Superboy #32

Oct 1996 · DC · 1.95 USD; 2.75 CAD

📊 ~14,451 copies sold its debut month

☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free

“So, Tell Me About Superboy”

★ 1st appearance — Match

About this Issue

Superboy (Vol. 4) #32 marks the debut of Amanda Spence, one of the most consequential villains in the Kon-El era of DC Comics. Introduced here as an Agenda operative posing as a journalist, Spence sets in motion an entire arc of cloning, betrayal, and personal tragedy that would define Superboy's series for years — culminating in the creation of Match and, ultimately, Tana Moon's murder. The issue also served as a deliberate jumping-on point for new readers, using its framing device of a reporter's interview to recapitulate Superboy's origin and supporting cast in a single, accessible chapter. The character of Spence proved durable enough to be adapted into the animated series Young Justice, demonstrating that the creative seeds planted here had real staying power beyond the printed page.

writer Ron Marz · artist Ramon Bernado · inker Doug Hazlewood · colorist Tom McCraw · letterer Richard Starkings · letterer Comicraft · cover Ramon Bernado, Doug Hazlewood

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $1

CGC 9.4 · 1 in census $376*

CGC 9.2 none in existence

CGC 9.0 none in existence

CGC 8.5 · 1 in census $249*

CGC 8.0 · 1 in census $249*

CGC 7.5 none in existence

Show all 9 grades ▾

CGC 7.0 none in existence

CGC 6.5 none in existence

CGC 6.0 $105

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

More listings for this title

VF $2.9 NM $2.95 VF $2.99 VF/NM $3.99 NM $5.19 NM $5.68 GD $7.99 VF $24

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 20 total · seen 21 days ago

Sell my copy

Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.

We Buy Collections ▸

Fast, fair offers · we handle grading & shipping

History

This issue coincides with writer Ron Marz assuming the lead writing duties on the title, replacing prior writer Karl Kesel, making it both a creative handoff and an editorial reset for the book. Marz and penciler Ramon Bernado collaborated on the issue's central storytelling conceit — an in-world interview that doubles as an origin recap — which was a deliberate editorial strategy to welcome new readers mid-run. The same creative team of Marz and Bernado would continue together through the Agenda storyline that Spence's debut triggers. Editor Frank Pittarese oversaw the issue, with inking by Doug Hazlewood, colors by Tom McCraw, and lettering by Richard Starkings and Comicraft.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Amanda Spence, created by writer Ron Marz and penciler Ramon Bernado, who would become one of Superboy's most significant recurring villains.
Cover date: October 1996; part of Superboy Vol. 4 (the 1994–2002 series), the first canonical Post-Crisis Superboy series to star Kon-El rather than Clark Kent.
Story title: 'So, Tell Me About Superboy.' — a framing-device recap issue in which Tana Moon unknowingly grants an interview to Spence, who is covertly gathering intelligence on Superboy's origin and weaknesses for the Agenda.
Spence is introduced posing as a reporter for the Agenda, a secret organization with aims parallel to but more sinister than Project Cadmus; her intelligence gathering in this issue directly leads to Superboy's kidnapping and the creation of his clone Match.
King Shark appears, confirmed alive despite his apparent death at the ocean floor in an earlier issue; his next subsequent appearance in the series is not until issue #66.
The issue includes flashback sequences recapping the 'Reign of the Supermen!' storyline, with cameo appearances by Paul Westfield, Cyborg Superman (Hank Henshaw), Superman, Steel, and Supergirl.
Some copies were polybagged with the magazine On The Edge, which featured content on skateboarding, boxing, and X-Games-style sports — a mid-1990s youth-culture cross-promotion tactic.
Amanda Spence was later adapted for the animated series Young Justice (Cartoon Network), voiced by Vanessa Marshall, though her role was significantly reimagined for that continuity.