Canon Recs, please

[twinsarein]

I've been a fan of Superman in movies and television since Christopher Reeve wowed everyone in the late 70s.  I enjoyed most of the Batman movies as well.  However, I'm woefully ignorant as to how they work and act together.  I'd like to start writing more S/B fic (I've only done two, and one was only a comment fic), but enjoy writing more when I

Comments

[mithen]

*bursts through the door* DID SOMEONE SAY CANON??

Your list looks good so far! I second the Morrison/Waid run on JLA (esp. the ones arch_schatten mentioned) and Emperor Joker (which is yes, totally insane, but the main theme appears to be How much does Clark love Bruce? SO MUCH).

You should try to find the Shogun of Steel Elseworld if you can--it's not technically canon, but it's a story in which Bruce is a girl and she and Clark fall in love and kiss and...so...um...what was I saying?

"World's Finest" by Gibbons is a look back at the beginnings of their friendship, and has super-pretty art if a relationship that's a little prickly for my tastes...but lots of nice moments!

A big problem with S/B canon is that almost any trade out there with one or the other is very likely to have interactions between them, but they're usually just a couple of pages out of the whole trade! So most S/B canon (besides their title and rare stories like Emperor Joker) comes in bits and pieces everywhere else.

Stories that have good S/B moments in them:
"Death in the Family" (the one where Jason dies)
"Kingdom Come" is a damn difficult read and there are really only three S/B conversations in it, but it is SO WORTH IT.
"Hush" (more Loeb, Loeb is ALWAYS safe for S/B IMHO)
"New Frontier" also has only one conversation between Clark and Bruce, but it's so awesome.

So...most of their touchstone moments happen interspersed here and there throughout canon, and it's hard to get them all together! If only there were a soul crazy enough to gather up most of those moments and, say, piece them all together into a semi-coherent narrative! IF ONLY.

...

Okay, ironically the collection of scans I've been working on for three months or so will be posted in about...*looks at watch* 48 hours, so...watch this space! I'm only up to 1996 (hoping to finish up to 2000 by the time I post), but there should be some stuff there you can sink your teeth into...

[bradygirl_12]

Oh, yes, The New Frontier! This is very pricey, but if you love the 1950s era, well worth the investment!

And the one scene between Clark and Bruce is fantastic! It includes Dick at his most adorable! :)

[twinsarein]

Thank you for seconding the rec of New Frontier - it might make the price tag a little easier to bear, knowing that several S/B fans thought it worthwhile, even with only one scene between the two.

I'm more familiar with Dick as Nightwing, so hearing him termed adorable gave me a giggle. I know he was just a small boy at first, but I never had that much exposure to him.

Thanks again for the rec and the help. I appreciate it.

[bradygirl_12]

*grins*

Dick is so incredibly awesome in the S/B scene in this book! It's the essence of our cheerful little Robin! And he fanboys Clark all over the place! Which is right in character. ;)

Wonder Woman is AWESOME in this book! And Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) is fantastic.

The art is worth the price alone!

The Robin icon (see above) and this Diana icon is art from the book.

[twinsarein]

Oooo, that art is amazing. Thank you for sharing. Good illustrators are a must for a comic book. It was the bad art in the 90's that led me to stop collecting (although, will you hate me if I say I was a Marvel girl? *cringes*), that and escalating prices of single issues.

I'm looking at it in Amazon now. It is pricey, but not horribly so. Plus I still have some Amazon GC left from my birthday, which is what made my initial request worth making. *G*

[bradygirl_12]

*grins*

Bad art and bad storytelling in the '90s! :)

I forgive you for being a Marvel girl. I've read Marvel, too, and am a Cap girl through-and-through. :)

Yay for GCs! :)

[skund]

*bursts through the door* DID SOMEONE SAY CANON??

Just commenting to say that I just spat half chewed apple all over my laptop.

Jen, you are wonderful. And I am so looking forward to your scans post. :D

[mithen]

*snicker* I am the bane of laptops everywhere! :D Man, I had so much fun with the scans. But I still have to finish 2000-2010, which is frankly where almost all of the shippy material is! The last 10 years have been such a big change from the 90s (boooo, 90s!)

[arch_schatten]

If only there were a soul crazy enough to gather up most of those moments and, say, piece them all together into a semi-coherent narrative! IF ONLY.

IF ONLY WE HAD SOME INSANE ACADEMIC WHO LOVES S/B TO DEATH. OH, HOW LUCKY WE WOULD BE!

:P

I also want to add that the 3rd and the 4th paperbacks of No Man's Land have a S/B issue in them (one issue out of 6 or 7! it's.. not a lot!) but I would rec NML anyway because it's such an interesting Batman story (even if not all of it is very good!). It has one of my favorite stories (in vol. 4) in which Clark makes it rain for Bruce. HOW ADORABLE IS THAT??

My research so far...

[kawahori]

IF ONLY WE HAD SOME INSANE ACADEMIC WHO LOVES S/B TO DEATH. OH, HOW LUCKY WE WOULD BE!

I have a long list of pre-crisis fun. For example, you think WF#289 is gay? Try WF#234--they practically run off together, and Bruce even made a statement: "We believe in freedom of choice...the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." (See for yourself: http://goo.gl/BS3V http://goo.gl/EtRS ) At the end of that story, Bruce did a suicide run, and Clare came to rescue his Bat--kind of familiar, right? ;)

But my research is mainly focused on THE RING. The green K ring has *so* much S/B LOVE in it (and a little bit of Lex-Clark-Bruce triangle, lol), really. Here is a part of the list:

1. Superman: Dark Knight Over Metropolis (1990)
Superman v2 #44 "Green Death in Crime Alley"
Adventures of Superman #467 "Taken to the Grave"
Action Comics #654 "Deadly Covenant"
In this 3-part arc, while investigating a common case in Gotham, Batman found a strange ring with glowing green stone. It turn out to be stolen from Lex Luthor, but how? And why? (My thought? It's DESTINY!)

2. Superman The Man of Steel #37 "Countdown to Zero"
There were 18 Batmen on the cover, but only 3(4?) of them were in the story. One of them called just-back-to-life-so-still-got-his-long-haired Superman "hippie"--but ALL of them came to find Superman when there's trouble. That's LOVE--I knew it when I saw it.

3. Superman v2 #126 "Machinations!"
Clark asked Bruce to return THE RING in order to save LUTHOR's life--WTF??! But since it's Superman asking, Batman gave in, and Lex exchanged it with a fake one.

4. Action Comics #753(Superman 24/7) "A Law Unto Himself"
Months later (from 1997 Aug. to 1999 Apr.), the World's Greatest Detective finally got the truth.

5. Superman: Lex2000
So, Batman went to Lex--President Luthor, and swore he will take the ring back.

6. Superman v2 #165
It's a Christmas story published in February. Clark was depressed because of Luthor's presidency, and with only a few words, Bruce gave him the comfort. :)

7. Superman v2 #168 "With This Ring..."
Detective Comics #756 "Lord of the Ring"
Batman wan't happy about the fact that Luthor's having THE RING--neither was Lois. So they teamed up to steal it back, and Superman must protect the President. (And Bruce's very sensitive about his pointed Bat-ears, LOL!)

Though Batman often guest-stars (sometimes main-stars) in Superman's book, Superman (and other Leaguers) only shows up in Batman's book a very few (and far between) times. This two-part arc is the ONLY crossover between Superman and Batman books. Hmm...maybe it's because Bruce's "NO-META-IN-GOTHAM" policy?

THE RING also showed up in Hush(2002). But in Infinite Crisis(2005), when Earth-Two Superman Kal-L asked for our Batman's love partnership and was rejected, he used his heat-vision to destroy it--while Bruce still wearing it. Ahh, ANGST.

Other comics with good S/B(or S+B) moment:
1.Action Comics #766 "D.O.A."
Lois was missing, Clark was poisoned, and Bruce tried his best to help Clark. This is more like a Detective Comics story than a Action Comics one--but it's *so* good, and I really, really love it. Many people think Loeb is the ultimate S/B shipper, I personally think Joe Kelly is also one of us. It's CLois, but it's also S/B (or S+B).

2.Superman #668
One word: Super-puppy-eyed. Nope, Batman doesn't have a chance.

3.Action Comics #784
This is the aftermath of Emperor Joker. Though at the end of the story, one of Bruce's line was a little bit too cocky, you can see how much the memory of Emperor Joker has haunted Clark.

My original research post is in Chinese, and my English is not good enough to translate all of it. If there's any misspelling or wrong tense, feel free to let me know. *blush*

Re: My research so far...

[arch_schatten]

Ohh!! I just sent you a Private Message telling you I couldn't access this comment here in the thread and how much I loved your research list! X) erm, so, yes! I love it!!

Thank you so much for sharing this! I've read a bunch of these, but not all! I suspect reading all S/B around is impossible, lol. So many comics! and like you say, Batman often guest stars in other books, and so does Superman, so sometimes you find S/B gems in the unlikeliest of places..

The Kryptonite ring! X) such an awesome sign of trust and love!! :D

Re: My research so far...

[theclexfactor]

You are my idol...and I have a good number of those books you recced.

Re: My research so far...

[twinsarein]

OMG!!!! This is amazing. What wonderful source material you've got here. So many good arcs. I even know about The Ring, although only that it's the reason Lex loses a hand at some point. I didn't know what a history it had. Since my main OTP is Smallville's Clark/Lex, I love the idea that there's a little of it in DCU canon as well. Beyond that, however, this sounds like an epic S/B (or S & B) tale sweeping through many issues and years. Thank you for sharing this incredible collection. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for these in our local comic shop.

As to your translation - no worries. At most there was a spot or two that had errors - I only wish I did as well in what is my own language. I can't even dream of doing something like this in another language. My hat is off to you in admiration. And, thank you again.

Re: My research so far...

[mithen]

OMG, this is so amazing! Thank you! I'm going to be looking for all of these and adding them to my post! You are incredible!

[twinsarein]

Ooo, No Man's Land does sound good - even the title does, and I love your little tidbit about what Clark does for Bruce. Thank you for taking the time to help me out by reccing something. I appreciate it.

[mithen]

OMG, No Man's Land is 1999. >_< I shall add it retrospectively, lol! Actually, there are a LOT of storylines (many of the ones Kawahori mentioned) that sort of span 1999-2000, that is clearly the Dawning of the New Age in S/B. :)