It appears that the Earth's mightiest superhero neglected to ask for directions on the way to Omaha.

Isn't that just like a Superman?

A while back, DC Comics asked readers to tell them why the Man of Steel should come to their city. Writers and editors were preparing for a future story line that had their hero walking across the country.

Someone (or several someones) must have offered up Omaha, because the company named it as one of Superman's stops.

But when the comic hit the stands, it didn't mention Omaha at all. Superman showed up in Lincoln.

In “Superman No. 708,” the superhero and Wonder Woman were supposed to “have their hands full defending Omaha, Nebraska, from the evil Keres,” according to a promo.

In the actual issue, the duo saves Lincoln from a tornado, flooding and a mysterious and powerful woman.

“We could joke here that Superman took the wrong exit off of Interstate 80, but we won't,” said Bob Harras, editor-in-chief of DC Comics. “We sincerely apologize to Omaha fans and retailers for our editorial oversight.”

In an e-mail to The World-Herald, Harras didn't offer any explanation for why Superman got lost.

Local comic shops had been preparing for nearly a year for Supes' Omaha stop. Proprietors were a little disappointed when they opened the comic Tuesday evening and found out he wasn't coming.

“We weren't expecting that,” said Jason Dasenbrock, owner of Legend Comics at 5131 Leavenworth St. “But what are you going to do?”

“All towns in the middle of the U.S. must look the same to people in New York,” said a chuckling Dean Phillips, owner of Krypton Comics at 2819 S. 125th Ave. “But we're still having a good time with it.”

Over Superman's last several issues, he's been walking across America, visiting towns such as Des Moines; Philadelphia; Detroit and Danville, Ohio, among other places.

After a recent crisis, Superman has been having trouble with his belief in truth, justice and the American way. He's trying to restore his faith on the cross-country trip.

The Lincoln/Omaha mix-up could be due to the Superman series having two writers.

J. Michael Straczynski created the story line and wrote the plot, but Chris Roberson stepped in to keep the series on schedule.

Krypton, Legend and Dragon's Lair at 8316 Blondo St. all held promotions, and Krypton planned to bring in a Superman look-alike to pose with kids and fans.

Legend Comics and Krypton Comics both reported good sales and a lot of interest in the issue, even from so-called “civilians” (or non-comics regulars).

The stores both ordered a much higher volume of the issue than normal because of his anticipated appearance in Nebraska.

Despite everything, comics fans were happy about hosting the Man of Steel.

“He's still coming to Nebraska and that's really, really cool,” Phillips said.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1557, kevin.coffey@owh.com

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