Superman #75

History

The American source issue, Superman (vol. 2) #75 (cover-dated January 1993, on sale November 18, 1992), was written and pencilled by Dan Jurgens and inked by Brett Breeding as the seventh and final chapter of the 'Doomsday!' arc, coordinated across the Superman family of titles under editor Mike Carlin. The event originated after a planned Clark Kent–Lois Lane wedding arc was shelved to align with the TV series Lois & Clark, prompting writer Jerry Ordway to half-jokingly suggest killing Superman instead — an idea the group pursued in earnest. Ediciones Zinco, the Barcelona-based publisher that held DC's Spanish translation rights continuously from 1982 to 1997, serialised the post-Crisis Superman run beginning in 1987 and subsequently released 'La Muerte de Superman' as a collected Spanish-language volume in February 1993, the same month the dust was settling in American shops. That Zinco collected edition notably omitted the first chapter (Superman: The Man of Steel #18) because that issue had not been published in Spain, starting instead with the Justice League America instalment.

Trivia · 8 facts

• The American source comic, Superman (vol. 2) #75, was published on November 18, 1992 with a January 1993 cover date, written and pencilled by Dan Jurgens and inked by Brett Breeding.
• It is the concluding chapter ('Doomsday!' Part 7 of 7) of the multi-title crossover in which Superman and the villain Doomsday — a new character created by Jurgens and the Superman editorial team — simultaneously kill each other in Metropolis.
• The entire issue is composed exclusively of single-panel splash pages, a deliberate storytelling escalation across the seven-issue arc (panel counts dropped each issue to accelerate the sense of time collapsing).
• The Direct Market edition was polybagged and included a black memorial armband, a 'Daily Planet' Superman obituary written by Roger Stern, commemorative postage stamps, and a poster by Jurgens and Breeding.
• Ediciones Zinco — a Barcelona publisher that held DC's Spanish translation rights from approximately 1982 to 1997 — serialised the post-Crisis Superman run starting in 1987 and released 'La Muerte de Superman' as a Spanish collected volume in February 1993.
• The Zinco collected 'La Muerte de Superman' (1993) omitted the first chapter of the American arc (Superman: The Man of Steel #18) because that issue had not previously appeared in Spain, beginning instead with the Justice League America instalment.
• The American storyline was adapted into a novelisation by Roger Stern (The Death and Life of Superman, a New York Times bestseller) and was loosely adapted into the 2007 animated film Superman: Doomsday.
• The story has been reprinted in Spanish numerous times since 1993, including by Planeta DeAgostini, ECC Ediciones (including a Deluxe hardcover edition that restored the missing chapter and original covers), and Salvat.