Superman: The Wedding Album #1

History

The wedding had been on DC's editorial calendar ever since Clark revealed his secret identity to Lois in Action Comics #662, but the launch of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman prompted DC to delay the comics event so both narratives could climax together. To fill the publishing gap, writer Jerry Ordway reportedly quipped that they should simply 'kill' Superman — and the writers' room took the suggestion seriously, producing the entire 'Death of Superman' / 'Funeral for a Friend' / 'Reign of the Supermen!' saga as a placeholder. When the TV show's producers moved their wedding to Season 4's third episode earlier than expected, DC had to compress its own timeline further, resulting in a rushed conclusion to Lois's overseas storyline in Superman vol. 2 #118 before the one-shot could proceed. The book was further complicated by its placement immediately after the 'Final Night' crossover, which had temporarily stripped Clark of his Kryptonian powers — a status quo DC chose to preserve through the wedding itself rather than fix beforehand.

Trivia · 9 facts

• Published as a 96-page one-shot (cover date December 1996, on-sale week of October 6–7, 1996) by DC Comics; editor listed as Joey Cavalieri.
• Written by all five principal Superman-line writers of the era: Dan Jurgens, Karl Kesel, David Michelinie, Louise Simonson, and Roger Stern.
• Art contributions came from nearly every living major artist who had drawn a Superman title, spanning multiple generations — including John Byrne, Gil Kane, Curt Swan, George Pérez, Stuart Immonen, Tom Grummett, Kerry Gammill, Dick Giordano, Al Plastino, Nick Cardy, Ron Frenz, Jerry Ordway, and many others.
• An unpublished short piece penciled by Curt Swan — who died earlier in 1996 — was inserted into the story as a flashback, making it his final DC Comics work.
• The officiating priest is drawn to resemble Jerry Siegel and bears the name 'Herbert Fine,' a reference to the pen name Siegel used when he published the proto-'Superman' story 'The Reign of the Superman'; the wedding pews are populated with caricatures of Superman's real-world creators and contributors, including Joe Shuster.
• Clark is depowered throughout the issue, still suffering the aftermath of the 'Final Night' crossover; Jimmy Olsen serves as best man and Lucy Lane as maid of honor.
• The issue was released simultaneously with Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Season 4, Episode 3 ('Swear to God, This Time We're Not Kidding') — a deliberate cross-media coordination by DC and the show's producers.
• The story has been collected multiple times: in Superman: The Wedding and Beyond (November 1997), as DC Comics Presents: Superman – Lois & Clark 100-Page Super Spectacular (November 2015, with new cover art by Ryan Sook), and in Superman & Lois Lane: The 25th Wedding Anniversary Deluxe Edition (September 2021).
• The New 52 relaunch (2011, triggered by Flashpoint) removed this marriage from main DC continuity; it was partially restored through DC Rebirth (2016), when the pre-Flashpoint Superman and Lois — along with their son Jonathan Samuel Kent — were re-established as the primary versions of the characters.

Key issues in Superman: The Wedding Album

Other variants of Superman: The Wedding Album #1 (2)