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[Tizoc]

I own both hardcovers of this book, and fuck do I wish I brought it with me to read during this night shift. Great colors, great stories, heartwarming moments, and superb characterizations.

Can we all agree that Jimmy Olsen is the bro-est of bros in this series?

Some of my highlights in this series is just how they manage to convey stuff in just 1 page. 1 effin' page, examples include

THERE. Superman's origins in just 1 page, masterfully done.

...cuz why the hell not bring it up

Superman and Luthor's relationship summed up in 1 page. 1 page, if there are any other comics that succeeded in depcting the protagonist and antagonist's relationship like this, then I would love to know of it.

quote dis if u cry evertim

Quoting awesome post

All of the characters look like potatoes though.

What's up with that?

You just crave french fries and potatoes.
...but in all seriousness if you ain't got anything to contribute to the topic regarding the amazing writing and story, go back to reading through your Nocenti(sp) Catwoman books mate.

 

[Seth C]

What would be the best Superman "one shots"?
Right now i'm thinking of reading

Red Son
All Star
Secret Identity
Kingdom Come

Anything else as good as these?

JLA: The Nail is good.

 

[The Boat]

What would be the best Superman "one shots"?
Right now i'm thinking of reading

Red Son
All Star
Secret Identity
Kingdom Come

Anything else as good as these?

I love Superman For All Seasons.

 

[Fancy Clown]

I'm not much of a superman guy, but All-Star Superman is the shit. I love that Frank Quitely art too, so vibrant and fits the writing so well.

 

[MisterHero]

All*Star Superman is brilliant. However, I'd prefer if the greatest Superman stories were from in-continuity. Morrison should've stayed on Action Comics while doing Multiversity.

THERE. Superman's origins in just 1 page, masterfully done.

LOL Jor-El and Lara are totally Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder

mind blown

 

[Tizoc]

All*Star Superman is brilliant. However, I'd prefer if the greatest Superman stories were from in-continuity.


LOL Jor-El and Lara are totally Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder

mind blown

lol DC change their continuity ever 5 or so years, but IMO Greg Rucka's Superman stories were good, look them up.

 

[Zabka]

My favorite Superman story of all time.

It's a shame about the animated movie. It really deserved to be done in two parts like TDKR, but beyond that I thought the voice acting for Superman was pretty terrible and dragged the whole thing down. The animation wasn't anything special either.

 

[Blizzard]

Superman and Luthor's relationship summed up in 1 page. 1 page, if there are any other comics that succeeded in depcting the protagonist and antagonist's relationship like this, then I would love to know of it.

Spoiler question about that:

Spoiler

What was Superman dying from? Did he actually die? Did he get replaced?

 

[MisterHero]

lol DC change their continuity ever 5 or so years, but IMO Greg Rucka's Superman stories were good, look them up.

My favorite right now is Last Son.

Christopher Kent was OUR Damian, damn it!

Spoiler question about that:

Spoiler

What was Superman dying from? Did he actually die? Did he get replaced?

Spoiler

Luthor tricked him into flying too close to the sun. He looked like he was dying throughout the story, but he was actually evolving into an energy being.

Sorta like Electric Superman in the 90s.

 

[Coriolanus]

JLA: The Nail is good.

I love Superman For All Seasons.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[tim1138]

Spoiler question about that:

Spoiler

What was Superman dying from? Did he actually die? Did he get replaced?

Spoiler

As a result of flying into tge sun, his cells absorbed more solar radiation then they could handle and started degenerating and breaking down.

Not gonna spoil the end because you should really read it.

 

[Tizoc]

Spoiler question about that:

Spoiler

What was Superman dying from? Did he actually die? Did he get replaced?

Spoiler

Luthor finally succeeded in killing Superman, in the comic, Superman gets greatly saturated by the Sun's energy, which backfires in the form of cell decay, causing his body to eventually deteriorate

Been a while since I read it, and I can't seem to find the exact quote to answer your spoiler so I'm going off memory while keeping it as a simple as possible ^^;

 

[Zabka]

My favorite right now is Last Son.

Christopher Kent was OUR Damian, damn it!

Spoiler

Luthor tricked him into flying too close to the sun. He looked like he was dying throughout the story, but he was actually evolving into an energy being.

Sorta like Electric Superman in the 90s.

Geoff Johns had a really good run on Action Comics. Last Son was great but I think I enjoyed his Legion of Super-Heroes arc more.

 

[SJRB]

.

What is happening in the 4th panel?

 

[iamalegionnaire]

Zibarro was truly something, his "Why must i be the only one to see beauty in a sunrise?" bit almost made me tear up

I actually own the original page this panel is from. He gets a ton of hate, but I LOVE Quitely.

 

[Tizoc]

What is happening in the 4th panel?

He spat at Superman.

 

[Eidan]

What is happening in the 4th panel?

Luthor spat.

 

[rbenchley]

When it comes to comics, I tend to be a Marvel and Dark Horse kind of guy, but pound for pound, All Star Superman is the best superhero comic book ever made. It captures the absolute essence of Superman, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, the Kents, Jimmy Olsen, et al and what has made them compelling characters for over 75 years. As an earlier poster pointed out, the first page of issue one perfectly sums up Superman's origin in eight words on one page and there is nothing rushed or left out. Perfect storytelling. The story is a brilliant mix of Morrison's high concept depiction of a godlike being and the fantastical adventures he has and the simple, down to earth decency of a Superman who is basically still a Kansas farmboy that just wants to help other people. Quitely's art can be a bit polarizing, but I think it's absolutely brilliant as well. The differences in the ways he draws Superman and Clark Kent are wonderful and go beyond a costume change or a pair of glasses. He invests both personas with different mannerisms and body language and makes it believable that those close to both Clark and Superman could be unaware of them being the same person, while not seeming like complete idiots.

 

[NegroNinja]

I need to read all of this. Where can I buy them?

 

[Tizoc]

I need to read all of this. Where can I buy them?

Look up Amazon or InStockTrades, but if you want digital, it should be available on comixology.

 

[TEJ]

I need to read all of this. Where can I buy them?

amazon

 

[NEO0MJ]

It was a great read, with so many great moments and scenes. A lot of people love mentioning the serious parts, but it had some funny parts, too. One of my favorite was when Lex decided to invalidate Clark's whole interview with him in prison by ending it with him shaking hands with a monkey wearing a Superman costume.

I need to read all of this. Where can I buy them?

Amazon should have them all.

 

[Tizoc]

It was a great read, with so many great moments and scenes. A lot of people love mentioning the serious parts, but it had some funny parts, too. One of my favorite was when Lex decided to invalidate Clark's whole interview with him in prison by ending it with him shaking hands with a monkey wearing a Superman costume.



Amazon should have them all.

I was trying to find that entire page but no luck, the Olsen-centric issue also had some hilarious parts.

 

[Mumei]

Secret Identity has some of Stuart Immonen's best work, period.

and also one of the better, most succinct "Superman realizes he has powers" moments in the character's history.

Secret Identity is my favorite Superman story - or maybe "Clark Kent" story would be more accurate.

 

[Philippo]

I actually own the original page this panel is from. He gets a ton of hate, but I LOVE Quitely.

Holy shit, it's one of my favorite panel of all comic books.
I envy you big time man.

 

[TheDrizzlerJ11]

Spoiler

Luthor finally succeeded in killing Superman, in the comic, Superman gets greatly saturated by the Sun's energy, which backfires in the form of cell decay, causing his body to eventually deteriorate

Been a while since I read it, and I can't seem to find the exact quote to answer your spoiler so I'm going off memory while keeping it as a simple as possible ^^;

Spoiler

So what you're saying is the man of steel dies of skin cancer. Didn't see that coming.

 

[Goldrush]

Does Morrison's nu52 superman run tie into the Morrison's canon of all star to dc1000000?

 

[iamalegionnaire]

Holy shit, it's one of my favorite panel of all comic books.
I envy you big time man.

Thanks, I love it. I own three Quitely/Morrison pages. This, one from Batman and Robin, and another from New X-Men. It's amazing to see his work up close.

 

[MisterHero]

Does Morrison's nu52 superman run tie into the Morrison's canon of all star to dc1000000?

It might through Multiversity.

Speaking of which I haven't seen #1 yet

 

[Plywood]

dude looks high as fuck in that picture

High on life.

 

[Alienous]

dude looks high as fuck in that picture

lol.

Nicely done.

 

[esai]

This series is one of the best comic books ive ever read. as many have said it just captures the characters so well. i get feels throughout the book.

 

[DaveH]

In fact, its harder for me to think of a Superman story that's "in-continuity" that's anywhere near as good as his one-shots/elseworlds stories.

Not to take away from the out-of-continuity stories, which are great, but perhaps to take away from the expectations of people reading those then expecting the same in-continuity... most of the one-shots are complete stories with a terminal ending, something you don't get the benefit of with in-continuity stories, so it's a different craft and a little different standard... you don't get to kick over sacred cows and kill Superman every story.

However, some of the [formerly] in-continuity stuff (I'm going from memory so the nostalgia may be better than the read):

Action #900 - The main story is balls, but the vignettes celebrating Superman afterwards are cute (because telling a short story is also a different craft).

Hitman #34 - A must read! Ever wonder what Garth Ennis thinks of Superman?

Action #800 - Superman's origin by Joe Kelly and one of my favorite retellings of Byrne's Man of Steel with every guest artist under the sun.

Adventures of Superman #648 - Written by Lois about the clean up of Bludhaven after Chemo was weaponized... sappy, but explains why Superman's an inspiration in the DCU at the time (without necessarily being the strongest).

Superman Man of Steel #129 - Chuck Austen actually writes a good Superman story. It's all about Superman befriending a beat cop and mortal heroism.

And not in continuity but fun... Superman Gen 13 - Slacker 90s characters come to Metropolis and slowly come around and become Superman fans.

 

[tim1138]

I actually own the original page this panel is from. He gets a ton of hate, but I LOVE Quitely.

Holy shit, that is awesome. I'm all kinds of jealous.

 

[DaveH]

dude looks high as fuck in that picture

If you know the story behind the picture, it's likely the case! Short version: Morrison was wrestling with writing Superman outside of a convention and saw a Superman cosplayer, just completely relaxed sitting much like you see there, and approaches him to ask him questions... and the cosplayer, completely confident, laid back, and secure starts answering Morrison's questions in character.

I think Morrison called the moment "shamanistic"... and this cosplayer gave him an insight into the character he felt he never had before.

 

[Makonero]

When it comes to comics, I tend to be a Marvel and Dark Horse kind of guy, but pound for pound, All Star Superman is the best superhero comic book ever made. It captures the absolute essence of Superman, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, the Kents, Jimmy Olsen, et al and what has made them compelling characters for over 75 years. As an earlier poster pointed out, the first page of issue one perfectly sums up Superman's origin in eight words on one page and there is nothing rushed or left out. Perfect storytelling. The story is a brilliant mix of Morrison's high concept depiction of a godlike being and the fantastical adventures he has and the simple, down to earth decency of a Superman who is basically still a Kansas farmboy that just wants to help other people. Quitely's art can be a bit polarizing, but I think it's absolutely brilliant as well. The differences in the ways he draws Superman and Clark Kent are wonderful and go beyond a costume change or a pair of glasses. He invests both personas with different mannerisms and body language and makes it believable that those close to both Clark and Superman could be unaware of them being the same person, while not seeming like complete idiots.

With regards to the Clark/Superman thing, I found it so convincing that I had to flip back and forth several times to make sure they were the same person. The Clark Kenting in this book is so good, it fooled me.

 

[Rooster12]

In fact, its harder for me to think of a Superman story that's "in-continuity" that's anywhere near as good as his one-shots/elseworlds stories.

I think there are more "in-continuity" stories that really represent the character of Superman. One-Shots and limited series are more geared towards newbies for them to get into the character it seems. Maybe I just think differently than most comic-readers on this subject. *shrug*

He invests both personas with different mannerisms and body language and makes it believable that those close to both Clark and Superman could be unaware of them being the same person, while not seeming like complete idiots.

I remembered that Lois has also said that Superman's voice sounds completely different from Clark's voice, which is something they didn't (or couldn't) do in the animations and movies

 

[googleplex]

Secret Identity is my favorite Superman story - or maybe "Clark Kent" story would be more accurate.

The best Superman stories are always more about the Man then the Super.

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

What would be the best Superman "one shots"?
Right now i'm thinking of reading

Red Son
All Star
Secret Identity
Kingdom Come

Anything else as good as these?

Those are all great. And most of those are what helped turn me around on Big Blue. The order I'd recommend is read Secret Identity, All Star, Kingdom Come then Red Son

 

[HK-47]

My top five Superman stories are All Star, For the Man Who Has Everything, Birthright, What Ever Happened and Secret Idenity at the top.

 

[Drencrom]

Yes, in this context it's a good thing. Young gangsters should show respect and reverence to the OG's

 

[Rooster12]

However, some of the [formerly] in-continuity stuff (I'm going from memory so the nostalgia may be better than the read):

Action #900 - The main story is balls, but the vignettes celebrating Superman afterwards are cute (because telling a short story is also a different craft).

Hitman #34 - A must read! Ever wonder what Garth Ennis thinks of Superman?

Action #800 - Superman's origin by Joe Kelly and one of my favorite retellings of Byrne's Man of Steel with every guest artist under the sun.

Adventures of Superman #648 - Written by Lois about the clean up of Bludhaven after Chemo was weaponized... sappy, but explains why Superman's an inspiration in the DCU at the time (without necessarily being the strongest).

Superman Man of Steel #129 - Chuck Austen actually writes a good Superman story. It's all about Superman befriending a beat cop and mortal heroism.

And not in continuity but fun... Superman Gen 13 - Slacker 90s characters come to Metropolis and slowly come around and become Superman fans.

I also really enjoyed Adventures of Superman #607

Here he helps out a new Teen Titans recruit's inner demons.

 

[Veelk]

I really never understood why this comic is held in such high regard. I first saw the movie, which didn't impress me, then I read the comic after everyone told me that the movie didn't do it justice, and later on I read it again, hoping I could pick up whatever I missed on a second reading.

To me, there is nothing to this book. The succinct scenes that everyone praises are so minimalist that they lack depth, merely projecting the one or two things they are meant to. Case in point, the superman and luthor in prison scene. It establishes that superman believes there is good in everyone, which we already knew and that Luthor hates superman, which we also knew. If it's just showing the extremeness they go in their singlemindedness, well, it's just....dumb. It makes them both more one note, as the 'good guy' and 'bad guy', and while some may argue that's appropriate to superman, Luthor just comes off as an idiot, and the other characters moreso for being stupid enough to let the murderous lunatic scientist who just admited to admiring hitler keep an advanced robotic in his room.

I acknowledge that Quietly is a talented artist on a technical level, but I don't like his aesthetic regardless and can't really get into the art, especially coupled with some of the gawdy and horrible designs of certain things and people (like the stupid outfits the kryptonians that came to earth wore).

I guess the comic is very 'feel'-y if you're into that sort of thing, but it just comes across as lacking substance to me.

 

[Rydeen]

Really love All-Star Superman as well. Morrison's best mainstream superhero work. He does an excellent job of balancing the crazy 50's-60's elements of Superman comics with the much more grounded, introspective personality Clark has had since the 80's. It's a real balancing act but it works.

Superman from a writing standpoint is way more difficult than Batman. Batman has had so many incarnations and variations that are all legitimate in their own way, but Superman has to be written in a very specific way or it doesn't work. People instinctively know when Superman acts out of character, he's very much an individual, even though he's a comic-book character.

Also really want to give a shout-out to Superman For All Seasons. I love almost everything the Jeph Loeb / Tim Sale team does, and this is easily their best work. The issue written from Luthor's perspective is sooo good, really gives you insight into Lex's mind, and why if you read the comics, he's one of the greatest arch-villains.

 

[sirap]

All star and secret identity will forever be the two best Superman else worlds.

 

[Flash]

Loved All-Star Superman. This, For All Seasons, Secret Identity, and Birthright captures everything I love and admire about Superman. Easily my favourite super hero and such a shame he's never properly captured in other mediums.

So...how legit is the theory that

Spoiler

Lex Luthor = Leo Quintum?

Because I can sure as hell get behind it and makes the

Spoiler

prison

panel that much more impactful.

 

[Vyer]

My favorite right now is Last Son.

Christopher Kent was OUR Damian, damn it!

.[/spoiler]

Bizarro World, Secret Origin and Brainiac are all great arcs too.

 

[Rydeen]

Bizarro World, Secret Origin and Brainiac are all great arcs too.

That's the Geoff Johns written issues where Gary Frank drew Supes to look like Christopher Reeve, right? I read a little bit of the Braniac story and liked it, need to check out more.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

I actually own the original page this panel is from. He gets a ton of hate, but I LOVE Quitely.

so Jelly. damn those pencils look good. how did you get this?

Not to take away from the out-of-continuity stories, which are great, but perhaps to take away from the expectations of people reading those then expecting the same in-continuity... most of the one-shots are complete stories with a terminal ending, something you don't get the benefit of with in-continuity stories, so it's a different craft and a little different standard... you don't get to kick over sacred cows and kill Superman every story.

However, some of the [formerly] in-continuity stuff (I'm going from memory so the nostalgia may be better than the read):

Action #900 - The main story is balls, but the vignettes celebrating Superman afterwards are cute (because telling a short story is also a different craft).

Hitman #34 - A must read! Ever wonder what Garth Ennis thinks of Superman?

Action #800 - Superman's origin by Joe Kelly and one of my favorite retellings of Byrne's Man of Steel with every guest artist under the sun.

Adventures of Superman #648 - Written by Lois about the clean up of Bludhaven after Chemo was weaponized... sappy, but explains why Superman's an inspiration in the DCU at the time (without necessarily being the strongest).

Superman Man of Steel #129 - Chuck Austen actually writes a good Superman story. It's all about Superman befriending a beat cop and mortal heroism.

And not in continuity but fun... Superman Gen 13 - Slacker 90s characters come to Metropolis and slowly come around and become Superman fans.

to add to this Superman Vol 2 # 145.

Following the defeat of Dominus, Superman's reputation is tarnished, and is hated and feared by nearly everyone. Superman patrols the streets of Metropolis and finds that sometimes, powers are more trouble than they're worth.

With his super-hearing, he can hear the people talking of him, he could tune it all out, but he needs to hear it. He thinks on the past days, about how he did more damage than any of the other super-villains he fought against. Suddenly, he's put back on task as he sees a wrecked gasoline tanker spilling gas all over a street, and a confused blind man dropping a cigarette that could ignite the gasoline. Rocketing down, Superman manage to grab the cigarette, but an angry crowd picks on the Man of Tomorrow. One man, however tells Superman that he still trusts him. Another comments that they can trust him like pets trust their masters. Superman, still seeing the danger, rushes off, grabs a huge pipe and sucks up the gasoline as if the pipe's a straw and then puts the gasoline back into the tank.

After getting the cold shoulder from the police, a man standing in the crowd asks Superman for a moment of his time. The man is the post-master general of Metropolis and he asks Superman if he could read the mail he's been receiving. In the Post Office, Superman reads bag after bag of hate mail, none sticking out until he finds a letter from one man.

Superman travels to a hospital. Now, changed to his alter ego of Clark Kent, he walks down the hallway to room 353: the room of Col. William T. Brooks. Brooks tells Clark that he would not be in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down, if not for Superman. Clark asks him if he would tell him his story to which Brooks agrees.

Brooks' story begins n the South Pacific where he was on an aircraft carrier assigned to hide from Superman for fear that he would steal their nuclear arms. Superman found them and even with their refusal and resistance, takes the weapons off the ship. Brooks, a fighter-jet pilot, goes after him. Brooks fires off two missiles to try and destroy the weapons but Superman uses his heat vision to explode them, which in turns blows up the ship. Brooks ejects but the flying shrapnel from the plane cuts his parachute. Hitting the water with no chute, he was knocked unconscious and his spine was broken. He would have died then if not for a Superman Robot who came back and pulled him out of the water to safety.

Brooks tells Clark that he understands that Superman wasn't really in control of his actions. He also tells Clark that even though no one thinks of Superman as a hero anymore, he still regards him as one, because Brooks was also hated when he returned from his service in the Vietnam War. Brooks further states that he wouldn't be talking if not for Superman and for that, he owes him gratitude. After finishing his story, Brooks challenges Clark to a game of chess and over the game Clark hopes the rest of the world will someday forgive Superman for his actions as Brooks has.

this was one my favorite single issues. actually the whole Dominus storyline was really good. Superman King of the World.

I really never understood why this comic is held in such high regard. I first saw the movie, which didn't impress me, then I read the comic after everyone told me that the movie didn't do it justice, and later on I read it again, hoping I could pick up whatever I missed on a second reading.

To me, there is nothing to this book. The succinct scenes that everyone praises are so minimalist that they lack depth, merely projecting the one or two things they are meant to. Case in point, the superman and luthor in prison scene. It establishes that superman believes there is good in everyone, which we already knew and that Luthor hates superman, which we also knew. If it's just showing the extremeness they go in their singlemindedness, well, it's just....dumb. It makes them both more one note, as the 'good guy' and 'bad guy', and while some may argue that's appropriate to superman, Luthor just comes off as an idiot, and the other characters moreso for being stupid enough to let the murderous lunatic scientist who just admited to admiring hitler keep an advanced robotic in his room.

I acknowledge that Quietly is a talented artist on a technical level, but I don't like his aesthetic regardless and can't really get into the art, especially coupled with some of the gawdy and horrible designs of certain things and people (like the stupid outfits the kryptonians that came to earth wore).

I guess the comic is very 'feel'-y if you're into that sort of thing, but it just comes across as lacking substance to me.

well it shows that Luthor has given in to his basest emotions of hate and pettiness when he could be doing so much more. in a way it's a failure of Superman that he could not inspire Luthor to greatness.

 

[Escape Goat]

Quietly draws like people are filled with pudding.