It’s Lois Lane vs Lex Luthor for Superman’s freedom in DC’s latest comics

Since the very first superhero story ever told, bad guys have known that if you go after Lois Lane, Superman will be there to mess you up. Sometimes you don’t even have to go after her! She’ll get in your business all on her own. Less well known is that if you come after Superman, Lois Lane is also there to mess you up.

That was true of the multiple-Pulitzer-Prize-winning investigative reporter when Superman was a guy she reported on, a crush she had, her fiancé, and her husband. But now, Superman is her son, which might make it absolutely the worst time in continuity to come after the Man of Steel.

What else is happening in the pages of our favorite comics? We’ll tell you. Welcome to Monday Funnies, Polygon’s weekly list of the books that our comics editor enjoyed this past week. It’s part society pages of superhero lives, part reading recommendations, part “look at this cool art.” There may be some spoilers. There may not be enough context. But there will be great comics. (And if you missed the last edition, read this.)

It’s hard to imagine a non-superhero character in comics who is more famous than Lois Lane, and she’s run the gamut of superhero girlfriend trends. From plucky Girl Friday, pining damsel, marriage-obsessed instigator, and hard-as-nails reporter who still can’t spell to save her life, Lois has been them all. I think when we talk about what it means for Superman to be a dad, I’ve forgotten to think about what it means for Lois to be a mom.

And whatever it means, I’m enjoying how Tom Taylor and his artist collaborators are capturing it in Superman: Son of Kal-El.

Image Comics celebrates the company’s 30th anniversary this year, and the commemorative anthology kicked off this week. There’s a lot of great talent telling multi-part stories through this 12-issue series, but you know what I’m here for: more Erica Henderson art!

And speaking of gorgeous art, Naomi: Season Two isn’t lighting me on fire the way the first one did, but I can’t complain when Jamal Campbell is still producing work like this.