Superman: The Triangle Era (1990-2001)

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Superman: The Animated Series Limited Edition Cel (Warner Brothers, 1996/2000). Source

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1998's Hitman Vol.1 #34 cover by cover artist John McCrea.

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1998's Superman for All Seasons Vol.1 #1-4 covers by artist Tim Sale (R.I.P.) and colorist Bjarne Hansen.

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An Evening With Superman interior art (circa 1998). An unpublished graphic novel written and drawn by artist Barry Windsor-Smith (!!!). Source Source

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It’s always time for this panel

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1991's Superman: The Man of Steel Vol.1 #1 cover by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke. Source Source Source Source Source Source Source Source

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1995's Superman/Aliens Vol.1 #1-3 (& trade paperback) covers by artist Dan Jurgens and inker Kevin Nowlan.

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1993's Action Comics Vol.1 #692 cover by artists Ed Hannigan (breakdowns), Kerry Gammill (pencils) and Jackson Guice (inks).

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(and Brett Breeding)

ANOTHER TRIANGLE ERA OMNIBUS ANNOUNCED! MOSTLY CONTAINING STUFF YOU ALREADY HAVE, PROBABLY! BUT STILL!

And this time, it didn't take me 7 months to see it! (Shout out to Cori McCreery on BlueSky.) Despite the focus on "Reign of the Supermen" in the blurb above, this does contain material that has never been reprinted before. Here's everything in this big boy:

The entire "Reign of the Supermen" saga, including that one Green Lantern issue and the often neglected Bloodlines annuals starring each of the four Supermen.

The "Spilled Blood" storyline, which is book-ended by the issue where little Adam Morgan gets Toyman'd and the one where Toyman almost gets Cat Grant'd.

Superman's biggest (Bog-est?) showdown with Lobo and the subsequent "lost in space" storyline, which I always hoped would get a TPB collection, if only so it'd get a damn official name already.

"Bizarro's World," which did get a TPB, but it's long out of print (I'm hoping the extras end up here).

And the fantastic Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey mini, which would be a highlight in any omnibus.

Here's what this doesn't contain:

The Supergirl miniseries, but I'm guessing we'll see it in the next volume, since it ties heavily into Lex Luthor Jr.'s downfall and all.

The completely unnecessary L.E.G.I.O.N. '94 issue tying into the "lost in space" storyline. Unforgivable.

The fine Legends of the World's Finest miniseries, which isn't surprising since the original World's Finest mini isn't in these books either, and their connection to the ongoing continuity is loose. Still, those are some good-ass comics and I would have liked seeing them here so readers could follow the full evolution of the Post-Crisis Superman/Batman love/hate relationship.

The Under a Yellow Sun graphic novel, but that's okay because they threw it into the upcoming pre-Triangle Era omni, which makes more sense narratively.

And the two Elseworlds projects published in this period: the Kamandi: At Earth's End mini and the Speeding Bullets Superman/Batman mashup. I don't think anyone expected those... unlike the Elseworlds annuals, which should be in the next book, for the sake of annual completionism (call me annual retentive if you wish).

Overall, I still think it's a shame that they didn't make these fit with the "Death and Return" omnibus 80% of people reading this likely own, but I'm grateful of this series' continued existence and will definitely get even this one. At some point. (DC, I'm still open to being bribed with these books.)

ICYMI: A new post on Action #704 went up last week! Features Superman smacking around a guy who looks like Clint Eastwood in tights.

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1995's Adventures of Superman Vol.1 #525 cover by artist Stuart Immonen, inker José Marzan Jr. and colourist Glenn Whitmore.

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SECOND TRIANGLE ERA OMNIBUS ANNOUNCED! DOUBLE HOT DANG!

Looks like the first of these volumes sold well enough to warrant another one, which I'm attributing entirely to our 28-note Tumblr post about it. You're welcome, everyone! Let's look at what's in this big boy (and what isn't):

What it includes:

"Metropolis Mailbag" and the other '92 Christmas stories, which are all great, especially the Bibbo-related one (originally announced for the first omnibus, but I guess they ran out of space)

The full "Panic in the Sky!" epic! Again!

The beginning of the Supergirl/Lex Luthor Jr. romance (Action #677), followed by the reveal that she's now dating an old guy in a young body (Action #678, "They Saved Luthor's Brain!").

The TOTALLY RAD Robin crossover, "Night of the Bat!"

The end of the "Cerberus" storyline and that whole "Sons of Liberty" deal no one ever referenced again!

The long-overdue for collecting "Blaze/Satanus War" and its incredible epilogue!

The even more overdue "Crisis at Hand" two-parter! Seriously can't believe it took so long to reprint this one. A classic in any era.

The full "Doomsday!" storyline! Again again!

"Funeral for a Friend" and its tie-in issues (Legacy of Superman, Supergirl/Team Luthor, Newstime), except for one...

What it doesn't include:

Dan Jurgens' Justice League America run, other than the "Doomsday!" issue (#69). Personally, I would have rather had the rest of the run in this volume instead of "Death of" and "Funeral" yet again. I'm hoping the omission of #70 (the "Funeral" tie-in) is a mistake, because that issue is fantastic.

The "Eclipso: The Darkness Within" annuals. The completionist in me is appalled. The me who remembers having to suffer through these issues is like "eh, no big loss."

Superman Special #1 by Walt Simonson. This one IS a big loss, because this issue rules and deserves more attention. It would have also been fitting to include it right before "Doomsday!," a storyline Simonson's Mighty Thor run directly influenced.

Speaking of Simonson, The Superman Gallery (which he drew the cover for) is also omitted, but I don't think anyone expected that one, especially since it's made out of old covers and stuff. That Simonson cover is pretty nice, though.

If it has the same number of pages, the next volume should cover from "Reign of the Supermen" to "Bizarro's World," but who knows. I'm still hoping for a volume 0 with all the uncollected stuff between the first one and the "Exile" omnibus, so, you know, keep buying these! Let's get this post to 29 notes!

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Superman: Doomsday and Beyond novel cover by Alex Ross (1993).

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NEW PRE-TRIANGLE ERA OMNIBUS ANNOUNCED! LAST YEAR! BUT I JUST SAW IT WHOOPS!

Shout out to BHof for alerting me of this breaking news story from, uh, last August: a new '86-'99 era Superman omnibus called Brainiac Reborn is coming out in June! And it's exactly what we demanded when the Triangle Era omnibus series was announced: a big book covering all the stuff between the Exile & Other Stories volume and the first Triangle Era one, including essential storylines like "The Brainiac Trilogy" (which gives the book its name and kickass George Pérez cover), "The Day of the Krypton Man," Hank Henshaw's first appearances, "Dark Knight Over Metropolis," and "The Death of Lex Luthor." I'm impressed that they even threw in stuff like Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography, Walt Simonson's Superman Special #1, and Clark Kent's Under a Yellow Sun -- these last two were published after the period this book covers but are clearly set during this era (as evidenced by Superman's hair and Luthor's lack thereof), so they'll fit right in.

Oh, and it's not mentioned in the blurb above, but the book will also have "a foreword by Roger Stern [and] never-before-seen behind-the-scenes extras" so obviously I'm excited for all that. With this book, every main Superman comic and most of the extras published between John Byrne's "The Man of Steel" in 1986 and the end of "Reign of the Supermen" in 1993 will be in print, something that felt like a pipe dream when I started this blog. Six more years to go, DC! Don't flake out on me before the Electric Era, please...

(Hopefully the fact that I'm reporting on this so damn late should make it clear that I'm not getting paid by DC to promote this book. I should, though. Or at least they should give me a free omnibus. Three free omnibi. One for Don, and one for BHof.)

ICYMI: We have a new post about all the Superman spin-offs that came out in November '94! Featuring Superboy, King Shark, and more Maggie Sawyer than, frankly, we deserve.

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90's Superman (coming back from the dead with a mullet, because to quote Abe Simpson it was the style at the time) by Brian Bolland.

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NEW Superman '86 to '99 Chronological Issue Index!

Searching for a specific Triangle Era issue, or just feel like looking at hundreds of cool-ass Superman covers? Check out the new Chronological Issue Index I put together for our newsletter (mostly to make up for the fact that the newsletter's archive pages is kinda dry and tedious to navigate and I wanted something more like Tumblr's). The archive goes up to July 1994 right now, since that's where we are in the chronology, but I'll continue updating it as we cover more issues until the entire '86-'99 era is crammed in there.

ALSO: In case you missed it, we have a new post about Superman: The Man of Steel #36 that went up over the weekend! Featuring "Worlds Collide," the return of this era's most hated character, and John Henry Irons in undies. Is he a briefs or a boxers man?! Click to find out!!

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Dan Jurgens and Jerry Ordway Superman: The Wedding and Beyond Cover Original Art (DC, 1997). Source

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1993's The Death of Superman Trade Paperback cover by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke. Source