By Tom Grozan
That's Really Super, Man
Here we are with the second edition of In Case You Missed It ... As such, tradition demands an appearance by Superman. Why, you ask? Let me explain how the comic industry works for those that don't know or have better things to think about. Comic-book retailers order comics three months in advance. That means, with a brand-new series they have to place orders for the first three issues before the first one even hits the stands. They can count on #1 selling fairly well as a "collector's item," but they usually cut their orders in half on issues #2 and #3 for an unknown property. This is so that they don't get stuck with a ton of issues sitting on the shelves or in back-issue bins if the book's a flop. If the book's a hit, retailers adjust their orders with issue #4 and beyond. This is the reason why #2s are sometimes worth more or are harder to find than #1s: demand was higher than the available supply.
To try and staunch the bleeding in the ordering system, comic-book companies starting having their most popular characters guest-star in the second issues of new series. The reason being that those characters' core fans would try the series out and retailers anticipating the crossover readership wouldn't cut their order so severely. As such, you can count on your favorite new characters either meeting Superman/Batman or Spider-Man/Wolverine early in their adventures, depending on which universe they reside in.
What does that have to do with my little dog-and-pony show? Not much really, other than to have a hook for this column and to entice a few more pairs of eyeballs into checking it out. I'm not dumb -- as adventurous as I believe you guys are, I know people are more willing to read something familiar than unknown, and Superman is the most recognizable comic-book character in the world. Add to that the fact that Superman done right is a magical reading experience. He's a timeless character that resonates with generation after generation. The quintessential mythic American icon, he's the ultimate symbol of an immigrant made good. Face it, your comic reading experience is not complete without sampling Superman, so here are three books that distill the Man of Steel down to his essence and best elements.
SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL TPB
Story and art by John Byrne
A couple of years ago, A-list writers Grant Morrison, Mark Millar and Mark Waid tried to angle their way onto the Superman titles but were rebuffed by DC editorial, with the explanation that DC doesn't want top talent on the books. Their reasoning being that the character is the star, not the talent. This was not always the case, because in 1986 DC turned to the biggest superstar in comics at the time, John Byrne, to totally revamp Superman.
In the wake of revolutionary works like THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and WATCHMEN, the Silver Age baggage Superman was carrying around had begun to seem trite and campy, and its weight was dragging the character down. So after DC's continuity-revamping CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS mini-series, Byrne took the clean slate handed to him and set about tailoring Superman for modern comic readers. Although it may seem hard to believe for those who largely know Byrne today for being curmudgeonly online and churning out listless work like LAB RATS, this was Byrne at the height of his artistic and storytelling powers and he was perfect for the job.
In this story, which originally ran as a six-issue mini-series before the SUPERMAN title was relaunched with a new #1 issue, Byrne draws equally from the first Superman movie and existing comic lore to set the tone for this retelling of Superman's beginnings. He wisely keeps things moving at a brisk pace so that, like in the movie, there is no chance of all that's going on to feel normal. This helps heighten the awe of this amazing being doing extraordinary things. A huge part of the power of Superman is that he should be awe-inspiring. People should be looking up mouths-agape as he flies overhead. Without that, he's just another cartoon character and that's an aspect that I think is lost on a lot of creators who handle Superman.
The book hits all of the key points in Superman's origin and adds a few twists of its own: the destruction of Krypton; the spacecraft containing baby Kal-El being found by the Kents; Superman's emergence in Metropolis; Clark Kent's landing a job at the Daily Planet; Superman's first meeting with Batman. It's all there, and while familiar, Byrne's masterful storytelling and art keeps everything fresh and entertaining.
Byrne clears away a great deal of detritus clinging to the character while adding some innovative updates to the mythos. His first big re-imagining is Krypton. Gone are the Flash Gordon-like cityscapes, replaced by a hard-science vision of a society subverted by technology into soulless sterility. This makes a perfect contrast to young Clark Kent's warm, loving upbringing on Earth. The other major stroke of genius is transforming Lex Luthor from a mad scientist/supervillain into a cunning corporate tycoon. How can Superman fight someone who employs most of Metropolis and can manipulate the system with his money and power? The result is the perfect villainous foil for someone who can literally move mountains.
He's also spot-on with his characterization of the leads. Byrne doesn't fall into the trap of portraying Clark Kent/Superman as a one-dimensional boy scout. His Clark is charming, capable and good-natured, but still not settled into his place in the world. A fish out of water not just as a small town guy in the big city, but also as a superhuman in a human world. As a counterpoint, his Lois Lane is an obsessively determined and focused career woman willing to risk almost anything, even her own well-being, to achieve her goals. Her main interest in Superman is not romantic but as the story of a lifetime.
It is a testament to Byrne's storytelling that no one in the 15 years since his tenure on the title has been able to equal his run on Superman and that most of the elements that he so successfully streamlined have been reintegrated back by nostalgic and unimaginative creators. Even so, the story still holds up and anyone looking for an introduction to Superman should start here.
SUPERMAN: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MAN OF TOMORROW?
Written by Alan Moore with art by Curt Swan, George Perez and Kurt Schaffenberger
In late 1985, with John Byrne scheduled to take over and relaunch SUPERMAN and ACTION COMICS, longtime SUPERMAN editor Julius Schwartz was presented with the opportunity to present a grand finale to his stewardship of his titles. His idea was to make believe the last issues of SUPERMAN and ACTION COMICS were the last issues ever. His first choice to write the last Superman story was the person who wrote the first, co-creator Jerry Siegel. However, legal entanglements prevented that from happening. He was at the San Diego Comic-Con, having breakfast with none other than Alan Moore, when Schwartz found the answer to his dilemma. Moore literally rose up out of his chair, put his hands around the editor's neck and said, "If you let anyone else write that story, I'll kill you!" Schwartz, like any sane person involved in comics, didn't need to have his life threatened to let Alan Moore work his magic and the result, as usual, is something special.
The story opens in the far-off future of 1997! It's been a decade since the last sighting of Superman and Daily Planet reporter Tim Crane is interviewing Lois Elliot (formerly Lane) about Superman's last days for a special anniversary memorial edition. After putting her baby to sleep and making coffee in her futuristic fishbowl-like coffee maker, Lois' mind flashes back to recount the tale.
It starts off with some of Superman's more benign foes going to surprisingly violent and definitive extremes. Bizarro decides the only way to be the perfect-imperfect duplicate of Superman is to go on a murderous rampage and then commit suicide. The Prankster and the Toyman torture Superman's identity out of Pete Ross and then murder him. They then expose Superman as Clark Kent on national television. With his secret identity destroyed, Superman transports those closest to him to his Fortress of Solitude, fearing that if the likes of the Prankster and Bizarro are committing these acts, what will his truly dangerous foes do?
His fear is prescient as Lex Luthor, Brainiac and the Legion of Super-Villains lay siege to the Fortress, leading to the last stands of a number of beloved characters and the unveiling of the true mastermind behind everything. The unavoidably final solution to the crisis leads Superman to seemingly strip himself of his powers with gold Kryptonite and disappear forever.
Moore's story does a great job of bringing the cast and the Silver Age to its logical and final conclusions while still serving up a number of surprises. While newer readers might not recognize the more arcane Silver Age references, everything you need to know is explained in the story, and it's a wild ride. If ever there was a super-hero Ragnarok, this is it. The art is by longtime Superman artist Curt Swan, whose work is considered by many to be the definitive look for character and his cast. While some of the visuals are campily dated (Reporter Tim Crane's "futuristically modern" wardrobe looks like a cross between Austin Powers and Mister Furley from THREE'S COMPANY), it is the classic look for that era and the perfect choice for the story that closes it out.
I could go on dissecting the key moments and surprises in this story, but that would ruin the thrill of reading it. Trust me, it's worth a look. While Alan Moore followed this with more serious works like WATCHMEN and FROM HELL, his post-modern take on the Silver Age has resurfaced from time to time in works like SUPREME for Awesome Comics and TOM STRONG for his own ABC line. This story, however, is where those ideas first surfaced and is still his best take on the subject matter.
SUPERMAN VS. THE INCREDIBLE HULK
Written by Roger Stern with art by Steve Rude
Superhero crossover "events," where characters from separate companies meet, are usually anti-climactic affairs. An excuse for a mindless slugfest between two characters that ends in a stalemate because the inter-company politics involved in getting them together in the first place dictate that one can't be seen to get the better of the other. Any story depth is minimal because why bother: the characters are going to sell the book anyway. SUPERMAN VS. THE INCREDIBLE HULK is the exception to the rule with a clever and engaging plot and some of the most gorgeous art ever seen in a comic book.
While watching a news report on Bruce Banner, Superman flashes back to his first encounter with Banner and his alter-ego The Hulk. After running into the Hulk as Superman, Clark Kent sets about doing an article on the Hulk as cover to investigate. But he's beaten to the punch by Lois Lane. Sensing a connection, he switches gears and suggests a profile on Bruce Banner with the hook that it could tie into Lois' Hulk article.
While out in New Mexico, Clark is surprised to find Lex Luthor at the military installation where Bruce Banner works. He's there under the guise of the industrial contracts he has with the military, but his real interest is securing Banner's Gamma technology and the Hulk to use against Superman. The situation is brought to climax when he uses a robot doppelganger of the Hulk to lure the two titans out and into conflict with one another.
The big reason this story works is how logically everything falls into place. All the characters have reasonable reasons and motivations for being where they are and doing what they do. It was refreshing to see Clark Kent and Lois Lane going through the paces as reporters using investigative work and interviewing leads to get to the bottom of the situation instead of just showing up in the right place at the right time. It was also refreshing to see Bruce Banner's scientific work being shown to have a non Hulk-related purpose. The Hulk is an obstacle to his achieving true scientific progress and not his sole focus.
The characters are also given their proper iconic impact. The Hulk is monstrous and frightening, causing people to scatter in fear. Superman's very appearance at a diner has the staff running around in bemused excitement. This drives home the fact that the very existence of these beings is extraordinary and lends weight and power to their presence and actions.
The story is helped along by Steve Rude's amazing artwork, which conveys the look and feel of classic illustrators like Alex Raymond and Frank Frazetta. It's also pliable enough to include other influences, such as Jack Kirby in his rendering of the Hulk and Max Fleischer in his portrayal of Superman. All this visual razzle-dazzle is steadily held together by innovative and cinematic storytelling, leading to one those rare combinations of great story and fabulous art.
So those are my choices for Superman stories you can't go wrong in checking out. Feel free to debate my choices or add your own in the Shoot-Back section. I'm always interested in hearing what you think, especially any of you that decided to try something out based on my recommendation.
I see hope to see you all back Next Week as I take a look at some of the early work of current BATMAN and CATWOMAN writer Ed Brubaker.
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