You all voted, now here, as part of our celebration of Superman and Lois Lane's 80th Anniversary, are the results of what you chose as the 40 Greatest Superman Stories!
Enjoy!
15. "The Death of Superman" (Superman: The Man of Steel #17-19, Superman Volume 2 #73-75, Adventures of Superman #496-497, Action Comics #683-684 and Justice League America #69)
Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson and Roger Stern (writers), Dan Jurgens, Tom Grummett, Jon Bogdanove and Jackson Guice (pencilers) and Brett Breeding, Doug Hazlewood, Dennis Janke, Denis Rodier and Rich Burchett (inkers) all combined to tell one of the most famous comic book stories of all-time, as the murderous creature known as Doomsday comes charging towards Metropolis with only Superman able to stop him. We know Doomsday means business because we see him tear apart the entire Justice League. Only Superman can save his adopted city and the woman he loves and he finds a way to save the day and kill Doomsday, but in the process, he gives up his own life.
You don’t get much more dramatic than actually killing off freakin’ SUPERMAN.
14. "The Life Story of Superman" (Action Comics #500)
In this imaginative anniversary story by Martin Pasko, Curt Swan and Frank Chiaramonte, Superman tells his origins to people at a museum dedicated to him, but as he relates his life story, someone is planning to steal his entire life...
It's a very clever mix between an origin retelling and a crackling thriller that involves one of the more messed-up plans that Lex Luthor has ever devised (it involves murdering all of Superman's friends and then hiding the fact that he has swapped out the real Superman for a clone. Twisted, right?).
13. "The Death of Superman" (Superman #149)
Possibly the greatest Imaginary Story, Jerry Siegel, Curt Swan and Sheldon Moldoff show Lex Luthor getting his final victory over Superman, although things do not end up going the way Luthor had planned in the end.
It is INSANE how good Jerry Siegel was in his return to the Superman titles in the late 1950s and the 1960s. It is kind of crazy how much better of a writer he got over the years.
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12. "Birthright" (Superman: Birthright #1-12)
Mark Waid, Leinil Yu and Gerry Alanguilan retold Superman’s origin in a fascinating combination of various Superman origin stories of the past. I especially love Waid’s tributes to Elliot S! Maggin’s stories.
Wait integrated modern concerns into the classic stories beautifully, like this mixture of what classic Superman did back in Action Comics #1 and what he might do today (while also showing the different ways that the media handles stuff like this nowadays)...
11. "Superman for All Seasons" (Superman For All Seasons #1-4)
In this breathtakingly beautifully drawn series by Tim Sale, writer Jeph Loeb uses the seasons to depict different points in Supermans’ life. Along those lines, each issue is narrated by a different person who has a different take of who Superman is. Jonathan Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor and Lana Lang all have wildly different views of Superman (especially at the various points in time that they tell their respective stories) but when you put them together you have a fascinating picture of Superman as a whole.
The story has a touching, wholesome feel right from the start, in Clark's days in Smallville...
