Before I go much further in the review, I want to says something about the main character. Lets face it, times are not so good for the man of steel. Pretty much overshadowed by Batman in damn near every way; The nolan movies have been insanely well received, both commercially and critically. Superman Returns on the other hand... not so much. The response to Returns was pretty much 'Meh. it didn't do great, but it didn't collapse like a poorly constructed house made out of cardboard in the middle of a hurricane. Recently, an issue of Action comics #1 sold for a record price... only to have the record shattered days later by a copy of Detective comics #27, the first appearance of Batman. Ouch. The remaining vestige of non-comics media for Superman? *Smallville*
So where does this leave the character? Not really in the public mind much, at least not remotely in the same leage as other heroes. Hell, what with the rather convoluted series of lawsuits over the character between DC and the siegel/shuster estates, there was worry that DC was going to retire the character. All this is not even going into how the character is pierceived as 'boring', 'no longer a hero for our time', 'wheres the excitement in reading about a character who is functionally immortal, and immune to everything except green space rocks? and to be perfectly honest? I haven't been following the monthly series DC puts out either. I've seen articles like 'Do we really need a character like this around anymore?' And then we have all star Superman.
A few years ago, DC had a go at creating the All-star line of comics, basically giving writes a brand new continuity free playground to write existing DC characters outside of the main DCU canon. So far we've had two comic series actually come out ofthe imprint. One of these was All-Star Batman and Robin, written by Frank Miller. I'm not going to go into detail, suffice to say it sucked and Frank Miller is batshit crazy. Better critics than me have dissected that piece of crap, so lets move on to better things. Like the second comic to come out of the imprint, All Star Superman.
Written by Grant Morrison, and with art by frank quitely, All star Superman is the polar opposite of the aforementioned series. Critically acclaimed, the series takes everything that was great and ridiculous about the Superman mythos and makes it feel like new, over twelve issues.
Right at the start, mirrison manages to tell the entire Superman origin story in only three pages, and a handful of words, without losing any of the required epic feel.
'doomed planet.desperate scientists.last hope.kindly couple. *splash page*'
And its in the first issue that morrison breaks one of the cliche 'rules' about Superman. he gives him a death sentence, one that can't be prevented. So over the rest of the series we see what happens when the man who can't be killed has to put his final affairs in order.
Grant Morrison has a clear love for the silver age of comics, and all the weird and wonderful ideas that came with it, and it shows in the sheer number of concepts and references he puts in the series. Even the individual issue titles are right out of the silver age, like "Curse of the replacement supermen!" and "the Superman/jimmy olsen war!". All the bizarre scifi elements are here; super-serums, the giant gold key to the fortress of solitude, giant robots, the "underverse" and bizarro earth, complete with its own imperfect bizarro, or "zibarro" (who speaks perfect english), and of course, lex luthor. Rather than the more erecent corupt coroporate executive of the modern age, morrison goes for luthor the genius mad scientist, determined to defeat Superman at any cost.
"its for my own good, I realize that. put me away boys, before I do something *really* terrible to Superman"
And why? luthor explains his actions in prison on death row, during an interview with one Clark Kent. Humanitys destiny has been derailed. what compare to the superhuman alien?
"you don't feel in any way deminished by his very presence on this planet? strange"
though of course, this being Luthor, things are a little less noble than that.
"if it wasn't for Superman, i'd be in charge of this planet!"
But even amidst the over-arching story, with all its nods and references to the Superman mythos, some of th egreatest moments are on a much smaller scale. Like in the midst of a incident with a deranged mad scientist inside a giant insect mech and an out of control train, one scene stands out and delivers what mark waid describes are 'the most heartwarming line in any Superman story'
"its okay. you're stronger than you think you are"
I could carry on for longer about the series, on the way it highlights the difference between Clark Kent and Superman, and who is the 'real' one, and who is the secret identity. (even after he reveals himself in broad daylight, more than once, he still can't convince anyone, even Lois lane, that he really is Clark kent under the cape.) Or what the foreword calls 'the best game of fetch in history', or quitelys fantastic art work. Or even how morrison believes that given time, anyone with the powers of Superman would become altruistic.
"this is how he sees all the time, every day. like its all just us, in here together. and we're all we've got"
I'll leave it at saying the best issue of the too-short series is by far Issue ten, "neverending", where Superman lays out his last will and testament. and then has one epic last day on earth. From one last ditch attempt at freeing the shrunken city of kandor, to the previously mentioned 'best line' to seeing what a world without a Superman would be like, by simulating a familiar looking universe.
The issue ends with "and to Clark kent... who ever let me forget how it means to be a downtrodden, ordinary man... I leave the headline of the century."
...and in the simulated universe, an artist in an apartment building reckons he's nearly got it.
"I really think this is it... Third time lucky. this is the one... this is going to change everything"
So where does this leave the character? Not really in the public mind much, at least not remotely in the same leage as other heroes. Hell, what with the rather convoluted series of lawsuits over the character between DC and the siegel/shuster estates, there was worry that DC was going to retire the character. All this is not even going into how the character is pierceived as 'boring', 'no longer a hero for our time', 'wheres the excitement in reading about a character who is functionally immortal, and immune to everything except green space rocks? and to be perfectly honest? I haven't been following the monthly series DC puts out either. I've seen articles like 'Do we really need a character like this around anymore?' And then we have all star Superman.
A few years ago, DC had a go at creating the All-star line of comics, basically giving writes a brand new continuity free playground to write existing DC characters outside of the main DCU canon. So far we've had two comic series actually come out ofthe imprint. One of these was All-Star Batman and Robin, written by Frank Miller. I'm not going to go into detail, suffice to say it sucked and Frank Miller is batshit crazy. Better critics than me have dissected that piece of crap, so lets move on to better things. Like the second comic to come out of the imprint, All Star Superman.
Written by Grant Morrison, and with art by frank quitely, All star Superman is the polar opposite of the aforementioned series. Critically acclaimed, the series takes everything that was great and ridiculous about the Superman mythos and makes it feel like new, over twelve issues.
Right at the start, mirrison manages to tell the entire Superman origin story in only three pages, and a handful of words, without losing any of the required epic feel.
'doomed planet.desperate scientists.last hope.kindly couple. *splash page*'
And its in the first issue that morrison breaks one of the cliche 'rules' about Superman. he gives him a death sentence, one that can't be prevented. So over the rest of the series we see what happens when the man who can't be killed has to put his final affairs in order.
Grant Morrison has a clear love for the silver age of comics, and all the weird and wonderful ideas that came with it, and it shows in the sheer number of concepts and references he puts in the series. Even the individual issue titles are right out of the silver age, like "Curse of the replacement supermen!" and "the Superman/jimmy olsen war!". All the bizarre scifi elements are here; super-serums, the giant gold key to the fortress of solitude, giant robots, the "underverse" and bizarro earth, complete with its own imperfect bizarro, or "zibarro" (who speaks perfect english), and of course, lex luthor. Rather than the more erecent corupt coroporate executive of the modern age, morrison goes for luthor the genius mad scientist, determined to defeat Superman at any cost.
"its for my own good, I realize that. put me away boys, before I do something *really* terrible to Superman"
And why? luthor explains his actions in prison on death row, during an interview with one Clark Kent. Humanitys destiny has been derailed. what compare to the superhuman alien?
"you don't feel in any way deminished by his very presence on this planet? strange"
though of course, this being Luthor, things are a little less noble than that.
"if it wasn't for Superman, i'd be in charge of this planet!"
But even amidst the over-arching story, with all its nods and references to the Superman mythos, some of th egreatest moments are on a much smaller scale. Like in the midst of a incident with a deranged mad scientist inside a giant insect mech and an out of control train, one scene stands out and delivers what mark waid describes are 'the most heartwarming line in any Superman story'
"its okay. you're stronger than you think you are"
I could carry on for longer about the series, on the way it highlights the difference between Clark Kent and Superman, and who is the 'real' one, and who is the secret identity. (even after he reveals himself in broad daylight, more than once, he still can't convince anyone, even Lois lane, that he really is Clark kent under the cape.) Or what the foreword calls 'the best game of fetch in history', or quitelys fantastic art work. Or even how morrison believes that given time, anyone with the powers of Superman would become altruistic.
"this is how he sees all the time, every day. like its all just us, in here together. and we're all we've got"
I'll leave it at saying the best issue of the too-short series is by far Issue ten, "neverending", where Superman lays out his last will and testament. and then has one epic last day on earth. From one last ditch attempt at freeing the shrunken city of kandor, to the previously mentioned 'best line' to seeing what a world without a Superman would be like, by simulating a familiar looking universe.
The issue ends with "and to Clark kent... who ever let me forget how it means to be a downtrodden, ordinary man... I leave the headline of the century."
...and in the simulated universe, an artist in an apartment building reckons he's nearly got it.
"I really think this is it... Third time lucky. this is the one... this is going to change everything"
