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  Superman is the first comic book superhero. He's also the most recognized. Even though he's a fictional character, he still represents what any decent human being aspires to be: A force for good, someone to protect the innocent. Since his conception he has appeared in other media as well. There have been several live action TV shows, cartoons, and movies featuring him. With the relaunch of the DC Universe, here's a thread to discuss Superman, the new Superman comics, post recommended Superman reading, and anything else related to the Man of Steel. Recommended Reading All-Star Superman This 12 issue series penned by Grant Morrison and drawn by Frank Quitely is one of the best super hero stories you'll read. I don't want to give away any surprises, but this story encapsulates what is so great about Superman. If you've never read a Superman story in your life, start with this one. Available on Comixology. Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow A classic Alan Moore/Curt Swan story. This is a farewell to the Pre Crisis on Infinite Earth's Superman. This is also available on Comixology. The book linked also contains "For the Man Who Has Everything," which is another must read. It was also the basis for an episode of Justice League Unlimited. Superman Beyond Another Morrison story, with pencils by Doug Mahnke. This story is an essential part of Final Crisis, but for some reason it was sold separately. It is however, included in the proper spot in the Final Crisis trade. It's a balls out crazy story in which Superman attempts to "plug the hole in forever." This story also features all the other Supermen of the 52 parallel worlds helping Superman. Superman: Birthright A great Superman origin by Mard Waid and Lenil Francis Yu. Available on Comixology. Up, Up, and Away Kurt Busiek and Geoff Johns tell a great post-Infinite Crisis story in which Superman jumps back into action after having been depowered for a year. Superman: Secret Origin Geoff Johns and Gary Frank take a crack at the Superman origin story. This is a pretty good one as well. Available on Comixology. The Mark Millar run on Superman Adventures is probably the best work that Mark Millar's ever done. #16, #19, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27 (great Luthor story), #28, #29, #30, #31, #33, #34, #35, #36 (one of my favorite one-shot Superman stories,) #37, #38, #41 (Millar says 'gently caress decompression' and does 22 one-page stories,) and #52. Many of these were collected in digest format here, here, here and here. Red Son A popular Mark Millar story in which Superman's rocket lands in Soviet Russia instead of Smallville, Kansas, obviously resulting in a different turn of events. Superman Secret Identity Kurt Busiek has a rather unique take on the entire Superman story. If you're interested in Superman as a family man, check this out. Lex Luthor: Man of Steel This unique take on Superman from Brian Azzarello features Lex Luthor as the main protagonist. If you have any other recommendations, post them, and I'll include them here. The New 52 On August 31, 2011, DC relaunched their books with all new #1's and new creative teams. Action Comics #1  Written by Grant Morrison and art by Rags Morales, this story starts six months after Clark Kent has taken up the identity of Superman. Superman #1  Written by George Perez and art by Jesus Merino Superboy #1  Written by Scott Lobdell, art by RB Silva and Rob Lean.This looks to be a pretty different re-telling of the Superboy story. Supergirl #1  Written by Michael Green and Mike Johnson; Art by Mahmud Asrar. As these other books come out, I'll try to add a better description of them and what the general concensus seems to be. Discuss the last son of Krypton! Jose Oquendo fucked around with this message at 13:30 on Sep 9, 2011 |
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Sep 8, 2011 14:18
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Nice OP  Gonna check out some of the Comixology recommended reading.Also, I think I read that the first collection of All-Star Superman is shipping next week?
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Sep 8, 2011 19:35
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etcetera08 posted:Nice OP It's been in print forever. It's probably just a reprint. You shouldn't have any trouble getting it from a bookseller.
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Sep 8, 2011 20:01
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Joe Don Baker posted:It's been in print forever. It's probably just a reprint. You shouldn't have any trouble getting it from a bookseller. Ah okay. I was thinking about this http://dccomics.com/dcu/comics/?cm=20186 which isn't even shipping until next month anyways.
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Sep 8, 2011 20:03
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etcetera08 posted:Ah okay. I was thinking about this http://dccomics.com/dcu/comics/?cm=20186 which isn't even shipping until next month anyways.
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Sep 8, 2011 20:04
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Joe Don Baker posted:If you have any other recommendations, post them, and I'll include them here. The Mark Millar run on Superman Adventures is probably the best work that Mark Millar's ever done. He did the following issues: #16, #19, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27 (great Luthor story), #28, #29, #30, #31, #33, #34, #35, #36 (one of my favorite one-shot Superman stories,) #37, #38, #41 (Millar says 'gently caress decompression' and does 22 one-page stories,) and #52. Many of these were collected in digest format here, here, here and here. Millar also, of course, did Red Son.
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Sep 8, 2011 20:21
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redbackground posted:That's the first time it's all been collected in one book.  It's worth nothing that "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" is also available in the Alan Moore DC Universe trade along with "For the Man Who Has Everything" although it appears to be out of print.
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Sep 8, 2011 20:30
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Endless Mike posted:Second after the Absolute volume. The collection I linked has both of those in it.
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Sep 8, 2011 20:36
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Endless Mike posted:Second after the Absolute volume.
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Sep 8, 2011 20:42
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So does anyone want to talk about Action Comics? The best way to describe it was like getting a kick in the rear end by Superman. It seems that he has the same moral center he's always had. He is just really raw. He's youthful, immature, and brash. He hates injustice and wants to stick up for the little guy. He has no problem taking down "Mr. Metropolis" as well as a no-body wife beater. Someone brought up his landlady, and that she's probably not quite what she seems. I'm also very curious about the Teetotaler that was with Mr. Glenmorgan. As he escapes he is holding that Glenmorgan's tie, and with a sneer says, "Won't somebody help poor Mr. Glenmorgan." He also shows up later and gives the green light on the train bomb. He's gotta be working for Luthor. I'm also guessing he tipped off Superman through Clark or his paper? Is he the Mr. Taylor that Clark is speaking to?
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Sep 8, 2011 20:55
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Joe Don Baker posted:So does anyone want to talk about Action Comics? Mr. Taylor is George Taylor, Clark's editor at the Daily Star. But you're probably right about that little weasely guy working for Luthor.
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Sep 8, 2011 21:02
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Liberal Idiot posted:Mr. Taylor is George Taylor, Clark's editor at the Daily Star. But you're probably right about that little weasely guy working for Luthor. Gotcha. Clark was telling his boss what the informant told him. It's probably the weasel guy.
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Sep 8, 2011 21:04
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Other recommendation: Hitman #34 : One of the rare instances of Garth Ennis not pooping all over a superhero. A pretty good story of Superman being a guy who fails, worries about what he represents and can just be written as a "guy" if you know how to approach it.
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Sep 8, 2011 21:30
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The Death and Life of Superman by Roger Stern is a novelization of the Doomsday plot arc. It is a pretty decent read, even for someone who isn't a comic book fan. It will also catch you up with the backstory of characters like Supergirl and the Eradicator, although I think his interpretation departs from comic book canon slightly.
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Sep 9, 2011 00:47
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I'll suggest Busiek's Superman: Secret Identity. It's about a kid named Clark Kent in the "real world" who regularly gets Superman jokes made about him thanks to his name, and one day finds himself developing Superman's powers. It's much, much better than i'm making it sound. As to Action Comics - i've recently been re-reading my collection of the original Superman comic strips, and the characterisation there is pretty much what's going on now. Pretty much all the first sets of stories are Superman taking on shady business types and helping out particular little guys, and interrogating bad guys by picking them up and jumping the gently caress around the place to scare the poo poo out of them. Really the only difference is that current Superman is younger, so he comes off as less of a hilarious douche.
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Sep 9, 2011 02:19
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I'm new to comics, DC drew me in with the reboots. I loved Action Comics, it gave me chills. Superman has always been my favorite superhero, it's nice to see him done well. Gonna read the ones in the op as well. I get so sick of people bitching about Supes. All the time I hear "He's boring", "He's too overpowered", all that jazz. Most of these people have never even read or seen a proper story, they just judge him based on the some preconceived notions. I'll keep rooting for him.
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Sep 9, 2011 03:59
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There is an argument I have with some friends that I'd like to get some thoughts on here: Can Superman be wrong, and still be Superman? A lot of people are telling me that no, Superman can't really be in the wrong on something, and that his moral instincts are too sharp. To them, "there is a right and a wrong in the universe and that distinction is not very difficult to make." And moreover, that if Superman ever WAS wrong - even subjectively - it'd be ruinous to the character. They cite "Grounded." I admit that Grounded - the JMS half, I like the Chris Roberson half a lot - is a convincing argument for How Not To Do Something. But I fall into the camp of "he can be wrong and, for the sake of drama, sometimes he should be wrong." To me, Superman's moral strength comes not from him always knowing what the right thing is, but from him always making the effort to find out. To me, it's more interesting if he puts a lot of effort into understanding moral dilemmas and resolving them. If he's right, it's because he's thought about something for a long time, probably while walking on the ocean floor or in a slow orbit around the Moon. If he's wrong, then he's a big enough man to admit it and works to make things right. If he just knows, with no real effort, then the drama is lessened. Not eliminated, but it takes a hit. What do you all think?
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Sep 9, 2011 05:00
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You should add Lex Luthor: Man of Steel to the OP. It focuses on Lex of course, but for my money it's one of the best Superman stories ever told.
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Sep 9, 2011 07:41
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Thanks guys. The recommendations have been added to the OP.
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Sep 9, 2011 13:32
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Magic Love Hose posted:There is an argument I have with some friends that I'd like to get some thoughts on here: I think it's possible to have him be wrong, as long as he always means well and genuinely thinks his actions are for the best.
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Sep 9, 2011 13:38
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Hell, that fight with Captain Marvel in Justice League Unlimited was a prime example of boringly boyscout Superman being wrong about something, and to be honest it's one of the episodes in which I like him the most because you see him as both an example of perfection through the eyes of Billy, and a fallible being through the eyes of Captain Marvel. I am not a big fan of the way Superman was in the DCAU, he was too... perfect. When I saw the previews for Action Comic, it seemed to show something better about Superman. I think Superman should not be perfect, but he should instead try to be perfect, it makes for more compelling writing than just having him be better than anyone else.
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Sep 9, 2011 14:18
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ers how to
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Flynn Taggart posted:I get so sick of people bitching about Supes. All the time I hear "He's boring", "He's too overpowered", all that jazz. Most of these people have never even read or seen a proper story, they just judge him based on the some preconceived notions. I'll keep rooting for him. I feel the same. You sometimes get people reacting to scenes/scanned pages from a Superman story and they're all "oh I never knew Superman could have so much heart or whatever" and its like, of course you never knew! You never read anything with him in it and just decided he was your idea of that character!
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Sep 9, 2011 15:53
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I heard the Action Comics run before the reboot was really good. What was it about?
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Sep 9, 2011 18:59
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BigRed0427 posted:I heard the Action Comics run before the reboot was really good. What was it about? After the New Krypton storyline, it starred Lex Luthor as he searched for Black Lantern energy from Blackest Night. It was great.
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Sep 9, 2011 19:04
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It also helps that you can read the Lex Luthor Action Comics storyline without much knowledge about Blackest Night. All you need to know is that Lex Luthor had this vast power that came with the Orange Ring and is now tracking a way to get that power back through these black orbs that have shown up post the huge disaster. Along the way he is a dick to every notable villain in the DC Universe. Really worth the read.
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Sep 9, 2011 19:57
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The Luthor-Cornell arc ended a bit before the reboot. I think there was some really awful Doomsday Crossover as the last Superman story before the reboot.
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Sep 9, 2011 20:00
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Chaltab posted:The Luthor-Cornell arc ended a bit before the reboot. I think there was some really awful Doomsday Crossover as the last Superman story before the reboot. Yeah, Cornell had to end his run by finishing up the Reign of Doomsday crossover. It was pretty bad, but Cornell did the best he could with what he was given. I did like the ending though, where he simultaneously justified Clark and Lois's marriage while further criticizing "Grounded".
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Sep 9, 2011 20:08
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I wish Cornell had gotten a chance to really take a crack at Superman. I liked what I saw of Superman during his Luthor-centric run. It seems to happen a lot with this character, that a creator hops on board and everyone gets excited then, whoops, it's only for three issues.
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Sep 10, 2011 05:26
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So, yeah, I gotta tell you guys, I've never been a fan of the Superman comics, I have read only a few of them, but all of them bored the crap out of me, although, looking at this OP, I don't think I ever read any of these recommendations. Either ways, what I know is that Action Comics was loving phenomenal, and maybe its because I was expecting to get bored of Superman, but it was one of the best, if not the best books of the new 52 as of yet. Phenomenal job.
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Sep 10, 2011 20:36
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Something that was pointed out on 4chan:quote:Lex Luthor used the power of a locomotive, with the speed of a bullet to trap Superman against a tall building. gently caress.
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Sep 10, 2011 20:47
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SGRaaize posted:I have read only a few of them, but all of them bored the crap out of me, although, looking at this OP, I don't think I ever read any of these recommendations. Well yeah, there's your problem. The OP lists a lot of the major hits that truly elevate Superman beyond the "cartoon cutout" level, although I can think of some that were left out.
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Sep 10, 2011 20:49
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mind the walrus posted:Well yeah, there's your problem. The OP lists a lot of the major hits that truly elevate Superman beyond the "cartoon cutout" level, although I can think of some that were left out. Please list them.
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Sep 10, 2011 21:58
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ChuckDHead posted:I think it's possible to have him be wrong, as long as he always means well and genuinely thinks his actions are for the best. Of course he can be wrong. Why do you think him and Batman argue so much about everything. I'm reminded of that JLA page where they're arguing about revealing secret identities to group members, Superman makes a point about not hiding behind masks, and Batman hands him his Clark Kent glasses.
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Sep 10, 2011 22:31
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I don't post about comics a lot because I haven't seriously read/collected them in years, but I grew up on Superman comics / cartoons / movies in the 80's and I've got a real undying appreciation for the character. I also get frustrated at people saying Superman is boring or irrelevant, and I'll echo the sentiment here that most of the haters just didn't read the right stories. I'd suggest adding Kingdom Come to the OP. It's another alternate-universe take on the character, and it's not 100% a "Superman story," but to me it summed up everything that's great about him. It's about a clash between the old generation of superheroes and a more violent, reckless new breed, and the whole thing is a thinly-veiled metaphor for how comic books themselves had changed; how readers had lost interest in heroes that were truly heroic. Superman comes out of retirement to show those punks how the gently caress it's done, and it's great. A couple years ago I had a dream that I was wearing this awesome Superman sweatshirt, so I worked with a friend who was good at sewing to make it a reality. I did a lot of the detail work myself. I get a lot of compliments on this thing every time I wear it:  
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Sep 11, 2011 00:12
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^--- That's pretty loving cool. One of my favorite shirts is my Red Son shirt. old picture Semper Fudge posted:Something that was pointed out on 4chan: Yeah, I didn't notice it until it was pointed out on here too. Grant Morrison is pretty good at his job. Magic Love Hose posted:There is an argument I have with some friends that I'd like to get some thoughts on here: Your friends have a pretty stupid viewpoint, here. I suspect that they simply do not respect Superman, because a flawless character is a boring character. Some of the best Superman stories are when he's wrong (Red Son, the previously mentioned JLU episode with him fighting Captain Marvel).
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Sep 11, 2011 00:20
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If you like Superman you probably owe it to yourself to read It's a Bird... by Steven Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen. It's a semi-autobiographical story about how Superman helps a writer come to terms with the possibility that he might have Huntington's and that if he were to have children he might give it to them. It's pretty powerful stuff.
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Sep 11, 2011 03:06
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Revol posted:Your friends have a pretty stupid viewpoint, here. I suspect that they simply do not respect Superman, because a flawless character is a boring character. Some of the best Superman stories are when he's wrong (Red Son, the previously mentioned JLU episode with him fighting Captain Marvel). I think it's the duality that makes it work in the Captain Marvel episode. Superman has to be both an ideal of perfection and a fallible superbeing for it to work. At least, with boyscout Superman of the DCAU, that's why it worked so well. He was Batson's hero, but as Marvel, he was just a person who makes mistakes. In action comics, he is not yet a perfect being, and judging by Justice league, even in the uniform he's still going to be arrogant. But arrogance is good, in this case, it makes him feel more organic, and it will make him stand out against arrogant Luthor, as if to say arrogance + power does not have to equal evil.
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Sep 11, 2011 04:23
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Additional Recommended reading: Superman: Kryptonite  The first arc of the Superman: Confidential book, its Darwyn Cooke's version/vision of Superman's first meeting with Kryptonite, an update from the first Kryptonite comic book story from 1949. Cooke writes, again, a Superman who is just a real person who doesnt know the limits of his invulnerabilty and isnt anxious to find out if theres one. He also gives Superman a certain pride/vanity about appearing weak in front of Lois Lane that is an intriguing character wrinkle for the guy.
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Sep 11, 2011 04:28
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Magic Love Hose posted:Can Superman be wrong, and still be Superman? So, yes, he can be wrong. A good example, as cited, is the Justice League Unlimited arc where Superman and the rest of the League do increasingly questionable things until Superman reaches the same exact point where the Justice League Superman decided to become a dictator. In the end, Superman does not make that choice. That's the important thing. He can make mistakes, but not big ones where he has actively done anything to ruin people's trust in him. His goal to help people, preserve life, and fight for justice is not compromised. Another, more controversial example, is in the 80s when he executed Zod and the other Phantom Zone escapees. It was an interesting case of actually putting Superman in a situation where Superman's mix of powers and pacifism just wouldn't save the day. It also put Superman in a situation where he did something that he deeply regretted, couldn't fix, and learned from. It's in this story where I understand where your friends are coming from. The idea of Superman being wrong, actively killing people, and still being Superman seems weird. Still, I do appreciate the pathos of the story. I don't think it really compromises the character.
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Sep 11, 2011 23:08
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 07:21 |
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 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tdxSl7NCmI
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Sep 13, 2011 01:03
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