Dec 8th 2020 Advent Calendar
Superman is angry. Very angry.
Lana looks on horrified as he barks furiously at her.
Cradled in the Man of Steel's arms, the lifeless body of the woman who loves him more than any other woman in the world, Lois Lane.
Today's cover is LOIS LANE #102, dated July 1970, drawn by Curt Swan and Murph Anderson. With no background the three figures stand out starkly against the cold white, strengthening the impact of what we are seeing. It's another great example of a cover that teases the reader into buying the issue, desperate to find out if what the cover is telling them is true, that for Lois Lane "When you're dead, you're dead!"
On day 6 of this Advent calendar series I considered the way artists throughout the centuries have used the image of a dead or unconscious woman not only to depict her vulnerability, but also to imply sexual availability. It's a representation of women (and less frequently men) which still strikes a chord in the modern age, and one which is still used frequently in popular culture such as comic book covers.
Today's image, equally popular, represents a variation on that idea. Now the heroic male figure is also depicted, cradling the dead or unconscious woman, lifting her body up to emphasise its passivity and lifelessness. Here the female's vulnerability is contrasted with the physical strength of the male, and is almost always accompanied by the uncontrollable unleashing of the male's negative emotions-- despair, horror, regret, frustration, hopelessness, guilt, anger, grief...
Ironically one of the most famous examples in art of this pose is PIETA, a sculpture by Michelangelo depicting Mary cradling the crucified Jesus. Obviously here the gender roles are opposite to the above images, the male is seen as the dead figure, a supreme sacrifice.
Comic artists have repeatedly designed their covers knowingly referencing this sculpture, emphasising the sacrificial nature of their own male character's death. Perhaps the most obvious example is this one from Marvel's graphic novel, THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN MARVEL--
However, while the image from LOIS LANE #102 owes much to the PIETA sculpture, it also follows in a tradition popularised by Pulp magazines in which it was almost always a beautiful woman being carried by a strong, square-jawed man--
Over the years Superman has had more than his fair share of adopting this pose, perhaps the most famous example being this one of course--
Mind you, Lois got to enjoy reclining in this pose on more than other occasions too--
You may have noticed also, that as with Batman on the DETECTIVE cover, Superman regularly voices his failure and willingness to accept the blame for the dead woman in his arms. This too is a common feature of these sorts of covers, adding extra dramatic tension which encourages the potential reader to commit to buying the issue--
And long before he cradled the dead Robin in his arms, Batman was already taking the blame for the deaths of lovely ladies--
Look, I would suggest, having sought out these covers, that a male superhero cannot really hold his head up high if he hasn't cradled his dead female soulmate in his muscular arms at least once--
And you don't even have to be clad in spandex (or fishy scales for that matter) to carry it off really. I think the most impressive rendition of this pose that I have seen on a comic cover is this heart-breaking version from CONAN THE BARBARIAN #100--
Even bog-monsters can get in on the act as this cover for a home video release of the first SWAMP THING movie demonstrates more than adequately--
And there are many more examples. But of course one aspect of these covers I haven't touched is the fact that in many (though not all) of these examples, nothing could be further from the truth than the notion presented on LOIS LANE #102, that for these ladies "when you're dead, you're dead!"
Click here to see Day 7--
Heads up! You can see a twist on this theme in the Advent Calendar for Day 9-- Simply click the image below--
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