Uh oh.
Lois Lane Panel of the Day
~ Superman: Birthright #6
Lois Lane Panel of the Day
~ Superman: Birthright #6
It’s Lois’ birthday: And this is one of my favorite panels summing up Lois. It’s hard to pick the best line but “No good place to hide her body” is my favorite.
Lois Lane is 75 today, but the comic this panel’s from doesn’t run until next Friday.
Things Lois Lane does not envy Wonder Woman:
Things Lois Lane does…
I think it is as admisable as superman finding evidence of things with his x-ray vission.
Or Batman’s “advanced interrogation” techniques!
Things Lois Lane does not envy Wonder Woman:
Things Lois Lane does envy Wonder Woman:
I wonder if truth-lasso confessions are admissible evidence in court.

I read a lengthy piece by @godstaff this morning in which they share ‘truths about Lois Lane that nobody wants to hear.’ The thesis: Lois is a secondary character who is ‘brazen’ and ‘rude’, friendless, a ‘horrible human being’ and not worth writing about because she exists only to reflect Superman’s light.
I disagree with much of it, but there’s also a point to be made about how Lois has been portrayed during the last 40 years or so.
Maybe it’s the semantics that stuck in my craw. As I understand it, there are two Secondary Character sub-groups: Minor characters (people who populate the world but not essential to the plot) and Supporting characters — they are necessary to move the story forward because they have a direct role in the action. To me, Lois has always been the epitome of a supporting character, one that shores up everything that makes Kal Superman.
Plus, she had her own title from 1958 to 1974 and for a time in the 60s it was one of DC’s top three sellers. Not bad for a supporting character.

If the character were named Lewis Lane, would he be described as Brazen and Rude? Or Hard-Charging and Determined? Yes, Superman did end up saving her time and again, but she rarely planned her investigations so that he’d catch her before she hit the pavement. And, for what it’s worth, Supes spent as much time being rude to her.


I disagree with the idea that she had no friends outside of work, therefore is an unlikeable person. Lois and Lana Lang were the best of frenemies and even teamed up in one story to report on the barbarity of the death penalty.

In the 1970s, Lois got some roommates —Kristin, Marsha and Julie. They were clearly pals and Julie in particular got into some scrapes with Lois including a couple of the infamous ‘bondage’ covers!

At one point, the essay refers to Lois as a ‘horrible human being’ because she’s basically selfish. I beg to differ. In the 1970s, Lois took on social issues like poverty, racism, drug abuse, Native American affairs and women’s liberation. Granted, some of those attempts were wince-inducing. But they were always driven by the experiences of other people around her.

I dropped off the Lois bandwagon in the mid-70s because I found the stories featuring her in Superman Family pretty dull. She was a dogged reporter doing reporter things but without the interaction with Superman it just fell flat for me.

My theory is that the mostly male editorial staff thought there’s no reason to portray a character like Lois once those pesky social issues were solved. Women didn’t have to get married to have economic security (the 50s and 60s Lois), women had careers and participated in the political/social milieu (70s Lois). Without second-wave feminism to kick around, the boys at DC didn’t know what the heck to do with the character.

@godstaff takes issue with the various super-incarnations of Lois and I agree. From what little I’ve read in today’s comics and seen on the CW TV shows, humans are not a vital part of any story. Aliens and meta-humans are all the rage and their interactions with homo sapiens is limited as the stories grapple with technology and other metaphorical, unwieldy world-ending horrors.
From my perspective, it’s the superhero characters who have grown stale, not the humans. Lois was one of the best characters precisely because she was a supporting player — it was a feature, not a bug. Again, I don’t read today’s comics, but perhaps Lois will always be a touchstone of the past. Even so, to this reader, she was a glorious incarnation of the smart, funny, silly, sometimes ridiculous but always entertaining world of comics. Maybe someday, the comic world will have a place for the always human Lois Lane.

What kind of asshole doesn’t like Lois Lane
^
Also it’s pretty weird that Dave Willis just cast me as Superman and himself as Lois Lane in this fanfic he’s writing in my ask box.
Just be thankful I’m not your Lucy Lane.
You are in real life, though.
I keep trying to tell you, man, you’re not ACTUALLY Superman’s Pal. He’s a fictional character. And what a silly looking mohawk! Some idiot with no taste must have cut your hair!
And frankly, I prefer to go to In-N-Out with MEN. You’re just too young for me, Sims.
‘scuse me while i deal with this kangaroo attack
Finally, a Lois-Lana rivalry I can get behind.
—”Lana Lang, Superwoman” in Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #17 (1960), script by Jerry Siegel, art by Curt Swan & Stan Kaye
Man, the parks service is gonna be pissed.
Where exactly does one go about finding the place for your hands to start lifting a mountain from, anyway?
Toys: A new Man of Steel Lego set sees Superman and Lois Lane face General Zod in a “Black Zero Escape” scenario. [The Brick Fan]
woooo sweatervest lois
just a few bricks away from LEGO joyce
Who is your dad, now?
I WILL reblog this video every damn time I see it because this kids is A GENIUS
