Superman #177
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSuperman #177 (May 1965) is a well-rounded Silver Age anthology that holds a modest but genuine place in Superman history as the third chapter of the 'Tales of Kryptonite' serial — a rare multi-issue narrative experiment for DC at a time when each story was typically self-contained. The lead story by Otto Binder stretches Kryptonite lore in an unusual direction, reducing the Man of Steel to speaking and writing only in Kryptonese and then threading in gold Kryptonite as a plot complication, bridging installments running from Superman #173 through #179. The issue is also a minor footnote in literary history: the letters page carries a letter signed 'Stephen King,' which collectors and commentators have long noted as a tantalizing curio from the future horror author's teenage years.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue was produced by the core mid-1960s Superman bullpen. Curt Swan penciled both the cover and the interiors of the first two stories, with George Klein on inks — the workhorse team that defined the visual grammar of the Silver Age Superman. Otto Binder scripted the lead 'Tales of Kryptonite No. 3' installment, continuing the serial he had been developing across several issues; Leo Dorfman scripted the second story, 'The Menace Called It!', which DC's own records confirm was a plot recycled from Action Comics #162. George Papp handled art on the Krypto backup, with the script tentatively attributed to Jerry Siegel. The inside front cover public-service puzzle page had originally appeared in a DC comic cover-dated May 1960, illustrating the era's routine practice of recycling filler material.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published May 1965 by DC Comics (then National Periodical Publications); cover and interior art by Curt Swan (pencils) and George Klein (inks).
- Contains three stories: 'Superman's Kryptonese Curse!' (script: Otto Binder), 'The Menace Called "It"!' (script: Leo Dorfman), and 'When Jimmy Olsen Stole Krypto from Superman' (art: George Papp; script tentatively attributed to Jerry Siegel).
- The lead story is 'Tales of Kryptonite No. 3,' the third chapter of a serialized Kryptonite history running through Superman #173, #176, #177, and concluding in #179 — an unusual multi-issue narrative arc for DC in this era.
- In 'Superman's Kryptonese Curse!', red Kryptonite causes Superman to speak and write only in Kryptonese; a separate ray then transforms the red K chunk into gold Kryptonite, escalating the threat and setting up the next installment. Guest characters include Krypto and the alien Vol-Don.
- 'The Menace Called "It"!' was adapted from a plot used in Action Comics #162, and was later reprinted in The Best of DC #56 (January 1985), one of the few reprints from this era to see a second life in the digest-format Best of DC line.
- The Krypto backup, 'When Jimmy Olsen Stole Krypto from Superman,' presents its entire adventure as Krypto's dream — Jimmy imagines (in the dream) gaining Superman's powers as 'Super-Olsen.'
- The letters page includes a letter credited to 'Stephen King,' which multiple collector sources note as a likely early correspondence from the future novelist, who would have been approximately 17 years old at the time of publication.
- A one-page Cheerios advertisement featuring Rocky and Bullwinkle (Rocky J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose) appears in the issue, accounting for those characters in the indexed catalog.
Cast · 21 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Superman #2 (1965), Superman #2/1965 (1965), Superman #3 (1965), Supermann #2/1966 (1966), Supermann #3/1966 (1966), Superman Supacomic #80 (1966), Superman #1/1966 (1966), Supermann Stort Julenummer #1970 (1969), Lynvingen #5/1978 (1978), The Best of DC #56 (1985), Stålmannen #8/1965, Teräsmies #6/1965
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