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Adventures of Superman José Luis García-López
In these tales illustrated by master comics artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Superman battles Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, Solomon Grundy, and teams up with Supergirl, The Flash, Adam Strange, the Metal Men and Firestorm. These tales, many of which have never been collected before, are spotlights for Garcia-Lopez's powerful artwork.
360 pages, Hardcover
First published April 2, 2013
14 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
José Luis García-López
321 books34 followersJosé Luis García-López was born in Spain in 1948 but moved to live in Argentina. In the Sixties he worked for Charlton Comics and in 1974 he moved to New York where he met DC editor Joe Orlando. He began to draw interiors, but mostly covers, for Superman, Batman, Hawkman, Tarzan and Jonah Hex amongst others. He is primarily known for his work on the DC Superheroes style guide, which has graced numerous and sundry products over the last thirty years.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 12, 2013
In a sense, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez is the definitive DC artist. His likenesses of DC’s characters were featured on licensed merchandise for a number of years. Now, we have this collection of Garcia-Lopez Superman work from the years 1975-1980.
Certainly, it’s nice to look at Garcia-Lopez’s art. It’s realistic and dynamic but also contains a certain elegance that I find quite appealing. His Superman is, in a way, a marriage of Curt Swan and Neal Adams. By this, I mean, that it’s definitely Swan’s Superman, i.e. the muscular, noble-looking guy with the spit curl, but traces of the “photorealism” that Adams brought to comics in the late 1960s and early 1970s is on display as well.
Among the stories in this collection, I’d say that “Superman vs. Wonder Woman” is the highlight. This is a seventy-two page epic originally published in tabloid “treasury edition” format in 1978. If you remember treasury editions, then…well, you’re probably about as old as me, but never mind. Set in World War II (as was the Wonder Woman tv show at this time), “Superman vs. Wonder Woman” has our titular hero and heroine strongly disagreeing over the U.S.’s development of the atomic bomb. Super hero slug fests like this were a hallmark of Marvel, rather than DC, and sure enough, ex-Marvel writer Gerry Conway handles the scripting chores. Regardless, it’s a fun story, and I think that Superman and Wonder Woman’s philosophical differences make sense, given what we know about both characters. I enjoyed the tale so much that I had to double check that Gerry Conway actually wrote it. I never cared for much of his Marvel output. One gripe, however: The ‘treasury edition” format doesn’t necessarily translate well to this hardcover glossy book. Certainly, the paper quality is better than that of the original comic, but the art also appears on a smaller-than-intended scale and some art bleeds into the gutters. Since the artwork is a main selling point of the volume, I’d call that a bit disappointing, to say the least.
The volume’s remaining tales are a mixed bag. Prolific 1970s comic writers Gerry Conway, Martin Pasko, Elliot S! Maggin, Len Wein, Denny O'Neil and David Michelinie are among the contributors. Stories in the first one hundred pages originate with the main SUPERMAN title, and these among the worst in the volume. I did enjoy a goofy-but-fun Elliot S! Maggin story in which Lex Luthor causes Superman to grow to giant size, but the others ranged from unmemorable to fairly mediocre. The very first story is inked by Vincent Colletta, whose work is generally loathed by fans and pros alike. I don’t know if this volume is a comprehensive collection of Garcia-Lopez’s Superman comics work, but if not, then I wonder if they couldn’t have replaced the Colletta story with a better showcase of Garcia-Lopez's talents.
In the last one hundred pages, there is one Superman solo story (written by Gerry Conway) and several stories from DC COMICS PRESENTS, the Superman team-up title of the time. That last solo story isn’t bad, but for the most part, I enjoyed the team-ups much more. Teaming Superman with other heroes presents a difficulty, I suspect, because Superman is so powerful that he can easily overshadow his guest stars. There is, in fact, one Superman/Green Arrow team-up (from DC COMICS PRESENTS #20), in which Green Arrow could easily be removed from the story, and the outcome would be exactly the same! Beyond this, I was surprised at how deftly the writers found ways for the guest stars to shine. Aside from “Superman vs. Wonder Woman,” I’d say that the book’s best yarn is the Superman/Flash team-up from DC COMICS PRESENTS #s 1-2. That one’s a fun, sci-fi romp involving aliens, space ships and time travel. For the nostalgic among us, the team-ups provide a nice snap shot of the DC Universe, circa 1978-1980, as you can see how some of the most prominent characters were then being handled. For me, it was particularly fun to see Firestorm again, as I recall liking his series “back in the day” (In retrospect, I think that Gerry Conway had definitely matured as a writer by then, but that’s a topic for another time.).
Overall, then, this was a fun volume with some nice art, but I liked the Gil Kane companion volume (which I reviewed earlier) a little more. The stories in the Kane volume were better, and since Kane inked most of his work, the art was more consistent. Of course, if you're a big Garcia-Lopez fan, then you'll probably want this volume, in any case.
Certainly, it’s nice to look at Garcia-Lopez’s art. It’s realistic and dynamic but also contains a certain elegance that I find quite appealing. His Superman is, in a way, a marriage of Curt Swan and Neal Adams. By this, I mean, that it’s definitely Swan’s Superman, i.e. the muscular, noble-looking guy with the spit curl, but traces of the “photorealism” that Adams brought to comics in the late 1960s and early 1970s is on display as well.
Among the stories in this collection, I’d say that “Superman vs. Wonder Woman” is the highlight. This is a seventy-two page epic originally published in tabloid “treasury edition” format in 1978. If you remember treasury editions, then…well, you’re probably about as old as me, but never mind. Set in World War II (as was the Wonder Woman tv show at this time), “Superman vs. Wonder Woman” has our titular hero and heroine strongly disagreeing over the U.S.’s development of the atomic bomb. Super hero slug fests like this were a hallmark of Marvel, rather than DC, and sure enough, ex-Marvel writer Gerry Conway handles the scripting chores. Regardless, it’s a fun story, and I think that Superman and Wonder Woman’s philosophical differences make sense, given what we know about both characters. I enjoyed the tale so much that I had to double check that Gerry Conway actually wrote it. I never cared for much of his Marvel output. One gripe, however: The ‘treasury edition” format doesn’t necessarily translate well to this hardcover glossy book. Certainly, the paper quality is better than that of the original comic, but the art also appears on a smaller-than-intended scale and some art bleeds into the gutters. Since the artwork is a main selling point of the volume, I’d call that a bit disappointing, to say the least.
The volume’s remaining tales are a mixed bag. Prolific 1970s comic writers Gerry Conway, Martin Pasko, Elliot S! Maggin, Len Wein, Denny O'Neil and David Michelinie are among the contributors. Stories in the first one hundred pages originate with the main SUPERMAN title, and these among the worst in the volume. I did enjoy a goofy-but-fun Elliot S! Maggin story in which Lex Luthor causes Superman to grow to giant size, but the others ranged from unmemorable to fairly mediocre. The very first story is inked by Vincent Colletta, whose work is generally loathed by fans and pros alike. I don’t know if this volume is a comprehensive collection of Garcia-Lopez’s Superman comics work, but if not, then I wonder if they couldn’t have replaced the Colletta story with a better showcase of Garcia-Lopez's talents.
In the last one hundred pages, there is one Superman solo story (written by Gerry Conway) and several stories from DC COMICS PRESENTS, the Superman team-up title of the time. That last solo story isn’t bad, but for the most part, I enjoyed the team-ups much more. Teaming Superman with other heroes presents a difficulty, I suspect, because Superman is so powerful that he can easily overshadow his guest stars. There is, in fact, one Superman/Green Arrow team-up (from DC COMICS PRESENTS #20), in which Green Arrow could easily be removed from the story, and the outcome would be exactly the same! Beyond this, I was surprised at how deftly the writers found ways for the guest stars to shine. Aside from “Superman vs. Wonder Woman,” I’d say that the book’s best yarn is the Superman/Flash team-up from DC COMICS PRESENTS #s 1-2. That one’s a fun, sci-fi romp involving aliens, space ships and time travel. For the nostalgic among us, the team-ups provide a nice snap shot of the DC Universe, circa 1978-1980, as you can see how some of the most prominent characters were then being handled. For me, it was particularly fun to see Firestorm again, as I recall liking his series “back in the day” (In retrospect, I think that Gerry Conway had definitely matured as a writer by then, but that’s a topic for another time.).
Overall, then, this was a fun volume with some nice art, but I liked the Gil Kane companion volume (which I reviewed earlier) a little more. The stories in the Kane volume were better, and since Kane inked most of his work, the art was more consistent. Of course, if you're a big Garcia-Lopez fan, then you'll probably want this volume, in any case.
May 5, 2016
This is a pretty good collection of Superman stories from DC's Bronze Age illustrated by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. JLGL was an important artist for DC during this time, and his art served as the basis for DC's style guide for many years. If you have ever bought any DC merchandise such as tshirts, stickers, lunch boxes, etc., it is very likely the art depicted was by JLGL. His style is very similar to Neal Adams, in that it's more realistic than the traditional comic book art prior seen at DC, but I always thought JLGL's art was much more expressive than Adams's. Either way, I'm glad to see DC issue this book.
The first few stories are taken from Superman's titular book. Easily seen as classic DC from the mid-1970s, these stories are kinda ho-hum by today's standards, but they're not all that bad. The weakest is a Lex Luthor story where Luthor tries to kill Superman by adversely affecting the Man of Steel's pituitary gland, causing Superman to grow and grow. Superman gets the help of the Atom in this story which is great, but it's rather silly all round. There's a Solomon Grundy story and a short tale where Clark Kent takes on mobsters that are decent.
The highlight of this period is a three part Gerry Conway story where Supergirl informs her cousin that they're really not Kryptonians at all, but mutants! Yeah! Superman had been feeling dopey and broody, and takes his frustrations out on some industrial polluters, because he's afraid that Earth will go the way of Krypton. Seeing Superman's confusion about this revelation from Supergirl was handled rather well. I can't spoil the ending, but it's not quite that convincing. Nevertheless, this story dealt with many issues, such as alienation, psychology, environmentalism, and the meaning of power.
Next up is the Superman vs Wonder Woman tabloid story. This 72-page story takes place during World War 2, which at first seems strange, but this was around the time that the Wonder Woman tv show was set during the war, and the Wonder Woman comic had shifted to that period, also. Strangely, there's no real clue that we're seeing what used to be known as Earth-2, apart from a brief reference to the Justice Society. Neither hero really looks like their traditional 1942 version, but that's ok. The two heroes find themselves in the midst of an Axis plot to steal the plans for the Manhattan Project. Wonder Woman sees the atomic weapons program as a means for more war, so she decides to destroy the achievements to date. Superman has to stop her, and they fight for a while, before eventually withdrawing to the moon of all places, so they can fight and not endanger anyone. There they come upon the ruins of a lunar civilization that seems to have been destroyed by atomic war, according to Wonder Woman. (The buildings were glowing.) This plot point was swiftly dropped, and the heroes get a nice talking to by President Roosevelt. The story is actually really good for the most part, but it also seems to be a lesson on nuclear non-proliferation.
The last tales mostly come from Superman's team-up book, DC Comics Presents, and guest star Green Arrow, the Metal Men, Robin, the Flash, Firestorm, Adam Strange, and Deadman. Overall, these were pretty solid stories, and it's always nice to see Superman interacting with other heroes, when he over powers them so greatly. There's also a story from Superman about an alien courier who crash lands on Earth. Nice little twist to that one.
But the book is to highlight JLGL's art, and it's always good. There are a number of inkers, the worst being Vince Colletta (of course - he ruined every one's work), and the best was Dan Adkins, who inked the Superman/WW story and a couple others. The art is at its best when JLGL inks himself. It's really outstanding work.
This volume is not numbered, so I am assuming there won't be a second one. I thought there were more JLGL Superman stories, but perhaps not. I know DC missed at least one cover, a Superman/Swamp Thing crossover, but since JLGL didn't draw the interiors, maybe that's why it wasn't included. Who knows? Seems like a complete collection would also include covers. Either way, I hope we see more JLGL spotlight books. His Deadman work has already been collected, but it seems there were some Jonah Hex stories and some other super-hero books. He was the artist on the great Atari Force series, but DC doesn't have the rights to that property any longer. (I think IDW or a smaller publisher is reprinting that soon. Fingers crossed.)
The first few stories are taken from Superman's titular book. Easily seen as classic DC from the mid-1970s, these stories are kinda ho-hum by today's standards, but they're not all that bad. The weakest is a Lex Luthor story where Luthor tries to kill Superman by adversely affecting the Man of Steel's pituitary gland, causing Superman to grow and grow. Superman gets the help of the Atom in this story which is great, but it's rather silly all round. There's a Solomon Grundy story and a short tale where Clark Kent takes on mobsters that are decent.
The highlight of this period is a three part Gerry Conway story where Supergirl informs her cousin that they're really not Kryptonians at all, but mutants! Yeah! Superman had been feeling dopey and broody, and takes his frustrations out on some industrial polluters, because he's afraid that Earth will go the way of Krypton. Seeing Superman's confusion about this revelation from Supergirl was handled rather well. I can't spoil the ending, but it's not quite that convincing. Nevertheless, this story dealt with many issues, such as alienation, psychology, environmentalism, and the meaning of power.
Next up is the Superman vs Wonder Woman tabloid story. This 72-page story takes place during World War 2, which at first seems strange, but this was around the time that the Wonder Woman tv show was set during the war, and the Wonder Woman comic had shifted to that period, also. Strangely, there's no real clue that we're seeing what used to be known as Earth-2, apart from a brief reference to the Justice Society. Neither hero really looks like their traditional 1942 version, but that's ok. The two heroes find themselves in the midst of an Axis plot to steal the plans for the Manhattan Project. Wonder Woman sees the atomic weapons program as a means for more war, so she decides to destroy the achievements to date. Superman has to stop her, and they fight for a while, before eventually withdrawing to the moon of all places, so they can fight and not endanger anyone. There they come upon the ruins of a lunar civilization that seems to have been destroyed by atomic war, according to Wonder Woman. (The buildings were glowing.) This plot point was swiftly dropped, and the heroes get a nice talking to by President Roosevelt. The story is actually really good for the most part, but it also seems to be a lesson on nuclear non-proliferation.
The last tales mostly come from Superman's team-up book, DC Comics Presents, and guest star Green Arrow, the Metal Men, Robin, the Flash, Firestorm, Adam Strange, and Deadman. Overall, these were pretty solid stories, and it's always nice to see Superman interacting with other heroes, when he over powers them so greatly. There's also a story from Superman about an alien courier who crash lands on Earth. Nice little twist to that one.
But the book is to highlight JLGL's art, and it's always good. There are a number of inkers, the worst being Vince Colletta (of course - he ruined every one's work), and the best was Dan Adkins, who inked the Superman/WW story and a couple others. The art is at its best when JLGL inks himself. It's really outstanding work.
This volume is not numbered, so I am assuming there won't be a second one. I thought there were more JLGL Superman stories, but perhaps not. I know DC missed at least one cover, a Superman/Swamp Thing crossover, but since JLGL didn't draw the interiors, maybe that's why it wasn't included. Who knows? Seems like a complete collection would also include covers. Either way, I hope we see more JLGL spotlight books. His Deadman work has already been collected, but it seems there were some Jonah Hex stories and some other super-hero books. He was the artist on the great Atari Force series, but DC doesn't have the rights to that property any longer. (I think IDW or a smaller publisher is reprinting that soon. Fingers crossed.)
May 5, 2013
Appealing Bronze Age classic stories in a lovely volume. It all seems a bit dated but that's a great deal of it's allure. Enjoyable for all ages, unlike many of today's current comic books. This reminds me why Crisis on Infinite Earths really screwed up DC. They had a great multiverse to draw from and Crisis made it so lame. I don't think DC has ever really recovered from that mess up.
July 3, 2013
I bought this book to add to my collection because I fondly remembered Garcia-Lopez's artwork and this collection does not disappoint on that front. Some of the early work suffers because of some bad inking on his pencils but the later stuff is breathtaking. This man knew how to capture heroism and is up there with the greats of that era like Neal Adams. I will only give it a 3 star because the stories are ho hum. Admittedly, I had read 85% of them before when they first came out but still they were typical comic fare. Some of them are a lot of fun to read but there is not a lot of heart in them (character development, or anything more than a clever twist). I am still happy with the book because it is a wonderful look at the art of a master, but know going in that is the big selling point - the art.
July 28, 2024
Adventures of Superman: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
Superman has long been the lynchpin of the DC Universe and in this stunning collection of stories, readers can admire the superb artwork of Garcia-Lopez.
Superman has long been the lynchpin of the DC Universe and in this stunning collection of stories, readers can admire the superb artwork of Garcia-Lopez.
August 8, 2025
Pure Bronze Age goodness just oozes out of this collection.
As a lover of Superman and Garcia-Lopez’s era of DC work, this collection is pure joy to read. The work covers the period from 1975-1981, and reprints a lot of fun stories from Superman, DC Comics Presents, and Superman vs Wonder Woman Special.
Although you get stories from such greats as Gerry Conway,Marty Pasko, Len Wein, and Denny O’Neil, some are very pedestrian, some just full of Bronze Age cheesiness. That’s absolutely fine by me.
One for the older fans for sure, but also recommended for younger fans who appreciate their DC history.
As a lover of Superman and Garcia-Lopez’s era of DC work, this collection is pure joy to read. The work covers the period from 1975-1981, and reprints a lot of fun stories from Superman, DC Comics Presents, and Superman vs Wonder Woman Special.
Although you get stories from such greats as Gerry Conway,Marty Pasko, Len Wein, and Denny O’Neil, some are very pedestrian, some just full of Bronze Age cheesiness. That’s absolutely fine by me.
One for the older fans for sure, but also recommended for younger fans who appreciate their DC history.
April 13, 2021
What a great book. The sheer energy in any panel drawn by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez is amazing. Not only that but he's teamed up with a cavalcade of comics writers at the top of their game- most notably Gerry Conway and Len Wein.
And the stuff they came up with is just plain NUTS. Yeah, some of it gets a little too weird. But Garcia-Lopez makes even a badly written story work on the force of sheer visuals. This book is worth checking out.
And the stuff they came up with is just plain NUTS. Yeah, some of it gets a little too weird. But Garcia-Lopez makes even a badly written story work on the force of sheer visuals. This book is worth checking out.
March 23, 2020
The Bronze Age of comics, so naive that actually that’s the beauty of it. In the 70’s everything seems so black and white, and that’s the cause this stories are written with the sole purpose of entertainment. Besides you could stumble in a story or two, you read while you were a kid, which in my case is priceless
February 10, 2020
The Superman vs. Wonder Woman and the team-up with Deadman make this a must-read volume, in my opinion. The rest just adds to the fun.
May 3, 2021
Good nostalgic Bronze Age stories for people of a certain age.
May 29, 2022
Fun
Adventures of Superman by Jose Garcia-Lopez is a fantastic read good story telling higley recommend this stunning book to any Superman fan.
Adventures of Superman by Jose Garcia-Lopez is a fantastic read good story telling higley recommend this stunning book to any Superman fan.
April 19, 2015
Collects 16 issues , most of them team-ups. Other reviewers have said it: great art, with so-so stories. On the other hand, these care-free - and sometimes preposterous - stories make great reading for kids discovering comics or developing their reading skills. Whatever it takes to promote literacy, y'know?
Simple, innocent, and far-fetched stories, with classic art by José Luis García-López, with appearances by Supergirl, the Metal Men, Green Arrow, Adam Strange, Firestorm, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Deadman, and more.
Simple, innocent, and far-fetched stories, with classic art by José Luis García-López, with appearances by Supergirl, the Metal Men, Green Arrow, Adam Strange, Firestorm, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Deadman, and more.
September 27, 2013
Gorgeous artwork cannot make up for absolutely horrendous stories. veering from silly, to stupid, to preachy to overtly (AND stupidly) political, none of these is worth wasting your time reading the words.
October 31, 2015
Beautiful, dynamic representations of Superman and Co.
While the stories are a mixed bag, JLGL manages to elevate them with every expression, every action pose and every punch thrown. Worth every penny!
While the stories are a mixed bag, JLGL manages to elevate them with every expression, every action pose and every punch thrown. Worth every penny!
May 24, 2013
A mixed bag of well-drawn Superman stories.
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