Rating:  -
Sometimes, after reading a great thing, you just have to sit back; take it all in. This is one of those times.
It's a time when you must concede that a great work of art has been laid upon your doorstep, and that you can't experience it again for the first time.
This is a piece, I have to say, that far outweighs the "TEEN" sticker that the local public library has smacked across its face. This is not quite a "TEEN" book; it deals with far more than just the teenager's scope... deals with life issues in creative, unique, and at times, superpowered ways. The focus, though, is not the powers, but the life itself -- and that's what's so darn enchanting about this book.
Yes, I originally borrowed it from the library.
Now I want to own it.
It's *that* good.
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As for the rest of it; no, this is not the superman you thought you knew. It's sort of a hazing of the line between what I think of as the "DC" and the "Marvel" universes. This particular Superman is a natural denizen of earth, born to his parents, the Kents. They named him "Clark" simply because they thought it quite humorous, being from Kansas, and all.
The working theory about HOW he ended up with the "real superman's powers" is sort of left up to your own interpretation, because he certainly doesn't know himself. Meteor showers with radioactive particles, falling into the local resevoir? Perhaps he shaped his destiny by willing his powers into being?
How long do superpowers last, anyway?
Maybe those questions won't be QUITE answered...but you WILL find out what it MIGHT be like to be faced with the reality of having superman's powers in today's world, knowing full well that everyone else thinks Superman to be a comic book character. How do you protect your children? How do you deal with old age? How do you get people to STOP making "superman" cracks about your name? (answer is, you can't. Even your children will be merciless.)
But you WILL find out, by the end, that you've just read something pretty profound.
Rating: -
I didn't know what to expect when I first purchased this graphic novel. I heard so many good things about it from friends. They would say it was a terrific book about Superman without actually having the real Superman in it. WHAT?
After having read it, I completely understand what they meant and loved every moment of reading it.
A classic superhero tale that allows you, the reader, to feel what it is like to have powers and be afraid to share it with the world.
Each significant chapter takes places years apart from the last one to show you how much the character has grown and become even more comfortable with his abilities and even more scared someone will find out and kidnap his family.
I recommend this book highly. A perfect superhero book for any comic book fan, whether you like Superman or not.
Rating: -
This is quite possibly the best Superman story since Alan Moore's "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" Busiek's skill for dialogue, characterization, and a presentation of superpowers that is both realistic and fantastic. It is at times evocative of the Lee/Ditko Spider-Man, but that speaks only to both the universality of Lee's work and the Silver Age mentality that fuels "Superman: Secret Identity." It's touching, it's entertaining, it's powerful and fun, and I'm hard-pressed to think of a better Superman story in the last fifteen years. Every Superman fan, every comic book fan, should own a copy. It's *that* good.
Rating: -
Let me start by saying that I have never and will probably never read Superman comics. I don't really like Superman as a character that much. Why did I pick this up? I read Busiek's Astro City and enjoyed the human drama approach to his writing in "the tarnished Angel". I see this as somewhat similar in story telling approach. There is a definite melancholy to his writing in Superman SI, but it's not depressing. He talks about mortality, identity, our inherent weaknesses and how this conflicts with our desire to do good. If one needed a movie equivalent I guess you could say it's in the same vein as the Shawshank redemption in tone. The story's greatest strength I believe is it's ability to convey something that we comic book readers have always wanted/day dreamed about/wished for: super powers. What would it be like if suddenly we had super powers like that of Superman? How would we use them? What would happen to us? Unlike many superhero stories, this is grounded in our real world. Not Gotham or Metropolis. And as such we get to see what might happen in the case of powers suddenly thrusted upon us. It's detailed story telling with an emphasis on minutiae that ultimately do make a difference. there isn't a lot of action, so beware if you are expecting a rock 'em, sock 'em Superman. But, I found myself unable to put the book down. And although (as i said before) there is a certain elegy to the story, it's beautifully written and quite uplifting. One of the best "in the life and times of" stories I have ever read. And the artwork is excellent and well suited to the tone of the book.
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