World of Krypton

World of Krypton is an American three-issue comic book limited series written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by Howard Chaykin. It was the comics industry's first miniseries. World of Krypton was published by DC Comics from July to September 1979.

World of Krypton
World of Krypton #1 (July 1979). Artwork by Ross Andru and Dick Giordano.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
ScheduleMonthly
Formatstandard
Publication dateJuly – September 1979
No. of issues3
Main character(s)Jor-El
Creative team
Written byPaul Kupperberg
Penciller(s)Howard Chaykin
Inker(s)Murphy Anderson, Frank Chiaramonte
Letterer(s)Ben Oda, Shelly Leferman
Colorist(s)Adrienne Roy, Jerry Serpe
Editor(s)E. Nelson Bridwell
Collected editions
Superman: The Many Worlds of KryptonISBN 978-1401278892

Taking place in the Silver Age era of DC Comics history, the series explores Superman's home world of Krypton. The story details his father Jor-El's life, the launch of the rocket that carried Kal-El to Earth, and the destruction of the planet.

Background and creation

"The Fabulous World of Krypton" had been a recurring back-up feature in Superman and other titles since the early 1970s. The feature was created by E. Nelson Bridwell and many stories were written by Cary Bates.

The stories comprising World of Krypton were originally scheduled to be published in Showcase #104-106 to coincide with the premiere of the 1978 film Superman: The Movie. (Those issues would have had cover-dates of Sept. 1978–Nov. 1978.) When the film's release date was delayed, the stories were rescheduled for Showcase issues #110-112 (cover dates Apr.–May 1979). In the meantime, however, the Showcase title was canceled as part of the so-called "DC Implosion."[1]

At that point, the storyline was revised and released as World of Krypton — comics' first ever limited series.[2][3][4][5]

Bridwell commissioned the project.[2] Paul Kupperberg, a regular contributor to Showcase at the time of the story's conception, wrote the storyline. His brother Alan Kupperberg did uncredited layouts, upon which Chaykin expanded.[3]

Plot

World of Krypton provides a great amount of detail into Krypton's history just before its destruction, along with the life story of Jor-El, the world's leading scientist, and his wife Lara Lor-Van. Superman himself appears in framing sequences, as do notable Kryptonians such as General Zod, Jax-Ur, Faora Hu-Ul, Lar Gand, and Beppo; as well as Clark Kent's adoptive parents Jonathan and Martha Kent.

The individual issues were titled, "The Jor-El Story," "This Planet Is Doomed!", and "The Last Days of Krypton," respectively.

Reception and legacy

World of Krypton's reception was positive, leading to subsequent similar titles and later more ambitious productions like Camelot 3000 for the direct market in 1982.[2][6]

World of Krypton was reprinted and translated on a number of occasions. It was republished, in part or in whole, in Superman the Comic #2 (K.G. Murray Publishing Company, 1978), The Best of DC #5 (May-June 1980), and Tor Books' World of Krypton (June 1982). It has been translated into German, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Portuguese, and Italian.

DC published another World of Krypton miniseries from December 1987 to March 1988. Produced after the retcon events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Krypton itself was the main subject of the latter The World of Krypton miniseries. Written by John Byrne and illustrated by Mike Mignola, it fills in much of Krypton's new history.

Collected editions

In 2018, DC published the trade paperback Superman: The Many Worlds of Krypton, which collected both World of Krypton miniseries as well as stories from Superman #233, 236, 238, 240, 248, 257, 266, and Superman Family #182.

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References
  1. Johnson, Dan (April 2014). "Showcase Presents... Again". Back Issue!. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (71): 50–55.
  2. McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1970s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. The worldwide success of Superman: The Movie motivated [DC] to publish more Superman-related titles. With that, editor E. Nelson Bridwell oversaw a project that evolved into comics' first official limited series - World of Krypton...Featuring out-of-this-world artwork from Howard Chaykin, [Paul] Kupperberg's three-issue limited series explored Superman's homeworld.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  3. Callahan, Tim (February 2013). "World of Krypton Comics' First Miniseries". Back Issue!. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (62): 59–62.
  4. McCue, Greg S. with Clive Bloom. Dark Knights, the New Comics in Context (Pluto Press, 1993), p. 61.
  5. Goulart, Ron. Over 50 Years of American Comic Books (Mallard Press, 1991), p. 292.
  6. "GHM Columns : GHM Staff : Steve Higgins A+ Graphic Novels &#93". Newcomicreviews.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
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