K-Metal from Krypton

August 9, 2006 8:03 AM

"The K-Metal from Krypton" is one of the most important "lost" stories by the original creators of Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Written and drawn in 1940, but never published, the story would have vastly altered much of the Superman mythos for the next 65 years. Aside from the early introduction of Kryptonite, the issue would have disclosed Superman's secret identity to Lois Lane, leading to a completely different relationship in which the two worked together as a team. Thanks to the work of readers and fans, including writer Mark Waid and artist Alex Ross, original art and scripts are slowly being recovered, and the entire issue is being reproduced online, with full color treatment and missing pages being replicated in Shuster's original drawing style.
posted by XQUZYPHYR (18 comments total)

Thank you for this.
posted by interrobang at 8:09 AM on August 9, 2006

Too bad the "full color treatment" is done so anachronistically, with photoshop gradients and modern-looking shininess, though.
posted by interrobang at 8:17 AM on August 9, 2006

I thought Kryptonite was an invention of the radio program who needed a way to tone down Supes?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:29 AM on August 9, 2006

It's a pity that Ross doesn't seem to have had anything to do with the online version. I was all excited there for a few seconds... now, not so much.
posted by C.Batt at 8:30 AM on August 9, 2006

I'm with interrobang on the colour scheme. It's still a ripping story. Oh, and:

MetaFilter: If he only knew to what degree he's boring me!
posted by Zozo at 8:36 AM on August 9, 2006

Oh, and I'm a moran who should RTFA.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:46 AM on August 9, 2006

The background here is a fuckin' crime:


posted by interrobang at 8:52 AM on August 9, 2006

This is so cool! I am glad this is being released now. I loved the DC Otherworlds series, and this goes to show that this was not a new idea, and that artists had been experimenting with the ideas of alternative comics realities for years.
posted by parmanparman at 9:07 AM on August 9, 2006

Yeah, a lot of artists don't seem to recognise just how cheap, obvious and artificial gradients look when plopped down next to hand-drawn art. Apparently we haven't moved past the 'gradients are neat!' phase of things. That brick wall is even worse. Did they grab that from a wallpaper file found in Windows 95?
posted by picea at 9:08 AM on August 9, 2006

historically interesting, artistically awful.
posted by cosmicbandito at 9:08 AM on August 9, 2006

Superman.ws is one of the best websites ever in the history of anything. Very cool to see it get its day in the blue. I think we broke it tho. I can't pull up the link.
posted by ZachsMind at 9:31 AM on August 9, 2006

"Interesting -- and thought provoking!"
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 9:39 AM on August 9, 2006

tubular awesomeness, thanks
posted by matteo at 9:51 AM on August 9, 2006

Only nine pages done so far? And after I beefed for something mansize!

Seriously, this is cool.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:53 AM on August 9, 2006

This is cool, but I really, really wish they'd stuck to a flat color scheme. The overrendered digital stuff is a turnoff for me, and this is exactly the sort of thing I'd like.
posted by beaucoupkevin at 11:28 AM on August 9, 2006

Superman.ws: come for the K-Metal From Krypton, stay for the Starwinds Howl.
posted by kimota at 11:40 AM on August 9, 2006

...and stay a little longer for the Krypto Mouse!
posted by Superfrankenstein at 1:25 PM on August 9, 2006

This is fantastic, thanks for the link! I'm eagerly awaiting more of the story now...
posted by livii at 4:17 PM on August 10, 2006