Superman & Lois Lane: The 25th Wedding Anniversary Deluxe Edition

by Dan Jurgens

The marriage of Clark Kent and Lois Lane was a special event nearly 60 years in the making! Now, a quarter century later, we look back and celebrate that historic moment in Superman & Lois Lane: The 25th Wedding Anniversary Deluxe Edition! This collects the landmark Superman: The Wedding Album, along with other relationship highlights, including the lead-up to the altar (Superman #118) and the honeymoon (Adventures of Superman #541, Action Comics #728, Superman: The Man of Steel #63), with new extras!

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Superman, Romance, Superheroes, Graphic Novels

198 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 21, 2021

About the author

Dan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday, Hank Henshaw, and Booster Gold. Jurgens had a lengthy run on the Superman comic books including The Adventures of Superman, Superman vol. 2 and Action Comics. At Marvel, Jurgens worked on series such as Captain America, The Sensational Spider-Man and was the writer on Thor for six years. He also had a brief run as writer and artist on Solar for Valiant Comics in 1995.

Reviews

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Acho que quando li os especiais que formam esse encadernado e que foram lançados pela Editora Abril nos anos 1990 eu não tinha me divertido e aproveitado tanto essas histórias como pude aproveitar agora. O encadernado abrange a forma como Clark Kent, o Superman, e sua eterna enamorada, Lois Lane reatam seu noivado e preparam seu casamento. Depois, a sua turbulenta lua de mel no Havaí se segue, com Clark sem poderes e finalmente de cabelo cortado, com Superman perdendo os mullets e Clark o rabo de cavalo, que caracterizaram o personagem após sua fatídica morte em 1995. São história de uma época em que se importavam com as subtramas, com os personagens coadjuvantes de uma franquia de super-heróis e, por isso, as histórias tomam uma densidade muito maior, uma duração maior de leitura, nos envolvemos muito mais com o que estamos lendo. A arte do casamento de Superman e Lois Lane também são muito boas, com algumas exceções pontuais. Foi bom reler o que já tinha lido e foi bom ler pela primeira vez muitas partes desse arco que eu não tive oportunidade de ler na época!

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superman & Lois Lane: The 25th Wedding Anniversary Deluxe Edition

From the moment he met her, Clark Kent was hopelessly in love with Lois Lane. Her devotion to Superman and their fierce professional rivalry were their only stumbling blocks. As the years passed, rivalry became friendship and more. Now, the day has come to unite the world's most famous love triangle.

Wonderful artwork and (yay) the removal of Clark's ponytail makes this a "must own" collection. Written with a genuine love for the milieu of characters in the 'Superman' universe.

[OmniBen · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review) 2.2/5
I'm pretty sure this is where my Superman journey ends. I really don't think I'm ever going to gel with this character in any meaningful way, beyond the odd fantastic one-off arc. It's quite a feat when a superhero story completely ignores any need for mindless punching, one dimensional bad guy battles and paper thin plot, to focus on interpersonal relationships, and have it bore the pants off me. Having me count each page as it turns, praying that it will be over soon. Yet that was what Superman and Lois Lane: The 25th Wedding Anniversary was for me. A miniscule amount of set up. A bloated and boring story, then a few issues at the end, which whilst re-introducing some action into the narrative, left me even more disinterested than that wedding story did. I find Superman quite boring. I find his cast of side characters boring. About the only one I find at all engaging to some extent is Lois, but amidst this lackluster narrative, even she wasn't of any discernible interest. I can appreciate if you had spent years or decades with these characters, than this was likely a very big deal and a nice pay off that was a long time coming. But for the Superman layman, this is pretty dire stuff.
Also, the whole 'Lets get a whole bunch of prior artists to do a few pages for a major story" bit really isn't to my liking. Whilst about as respectful a concession as the comics industry would do these days for its prior contributors, it really is rather jarring and unpleasant, for me at least. Not to mention the caliber of artist featured here is really pretty low, all things considered. There are a few standouts, but I thought Superman, being a flagship character, would have been garnered a greater degree of talent than this.
So yeah, I think I'm done with the man of tomorrow. I still have All Star Superman sitting on the shelf, but as for any additional purchases, I'll be steering them away from Metropolis. One for the die-hards only. 2.25/5


OmniBen.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guess I'm a romantic, 'cause I still get a kick out of this book, particularly the Wedding Album itself, with its focus on the entirely human ordeal of planning and pulling off a wedding. The role reversal of the honeymoon (Lois rescuing Clark) was a great idea, though it went a little too Rambo for my tastes. I'm happy to have it in a nice hardcover format finally. (Now maybe DC can collect more of the triangle era, so we can see more of this relationship's development.)

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must have read the special Wedding Album issue back when it was originally published, but the rest was new to me. Hard to believe it was 25 years ago that the post-Crisis-era Superman and Lois married. The story was fun in a way that a lot of comics today aren't.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish the collection would have been better arranged. The beginning of the book seems like it really is the end of another story. Some background of how we got there would have been better.
Otherwise a fun book.

[Nate]

I was smiling during a good chunk of this book. It’s so wholesome and fun. Along with the Wedding Album special, this deluxe edition collects the issue before and three issues after the big event; this was during the triangle era, so issues are given chronological numbers for the year (1996).

Superman and Lois were broken up for a while before the wedding. In the issue before the wedding, Superman's powers are gone (he lost them during The Final Night), while Lois follows a story elsewhere and does some soul-searching. This issue ends with Lois and Clark reuniting and agreeing to finally marry. The Wedding Album where it happens is pretty great. It mostly features the lead-up, with lots of planning, parties, dress and suit shopping, apartment hunting, time with the in-laws, light superheroing, and more. I love that a bunch of past Superman artists drew this issue; the final fold-out page with past Superman creators drawn in attendance at the ceremony is a lovely touch (and I believe the priest is drawn to be Jerry Siegel, who died earlier that year). The three issues after the wedding show the wacky honeymoon in Hawaii, where Clark is kidnapped and Lois rescues him. Lois gets most of the action across these issues given Clark’s powerlessness.

Because the issues in this book were published during the triangle era, where four Superman titles fed into each other and constituted one long soap opera, it does feel like backstory is missing. The lead-up was longer than just that one issue before the wedding (hell, Clark proposed way back in 1990), and you're essentially dropped in the middle of a long-going story. Still, this is a fun snapshot of the era, one of the high points of 90s Superman comics.

Oh, and Clark gets a haircut right before the wedding, thus ditching the infamous mullet/ponytail!

Also, reading the backstory of how the wedding came about is interesting. It was meant to happen much earlier, after Clark revealed his identity to Lois back in 1991. But the Lois and Clark show began around that time, and because the show planned to end with Lois and Clark getting married, DC decided to postpone the wedding in the comics to coincide with the show (in the interim, DC did the massive Death of Superman/Funeral for a Friend/Reign/Return storyline). Then, when the wedding occurred earlier than intended on the show, DC had to rush to bring Lois back with Clark in the comics so they could get married at the same time as they did in the show. Even before the superhero movie era, comics were keen on synergizing with on-screen adaptations.

[John Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains all 5 Superman issues that came out in December 1996, including the big wedding issue. The wedding issue itself was just ok, spending a large portion of time on the bridal shower and boring squabbles with Lois' family. The other issues weren't bad, but feel kind of disjointed, like each issue's writer only had a vague idea of what the others were doing, and considering how comics are made that's probably accurate. Also, I was kind of bummed that this book started with Superman having trouble with his powers, and then 200 pages later he's still having trouble with his powers, and there's no resolution on that whatsoever. I wish they could have included another issue or two wrapping that up, tho I don't know how long the storyline went on or how convoluted it got, so that could be an unfeasible request. All in all, I'm glad I got to see a slice of Superman history, but I wish it was coordinated better.

[Joey Walden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy the book, but I am not sure how much I felt invested. This might be because Superman and Lois have been married and together for so long that the story did not connect with me. I had known about this story for a long time before I read it. That's not the fault of the author. This was a snapshot, and I felt I would have loved this more seeing it play out in a larger format. Again, the story is good, seeing how many people care for Superman's happiness was great, and seeing Lois and Clark marry was heartwarming, but I want to read the story more in the context it originally came out in to be more invested.

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is all the wedding stuff basically every wedding episode of a sitcom you've ever seen?
Yes.
Is the artwork occasionally wonky?
Yes.
Is all the stuff about Superman having lost his powers (again) somewhat confusing?
Yep.
Is the entire honeymoon arc comic book ridiculousness?
Oh yeah.
Did the ceremony actually feel genuinely moving in its weird pop art way?
Yes. 🥲

[Lizzie & Koala Skywalker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel about Superman and Lois Lane's wedding. ~ Koala 🐨🎮

[Karla J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love how they match each other's freak

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Want to read about superheroes getting married? Got mid 90's nostalgia for mullet Superman?

Tada! This is the collection for you.
It includes:
* the lead-up to the nuptials (Superman #118)
* the wedding (Superman: The Wedding Album)
* their honeymoon (Adventures of Superman #541, Action Comics #728, and Superman: The Man of Steel #63)
---------

Fun little romp through a 'modern classic'. We have 90s beats of 'strong, independant woman' resonating time and time again throughout this little collection. Lois is probably more heroic in this collection, honestly. She even rescues a battered Clark Kent at one point while they're on their honeymoon. If you were EVER curious what a superhero wedding might look like behind the scenes, they summed up all the chaos a couple has to go through. You've got the race to the courthouse to get the marriage license and you've got the, "Who will protect this city when we're on our honeymoon?"

Riveting stuff *wink*

Bonus: classic Conner Kent in Hawaii taking on Hawaiian villains
Bonus Bonus: Previous to this, the mid 90's DC crossover 'Final Night' depowered Superman. He'll eventually get energy powers and turn blue. (Don't ask!)

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun story. I love the Post Crisis Era of Superman and this story is one of the seminal milestones, not only for that era but for Superman and Lois Lane as characters overall. I really enjoyed going back and revisiting this story.

As a side note, there is a character in this story named "Meat" and that is just so funny!