It just continues!

Here we go…

10. Red Glass (Superman #56, Adventures of Superman #479, Action Comics #666)

Film noir stories have often been described as less “real life,” and more like a “fever dream.” This story, about Superman in a nightmare scenario of what losing control of his powers would look like, is definitely one such story.

This is an atypical Triangle Era story in that it was put together by a different creative team (likely to give the regulars a one-month break), with art that was far grittier.

James Hudnall was already a known commodity in the indie comic community, and put together a very good, albeit dark story. He was part of a trend that was a great strength of DC in the late 80s, folding in independent creators like Chuck Dixon, Tim Truman, John Ostrander and others. Ed Hannigan, a DC mainstay and creative director for many years, provided the art.

There is a wonderful twist ending to the story, which is kind of a relief, admittedly, as the story is not a pleasant one to wade through. Superman is in agony for the majority of this three-parter, which is actually okay to do with a bright character once in a while.

Gut-wrenching, but a good story overall that explores Superman’s makeup and resolve. It’s too bad we didn’t get to see Hudnall dabble more in comics in subsequent years.

9. Armageddon 2001 Annuals (Superman Annual #3, Adventures of Superman Annual #3, Action Comics Annual #3)

I’ll confess I’ve never read Armageddon 2001.

I know it has its fans… somewhat… but even they would say that this story is a tale of unrealized potential. Major spoilers leaked out before the main book’s release, which led to DC scrambling to rewrite the event last minute, which as I understand, made the book a clunky mess.

Even so, I’m sure I’ll get around to it one day!

Nevertheless, every tie-in of the story I’ve ever read is a ton of fun! Each DC annual that year followed Waverider, a time traveler and one of the Linear Men, across the DCU as he examined possible future timelines to see which DC hero would become the uber villain Monarch.

Superman features in three such tie-in annuals, each of which is done by a different creative team. As such, it’s not exactly one story, but they are unified by one concept, which is Waverider’s exploration of Superman himself.

In the end (SPOILER!!) Superman does not become Monarch in his future, as Waverider discovers that his inherent goodness and the values that his parents inculcated are too strong for such a timeline to exist. The journey, however, was a very fun one.

8. Time and Time Again (Adventures of Superman #476-478, Action Comics #663-664, Superman #54-55)

“Time and Time Again” is another storyline that is more a collection of little stories jammed together, but still unified by one cohesive plot thread. Given how it’s been referred to by fans over the years, I’m fine with calling it one story arc, as it holds together well.

The Linear Men (love those guys!) entangle Superman in another of their quests for justice and to prevent damage to the timelines, which is of course a great starting point. The real fun, however, comes when each of the Triangle Era creators gets to do a story set in a period they are interested in, whether it be WWII, Camelot (Ordway), prehistoric times, classic big top (McLeod), or the far flung future (Jurgens).

In one arc, fans are treated to the whole spectrum of genre stories, with Superman trying to find his way home to Lois, to whom he has just gotten engaged! Intermixed with the personal drama, you get more story types than in any one arc of Superman (maybe even comics) ever!

Really looking forward to the DC Finest collection of this one next year.

7. Face to Face With Yesterday (Adventures of Superman #474)

I can’t speak to how many “human” stories existed before Crisis, but after the reboot there were many good ones. This issue is one of the best.

On New Year’s Eve, Clark Kent visits an old friend from high school who has been on life support in the hospital for many years. He reflects on a bad choice that he, Pete and Lana made when they were young that impacted their friend and his family’s life forever. Along the way, the incident taught Clark something about responsibility and the value of human life.

This issue, one of the greatest one-offs ever for Superman, is written and pencilled by Dan Jurgens, who was just finding his wings as a Superman creator and doing great on Adventures. It is inked by Art Thibert, Dan’s wingman at the time who doesn’t get enough credit for his fine contributions.

Definitely check this one out if you’ve never gotten the chance!

6. Panic in the Sky (Action Comics #674-675, Adventures of Superman #488, Superman: The Man of Steel #9-10, Superman #65-67)

Outside of the Death of Superman, “Panic” is often cited by fans as perhaps their favorite story of the Triangle Era. It is a sprawling epic in every sense of the word!

Brainiac and Warworld are fantastic baddies, and heroes teaming up to stop an invasion of earth is always fun, especially when Superman is leading the charge. Supes also had four monthly books at this point as well, which gave the story that much more breathing room and allowed it to feel even more epic.

In addition to big fight scenes, this issue also did a lot for the overall direction of the Superman books- it relaunched Justice League of America with Superman as the leader, resolved the Draaga plotline (no spoilers!), and introduced Maxima and the Matrix Supergirl as mainstays in the DCU. It’s a beloved story that has been reprinted many times ever since.

**Note: The epilogue story in Superman 67, “Swarm,” is also great!**

5. Crisis at Hand (Superman: The Man of Steel #16, Superman #72)

A brilliant, absolutely overlooked gem in the Triangle Era, I’m often surprised I don’t see “Crisis at Hand” talked about all that much.

This story hearkens back to Action Comics #1, which contains a scene of Superman rescuing a woman from her abusive spouse. “Crisis at Hand” very deliberately homages that issue, in that Clark and Lois discover a married couple on their floor with similar problems. There is yelling down the hallway from a certain apartment around the clock, and a wife who is battered and bruised each time she comes out the door. A furious Superman wants to help, but what if the abused does not want to be helped?

This is another atypical Superman story that works extremely well. It is heavy on emotion, and shows Superman’s acts of heroism can take many forms!

4. Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography

Superman’s Triangle Era included many stories in the “prestige format,” something not uncommon during this era of DC.

One of the best was another story penned by James Hudnall and drawn by the incredibly underrated Eduardo Barreto, Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography. The story is an investigative murder mystery/article by Clark Kent- one of the best “journalist Clark” stories ever- which unravels the secrets of what made Lex Luthor who he is.

This is a fleshed out character study of the post-Crisis Lex, which since has been erased in favor of the Superboy/losing-his-hair origin… It should go without saying by now that I much prefer this version myself.

The only knock on this book after rereading it a few times is that it comes dangerously close to imitating Marvel’s Kingpin, so it doesn’t feel quite as original as it could, I suppose. Nevertheless, the quality of the story is excellent, some of the best writing and art in DC Comics of the time.

3. Under A Yellow Sun

Another prestige format book that doesn’t get enough love in my opinion, but man does it get plenty from me!

The wonderful John Francis Moore- a very capable writer from this era who mainly worked in Hollywood- wrote a story that was published several years after it was written, which is maybe why it isn’t noticed much by fans on these types of lists.

The book is about Clark Kent writing an original detective novel while sleuthing a Luthor scheme that resembles the novel in Clark’s own life. The story juxtaposes the “fictional” detective with Clark/Superman’s own investigative work, and bounces back and forth in entertaining fashion.

The “fiction” pages are drawn beautifully, again, by the late Eduardo Barreto, and the “real” Superman scenes by the equally great Kerry Gammill.

Just stop to consider that much for a moment- two great artists whose work on this character was rarer than I would have liked, drawing one extra-sized special together. What an event!!

The story also takes place while Clark and Lois are dating, but just before he has revealed his secret identity to her, so there is plenty of drama mixed in. It’s a wonderful story that you can probably find pretty cheap, so definitely check it out if you haven’t.

2. Exile (aka “Superman in Space”) (Superman #28-30, 32-33, Adventures of Superman #451-456, Action Comics Annual #2 and Action Comics #643)

As I said in my all-time top ten post…

The first thing that jumps out at me as I type the credits for this story is WOW, what a lineup!! That group of talent on any book today would be just as big of a splash as “Superman in Exile” was in 1989 when it was released. Perez. Jurgens. Mignola. Hall of fame caliber creators all, which gives you an idea of what we the readers enjoyed for the better part of a decade.

Digging through a bargain bin many years ago, I stumbled onto a copy of Action Comics Annual #2, a chapter halfway through “Exile.” In it, Superman, stripped of much of his power, grizzled, bearded, and axe-wielding, has been captured by slavers and forced to fight in intergalactic gladiatorial battles on Warworld.

Umm… do I even need to say more?

As if that weren’t enough, while Superman is in his self-imposed exile in outer space, he also encounters the cleric, an ancient Kryptonian priest who relates to Kal-El the story of his people and their epic struggle with birth and Kryptonian life. The cleric also shows Superman a relic which is meant to preserve the essence of Krypton itself, the Eradicator, which would come into play much later in several stories down the road, including the epic “Reign of the Supermen.”

And, amidst all THIS, I’m not even including the equally awesome “Hostile Takeover,” which starred Lex Luthor in events occurring simultaneously on earth.

This was a great, great story that tied in Byrne’s excellent “World of Krypton” series and simultaneously paved the way for so many of the great Superman stories that followed…

… not the least of which is the next entry on this list.

1. The Death and Return of Superman (aka “The Death of Superman,” “Funeral for a Friend,” and “Reign of the Supermen”)

(Superman #74-82, Justice League America #69-70, Adventures of Superman #497-505, Action Comics #684-692, Superman: The Man of Steel #18-26, Green Lantern #46, Legacy of Superman, Supergirl and Team Luthor)

Is there anything left to say about this story that I haven’t written already? It is not just the greatest Triangle Era story, but in my opinion the greatest Superman story ever.

‘Nuff said.