Which Superman writer was handed the biggest opportunity?

[JAK]

Damn straight. Personally I think Stern may have been the best of them, but that entire group, writers and artists both, accomplished something we haven't seen before or since. Back when DC was doing those weekly books like 52 and Countdown, they talked about how it was such a big achievement and so hard to pull off, but the Super books had basically already done it, and maintained their momentum and quality for a huge stretch of time. There's a reason people say the triangle era is a hidden gem; it rarely gets the love and respect it deserves.

Just to put it into perspective; that run brought in two elements that have become core ideas of Superman's mythos; his marriage and his death-rebirth, and those ideas have been used for nearly three decades across multiple media formats/continuities and are nearly as entrenched as Smallville, kryptonite, and Jimmy Olsen. The vast majority of main canon runs can't imagine even leaving one idea behind that becomes half so popular, and the triangle era did it twice.

Y'all know I'm not a big fan of the early post-Crisis' take on Clark, and *I'm* saying the triangle era was f*cking genius; that tells you how good it was.

Exactly. It's why I'm such a Triangle fanboy. If I had an insane amount of disposable income, I'd tell DC that they'd never have to pay for a Superman comic again, and just ask them what they'd want to all come back and write whatever the heck they want. lol

Judging by what you and others have said, it really does seem this era is great in spite of the COIE changes, not really because of them and could have worked just as well as an outgrowth of the Pre-COIE set up.

I should get around to reading it at some point...

It's just great in general. I do think those writers could have put out the same quality of work in any era - so while I wouldn't say "in spite of," I don't think Post-Crisis was a necessary element, specifically.

Oh, you should. That was the only period that I believe Superman's comics are better than Batman as a whole, because of how Stern, Simonsons, and Jurgens are tackling Superman of John Byrne from every perspective. It's that good.

Seconded. I'd say start with MoS and work your way up (the early Byrne era, imo, reads much better as backstory since you know it's headed to a good place, and that Superman will grow past the limited mindset Byrne put him in).

I admired the way that so many writers could weave the Superman stories together in the days of Jerry Ordway, Roger Stern, Dan Jurgens and Louise Simonson--but try reading that today. Unless you have an encyclopedic memory of the whole run from Byrne through Loeb--it's maddening. You can't just pick up an issue and know exactly what's going on.

I wanted to write about Maxima, but then I realized I need to know about Draaga, so then I have to read about Superman's exile in space. If I was really serious about this, I'd likely have to go right back to MAN OF STEEL to follow all the story threads. How do we expect anyone who wasn't a fan at the time to come into this run cold and know what the hell is happening? You'd have to spend a few years to get through it all--and probably take notes so you don't get lost. Reading WAR AND PEACE is easier.

It's much less trouble to read pre-Crisis comics. You can pick up any random comic, knowing nothing, and everything you need to know is right there on the page.

To each their own, of course - I can certainly see the allure in that, and I do also enjoy the Pre-Crisis stories very much! For me, I do like the "rich history" angle more; partly because it's more true-to-life, and partly because so much can be built from it (if the writers are right). It can be tricker to pull off, but really hits the sweet spot for me when it does. Having that rich history also makes the back-issues more story-valuable; I never would have actively sought-out all those issues to the degree that I did if they weren't part of the history.. and I do think there's a charm to that.

But I also collect studio sessions of recording artists I like, so... I'm just kinda like that. LOL!