The Terrifying Comic Book Cover That Made Me Learn To Read
And possibly scarred me for life.
It was a Sunday morning in the summer of 1986. I was five years old, staying with my grandparents at their “cottage” — a double-wide trailer on a muddy man-made lake in Indiana. My Grandpa had just gotten back from town to pick up the newspaper and, in what would become a weekly ritual, returned with a comic book for me. It was the first comic book I remember owning: Superman #422.
The moment I saw the cover, I was obsessed. The image is burned into my mind, along with a single, burning question: why was Superman a werewolf?
I must have stared at that cover for hours. It scared the shit out of me, but I couldn’t look away. The image of a fanged, red-eyed Superman is exquisitely and horrifyingly rendered by Brian Bolland, who is perhaps best known today for his work on Batman: The Killing Joke. Looking back now, I think it’s probably why I spent much of my childhood terrified of werewolves—I mean absolutely TERRIFIED.
At five years old, I somehow already knew who Superman was. We didn’t have a VCR yet, so I couldn’t have seen the movie, but we must have had other kids books because I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know who Superman was. He was always just there. But I digress. I needed answers to my burning question: Why was Superman a werewolf?
I opened the book and started reading.
One problem…
I didn’t know how to read.
Thankfully, Superman #422 was beautifully drawn by Curt Swan whose images alone told the story so clearly. I poured over every frame. Still, I had questions. So many questions. Questions like who was the flying guy in maroon sweats?
I have a vague memory of sitting on that ratty plaid couch and flipping through those pages over and over and over until I unlocked its secrets — or I thought I did. I read it as well as I could, starting with the words I knew and only asking for help when I needed it. I forced myself to learn to read this whole comic. I think maybe I learned to read because of this comic. To unlock this kind of story. Stories that were just mine.
The Gift that Keeps on Giving
I came back to this comic many times in my life. I remember reading it a couple of years later, when I actually did know how to read, and being surprised at some of the story details. That flying guy in the sweatsuit? That was actually a previously denuded Superman. Who would’ve guessed.
When I returned to it later, I was also surprised at the issue’s pedigree, which didn’t stop at the cover. It was written by the legendary Marv Wolfman, drawn by the legendary Curt Swan with the aforementioned cover by the legendary Brian Bolland, but it also had some historical significance as well. Superman #422 was the last story to star the pre-Crisis Superman of Earth-One.
If you’re not a comics person and that makes no sense to you, here’s a summation from the DC Database that will do little to clear things up, but it is the best I can do:
This version of Superman, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022-2023.
It was an exciting time in comics. If I had just stayed another week or two at my grandparents’ little cottage, I probably would have been obsessed with Superman #423: “Whatever happened to the Man of Tomorrow” Pt.1 by Alan Moore (another legend). I missed that issue, but I somehow picked up Pt 2 from a drugstore spinner rack. Another issue that confused me at the time. I didn’t quite understand “continuity” yet or the larger changes taking place in the DC Universe.
Today, I’m working on my own comic, and as I’m finishing up the script for issue one, I’ve started thinking about cover designs. Actually, if I’m being honest, I’ve been thinking about cover designs well before I even started the script.
What makes a good cover? Why is this cover burned into my mind? Is it the bold design? The striking art? The pure terror and simplicity of it all? The fact that I had so few comics and stared at each of them almost every day? Yes. It’s probably all those things. When I go to the comic shop today, I’m looking ro covers that strike me as this one did. Perhaps I’m jaded now or less easy to scare/impress, or my tastes have changed, but it seems rarer and rarer to find such powerful cover images these days. But this is a topic for another post.
To close, here’s one more look at my well-loved copy:
Epilogue: SuperWerewolf, The Next Generation
As of this writing, I have my own five-year-old kid. Thankfully, she does let me read her comics even though she’s already a much better reader than I was at that age, cutting her teeth on arguably more age-appropriate fare like Babysitter’s Club Little Sister series, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and various and sundry Star Wars and Spider-man comics.
Out of curiosity, I asked her to look through Superman #422 and share her thoughts.
She was NOT into it. But she did convey the plot almost perfectly through questions — the distinctive patois of five-year-olds everywhere.
Why is Superman so scary?
[keeps reading]
Why is he a monster?
[keeps reading]
Is there a different monster?
[keeps reading]
Why does the monster take off Superman’s shirt?
[keeps reading]
Are those other monsters bad monsters?
[keeps reading]
Is the monster good?
[keeps reading]
Is the monster helping Superman?
[keeps reading]
Ok. I’m done. Can we read My Little Pony now?
Always.