Bang!

By Gordon M. Henry.

When he flew over Metropolis back in 1939, he was merely a mild-mannered reporter with amazing superpowers. Now Clark Kent is back, but as the Yuppie of Steel. When he is not chasing stories as a star journalist for the Daily Planet, he writes novels, attends evening parties and shares his inner feelings -- can we talk? -- with his friend and colleague Lois Lane. His superbody has been redrawn along Rambo lines to reflect the iron-pumping fad of the '80s. Nor does Superman come quite as cheap as he used to. Last week a new, updated version of Superman began appearing on U.S. newsstands priced at 75 cents an issue, up 10 cents from three years ago. The price hardly matters, though, to Americans who are renewing their fascination with superheroes and the comic-book industry, whose revenues may reach $300 million this year.

Alongside Superman these days is a revitalized phalanx of old superfolk -- Batman, Spider- Man, Wonder Wom- an -- and a host of newer, more ambivalent heroes, such as Viet Nam Soldier Ed Marks and the sultry Elektra, a machine- gun-toting assassin. The proliferation of new wonderfigures is impressive: some 250 different comic-book titles, largely in the heroic vein, will be sold in the U.S. this year, up from about 190 in 1985. With a combined circulation of roughly 150 million, the comics are more popular than at any other time since the early '50s. That in turn means heftier profits for new publishers and for the comic-book industry's leaders: Marvel (1985 sales: $100 million) and DC Comics (a reported $70 million), both based in New York City, and Archie Comic Publications ($20 million) of Mamaroneck, N.Y.

The nostalgic return of superheroes and other familiar cartoon figures like Archie and Veronica may be part of the same national mood that first brought back the Superman movies and made Rambo into a pop icon. But it is also the result of savvy marketing by the comic industry's Big Three, which have pushed their product aggressively at specialty shops, supermarket check- out counters and bookstores. Dozens of other companies have climbed on the comic-book bandwagon, emblazoning characters on lunch boxes, beach towels and posters.

For companies like Marvel and DC Comics, the revival represents a sales victory of, well, super proportions. Ever since the late '50s, comics have fought a losing battle with television for the hearts and imaginations of youngsters. Some comic characters, such as Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin, crossed over to the tube, at least for a time, but when the industry hit bottom in the early '70s, it seemed that comic books might become an extinct form.

The rebound began almost five years ago, when stores specializing in classic and current comics started to sprout in shopping centers. Today there are about 4,000 such dealers, who account for 50% of U.S. comic-book sales. As always, success has inspired imitators. B. Dalton and Waldenbooks have begun carrying comics in most of their 1,753 bookstores. Supermarkets, which account for about 35% of magazine sales, still resist the trend, on the ground that comic books attract loitering youths. Nonetheless, the Waldbaum, Pathmark and Safeway chains have decided that Archie Comics are clean-cut enough to be displayed at check-out counters.

The comic comeback has also involved some sophisticated product innovation. Beginning around 1980, publishers began upgrading their wares substantially, departing from a piecework system of production to grant royalties to writers and illustrators. The target audience changed, from early teenagers or younger to the 16-to-25 age group. Says Jim Shooter, editor in chief at Marvel: "The major market is targeted to followers of Star Wars or Indiana Jones."

In trying to appeal to today's skeptical readers, publishers have made their superheroes fallible and thus more believable. Spider-Man cannot handle money or pay his rent. In a four-part DC Comics series called The Dark Knight Returns, priced at $2.95 an issue, a semiretired Batman drinks too much and is unsure about his crime-fighting abilities. DC promotes the Dark Knight as a "thought-provoking action story."

In addition, comic-book publishers have boosted sales with special issues that address social causes or depict historical figures and events. DC Comics, in a venture involving First Lady Nancy Reagan and IBM, has distributed issues of the popular Teen Titans in which the youthful superheroes promote drug awareness. Marvel, meanwhile, counts among its strongest sellers a biography of St. Francis of Assisi, which has sold 750,000 copies.

The licensing of comic logos and story lines to outside entrepreneurs has been a major help in bringing profits back to the business. Marvel has licensed Spider-Man and other characters to children's apparel maker Just 4 Kids, Hallmark Cards and Prism Entertainment. Archie Comics is working with a fast-food chain on a restaurant with all-American fare that would feature the faces of the kids from Riverdale High.

With the aid of all these ploys, the major comic publishers now anticipate profits that exceed those of the medium's golden age, the '40s. Income last year reached $75 million, and this year is expected to be significantly better. Money, in short, to make any superhero leap tall buildings for joy at a single bound.

With reporting by Deborah Forbis/New York and Walter Galling/San Diego