“After thousands of comics and multiple films and television shows, today Lois is an icon.”

The romance between Lois Lane and Clark Kent/Superman is arguably one of the most popular and iconic superhero romance in comics. Everyone is aware that Superman and Lois Lane are an item. And many will agree that Lois Lane is his one true love. However, unlike Superman, most non-comic readers don’t know many details about Lois.

The knowledge usually begins and ends with the fact that she’s a reporter and Superman’s love interest. So despite being an iconic character, the details surrounding her character tend to be overshadowed by Superman.

Lois Lane is one of my favorite female comic book characters. Even though she isn’t considered a “superhero”, she is one to me. So my excitement to read this book was over the moon. And it did not disappoint.

Investigating Lois Lane: The Turbulent History of the Daily Planet’s Ace Reporter examines the history of Lois Lane, while acknowledging the mistreatment and lack of story for her character. The book goes in linear fashion, so it starts at the beginning with the Adventures of Superman radio show and ends with the mention of Gwenda Bond’s YA Lois Lane series.

Investigating Lois Lane: The Turbulent History of the Daily Planet’s Ace Reporter doesn’t just skim over the many appears of Lois Lane in different media, it touches on them all and detail. All the information was categorized. The comics are broken into a section and the TV/Movies are in another.

Hanley gives background information about the creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, of the Superman mythos, the actors who portrayed the iconic characters, and about how certain Superman mediums got developed. The book also gives insight to how audiences wanted Lois to be portrayed and how the comic book writers wanted her to.

That was interesting to read about. The Superman mythos has been around for 70 years, so there have been many writers. So it was interesting to see how different writers wrote the character. In some stories she was thrown in the background, and in others she was front in center.

It was also interesting to how different actresses portrayed the character, and their portrayal impacted the character itself.

I enjoyed this book. It wasn’t too complicated to read and it provided enough information without feeling overwhelming. I left the book, hopeful that one day Lois Lane will get the treatment she deserves. She’s an icon and should be treated with respect.

Final Analysis

Investigating Lois Lane: The Turbulent History of the Daily Planet’s Ace Reporter is a book that you can read even if you have limited knowledge about Lois Lane. It provides enough information to understand the complicated history of the character and to be caught up to her most recent incarnations. It was a little frustrating to read about the mistreatment of the character by the comic book industry and by Superman himself. But it does show progress, even though it may be a little slow.