Superman: The Wedding Album

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Superman: The Wedding Album
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After 58 years, Superman (Clark Kent) and Lois Lane become husband and wife.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
Format One-shot
Genre Superhero
Publication date December 1996
Number of issues 1
Main character(s) Superman/Clark Kent
Lois Lane
Creative team
Writer(s) Dan Jurgens
Karl Kesel
David Michelinie
Louise Simonson
Roger Stern
Artist(s) Complete list

Superman: The Wedding Album is an American comic book that was published in 1996 by DC Comics. It is notable in that it features the long-awaited wedding of Lois Lane and Superman/Clark Kent in DC continuity, an event that was nearly 60 years in the making. Previous weddings involving the characters had all been hoaxes, dreams, or "imaginary" tales.[1] Bearing a cover date of December 1996, the issue was published during the week of October 6, 1996, coinciding with an episode of the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman that also featured the wedding of the two characters.[2][3] The story was written by the five principal writers for the Superman titles at the time: Dan Jurgens, Karl Kesel, David Michelinie, Louise Simonson, and Roger Stern.

In the aftermath of the 2011 Flashpoint miniseries, the continuity of the DC Universe has been revised. As a result, this story is no longer canonical.

Artists[edit | edit source]

Nearly every living major artist who had ever worked on a Superman comic title contributed to this issue:[4][5]

Plot[edit | edit source]

The story follows after a yearlong breakup between Lois and Clark. Lois returns to Metropolis from her job as a foreign correspondent and agrees to marry Clark. The wedding is put together quickly, but no corners are cut. During this storyline, Clark is without his powers as Superman, having lost them during the previous Final Night crossover. There are brief cameos by many DC superheroes and a short passage with Batman, who offers an apartment owned by him to the couple, and gets the superheroes of the DC Universe to look after Metropolis while Clark goes on his honeymoon.

Jimmy Olsen serves as best man, with Lucy Lane serving as maid of honor. The wedding is of the traditional Christian variety in a big church (the Metropolis Chapel of United Faiths) although Lois, who is estranged with her father Sam Lane, refuses to be walked down the aisle by him. Despite this, Sam attends his daughter's wedding as a witness, refusing to miss this moment. The priest that presides over the wedding is drawn to look like Jerry Siegel, one of the creators of Superman. The pews are also filled up with the writers and artists that have contributed to the Superman comic books over the years.

Honeymoon[edit | edit source]

After The Wedding Album, The Adventures of Superman #541, Action Comics #728 and Superman: The Man of Steel #63 featured Lois and Clark's honeymoon in Hawaii. Clark is captured by Rajiv Naga and needs Lois' help to escape since he does not have any powers, having lost them during The Final Night crossover story arc.

Current continuity[edit | edit source]

In 2011, DC Comics decided to relaunch its entire line of DC Universe titles. The company published Flashpoint, a five-issue limited series which results in significant changes to DC continuity. With the subsequent launch of DC's New 52 titles (including new volumes of the Action Comics and Superman series), those changes become apparent. In the relaunch, Clark Kent and Lois Lane are not married. Lois views Clark as a friend and respects him as a journalist, but regards him as a loner who has difficulty letting people get close to him.[6] Moreover, Lois seems to be unaware that Clark is Superman, although she does have her suspicions.

As a consequence of the Flashpoint miniseries and The New 52 relaunch, Superman: The Wedding Album is no longer canonical.

Awards[edit | edit source]

The book was a top votegetter for the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Comic-Book Story for 1997.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. The notable exception is the wedding depicted in Action Comics #484 (June 1978), between the Golden Age Superman and Lois Lane -- both inhabitants of Earth-Two. However, the mainstream incarnations of the characters at that time were the Silver Age versions which hailed from Earth-One.
  2. Dimino, Russ. The Many Faces Of... Super-Weddings! KryptonSite.com.
  3. John McNamara (writer); Michael Lange (director) (1996-10-06). "Swear to God, This Time We're Not Kidding". Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Season 4. Episode 3. ABC. 
  4. Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1990s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 275. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. The behind-the-scenes talent on the monumental issue appropriately spanned several generations of the Man of Tomorrow's career. Written by Dan Jurgens, Karl Kesel, David Michelinie, Louise Simonson, and Roger Stern, the one-shot featured the pencils of John Byrne, Gil Kane, Stuart Immonen, Paul Ryan, Jon Bogdanove, Kieron Dwyer, Tom Grummett, Dick Giordano, Jim Mooney, Curt Swan, Nick Cardy, Al Plastino, Barry Kitson, Ron Frenz, and Dan Jurgens. 
  5. Jurgens, Dan; Kesel, Karl; Michelinie, David; Simonson, Louise; Stern, Roger (w), Byrne, John; Gammill, Kerry; Kane, Gil; Immonen, Stuart; Ryan, Paul; Bogdanove, Jon; Dwyer, Kieron; Grummett, Tom; Giordano, Dick; Mooney, Jim; Swan, Curt; Cardy, Nick; Plastino, Al; Kitson, Barry; Frenz, Ron; Jurgens, Dan (p), Austin, Terry; Anderson, Murphy; McLeod, Bob; Marzan, Jr., Jose; Breeding, Brett; Janke, Dennis; Hazelwood, Doug; Rodier, Denis; Thibert, Art; Pérez, George; Guice, Jackson; Cardy, Nick; Plastino, Al; McCarthy, Ray; Rubinstein, Joe; Ordway, Jerry (i). "The Wedding Album" Superman: The Wedding Album 1 (December 1996)
  6. Pérez, George (w), Pérez, George (p), Merino, Jesus (i). "What Price Tomorrow?" Superman v3, 1 (November 2011)

External links[edit | edit source]