trend, DC comics rolled out a few sword and sorcery titles during the 70s: Sword of Sorcery, Tor, Claw the Unconquered, Kong the Untamed, Stalker, Beowulf and the Warlord. Of all the DC sword and sorcery titles released, only the Warlord managed to survive into the 80s. In 1982, the Conan the Barbarian film was released and it gave the sword and sorcery genre another surge of popularity. Keeping this in mind, in the early 80s, DC comics was publishing at least seven sword and sorcery titles: the Warlord, Arak, Amethyst, Masters of the Universe, Camelot 3000, Conquerors of the Barren Earth, and Arion, Lord of Atlantis.

Arion, Lord of Atlantis #1 picks up where the back-up feature from the Warlord dropped off, and the reader is thrown into the middle of a story. Kupperberg was continuing his previously established storyline and Jan Duursema resumed pencilling chores on the ongoing series. Fans were already accustomed to Duursema’s pencils, as she had previously pencilled a few issues of the Warlord. I’d probably argue that Duursema’s pencilling got better as the series progressed, but that just may be me getting used to the art as it seemed to be a nice fit for the atmosphere and mood of the story.
It needs to be noted that while the series was named after Arion, his three comrades-in-arms (the oriental Lady Chian, the Native American Wyynde and the teenaged Mara) were just as popular as Arion was. I’d probably argue that Lady Chian was MORE popular with the fans than Arion - eventually Lady Chian received her own back-up feature in the series. Kupperberg is known for writing strong, self-sufficient women (ex: Supergirl and Powergirl) and Lady Chian was no exception. It was later revealed the Lady Chian was loosely based on Mariko from the Shogun series, and I’m going the guess that Wyynde was inspired by Chief Bromden from 1975’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Mara was named after Kupperberg’s wife and was mainly inserted as a comic relief character to contrast the other three stoic serious characters.

One of the strong points of this series is that Kupperberg inserts a lot of characterization into the storyline which results to a lot of characters/interpersonal relationships growing and constantly changing. Kupperberg intentionally set it up so that Arion was introduced as a snobbish, anxious, unlikable person with cosmic-like powers just so that Kupperberg had something to work with (ex: allow him to grow as a person and become more human and compassionate). One of the hurdles Kupperberg had to cross was that Arion began the series as an all-powerful mage, and the problem with all-powerful characters is that it’s pretty easy for them to battle any foe and solve any problem. If a character is never really in danger, then the element of excitement is never there. Kupperberg solves this by having Arion lose his magical powers sporadically throughout the series and Arion trying to regain his lost powers is a recurring theme of the book. Another recurring theme is Arion’s conflict with his evil brother (which fans got tired of halfway throughout the series). The series also deals with magic vs science, as science was slowly being introduced to Atlantis and this caused friction amongst the population.

The Arion, Lord of Atlantis series is notable for the creators (Kupperberg and Duursema) following through the series from beginning to end. There were a few exceptions of course: Kupperberg left for other projects and Doug Monech took over writing chores from issues #4 to #11, and Cara Sherman Tereno filled in for Duursema from issues #24 to #29. For anyone who didn’t know: Jan Duursema is married to artist Tom Mandrake (and I believe he was inking over her pencils for the first ~12 issues). Editors changed several times throughout the life of the series - it went from Ernie Colon (#1 to #8) to Joe Kubert and finally ended with Karen Berger (#27 - finale).

This series lasted 38 issues and a double-sized finale - not bad for what began as a back-up feature. In 1983, advanced sales of Arion led every other DC comic book with a November cover date - which gives you some indication that it was a popular title during the first year of it’s run. Arion’s sales began to decline as interest in the sword and sorcery genre began to decline - so I’m guessing somewhere around summer of 1984. Around this time, the series began to heavily borrow elements from science fiction… I’m just going to say it: at this point in this series his primary weapon is a flame sword (which acts very similar to a light saber) and in issue #22 he battles something that looks like the Sarlacc pit - these are two big nods to 1983’s Return of the Jedi (intentional or unintentional?). I’m not sure if Kupperberg was aware that the series was being cancelled as new supporting characters and storylines were being introduced right until the bitter end. In 1992, Kupperberg tried to revive a modern-day version of the series (Arion the Immortal), but it only lasted 6 issues. Kupperberg finally concluded the Arion story he set out to tell in his Two Tales of Atlantis e-book.

While Arion, Lord of Atlantis may have been cancelled in 1985, that did not prevent the series from having some sort of impact on the DCU. The Atlantis in pre-Crisis Arion universe was not the same Atlantis as seen in pre-Crisis Warlord universe (even though one title debuted in the other). I’m not even sure if it was the same Atlantis that Aquaman inhabited. The Crisis On Infinite Earths (in an effort to add cohesion to the DCU) retconned that. It was revealed that Arion’s Atlantis was the same as Aquaman’s Atlantis (as explained in the 1986 Aquaman mini-series), and that Arion was actually Power Girl’s grandfather and that Power Girl was not a Kryptonian (as previously believed) and was actually an Atlantean. Kupperberg was writing Power Girl at the time, so it all worked out (also: Kupperberg tends to run a tight ship in regards to characters he writes). The Dark World that appeared in Arion also played heavily into Amethyst’s Gemworld mythos (edited by Karen Berger) and I think there’s some sort of connection whereas the inhabitants of Atlantis came from Gemworld or something. There’s a 1990 mini-series called Chronicles of Atlantis that deals with all of this.

Arion Lord of Atlantis was an enjoyable series with solid writing. The characters are well-written and they grow on you. The locale is set in 45,000 BC, so don’t expect any interaction with any other modern-day DC characters (exception: DC Comics Presents #75 where Arion teams up with Superman - written by Kupperbeg). It wasn’t a ground-breaking series, but it definitely filled the void for a sword and sorcery title and had it’s moment in the sun. Kupperberg did fun things like hold a reader-based costume submission contest in which Arion would wear one lucky reader’s costume for several issues. Kupperberg and Duursema were really cool about interacting with the readers.

*When Mara is introduced in Arion, Lord of Atlantis #1 she was a jive-talker using 80s slang (ex: “buster”, “old man”, etc.). Apparently Mara was cast as a street-tough Atlantean kid, and was written to speak like she was from Brooklyn. It was a mistake made before Ernie Colon started editing. Doug Monech phased it out.

This article first published January 2014.