DC Redesigns Superman… In 1974

With all the talk about Wonder Woman's new costume, a lot of people have been going back and looking at other notable super-hero redesigns from the past. And yet, I still haven't seen anyone talk about the time that they redesigned Superman's costume 15 times in 1974.

Done as a bonus feature in the 100-page "Superman" #272, the "Graffiti Game" was a chance for the company's top artists to take a crack at giving both Superman and Clark Kent new looks. It was all done in fun, but the end result is a series of images that are crazy, awesome, and crazy-awesome.

Top to Bottom: Curt Swan, Kurt Schaffenberger, Joe Kubert and Neal Adams

Top to Bottom: Joe Orlando, Dick Giordano, Frank Robbins and Dave Cockrum

Top to Bottom: Carmine Infantino, Dick Dillin, Sergio Aragones and Irv Novick

Top to Bottom: Michael Kaluta, Howard Chaykin and Bernie Wrightson

Most of the looks are just flat-out bizarre, but my personal favorites are Kubert ("No one will realize that a mild-mannered gorilla is actually Superman!"), Schaffenberger (the first appearance of the now-famous super-monocle), Cockrum (who just drew Captain Marvel and Billy Batson), and Neal Adams (who has a truly amazing idea of what it means to be "Super-Macho").

It's also worth noting that with fifteen artists working, nobody stumbled on the Electric Blue redesign that Superman would actually sport for a while back in the' 90s, although the fact that Carmine Infantino just cold drew Hitler makes that outfit look way better by comparison.

Filed Under: superman

Categories: DC