Superman Fan Art Parodies His Most Hilarious Silver Age Covers

A new, hilarious piece of Superman fan art harkens back to the classic covers of the Silver Age, which often showed the Man of Steel being a jerk to people. These covers have become viral sensations in the internet age, and this new fan art not only lampoons those covers, but also pokes fun at the current controversy surrounding COVID-19.

During the Silver Age of Comics, running from 1955 to roughly 1970, the Superman family of titles were under the editorial reigns of Mort Weisinger. A common theme of his tenure was to place Superman and his allies in ridiculous situations, such as Jimmy Olsen being transformed into a giant turtle, or Lois Lane leaving Superman for Batman. The covers of this era reflected these far-out stories, and in many instances, portrayed Superman acting like a jerk; in one, he cuts Lois Lane’s lifeline, leaving her to drift in space and another showed the Man of Steel withholding water from Aquaman. These covers, and the high-concept stories that inspired them, stopped when Weisnger stepped down but they continue to delight fans. Entire websites have been devoted to cataloging them, and now they get a hilarious send up in a new piece of fan art that is also ripped from today’s headlines.

In a Tweet, user Brian Kirby shared the piece, which depicts Jimmy Olsen set to marry a life-size version of the coronavirus; the title of the story is “The Bride of Denier Jimmy.” Jimmy is pleading with Superman to stop the wedding, saying the joke has gone too far, but Superman is indifferent, instead mixing chemicals with his heat vision to try and find a way to save humanity.

The art style is reminiscent of Curt Swan, considered by some to be the definitive Silver Age Superman artist. The piece has been a hit, garnering over 300 retweets and nearly one thousand likes. The cover works on two levels. First, it is a loving homage to a different, simpler era in comics. The goofy Superman stories (and covers) of Mort Weisinger’s era reflected a time of innocence, leaning into high concepts—such as Jimmy potentially marrying a giant virus. But the cover also satirizes current attitudes towards the coronavirus, casting Jimmy Olsen as a denier who must now face the consequences of his actions; Superman will be the one to save humanity but will let Jimmy Olsen die—a perfect call back to his boorish behavior in the Silver Age.

Superman is often regarded as a paragon of virtue by comic fans, but his Silver Age adventures and covers proved he has a mean streak and a new piece of art pokes fun at both this and the coronavirus.

Source: @DriveInMob

About The Author

Shaun Corley
(1377 Articles Published)

Shaun Corley is a pop culture enthusiast living in the Pacific Northwest. After stints in both customer service and academia, he’s turned his attention to writing about comic books–his lifelong passion. He is a graduate of Radford University, with a degree in English. When not reading comics, he enjoys spending time with his fiance and their dog.

More From Shaun Corley