Quarter Bin: Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #45 "The Superman-Lois Hit Record"

I've been collecting comics for as long as I can remember. I would always focus on the Quarter Bins down below the regular racks. More bang for my buck. When we were doing video episodes of Comic Book Coffee Break, I used to do a segment where I pulled a book from my old long boxes and revisited it with no context. I called it the Quarter Bin.

I was always drawn to the weirder books in my comic book searches, and some that regularly caught my attention were the vintage Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane titles. As a kid I always enjoyed watching Clark have to be creative to do super things with Lois and Jimmy around. It felt like a secret that Superman and I were in on together. Lois and Jimmy didn't realize that Superman was under their noses, but we knew it. And I liked that. So, I've chosen one of those today in honor of Superman & Lois on the CW.

Let's talk comic books.

Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #45 from November 1963

"The Superman-Lois Hit Record!"

No author or artist credited

• Lois and Clark are at a hillbilly-themed party.  Delightful.
• As the music stops, a new radio show comes on.  It's an I Love Lucy-esque spoof of Superman and Lois.
• Radio-Lois is hapless and desperate to marry Superman.  
• Real Lois is not thrilled though pretends to be because she doesn't want to make a scene.
• She learns that it's produced by "comedian" Don Weeder and heads off to give him a piece of her mind.
• At the radio station, Weeder assumes Lois is there to praise the show.
  
• He's already gotten high compliments from many, including some world leaders.
• "Much appreciated your good-natured spoof" -JFK 
• (This is particularly noteworthy because this issue would have hit the stands just before the tragic assassination of President Kennedy in November of 1963.)
• Lois relents and figures if it's making so many people happy maybe she's overreacting. 
• Hello sexism!
• Lois tries to ignore it and move on, but she's heckled everywhere she goes.
• This is even affecting her professionally.
• She is given 100 copies of the album as her prize for winning "Newsgal of the Year."
• She declines (and that award name is cringy).
• She decides to pop in ear plugs so she can go about her day without heckling but then doesn't hear a motorcycle zooming up on her.
• Luckily Superman spots her and saves the day.
• He repeats a line from the show: "You're more trouble for me than Luthor and Braniac rolled into one."
• Lois is furious and calls him out for it.
• He feels bad and apologizes, but she's not interested.
• 
  Meanwhile, at the Daily Planet, Perry White assigns Lois and Clark to cover the recording of the sequel album.
• It's all about how terrible life would be if Superman married Lois. Great.
  
• Lois is pissed and leaves the recording studio.
• Clark does a quick change and follows as Superman.
• They have a blowup where Lois really lets him have it for going along with this.
• Next, Perry sends Lois to cover a taping of the Steve Allen Show.
• She's delighted to do something other than talk about this dumb record.
• When she arrives, though, she learns that Clark Kent is guest-hosting, because that is definitely a thing that would happen and does in fact make sense.
• 
  During the show, Clark is a buffoon and takes the brunt of all the jokes, then decides to play the new record.
• Lois is furious, but when the record starts, their real-life fight from the street is edited into the episode.
• It plays out with Lois getting the upper hand and Superman sounding sheepish.
• In the wrap-up, we learn that Clark secretly recorded their conversation then maneuvered it so that he could guest-host the show.
• Lois feels vindicated and forgives Superman.
• Also, the actors playing Superman & Lois on the record announce that they are getting married.  
• The End.

This was the lead story and the one featured on the cover. There are two more "adventures" included, "The Girl with the Golden Arm" and "Dear Dr. Cupid." There's also a backup comic strip, a 5-panel entry of "Peg." 

Needles to say, this story does not hold up. I don't think any of the Lois stories from the 50s or early 60s would. She gets a little more agency later in the run, and I remember those stories being much better. 

I do really love the Superman art from this era, so the book still looks good. I also appreciate how Lois eventually stands up for herself and doesn't have to back down in order for the story to resolve. This issues strikes me as very meta because this series is almost exclusively about Lois scheming to marry Superman and ending up just getting in his way. Is the issue making fun of itself? I don't think so. I don't think they were that aware, and that's just weird. 

Then I wondered for a moment if it was a commentary on 1960s sexism. I mean it's all pretty blatant. Lois has to hide her feelings in order to avoid a scene, even though they are justified and she is in fact being horribly mistreated. Then she has to wear ear plugs to drown out the unjust criticisms of literally everyone both personally and professionally. But no. It wasn't a take on sexism; it just was sexism. 

Back to the Quarter Bin for you, old chum.

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You can find back issues of the video version of Comic Book Coffee Break here.

The audio version of Comic Book Coffee Break is over there. 

You can find me as the co-host of 9021 Here We G0: A 90210 Rewatch Podcast for the Radio Meanwhile Network. 

I also host Howe's Things, the podcast and radio show of the David A. Howe Public Library.