Monday, April 20, 2009

All-Star Superman TPB


It actually took me 2 or 3 issues to really get into this trade. Superman acts so differently from what I'm used to, and his world is so crazy and bonkers that I was kind of disconnected from the story at first. Then I realized something odd in the issue where Superman competes with Samson and Atlas: I like this better than normal Superman. His world is full of big ideas and mad villains. Lex Luthor is complex and charming, and Jimmy Olsen is a character I'd love to see more from. The whole idea of Superman dying is a neat one, especially played like this where Supes has time to get his life in order. It's a great over-plot to drive towards, but Morrison takes plenty of time for one-off ideas along the way. A super-love contest, black Kryptonite turning Superman into a weak coward (his opposite), and the moving story of the death of Pa Kent. That Pa story was great, and I'm ashamed to say I didn't see the reveal coming. It was nice seeing the DC One Million Superman too.

I loved the billionare inventor who is a kind of connector in the story, and Atlas and Samson would be awesome on a regular basis. The best thing about this are the ideas though. The experiment whose side effect is paranoia and doubt? Genius. Morrison is great at doing this kind of thing, and to be honest, I think I'll probably just pick up these trades when I next want a Superman fix.

Frank Quitely is a great artist. His designs for new characters like Super-Lois, Samson, and Atlas looked fantastic. I also loved his take on Clark Kent as a huge lumbering doofball. Lex and Jimmy were neat too, I can't remember the last time I actually liked Jimmy Olsen. Great stuff.

Excellent

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