Historic Death of Superman Preview Artwork Being Sold at Auction

The original Death of Superman cover artwork for Advance Comics #47 by artists Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke that first showed comic book fans the sight of the villainous Doomsday is being sold at auction.

In Heritage Auction’s latest Comics and Comic Art Signature Auction on April 4-7, a number of original pieces of artwork by longtime Superman artist, Jon Bogdanove (who launched Superman: The Man of Steel with writer Louise Simonson and inker Dennis Janke in 1991, remaining on the series together through Superman: The Man of Steel #82) are being auctioned off, most notably the iconic Death of Superman preview art, which was directly responsible for the media frenzy about the Death of Superman back in 1992.

Related

The Most-Reprinted New Yorker Cartoon Sets Sales Record for Single Panel Comic

A 1993 Peter Steiner New Yorker cartoon about a dog using the internet, the most reprinted cartoon ever, has set a single-panel auction record

What was the significance of this Death of Superman preview cover?

In case you’re unfamiliar with the practice, comic book are sold on what is called the “direct market,” meaning that comic book stores order non-returnable copies of comic books for a specific discount. A comic book distributor serves as the middle man between the comic book companies and the comic book stores. The comic book stores make their orders through the distributor. The distributor then orders the comics directly from the comic book companies, and then packages and ships the books to the retailers. Of course, for this process to work, comic book retailers would need to know what is being offered to order, so distributors would create monthly catalogs for retailers to read through so that they could make informed ordering decisions. Back in 1992, one of the largest comic book distributors was Capitol City Distribution, and its monthly catalog was called Advance Comics. In September 1992, comic book retailers had to make their orders for November 1992’s Death of Superman event. Advance Comics #47, with the Bogdanove/Janke artwork, helped promote that storyline (presumably this would have been released sometime in August 1992).

Well, a reporter for New York Newsday, William McTernan, saw this magazine, saw “Death of Superman” on the cover, and thought it made for a great story idea, and so on September 4, Newsday ran an article about Superman’s then-impending death, and the media frenzy took off from there, making this one of the most-publicized stories in the history of comic books (most likely THE most publicized, really).

Related

Jerry Siegel and Sheldon Mayer’s Personal Papers Sold For Nearly $5,000

Personal papers belonging to comic book legend Sheldon Mayer, including correspondence with Superman creator Jerry Siegel, sold for over $4,000

What other Jon Bogdanove Superman covers are being auctioned?

The classic Superman artist, Jon Bogdanove, will also be auctioning off five other pieces of original cover artwork in the auction.

One of the pieces is from the final issue of Superman: The Man of Steel, before the Superman titles took a hiatus following the death of Superman and his funeral (to play along with the idea that the superhero was truly dead. “See, even his comic books are stopping now!”). Another piece is from the era where Superman had electric powers, and became a blue energy being when flying into action. Another one of the covers is from a storyline involving Bizarro, while another one is from a story where Superman was arrested for crimes allegedly perpetrated by his father, Jor-El.

Source: Heritage