Superman: The Man of Steel

Superman: The Man of Steel is a monthly American comic book series that ran for 136 issues from 1991 to 2003,^[1] featuring Superman and published by DC Comics. As a result of introducing this series alongside its already existing titles, DC Comics was able to publish a new Superman comic each week. Included in these 136 issues were two special issues: #0 (October 1994, published between issues #37 and #38) and #1,000,000 (November 1998, published between issues #83 and #84), which were tie-ins to Zero Hour: Crisis in Time and DC One Million, respectively.

PublisherDC Comics

ScheduleMonthly

FormatOngoing while in publication

Publication dateJuly 1991 – March 2003

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Superman: The Man of Steel
Superman: The Man of Steel #1 (July 1991), cover art by Jon Bogdanove.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing while in publication
Publication date	July 1991 – March 2003
No. of issues	136 (#1–134 plus issues numbered 0 and 1,000,000) and 6 Annuals
Main character	Superman
Creative team
Written by	Mark Schultz Louise Simonson
Penciller(s)	Jon Bogdanove Doug Mahnke
Inker(s)	Dennis Janke Tom Nguyen

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Publication history

The first issue was written by Louise Simonson and featured pencils by Jon Bogdanove, Tom Grummett, Bob McLeod, and Dan Jurgens.^[2] Inks were by Dennis Janke, Jerry Ordway, and Brett Breeding. Simonson wrote issues #1–56, 59–83, 86, #0 and Annuals #2, 4, and 6 from 1991 to 1999.^[3] Bogdanove pencilled issues #1–68, 75–82, 85, and #0 during the same period and returned for the final issue, #134, in 2003.^[4]

Issues #9 and 10 were part of the "Panic in the Sky" storyline in 1992.^[5] Issues #22 through 26 were a part of "The Reign of the Supermen" storyline which received the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for "Favorite Comic-Book Story" for 1993. After his introduction in The Adventures of Superman #500 (June 1993),^[6] Steel briefly became the starring character of the Superman: The Man of Steel series.^[7] Issue #30 (Feb. 1994) had a variant edition packaged in a polybag. The logo and all cover copy were printed on the bag and vinyl clings (similar to Colorforms) were included for a do-it-yourself front and back cover.^[8] Writer Mark Schultz and artist Doug Mahnke became the new creative team on the title with issue #87 (March 1999).^[9] Schultz and Mahnke introduced a new version of Superman's Fortress of Solitude in issue #100 (May 2000).^[10]

Annuals

From 1992 to 1997, DC published six issues of Superman: The Man of Steel Annual.^[11] The stories tied into the crossover or themes that were featured in DC's annuals that year. These were:

Annual #1 (1992) – Eclipso: The Darkness Within
Annual #2 (1993) – Bloodlines
Annual #3 (1994) – Elseworlds
Annual #4 (1995) – Year One
Annual #5 (1996) – Legends of the Dead Earth
Annual #6 (1997) – Pulp Heroes

Gallery

In December 1995, a special Superman: The Man of Steel Gallery #1 was published.^[12] It features 22 pin-ups drawn by several artists.

Collected editions

Superman: Panic in the Sky includes Superman: The Man of Steel #9–10, 188 pages, March 1993, ISBN 1-56389-094-1
The Death of Superman includes Superman: The Man of Steel #17–19, 172 pages, January 1993, ISBN 1-56389-097-6^[13]
World Without a Superman includes Superman: The Man of Steel #20–21, 240 pages, April 1993, ISBN 1-56389-118-2^[14]
The Return of Superman includes Superman: The Man of Steel #22–26, 480 pages, September 1993, ISBN 1-56389-149-2^[15]
The Death and Return of Superman Omnibus includes Superman: The Man of Steel #17–26, 784 pages, September 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1550-5^[16]
Superman: The Death of Clark Kent includes Superman: The Man of Steel #44–46, 320 pages, May 1997, ISBN 1-56389-323-1^[17]
Superman: The Trial of Superman includes Superman: The Man of Steel #50–52, 272 pages, November 1997, ISBN 1-56389-331-2
Superman: The Wedding and Beyond includes Superman: The Man of Steel #63, 192 pages, January 1998, ISBN 1-56389-392-4^[18]
Superman: Transformed! includes Superman: The Man of Steel #64 and 67, 197 pages, April 1998, ISBN 1-56389-406-8
Superman vs. the Revenge Squad includes Superman: The Man of Steel #61 and 65, 144 pages, February 1999, ISBN 1-56389-487-4
Superman: No Limits! includes Superman: The Man of Steel #95–97, 212 pages, November 2000, ISBN 1-56389-699-0
Superman: Endgame includes Superman: The Man of Steel #98, 180 pages, January 2001, ISBN 1-56389-701-6
Superman: 'Til Death Do Us Part includes Superman: The Man of Steel #99–100, 228 pages, December 2001, ISBN 1-56389-862-4^[19]
Superman: Critical Condition includes Superman: The Man of Steel #101–102, 196 pages, February 2003, ISBN 1-56389-949-3
Superman: Emperor Joker includes Superman: The Man of Steel #104–105, 256 pages, January 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1193-3^[20]
Superman: President Lex includes Superman: The Man of Steel #108–110, 244 pages, June 2003, ISBN 1-56389-974-4^[21]
Superman: Our Worlds at War, Vol. 1 includes Superman: The Man of Steel #115–116, 264 pages, September 2002, ISBN 1-56389-915-9^[22]
Superman: Our Worlds at War, Vol. 2 includes Superman: The Man of Steel #117, 264 pages, September 2002, ISBN 1-56389-916-7^[23]
Superman: Our Worlds at War Complete Edition includes Superman: The Man of Steel #115–117, 512 pages, June 2006, ISBN 1-4012-1129-1
Superman: Return to Krypton includes Superman: The Man of Steel #111 and 128, 212 pages, February 2004, ISBN 1-4012-0194-6^[24]
Superman: Ending Battle includes Superman: The Man of Steel #130–131, 192 pages, May 2009, ISBN 1-4012-0194-6^[25]