Date: Sep 1986

Cover Price:  $0.75

Publisher: DC Comics

Continues to:

• • ACTION COMICS #583 (Sep 1986) 

Reprinted in:

• • SUPERMAN BY ALAN MOORE: ABSOLUTE EDITION (20 April 2027) 

  •  SUPERMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? (Digital) (26 Nov 2013) DC Comics     SUPERMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? DELUXE EDITION (Jul 2009) DC Comics     SUPERMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? DELUXE EDITION HARDCOVER (22 Dec 2020) DC Comics     DC THROUGH THE 80S: THE END OF AN ERA (16 Dec 2020) DC Comics     DC COMICS GRAPHIC NOVEL COLLECTION #63: SUPERMAN - WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? (UK) (Jan 2018) EagleMoss     SUPERMAN: O QUE ACONTECEU AO HOMEM DE AÇO? (Brazil) (21 Jun 2013) Panini Comics     SUPERMAN: O QUE ACONTECEU AO HOMEM DE AÇO? (Reprint) (Brazil) (Apr 2019) Panini Comics     SUPERMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? TPB (Jun 2010) DC Comics     DC COLLECTION: SUPERMAN #11 (Italy) (1995)     ACTION COMICS #1: SUPERMAN - WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? (Germany) (2002) Panini Comics     SUPERMAN POCHE #110 (France) (Mar 1987) Sagédition     GRANDES AUTORES SUPERMAN: ALAN MOORE - ¿QUE SUCEDIO CON EL HOMBRE DEL MANANA? Y OTRAS HISTORIAS (Spain) (Feb 2014) ECC Ediciones     SUPER POWERS #21 (Brazil) (May 1991) Abril     LES DERNIERS JOURS DE SUPERMAN (France) (04 Mar 2016) Urban Comics     SUPERMAN ACTION COMICS: ¿QUÉ SUCEDIÓ CON EL HOMBRE DEL MAÑANA? (Mexico) (11 Jul 2019) Mensual     SUPERMAN: CO SE STALO S MUZEM ZITRKA (Czech Republic) (Jun 2011) BB Art     TERÄSMIES 12/86 (Finland) (Dec 1986) Semic Press  Continued in ACTION COMICS #583 (Sep 1986) Cover reprinted in SUPERMAN 101 (Digital) (30 Jul 2011) Reprinted in SUPERMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW?, SUPERMAN: MAN OF TOMORROW (1998) , SUPER-HOMEM: O ADEUS (Brazil) (2003) , ACTION COMICS #1: SUPERMAN - WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? (Germany) (2002) , SUPERMAN TASCHENBUCH #79 (Germany) (1987) , SUPERMAN ESPECIAL VERANO #3 (Spain) (1989), DC UNIVERSE: THE STORIES OF ALAN MOORE TP (Jan 2006), SUPERMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? (Wal-Mart) (28 Nov 2006) SUPERMAN POCHE #110 (France) (Mar 1987) and L'UNIVERS DES SUPER-HEROS DC PAR ALAN MOORE (France)

Details for Superman by Alan Moore Absolute Edition

Aug 23, 2026 | 08:43:26 PM | Vu

All new remaster (and recolor) of stories from Alan Moore.

There will be all-new art by Rick Veitch, celebrating his Superman story with Alan Moore. All-new artwork by Ryan Sook honoring Dave Gibbons and Curt Swan's Superman stories by Alan Moore.

Plus, never-before reprinted stories from UK's Super Heroes Annual (1984) and  Superman Official Annual (1985)

Brand-new essays from Gibbons, Veitch, Mark Waid, John Wells, and original art and color guide gallery.

https://amzn.to/4g2HOlu

Superman by Alan Moore: Absolute Edition to reprint "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow"

Aug 07, 2026 | 10:35:25 PM | Vu

The legendary final Superman story—reimagined by Watchmen writer in a stunning oversize Absolute Edition.

From legendary writer Alan Moore comes his groundbreaking stories for the Man of Steel. Joined by award-winning artists Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), Rick Veitch (Swamp Thing), and Curt Swan (Superman’s definitive artist of the Bronze Age), these celebrated tales would come to inspire generations of stories to follow and have since ascended to the pantheon of greatest Superman stories ever told.

Collecting “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” from Superman #423 and Action Comics #583, “The Jungle Line” from DC Comics Presents #85, “For the Man Who Has Everything…” from Superman Annual #11, and the never-before-collected stories “Protected Species” from The Super Heroes Annual (1984) and “I was Superman’s Double” from Superman Official Annual (1985), both written by Moore. Escape into the tales like never before in DC’s biggest format, with each story fully remastered using original colors. Featuring brand-new essays from Gibbons, Veitch, Mark Waid, John Wells, and more, along with an original art and color guide gallery.

Featuring all-new art by Rick Veitch celebrating his landmark Superman story with Alan Moore, alongside all-new artwork by Ryan Sook honoring Dave Gibbons and Curt Swan's Superman stories by Alan Moore.

https://amzn.to/4g2HOlu

Walmart's "Out of Stock!" comic display features Curt Swan and George Perez's art 

posted Jul 1, 2018, 11:42 AM by Vu

From Vu

PSA: The 100-page Walmart comics should be on the sales floor by the registers. I'm going to pick up a few copies today...

Thanks to @jxm1985 and ComicsBeat for mentioning the Walmart 's out of stock comics. Art by the great, late Curt Swan and George Perez, from SUPERMAN 423.

A Year of Cool Comic Book Moments - Day 22 

posted Jan 23, 2009 10:07 AM by vu sleeper

From goodcomics.comicbookresources.com

A Year of Cool Comic Book Moments - Day 22

by Brian Cronin

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 3:06 PM EST

Here is the latest cool comic book moment in our year-long look at onecool comic book moment a day (in no particular order whatsoever)! Here’s the archive of the moments posted so far!

(excerpt)

At this point in the story, Superman has gathered all his closestfriends to the Fortress of Solitude to protect them, because all of hisvillains have suddenly became sociopaths. Even the loser villains arekilling people now, so now that Luthor, Brainiac and the Kryptonite Manare on the scene, Superman is scared spitless.

While he is hunkering down, getting ready for the impending siege,the Legion of Super-Heroes visit him one last time, and they have along with them a time-traveling Supergirl, who had just recently died in the comics.

So with that in mind, read the following and you can see why Superman is crying on the last page (which is the last page of Superman(Vol. 2) #423)…(click to enlarge)… 

Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow - Walmart Exclusive

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 21:36:29 CST Vu

From Vu

This Superman Returns/Justice League: Justice on Trial bundle is a pretty good deal, not only do you get the Superman Returns movie, but the bonus JL DVD. Plus for $2.97, you can download the movie (see more prices at www.pocket-lint.co.uk).

The best part is: it also comes with a reprint of SUPERMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW!I could not find a photograph or scan of this pocket sized comic book,so if you have a copy, I would like to see a scan of it.

>>>

Superman Returns (Exclusive) (Widescreen) (also available in Full Screen)

Monday, November 13, 2006 7:35:53 PM

(excerpt)

$19.96
About the Movie
Exclusive includes "Superman Returns" and Bonus Item. "SupermanReturns" - He's back. A hero for our millennium. And not a moment toosoon, because during the five years (much longer in movie-fan years!)Superman sought his home planet, things changed on his adopted planet.Nations moved on without him. Lois Lane now has a son, a fiancee and aPulitzer for "Why The World Doesn't Need Superman." And Lex Luthor hasa plan that will destroy millions - no, billions - of lives. FilmmakerBryan Singer ("X-Men") gives the world the "Superman" it needs,honoring the legend everyone loves while taking it in a powerful newdirection. Brandon Routh proves a perfect choice to wear the hero'scape, leading a top cast that includes Kate Bosworth as Lois and KevinSpacey as Lex. And the thrills from a sky-grapple with a tumbling jumbojet to a continent-convulsing showdown - redefine Wow. "I'm alwaysaround," Superman tells Lois. You'll be glad he is.

Packaging Type is Side-by-Side; "Superman Returns" (Widescreen Version)

Curt Swan Gave Us the Finger(s) 

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 19:07:02 CST Vu

From markssuperblog.blogspot.com

Curt Swan Gave Us the Finger(s)

Wednesday, November 01, 2006 by posted by Mark Alfred 

One of the trademarks of this great Super-Artist's work was his occasionally quirky method of drawing characters' hands with the middle finger and ring finger touching, and the index finger and pinky finger separated from this grouped pair.

(excerpt)

Speaking of landmarks in comics, the last two examples are from the Alan Moore tale printed in 1986,"Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" which was printed in the"final" issues of Superman and Action. Alan Moore's deep,resonating-with-history story was perfectly accompanied by Curt's penciling, inked by George Perez in Superman 423 and by Kurt Schaffenberger in Action 583. The covers were both inked by another DC great, Murphy Anderson.

Superman and Krypto Homage  

November 28, 2004 12:51 pm

 From Comicartfans.com

Superman & Krypto from "Whatever Happened...?" - Sold!

Sunday, November 14, 2004 10:12:45 PM

written by Ray Cuthbert

ARTWORK DETAILS:

Artist: Terry Twigg, All

MediaType: Paint - Oil

ArtType: Commission

DESCRIPTION:
Larry Wilson's first commission request was "a classic image fromthe acclaimed 'Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel' storyline from1986. "This is the story where the "Silver Age" of comics really comesto an end. It is the last story of the Superman we all grew up with.This Superman created in June 1938 was all full of "Truth, Justice, andthe American Way". The comic-book world he was living in however wasbecomming too dark and grittiy for his taste. "This is the story whereSupermans' rogues gallery becomes violent lie the times, and Supermanhas to confront the notion that he his a man out of date... and out oftime. He knows in order to protect his way of life, he may have tobreak his most sacred of vows... and kill. "The scene I would very muchlike Terry to recreate is to me the most seminal moment in the story.Where it all weighs down on Superman. He is accompanied only by hisfaithful dog Krypto." When Larry received the commission his responsewas that the piece was "Awesome, just awesome." The original Terryrecreated was originally drawn by Curt Swan and George Perez.

Alan Moore Interview in CBA

July 20, 2003 

From Vu

COMIC BOOK ARTIST #25 is anall-Alan Moore issue. In a rare interview with Moore, I found out a lotof things that I didn't know about Moore. For instance, he broke intocomics writing and drawing his own strip. I also did not know that hetruly love the comic book medium, that when he was a child he wouldread all the UK comics and genuinely love the Superman mythology. Thereis an interesting comment that he made, which if you write about acharacter who can fly, the reader reads this and imagines what if youcould fly. What if *I* can fly. Suddenly, all the wonder andimagination is put into the reader's head. Anyway, here is an excerptwhich George got mentioned.

>>>
ALAN MOORE
Interview conducted by Jon B Cooke & George Khoury

(excerpt)

SUPERMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? DELUXE EDITION (Jul 2009)

DC Comics

CBA: Ittook me some time to finally read your work. I would go into comicstores and people were always saying, "Alan Moore this, Alan Moorethat," and the talk made it sound like you were trendy and I usuallybeen disappointed buying into trendy stuff. But when I finally read"The Anatomy Lesson" [SWAMP THING #21] I thought, "No f*cking way! This guy's putting hallucinogenics into mainstream comics!" [laughs]

Alan: But it wouldn't have worked if Iwasn't a traditionalist. None of this radical work would occur toanyone who wasn't a traditionalist. Unless I understood the traditionof Swamp Thing, how could I ever come up with exactly the right sort oftwist to put in them?

When I got my crack at doing Supermanstories, my last two stories for Julie, I didn't intend to beirreverent or take the character to some ultimate extreme. I usedelements from earlier stories and certainly stretched them, but forinstance, I loved Krypto. I knew Krypto was going to be thrown out withall the other garbage in the next issue when John Byrne took over, butat the same time I thought I would try to get the readers to appreciatethe good stuff they were losing. I tried to write a Krypto scene thatwould make grown men weep, and it did. I got some good reports on thatdeath of Krypto. It is okay that we can love this stuff, and I do.

CBA: Did you art direct that?

Alan: This is the only comic book cover [ACTION COMICS #583] I've ever got paid doing the layouts for. That was a delight. I got to work with Kurt Schaffenberger, inked by George Pérez.

Curt Swan Book

April 11, 2003 

From Newsarama

Topic: CSN @ NEWSARAMA - CURT SWAN: A LIFE IN COMICS
posted April 10, 2003 12:15 PM
by Cliff Biggers

(excerpt)

Curt Swan: A Life in Comics is amost impressive volume; not only has Zeno selected an amazing array of Swan art from his lengthy career—work that has been cleaned up and reproduced with loving care to show off Swan’s skills in the bestpossible light—but he has supplemented that work with scores of unpublished pieces, pencil drawings, sketches, commissioned drawings,layouts, rarely-seen cartoons and non-comics work, and more. The pencil work in particular conveys the strength of Swan’s artistry in knowing how to convey maximum impact with no wasted lines, no cluttered layout,no pretentious visual gimmickry.

(Vu: As you know, George Pérez was a big fan of Curt Swan'shumanistic approach to drawing Superman. It was a dream come true when he was asked to inked Swan in part two of "Whatever Happened to the Manof Tomorrow?" story in SUPERMAN #423.)

Superman & Swan in CBM #97

January 4, 2003

From COMIC BOOK MARKETPLACE #97 (Dec 2002)

COMIC BOOK MARKETPLACE #97

Dec 2002

(excerpt)

Swan's Superman seldom expressed feelings of melancholy; rarely did he brood; yet there was often an air of palpable sadness about him, taken to the extreme in 1961's "The Death of Superman!" (inked by Stan Kaye), above and in Swan's last Superman story in '86, inked by George Pérez, below.

DC Collected Editions Version 2.0

October 13, 2002

From Vu

Newsarama reported:

"DC Comics announced Thursday that a “staggering” 200 titles from the DC Comics backlist are showcased online now atdccomics.com/collect/,each with cover art, three interior story pages, and contentdescriptions. The newly-posted site updates the previous version of theDC Graphic Novels webpage and last year's DC Comics Collected EditionsLibrary CD-ROM, reflecting the upcoming Version 2.0 of the CD-ROM."

I went to the link and there are information on CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS TP (one of DC's most popular trade paperback), HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE (popular), WONDER WOMAN: PARADISE LOST TP, NEW TEEN TITANS ARCHIVES HC #1, and SUPERMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW?.

In Case You Missed It (7/16)

July 20, 2002

From Movie Poopshoot

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

posted July 16, 2002 09:09 PM

(A guide to the undiscovered, underrated and underappreciated)

By Tom Grozan

>>>
SUPERMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW?
Written by Alan Moore with art by Curt Swan, George Perez and Kurt Schaffenberger

In late 1985, with John Byrne scheduledto take over and relaunch SUPERMAN and ACTION COMICS, longtime SUPERMANeditor Julius Schwartz was presented with the opportunity to present agrand finale to his stewardship of his titles. His idea was to makebelieve the last issues of SUPERMAN and ACTION COMICS were the lastissues ever. His first choice to write the last Superman story was theperson who wrote the first, co-creator Jerry Siegel. However, legalentanglements prevented that from happening. He was at the San DiegoComic-Con, having breakfast with none other than Alan Moore, whenSchwartz found the answer to his dilemma. Moore literally rose up outof his chair, put his hands around the editor's neck and said, "If youlet anyone else write that story, I'll kill you!" Schwartz, like anysane person involved in comics, didn't need to have his life threatenedto let Alan Moore work his magic and the result, as usual, is somethingspecial.

The story opens in the far-off future of1997! It's been a decade since the last sighting of Superman and DailyPlanet reporter Tim Crane is interviewing Lois Elliot (formerly Lane)about Superman's last days for a special anniversary memorial edition.After putting her baby to sleep and making coffee in her futuristicfishbowl-like coffee maker, Lois' mind flashes back to recount thetale.

It starts off with some of Superman'smore benign foes going to surprisingly violent and definitive extremes.Bizarro decides the only way to be the perfect-imperfect duplicate ofSuperman is to go on a murderous rampage and then commit suicide. ThePrankster and the Toyman torture Superman's identity out of Pete Rossand then murder him. They then expose Superman as Clark Kent onnational television. With his secret identity destroyed, Supermantransports those closest to him to his Fortress of Solitude, fearingthat if the likes of the Prankster and Bizarro are committing theseacts, what will his truly dangerous foes do?

His fear is prescient as Lex Luthor,Brainiac and the Legion of Super-Villains lay siege to the Fortress,leading to the last stands of a number of beloved characters and theunveiling of the true mastermind behind everything. The unavoidablyfinal solution to the crisis leads Superman to seemingly strip himselfof his powers with gold Kryptonite and disappear forever. Moore's storydoes a great job of bringing the cast and the Silver Age to its logicaland final conclusions while still serving up a number of surprises.While newer readers might not recognize the more arcane Silver Agereferences, everything you need to know is explained in the story, andit's a wild ride. If ever there was a super-hero Ragnarok, this is it.The art is by longtime Superman artist Curt Swan, whose work isconsidered by many to be the definitive look for character and hiscast. While some of the visuals are campily dated (Reporter Tim Crane's"futuristically modern" wardrobe looks like a cross between AustinPowers and Mister Furley from THREE'S COMPANY), it is the classic lookfor that era and the perfect choice for the story that closes it out.

I could go on dissecting the key momentsand surprises in this story, but that would ruin the thrill of readingit. Trust me, it's worth a look. While Alan Moore followed this withmore serious works like WATCHMEN and FROM HELL, his post-modern take onthe Silver Age has resurfaced from time to time in works like SUPREMEfor Awesome Comics and TOM STRONG for his own ABC line. This story,however, is where those ideas first surfaced and is still his best takeon the subject matter.

Wizard's Top 100 TPs

June 27, 2002

From WIZARD #131 (Aug 02)

80. CRISIS ON INFINITIE EARTHS (DC Softcover)
The most ambitious comic project ever could fill another volume with its body count. Marv Wolfman and George Perez's Crisisaimed to clean up DC's cluttered 50-year-old continuity by merging thehandful of its parallel Earths into one, but not before a being calledthe Anti-Monitor destroys an infinite amount of worlds in the process.This cover, penciled by Pérez and painted by Alex Ross, is easily oneof the most beautiful ever produced and worth the purchase alone. "Itwas actually the first series I ever followed," says JSA writer GeoffJohns who was 12 at the time. "For me, it really shaped the DCU. Idoubt I would've read many DC comics before Crisis."

79. AVENGERS: ULTRON UNLIMITED (Marvel softcover)
The perfect killing machine has just received an upgrade, courtesy ofKurt Busiek and George Pérez. Ultron, one of the Avengers most powerfulfoes, returns with an appetite for destruction and holds the fate ofmankind in his adamantium grip. After Ultron slaughters the smallEuropean country of Slorenia in under three hours, Earth's MightiestHeroes must rally like never before in order to put a stop to thisreawakened threat. But do they have what it takes to send this maniacalkilling machine to the scrap heap once and for all ?

60. INFINITY GAUNTLET (Marvel softcover)
Even when he's a god, Thanos still can't get lucky with the ladies.Possessing the six Infinity Gems, Thanos gain omnipotence and killshalf the universe's population with the snap of his finger in anattempt to earn the affection of the mistress Death. A plethora ofMarvel heroes mount a defensive to thwart the mad Titan, but how canyou beat a god? Only writer Jim Starlin knew the answer. "It had ahundred characters and mindless destruction, but for all the bombast,it was really about a guy trying to impress a girl," say Sojourn writer Ron Marz. "Thanos' failure is ultimately one of unrequited love. Who can't relate to that?"

15. THE NEW TEEN TITANS: THE JUDAS CONTRACT (DC softcover)
The Titans have a traitor in their midst. This spy knows their secretsand hands them over to the deadliest mercenary alive: Deathstroke theTerminator, who systematically takes out the team. Only Nightwingescapes… but even he needs help in order to rescue them before it's toolate. In this storyarc, Marv Wolfman and George Pérez pull off a lot insix issues: Dick Grayson becomes Nightwing for the first time, KidFlash quits, Jericho (the son of Deathstroke) joins up… and a tragicblow hits the team. "Judas Contract is a perfect template for powerful, dramatic storytelling," lauds Steve Kurth, penciler for G.I.Joe. "This story was pure magic."

SUPERMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? DELUXE EDITION (Jul 2009)

DC Comics

9. SUPERMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW? (DC softcover)
It was time for the Man of Tomorrow to become the Man of Yesterday.As DC prepared to start Superman from scratch in 1986, the publisherwatned to send off the "old" Man of Steel that had been around since1938. writer Alan Moore had Supes face off with Lex Luthor and Braniacin the Fortress of Solitude a final time, leaving every reader with atear in their eye. "A bittersweet goodbye to Superman continuity inorder to pave way for a revamped Man of Steel, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow worked as both a nostalgic nod to a simpler past, and alook forward to all that comics could be," says Sojourn scribe Ron Marz. "This 'last' Superman story is also one of the best."

GREATEST STORIES NOT IN TPBS

JOHN BYRNE'S NEW SUPERMAN Ain't itamazing that with everything DC collects, it hasn't collected Byrne'sheadline-making 1986 revamp of the regular series? Especially thethree-part story where Supes must help save Earth once inhabited by the"pre-Byrne" Superman where the Man of Steel must take the role ofjudge, jury and executioner.

GEORGE PEREZ'S NEW WONDER WOMAN Dittofor Pérez's 1987 revamp of everyone's favorite Amazon princess. Withstunning art and stronger ties to Greek mythology, Diana enters man'sworld for the first time, learning lessons the hard way.