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Digital art I made of Krypton, Jor-El and Lara, based on the truly alien looking 1986 updated comic book look by writer/artist John Byrne, which was never faithfully adapted on film. 1980s or 1990s film I'd have casted Jor-El (Michael Dante, Maab on Star Trek "Friday's Child"), Lara (Candy Clark, an alien wife/mother on The Man Who Fell to Earth). Today I'd cast Jor-El (Michael McManus, Kai on Lexx), Lara (Natalie Portman, Queen Amidala on Star Wars).

I love John Byrne's 1986 updated Krypton because it is much more bizarre and alien looking. More otherworldly. My reaction was total bliss. Everything he did at the time was magic.

Lara wore a golden-colored headdress as a symbol of her rank within Kryptonian nobility. Kryptonian women wore purple robs, while Kryptonian men wore green robs. Thanks to Kryptonian science, Kryptonians had virtually perfect physical physiques. As a product of Eugenics, Kryptonians were in perfect physical shape. Their strength level was equitable to that of an athletic Kryptonian despite the lack of any regular exercise. All Kryptonians wore a black bio-support suit, which provided their bodies with a steady supply of nutrients, and greatly slowed the aging process. All Kryptonians were effectively immortal, "with all the strength and vigor of youth maintained", and enjoyed an idyllic existence in an Arcadian "paradise". The green background is Krypton being ravaged by an apparent plague known as the Green Death. Based on the Black Death plague that swept over Europe. Kryptonians were dying by the millions and the cause could not be found. Jor-El worked hard nearly non-stop and finally discovered the cause. It was not a plague at all, but instead a deadly new metal. A radioactive metal, K-Metal, Kryptonite.

John Byrne explained, "I knew the biggest problem I'd have redesigning Krypton was coming up with a look for the clothes and architecture that wouldn't look dated ten, twenty, or fifty years later. So, after some unsuccessful attempts to adapt the Buck Rogers approach -- very cutting edge in 1934, but kept around far too long -- I realized the answer lay in finding a look that was alien rather than futuristic. I ended up taking my cue from the playing cards in Tenniel's original illustrations for Alice in Wonderland. Syd Mead and John Berkey are two of the biggest influences on my work." www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/fo…

John Byrne said, "And I think I can still pat myself on the back for my Kryptonian designs, which are still timeless after a quarter century. An important choice I made early on, to have the Kryptonian garb be "alien" rather than "futuristic". Looking back, it is interesting to note that Shuster's FLASH GORDON style Krypton remained "fashionable" for about thirty years, until our perception of what sci-fi looked like began to change so radically in the Sixties. Credit STAR TREK a good deal for pointing us away from the "medieval" costumes and the silver cigars with fins." www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/fo…

John Byrne explained, "A classic example of what happens when something becomes carved in stone. The design of Kryptonian clothing was 'futuristic' to an audience weaned on Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, for the next fifty years. Cool became corny -- as it often does. When I redesigned the look of Krypton, on Dick Giordano's order, I strove to make it look alien, not futuristic. Anyone who has ever watched Blade Runner knows how fast our vision of the future changes nowadays!" www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/fo…
John Byrne elaborated, "When Siegel and Shuster created Superman, their version of Krypton was the common shorthand for 'futuristic'. Unfortunately, it became carved in stone, so it didn't take long for Kal-El's birthplace to look anything BUT 'futuristic'. It looked more like it was stuck in a 1930s movie serial. My redesign of Krypton was intended to dodge that particular bullet. Rather than trying to design something that would still look 'futuristic' a decade or three hence, I went for something 'alien'. If my version had also become carved in stone, we could still be visiting Krypton a hundred years from now without it looking antiquated." m.byrnerobotics.com/forum/foru…

John Byrne explained, "Oddly, the one thing in my version that most people seem to think was heavily inspired by the movie (Donner's 1978 Superman), my portrayal of Krypton, was not at all. I came from an entirely different direction, looking for that 'look'. I even went so far as to make 'my' Krypton a desert work, so as not to be 'confused' with the ice planet of the movie." www.comicbookresources.com/?pa…

John Byrne said of Syd Mead's "Race at Megastructure" (1969) painting (which is the background for my digital art, recolored), "That is exactly the picture that inspired my designs for Krypton." www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/fo…

This look of Krypton is retro inspired. Inspired by Syd Mead's "Race at Megastructure" (1969) painting, the playing cards in John Tenniel's original illustrations for Alice in Wonderland (1865). I also see inspirations from ancient Egyptian golden-colored headdresses 3050–2181 BC, the Black Death plague that swept over Europe 1346-1871, the immortal queen in She (1935), the robe the bride wore in the Bride of Frankenstein (1935), the matching uniform like look of Krypton by Joe Shuster in More Fun Comics #101 (1945), Maab on Star Trek "Friday's Child" (1967), the advanced humans in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) and the aliens in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). The service robots were likely inspired by the mechanical servant Robby the Robot on Forbidden Planet (1956), the helper Robot B-9 on Lost in Space (1965-1968) and the droids in Star Wars (1977). The birthing matrix was likely inspired by the DNA Project from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen comics (1970) by Jack Kirby and the real life test tube babies, the first children ever to be conceived outside the womb, starting in 1978. The rocket ship design was likely inspired by the original by Joe Shuster in Action Comics #1 (1938), the space pod in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), the escape pod (carrying droids) in Star Wars (1977) and the alien birthing pods in Alien (1979).

For the last thousand years in Krypton's existence, Kryptonians society were mostly isolated in their homes. Devoting rigid acceptance in society to what they called "pure science and logic" which they thought of as "far superior enlightened civilized ways". Computer service robots performed all labor and mundane tasks for the Kryptonians, freeing the Kryptonians themselves for leisurely lives. Kryptonian culture turned inward, for most Kryptonians were preoccupied with their own private comforts in their solitude towers. With heavy use of computers internet our own society is becoming more isolated and repressed with an increase in social anxiety offline, out of their online comfort zones. Today is a fear based inverted society living in an iphone texting tweeting bubble. Many people feel more comfortable texting and messaging in solitude in the privacy of their own homes giving them a sense of safety and security, rather than meeting in person and speaking face to face, texting is even preferred to speaking on the phone. Outside of texting comfort zone. A lot of people have fear-based social anxiety now. People actually say "I'd be lost without my iphone". www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2V9-3…

Byrne went back to the very beginning of Superman's history. "I read mostly the really old stuff. The first ten years." As John Byrne said, "The mistake DC has traditionally made, is the de-uniquing of the characters. It seemed as if the Science Council was the only ones that died when Krypton exploded. Everyone else came to Earth and got super-powers just like Superman. It's really hard to take Superman seriously where there is a monkey (Bebbo the Super-Monkey) with the same powers. The restoration of the character's uniqueness was my major thrust. So that Superman is again the Sole Survivor of the doomed planet Krypton. I thought it was always made him exciting when nobody else does what he does. No dogs (Krypto the Super-Dog), no monkeys (Bebbo the Super-Monkey), no horses (Comet the Super-Horse)."

In the comics writer Jeph Loeb replaced John Byrne's The Man of Steel #1 (1986) "From Out of the Green Dawn..." version of Krypton in favor of Loeb's childhood nostalgia for the Silver Age 1958 Curt Swan rebooted version in Superman #166 (2001) "The Real Truth About Krypton" by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, and after that comic book writer Mark Waid and artist Leinil Francis Yu rebooted Krypton with Superman: Birthright (2003) in favor of Waid's childhood nostalgia for the 1948 Wayne Boring rebooted version with Jor-El wearing a cape and the Richard Donner 1978 reboot movie version with Jor-El wearing the "S" emblem, and after that comic book writer Geoff Johns rebooted Krypton in favor of Johns childhood nostalgia for the Richard Donner 1978 reboot movie version in Superman: Secret Origin (2009) by Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank, and after that comic book writer Grant Morrison rebooted Krypton in favor of Morrison's nostalgia for the 1948 Wayne Boring reboot version with the "New 52" (Action Comics #1 (2011)"Superman Versus The City of Tomorrow" by Grant Morrison and artist Rags Morales) and screenwriter and filmmaker Zack Snyder rebooted Krypton in favor of Snyder's childhood nostalgia for George Lucas' 1980 Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Cloud City and the Richard Donner 1978 reboot movie version with Jor-El wearing the "S" emblem in Man of Steel (2013) by Zack Snyder.

Description
Digital art I made of Krypton, Jor-El and Lara, based on the truly alien looking 1986 updated comic book look by writer/artist John Byrne, which was never faithfully adapted on film. 1980s or 1990s film I'd have casted Jor-El (Michael Dante, Maab on Star Trek "Friday's Child"), Lara (Candy Clark, an alien wife/mother on The Man Who Fell to Earth). Today I'd cast Jor-El (Michael McManus, Kai on Lexx), Lara (Natalie Portman, Queen Amidala on Star Wars).

I love John Byrne's 1986 updated Krypton because it is much more bizarre and alien looking. More otherworldly. My reaction was total bliss. Everything he did at the time was magic.

Lara wore a golden-colored headdress as a symbol of her rank within Kryptonian nobility. Kryptonian women wore purple robs, while Kryptonian men wore green robs. Thanks to Kryptonian science, Kryptonians had virtually perfect physical physiques. As a product of Eugenics, Kryptonians were in perfect physical shape. Their strength level was equitable to that of an athletic Kryptonian despite the lack of any regular exercise. All Kryptonians wore a black bio-support suit, which provided their bodies with a steady supply of nutrients, and greatly slowed the aging process. All Kryptonians were effectively immortal, "with all the strength and vigor of youth maintained", and enjoyed an idyllic existence in an Arcadian "paradise". The green background is Krypton being ravaged by an apparent plague known as the Green Death. Based on the Black Death plague that swept over Europe. Kryptonians were dying by the millions and the cause could not be found. Jor-El worked hard nearly non-stop and finally discovered the cause. It was not a plague at all, but instead a deadly new metal. A radioactive metal, K-Metal, Kryptonite.

John Byrne explained, "I knew the biggest problem I'd have redesigning Krypton was coming up with a look for the clothes and architecture that wouldn't look dated ten, twenty, or fifty years later. So, after some unsuccessful attempts to adapt the Buck Rogers approach -- very cutting edge in 1934, but kept around far too long -- I realized the answer lay in finding a look that was alien rather than futuristic. I ended up taking my cue from the playing cards in Tenniel's original illustrations for Alice in Wonderland. Syd Mead and John Berkey are two of the biggest influences on my work." www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/fo…

John Byrne said, "And I think I can still pat myself on the back for my Kryptonian designs, which are still timeless after a quarter century. An important choice I made early on, to have the Kryptonian garb be "alien" rather than "futuristic". Looking back, it is interesting to note that Shuster's FLASH GORDON style Krypton remained "fashionable" for about thirty years, until our perception of what sci-fi looked like began to change so radically in the Sixties. Credit STAR TREK a good deal for pointing us away from the "medieval" costumes and the silver cigars with fins." www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/fo…

John Byrne explained, "A classic example of what happens when something becomes carved in stone. The design of Kryptonian clothing was 'futuristic' to an audience weaned on Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, for the next fifty years. Cool became corny -- as it often does. When I redesigned the look of Krypton, on Dick Giordano's order, I strove to make it look alien, not futuristic. Anyone who has ever watched Blade Runner knows how fast our vision of the future changes nowadays!" www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/fo…
John Byrne elaborated, "When Siegel and Shuster created Superman, their version of Krypton was the common shorthand for 'futuristic'. Unfortunately, it became carved in stone, so it didn't take long for Kal-El's birthplace to look anything BUT 'futuristic'. It looked more like it was stuck in a 1930s movie serial. My redesign of Krypton was intended to dodge that particular bullet. Rather than trying to design something that would still look 'futuristic' a decade or three hence, I went for something 'alien'. If my version had also become carved in stone, we could still be visiting Krypton a hundred years from now without it looking antiquated." m.byrnerobotics.com/forum/foru…

John Byrne explained, "Oddly, the one thing in my version that most people seem to think was heavily inspired by the movie (Donner's 1978 Superman), my portrayal of Krypton, was not at all. I came from an entirely different direction, looking for that 'look'. I even went so far as to make 'my' Krypton a desert work, so as not to be 'confused' with the ice planet of the movie." www.comicbookresources.com/?pa…

John Byrne said of Syd Mead's "Race at Megastructure" (1969) painting (which is the background for my digital art, recolored), "That is exactly the picture that inspired my designs for Krypton." www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/fo…

This look of Krypton is retro inspired. Inspired by Syd Mead's "Race at Megastructure" (1969) painting, the playing cards in John Tenniel's original illustrations for Alice in Wonderland (1865). I also see inspirations from ancient Egyptian golden-colored headdresses 3050–2181 BC, the Black Death plague that swept over Europe 1346-1871, the immortal queen in She (1935), the robe the bride wore in the Bride of Frankenstein (1935), the matching uniform like look of Krypton by Joe Shuster in More Fun Comics #101 (1945), Maab on Star Trek "Friday's Child" (1967), the advanced humans in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) and the aliens in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). The service robots were likely inspired by the mechanical servant Robby the Robot on Forbidden Planet (1956), the helper Robot B-9 on Lost in Space (1965-1968) and the droids in Star Wars (1977). The birthing matrix was likely inspired by the DNA Project from Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen comics (1970) by Jack Kirby and the real life test tube babies, the first children ever to be conceived outside the womb, starting in 1978. The rocket ship design was likely inspired by the original by Joe Shuster in Action Comics #1 (1938), the space pod in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), the escape pod (carrying droids) in Star Wars (1977) and the alien birthing pods in Alien (1979).

For the last thousand years in Krypton's existence, Kryptonians society were mostly isolated in their homes. Devoting rigid acceptance in society to what they called "pure science and logic" which they thought of as "far superior enlightened civilized ways". Computer service robots performed all labor and mundane tasks for the Kryptonians, freeing the Kryptonians themselves for leisurely lives. Kryptonian culture turned inward, for most Kryptonians were preoccupied with their own private comforts in their solitude towers. With heavy use of computers internet our own society is becoming more isolated and repressed with an increase in social anxiety offline, out of their online comfort zones. Today is a fear based inverted society living in an iphone texting tweeting bubble. Many people feel more comfortable texting and messaging in solitude in the privacy of their own homes giving them a sense of safety and security, rather than meeting in person and speaking face to face, texting is even preferred to speaking on the phone. Outside of texting comfort zone. A lot of people have fear-based social anxiety now. People actually say "I'd be lost without my iphone". www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2V9-3…

Byrne went back to the very beginning of Superman's history. "I read mostly the really old stuff. The first ten years." As John Byrne said, "The mistake DC has traditionally made, is the de-uniquing of the characters. It seemed as if the Science Council was the only ones that died when Krypton exploded. Everyone else came to Earth and got super-powers just like Superman. It's really hard to take Superman seriously where there is a monkey (Bebbo the Super-Monkey) with the same powers. The restoration of the character's uniqueness was my major thrust. So that Superman is again the Sole Survivor of the doomed planet Krypton. I thought it was always made him exciting when nobody else does what he does. No dogs (Krypto the Super-Dog), no monkeys (Bebbo the Super-Monkey), no horses (Comet the Super-Horse)."

In the comics writer Jeph Loeb replaced John Byrne's The Man of Steel #1 (1986) "From Out of the Green Dawn..." version of Krypton in favor of Loeb's childhood nostalgia for the Silver Age 1958 Curt Swan rebooted version in Superman #166 (2001) "The Real Truth About Krypton" by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, and after that comic book writer Mark Waid and artist Leinil Francis Yu rebooted Krypton with Superman: Birthright (2003) in favor of Waid's childhood nostalgia for the 1948 Wayne Boring rebooted version with Jor-El wearing a cape and the Richard Donner 1978 reboot movie version with Jor-El wearing the "S" emblem, and after that comic book writer Geoff Johns rebooted Krypton in favor of Johns childhood nostalgia for the Richard Donner 1978 reboot movie version in Superman: Secret Origin (2009) by Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank, and after that comic book writer Grant Morrison rebooted Krypton in favor of Morrison's nostalgia for the 1948 Wayne Boring reboot version with the "New 52" (Action Comics #1 (2011)"Superman Versus The City of Tomorrow" by Grant Morrison and artist Rags Morales) and screenwriter and filmmaker Zack Snyder rebooted Krypton in favor of Snyder's childhood nostalgia for George Lucas' 1980 Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Cloud City and the Richard Donner 1978 reboot movie version with Jor-El wearing the "S" emblem in Man of Steel (2013) by Zack Snyder.