Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #133

History

Kirby arrived at DC in 1970 after departing Marvel with a deal to write, pencil, and edit three brand-new interconnected titles; his contract also required him to take over one existing series. According to Kirby's then-assistant Mark Evanier — the most frequently cited primary source on this period — Kirby asked DC editorial director Carmine Infantino for a title without a permanent creative team so he would not displace another creator, and the under-performing Jimmy Olsen fit that description (the popular story that it was DC's absolute lowest-selling book is disputed by Evanier and DC's own later account, which describes it as a low-profile title Kirby volunteered to boost). DC was uneasy with Kirby's distinctive rendering of Superman, whose chest emblem and facial features differed from the licensed 'house model,' and so veteran Superman artists Al Plastino and Murphy Anderson were brought in to redraw Kirby's Superman and Jimmy Olsen faces throughout the run — a practice that irritated Kirby and that Evanier later documented extensively; for issue #133 specifically, Plastino handled most of the Clark Kent/Superman figure alterations while a small number of panels were touched by Anderson. The issue also includes a one-page autobiographical text piece written by Kirby himself, 'Jack Kirby — Continued,' in which he dedicated the work to his four children.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Morgan Edge, president of Galaxy Broadcasting System and secret co-conspirator with Intergang, who becomes a recurring antagonist across the entire Superman family of titles through both the Bronze Age and Post-Crisis eras.
• First team appearance of Intergang, a Metropolis-based criminal organization secretly supplied with advanced technology from Apokolips — the street-level arm of Darkseid's cosmic campaign introduced in this issue.
• First appearances of the second Newsboy Legion — Tommy, Gabby Jr., Big Words, Scrapper Jr., and Flipper Dipper (also spelled Flippa-Dippa) — presented as the sons of the original 1940s Newsboys whom Kirby and Joe Simon created together at DC (then National) beginning in Star-Spangled Comics #7 (1942).
• First appearances of the Outsiders motorcycle gang and its named members Iron Mask, Vudu, Flek, Gandy, and Yango; Jimmy defeats Iron Mask in hand-to-hand combat and thereby becomes the gang's leader by their own code.
• First appearance of the Whiz Wagon, the advanced land-air-sea vehicle designed by Big Words and financed by Galaxy Broadcasting, which serves as the team's primary transport throughout Kirby's run.
• Written, penciled, and edited entirely by Jack Kirby — his first published DC Comics work after leaving Marvel — with inks by Vince Colletta, lettering by John Costanza, and editorial credits to Murray Boltinoff and E. Nelson Bridwell; Al Plastino redrew most Superman and Clark Kent faces in this specific issue, with minor Anderson retouching on at least one panel.
• The story was published with a cover date of October 1970 and an on-sale date of August 25, 1970; Kirby's original alternate cover pencils (uninked) were first published publicly in the fanzine Graphic Story World #6 (July 1972).
• The issue has been reprinted in Superman in the Seventies TPB (2000), Jimmy Olsen: Adventures by Jack Kirby Vol. 1 TPB (2003), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 (hardcover 2007, paperback 2012, omnibus hardcover 2018), Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen by Jack Kirby TPB (2019), and Absolute Fourth World by Jack Kirby Vol. 1 HC (2020).

Cast · 14 characters

Full credits

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