Friday Fives: I Stole This From Spurgeon.

My Five Favorite Superman Artists:

1. Curt Swan – An unassuming master. His version of Superman is the one I see when people talk about the character.
2. Kurt Schaffenberger – Really, it’s about Lois and Lana in his art, but like Swan he defines my favorite era for the character. I’ve always liked the humor that was omnipresent, always showing us the outrageous with a slight wink.
3. Jerry Ordway – Yes, there’s something slightly off with that chin he puts on Kal-El, but his 40′s influenced work on Adventures Of Superman ranks very highly with me. He consistenly manages to make sure you believe a man can smash through brick walls without blinking.
4. John Byrne – The cape being torn was needlessly irritating and the slight smugness that Superman possessed in his scripts is distracting, but I love the broad-chested, handsome look he gave the character. Hs haircuts for Lois Lane were crimes against humanity, though.
5. Jose-Lois Garcia Lopez – The man. A superior draftsman with an amazing ability to add just enough detail that you believed in what you saw.

Bonus List
My Five Favorite Superman Cast Members That Aren’t Superman or Lois:

1. Jimmy Olsen – If the latest All-Star Superman didn’t prove to you that he’s essential, I’ll beat you about the head and shoulders until you acknowledge that he’s Mister Action. I have a brick and I’m totally willing to throw down over this.
2. Perry White – He knows The Secret. He has to. There’s no excuse for any man letting one of his best journalists wander off with a stomach/headache whenever something nasty happens in Metropolis.
3. Pa Kent – Removing the deaths of Superman’s second parents may detract from the character’s tragedy – no matter what he does, those that he loves die – but there’s some moments I consider solid gold featuring Clark and Jonathan Kent. See the wheatfield scene in Superman For All Season, written by the exceedingly lousy-of-late Jeph Loeb for a prime example.
4. Batman – The reverse angle to Superman, the night to the Last Son Of Krypton’s day. I just wish he and our favorite Kryptonian would be brave enough to tell the world of their forbidden love.
5. Steve Lombard – The office bully gets his comeuppance a few dozen times a month. An entire nation of nerds cheers.