The show debuted in 1952, and DC Comics rewarded Jimmy with his own comic book title in 1954.
Comics historian Mark Engblom observed, “Although Jimmy Olsen has been banished to the status of window dressing for the past three decades or so, he was clearly a major star from the late ‘50s through the (Mort) Weisinger years, and quite a ways into the ’70s. It’s hard to fathom today how a cast member could carry a solo series, to the point where I can’t think of anything comparable since the Jimmy and Lois Lane series.”
Even several months before Jimmy’s own title debuted, the cub reporter starred in a story written by Bill Woolfolk and drawn by Wayne Boring — Jimmy Olsen … Editor! — in Superman 86 (Jan. 1954).
An almost identical story written by David Chantler — Jimmy Olsen, Boy Editor — aired Feb. 13, 1954, on the TV show.
In fact, the sharing of plots between the comics and the TV show caused some friction.
Screenwriter Jackson Gillis, who wrote several of the series’ best episodes, was blunt about it. “The comic book began to rip them off,” he said. “This was before the Writer’s Guild was beginning to get after that kind of stuff.”
In both the comic book and TV stories, Jimmy is elevated to the editorship of the Daily Planet as part of a Metropolis city program in which young people temporarily assume important positions. And in both stories, Jimmy stirs up trouble by looking into an old, unsolved criminal case.
“I was a big Superman comic book fan,” Larson recalled in an interview with the Archive of American Television. “My dad said to me when I was doing the Superman television show, ‘Hell, they’re not paying you anything. You’re just getting back the dimes I gave you for that comic book.’”
Vincent Mariani wrote:
ReplyDeleteIt was a clever idea to publish comics starring Jimmy and Lois. It allowed for creating an increased volume of Superman stories while diversifying where the accent would be. The Weisinger years led to ever more bizarre turns of events.
Johnny Williams wrote:
ReplyDeleteVincent, clever yes, for it gave birth to the 'Superman Family' as an actual 'thing'.
Ellis Rose wrote:
ReplyDeleteI never questioned why Jimmy Olsen or Lois Lane had their own titles because, well, it was just understood! They were just another Superman title. What was there to not understand? It never dawned upon me that they were unusual.
Bob Doncaster wrote:
ReplyDeleteJimmy and Lois might have been the "stars" but I got them for Superman. Not that the antics of Jimmy and Lois weren't fun reads
Richard Meyer wrote:
ReplyDeleteI actually liked the Lois and Jimmy books better than Superman’s. He always was in the stories anyway, and it was more fun to see the crazy fixes that Jimmy and Lois got into than see Superman find some ridiculous way to protect his secret identity or act like a Boy Scout yet again. And he could be a real jerk with Lois and Jimmy!
Gerard de Souza wrote:
ReplyDeleteAs convoluted as the stories were, one certainly got their bang for the price of an issue.
Jay Karson wrote:
ReplyDeleteGreat blog!
Cheryl Spoehr wrote:
ReplyDeleteOn "The Adventures Continue" site,we have decided that the "Jimmy Olsen, Boy Editor" story was an unfortunate dream of Perry White's. The story begins with Perry trying to sleep... then gradually we find ourselves in a world where nothing makes sense... crooks carry machine guns openly,they kidnap Lois and Jimmy,assuming that the police will be ok with that.... and the next day they can spend their stolen loot legally. It is very much like the two acknowledged dream stories,"All that Glitters" and I believe the title for the Lois dream was "Mrs. Superman".... I am convinced, but for some unknown reason they never quite said "This is all a dream" for "Boy Editor", perhaps the man in charge felt that there had been too many dream stories.
Ed Barcas wrote:
ReplyDeleteNo one captured the character of Jimmy Olsen better than Larson and no one ever will