Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #3
Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #3 is an early entry in DC's first ongoing series headlined by a female supporting character, arriving only months after the title launched in early 1958 and helping to establish that a non-powered, non-superhero lead could sustain a dedicated Silver Age book. The issue crystallizes the central storytelling formula of the Weisinger era — Superman using his powers in elaborate, often comedic ways to protect his secret identity from Lois — through the 'Rainbow Superman' lead story, which became significant enough to be reprinted in Superman Annual #8. The cover story 'Lois Lane and the Babe of Steel,' in which a time-travel mishap strands Superbaby in the present with Lois as accidental babysitter, exemplifies the whimsical crossover of the Superman Family titles and their shared mythology around Kal-El's Smallville childhood. Together, the three stories in this issue document the Silver Age Lois Lane series at its most characteristic: identity puzzles, doppelgängers, and outlandish premises played with complete narrative sincerity.
In "The Rainbow Superman," Superman returns from space with an unexpected glow—every time Lois opens her mirror locket, he’s bathed in a shimmering rainbow aura. Written by Otto Binder and illustrated by Kurt Schaffenberger, this 1958 DC tale follows Clark Kent as he races to keep Lois from opening the locket while he’s near, all while trying to figure out what’s causing the strange phenomenon. The cover by Curt Swan, with inks by Stan Kaye and Al Plastino, captures the moment of radiant mystery.
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The series was shepherded into existence by editor Mort Weisinger, who pushed the Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen spin-off titles over internal resistance from DC management, arguing that fan demand — gathered from his well-known habit of polling neighborhood children — justified the gamble. Whitney Ellsworth held the credited editorial position, but Weisinger was the actual editorial force behind the book, a dual-credit arrangement that appears in GCD records for early issues including #3. All three main stories in this issue were drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger, who had taken on the Lois Lane title from its debut issue and would go on to draw nearly every issue through #81, becoming the artist most closely identified with the Silver Age version of the character. The cover was penciled by Curt Swan, the premier Superman artist of the era.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date July–August 1958; on-sale date May 20, 1958, per U.S. Copyright Office filings (registration B711827).
- Contains three main stories: 'The Rainbow Superman' (script Otto Binder, art Kurt Schaffenberger), 'The Man Who Was Clark Kent's Double' (script Jerry Coleman, art Kurt Schaffenberger), and 'Lois Lane and the Babe of Steel' (script Jerry Coleman, art Kurt Schaffenberger).
- Cover pencils by Curt Swan; all interior story art by Kurt Schaffenberger, the artist who drew nearly every issue of the series from its debut through issue #81.
- Mort Weisinger was the actual editor; Whitney Ellsworth held the credited editorial position — an arrangement documented in Grand Comics Database records for this issue.
- 'The Rainbow Superman' was reprinted in Superman Annual #8; 'The Man Who Was Clark Kent's Double' was reprinted in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane Annual #1 and again in issue #99 (February 1970); the full issue was collected in Showcase Presents: Superman Family Vol. 2 (April 2008) and Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane Archives Vol. 1 (2011/2012).
- The 'Babe of Steel' story establishes a Silver Age continuity note: when Superman travels to the past, only one version of him can occupy a given moment, so Superbaby displaces adult Superman from the present, and vice versa.
- The book also contains short filler strips: 'Binny' (gag strip), 'Cora the Car Hop' (gag strip by Henry Boltinoff), and the 'Little Pete' public service announcement 'Are You a Litter-Bug?' by Henry Boltinoff.
- The series was only in its third issue at this point; it would go on to become the third best-selling comic in the United States by 1962, trailing only Superman and Superboy.
Cast · 12 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Superman smashes a crystalline meteor in space, but when he returns to Earth he begins to glow with a rainbow aura, and for some reason it happens every time Lois opens her mirror locket. Now he has to keep her from opening it when he is near her as Clark Kent, until the strange effect wears off.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).