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All Star Superman, Vol. 1
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Price: $10.70
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5973
EAN: 9781401209148
ISBN: 1401209149
Label: DC Comics
Manufacturer: DC Comics
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 160
Publication Date: 2007-04-04
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: 2007-04-11
Studio: DC Comics
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Customer review of: All Star Superman, Vol. 1
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Superman at his best
Comment: Superman is a tough character to get right. If you give him too much inner turmoil or angst, he loses that special quality that has made him so enduring to readers since the 30s. And if you make him too perfect, too "Super," he can be boring, and no one wants that.
Grant Morrison gets it right. He walks the thin line between the two extremes, giving us a Superman who is exactly what everyone strives to be, physically and mentally, yet still remains interesting and relatable. This Superman is kind, smart, confident, brave, even funny. What's more, all of his supporting cast--Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White--has been just as fleshed out. Morrison goes for the iconic, but he injects everything with enough unbridled originality and enthusiasm that things remain fresh.
But let's not forget Frank Quitely. His inventive designs are half the reason why this take on Superman works so well. He draws Superman bulky and square-jawed, yet with enough kindness and humanity that he never looks intimidating. And the differences, right down to the posture, between Superman and Clark Kent are truly inspired.
All Star Superman rivals Alan Moore's "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" for the title of "Greatest Superman Story Ever Told," in my opinion and I'm sure many agree. It's just that good.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: This Is Not My Favorite Superman
Comment: This book contains six stories all concerning Superman's inevitable death:
1 Faster
This is about how Lex comes up with a plan to kill Superman by using the sun to overcharge his cells. Some good sequences here, but nothing really special.
2 Superman's Forbidden Room
Superman invites Lois to his Forbidden Room as he hopes to enjoy some probable last moments with her as well as celebrate her birthday with a special gift. Again, nothing out of the ordinary.
3 Sweet dreams, Super Woman
Some of Superman's pals request a contest to win a date with Lois. Totally ridiculous.
4 The Superman/Jimmy Olsen War
Exposure to black Kryptonite causes Superman to turn evil and Jimmy with the aid of some extraterrestrials, tries to stop Superman from ruining his reputation on earth. Very uninteresting.
5 The Gospel According to Lex Luthor
Pretty epic. Kent interviews Luthor on why he is the way he is. There are some pretty fun exchanges between the two. I guess they were saving the best for last.
6 Funeral in Smallville
Probably the best story in the book as Supes visit Smallville one last time but encounters some strange superheroes there. Can't say too much on this one because there is a nice surprise. This story alone is worth the purchase.
The artwork may take some getting adjusting to. It is very different with the detailed features like the face, hands, and feet appearing very small with very little shading and everything else really wide and spacious making the character appear very static and fat. With Superman, this is not much of a problem because this makes him resemble the classic Superman, but Lois Lane is a big disappointment because she does not look anything like Lois at all. The colors are very bright and clean, but again, very little use of gradient or shading. I'm not really a fan of this type of art because while beautiful as a static image, you really do not feel any excitement or action from this type of art.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A comic to remind you that Superman doesn't stink
Comment: I have never been a fan of Superman. He is basically invincible and his comics usually end with him punching something really hard. But when I saw Grant Morrison was doing an alternate-reality run on Superman I had to pick it up. And I was glad I did.
All Star Superman is one of those rare comics where both the story and art work together to make you nostalgic for the old school Superman, while at the same time it turns everything you know about Supes on its ear. This is one of those trades you have to force yourself to read slowly because it's just so darn good.
I'll be reading this trade over and over until vol 2 comes out.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Putting the "Super" back in Superman.
Comment: In the past, Superman's writers have felt the need to depower him. From exposure to the Parasite in the seventies to John Byrne's eighties reboot, the Man of Steel has seen his strength diminished and powers removed in order to supposedly make him more accessible. For me, this trend reached a low point when flavor-of-the-moment villain Lobo beat the snot out of our hero years ago. Bottom line, it ain't right when a 2nd-rate character jacks up an icon like the Man of Steel. But in "All-Star Superman" Grant Morrison goes against the grain and takes Supes in an opposite - and much welcomed - direction.
During a mission to save a sun-orbiting space station, Superman's power is tripled by massive exposure to solar radiation. Now he could smash the aforementioned Lobo like a bug, and later on even the Parasite is overwhelmed while feeding on his excess power. The Son of Jor-El is practically unbeatable - or is he? With great power has come a great price. Turns out the whole thing was a plan by Lex Luthor to slowly kill his nemesis from within via a sun overdose. Superman doesn't have long to live, and both good and evil forces begin to gather with their own agendas in anticipation of his demise.
Various stories spawn from Superman's predicament. His affliction is no secret to those with time-travel abilities such as the egotistical duo of Samson and Atlas, who show up to vie for the hand of a temporarily super-powered Lois Lane. A new form of kryptonite gives Jimmy Olsen an opportunity to yet again transform into a fantastic (and familiar) super-being. Clark Kent bumbles through a mayhem-packed prison interview with Lex Luthor, and Superman's descendants arrive from the future to help his college-aged self defeat a fearsome creature menacing Smallville.
"All Star Superman" is a fine departure for the Superman mythos, and not only because of the power boost. Mr. Morrison has also made Superman's main adversary smarter and more devious in order to match Superman's unparalleled physical might. This incarnation of Lex Luthor is ruthless, intelligent, and deadly, and his loathing of Superman knows no bounds. Even though locked up in prison, he's still a force to be reckoned with. In addition, Frank Quitely's detailed art is a visual treat, with a high-tech look that perfectly conveys the fantastic science-fiction atmosphere of this series.
As others have mentioned, the sci-fi slant is a new angle. Marvel's "Ultimates" series has altered familiar characters and set them in a different universe, and the same is true with the "All-Star" Superman. Instead of a darker version of the Kryptonian, we are treated to a legendary being of myth, an almost god-like man whose deeds compare to the Twelve Labors of Hercules. This Superman lives in a world of wonders, where mythological beings and fantastic science exist side-by-side. Clark Kent also gets his due, appearing as a slouching lummox of an alter-ego that no one, not even Lois or Lex, can see beyond.
"All-Star Superman" is an excellent and original take on Kal-El, and I highly recommend it. Of course, one may be wondering how Superman's descendants can show up if our hero is truly doomed. Well, here's hoping the Morrison/Quitely team can continue their innovative trend and craft an elegant solution. I'll certainly be looking forward to it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Stories Mixing Old And New
Comment: I still have images of Superman comic books stuck in my head from when I was growing up in the 1960s. They were fantastic, a mixture of superhero and science fiction, two of my greatest loves ever at that age. I loved the stories of Lex Luthor (in his traditional gray prison uniform) teaming up with Brainiac (in a pink shirt and shorty-shorts). One of the most prevalent of those images was of Superman shrunken down and trapped in a birdcage.
Ahh, those were the days. But as I grew older, Superman grew more serious and so did his problems. Sadly, so did I. I realized there were worse things for Superman - for ANYONE --than being trapped in a birdcage. However, I still loved those stories. They were part of my childhood and I won't feel badly for hanging onto them.
Especially since Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely are revisiting Superman with the same love and tenderness I remember from those comic issues. Those plots were innocent and fun in a way that comics haven't been in a long time. Now, Morrison and Quitely are doing the same thing in the pages of ALL-STAR SUPERMAN.
The series exists outside of the traditional Superman universe. From what I've seen of this first graphic novel, anything goes. Clark Kent is still something of a [...]. Lois Lane is sharp and still doesn't have a clue that Clark is Superman (until he tells her). Jimmy Olsen is perky and sharp and a geek all at the same time. Luthor is violently opposed to Superman breathing the same air as him, and is brilliantly carrying out multi-layered plans to bring that to an end.
And Superman is quietly heroic throughout it all.
The graphic novel gathers the first six issues of the series. Some of the stories function as stand-alone tales but they all have continuity threads. And they're all just good fun. This is a Superman book I'm gleefully handing off to my ten-year-old because I know he's going to have a blast with it too.
The first story shows Morrison's deviousness. Luthor has a plan to destroy Superman by overexposing him to the sun's rays. During the initial set-up of the story, Morrison quickly and quietly introduces his readers to the familiar cast of characters, letting everyone know just how he's going to spin the relationships and at what point in their lives we are. The sequence of Clark entering the newsroom on the double is a long montage that expertly showcases Quitely's artwork. I loved it.
The first issue leaves us hanging regarding Superman's fate after the overexposure to the sun. But the second issue is a fan's dream come true: Lois Lane is given super-powers for a day and becomes Superwoman the way we all imagined she might back in the 1960s. Not only that, but Quitely draws her SMOKING hot! The two-page spread of the Fortress of Solitude is awesome.
I also loved the calm, every-day way Superman discussed Batman and Robin, and the casual way the Superman robots got introduced. They were a staple of the 1960s as well. The secret of Superman's key to the Fortress was terrific, and the stuff of science fiction. The way Lois's paranoia about Superman backfiring was terrific plotting. Instead of being suspicious of Clark being Superman, she starts wondering if Superman has gone insane due to his exposure.
The third issue where Lois tries to make Superman jealous of Atlas and Samson is a hoot. So is the ending where Superman finally gets tired of their constant haranguing.
Issue four concentrates on Jimmy Olsen, and it's the Jimmy I grew up with. The one that's still young and naïve, and always in the middle of trouble Superman has to get him out of. This one also contains some of Morrison's trademark outside-the-box SF.
Lex Luthor takes center stage in issue five. The team-up with Clark Kent was absolutely fantastic. Can't believe no one ever tried that before. Of course, there's probably some credit due to the SMALLVILLE television series there. "You write like a poet but you move like a landslide," is a quote from Luthor about Clark Kent that I'll probably never forget. The resulting adventure as they run from the Parasite (and Clark repeatedly saves Lex) is a series of neat twists. There's even a cameo of Beppo the Supermonkey that's hilarious.
Issue 6 hosts a lot of surprises and nostalgia. We get to see Ma and Pa Kent, watch Superman play with Krypto the Super-Dog, and even hang out in the Smallville malt shop with Lana Lang. Seeing the Supermen of the futures was a trip down memory lane as well. You just know Morrison is having fun with the cornucopia he's laying down. But his is one of the saddest tales Morrison weaves, and it sneaks up on you in the end.
I can't name a graphic novel I've read yet that seems to span the decades and the generations Morrison's loving tribute does in ALL-STAR SUPERMAN. For long-time fans that haven't read comics in a great many years, this one is a perfect return. Pick this one up and prepare to enjoy the feast.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Two of the comics industry's top creative talents, writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, the acclaimed team behind JLA: EARTH 2, reunite to redefine Superman based on the timeless, essential iconic elements that everyone knows about the Man of Steel. In the first volume, the World's Greatest Super-Hero rescues a doomed group of astronauts on the surface of the sun when he's exposed to massive amounts of solar radiation no one could possibly anticipate how he'll be affected - except Lex Luthor!
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