Rating:  -
I normally wouldn't buy a superman book, but after this arc was so hailed EVERYWHERE I looked, (a local comic shop even had a post-it note proclaiming it "the most face meltingest book..." blah blah blah) I picked it up. It was okay.
Superman is just kind of boring. I don't want to ruin it. I just want to say that it didn't change MY mind about the boy scout. You may feel differently. Obviously.
Rating:  -
The All-Star Line was DC's attempt to retell the greatest, most iconic stories for the big three (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman).
In the case of All-Star Superman, it doesn't disappoint! Each issue is a nod back to the silver age, written deftly by Grant Morrison, and each issue is an insightful stand-alone story, all contained with the larger arc of Superman about to die. (he absorbed too much of the sun's stellar radiation. His body is undergoing apoptosis. Cell death.)
Under that arc, Superman does such things as: reveal his identity to Lois Lane, celebrate her birthday by giving her his powers do a day, visit Lex Luthor as he is about to be executed, and fight Jimmy Olsen!
An earlier reviewer said this had no plot. If the above paragraph isn't a plot, then I don't know what is. The reviewer also said there was no characterization. S/he must not have read close enough:
-Lois's headstrong attitude comes up when she unhesitantly grabs the elixir to become Superwoman.
-Superman is a genius by making the key to his forbidden room out of super-dense dwarf star material.
-Superman is still a humble but naive guy (he feels guilt for his pa's death).
-Lex Luthor is still an egotist, even in prison.
-Jimmy Olsen is pure silver age. He even takes the Doomsday elixir and BECOMES Doomsday!
This was an amazing book, and I'm not even a Superman fan. I've always been the guy who said make mine marvel, but in the case of this book, I'm siding with DC!
Rating: -
To start off this review, I'll admit to not being that interrested in Superman, in my opinion, the character was just a classic and didn't belong to this period in time, because nothing new had been done to the character in ages. All of this changes with this great collection, which is probably the most enjoyable incarnation superman has had in ages.
Morrison is a creative guy and he has some crazy ideas, which is exactly what Superman has been in need of. The fact that Superman is all powerful can hurt many writers writing him, but Morrison uses this aspect os Supes to make him all the more enjoyable, reading this book makes me wonder what DC had in their minds when Morrison showed them, his pitch for Superman. The characterization of superman is extremely well done and I love the changes Morrison makes (such as the new key to the fortress of solitude) interessting and they also give a more modern feel to the character, the only thing that bugs me are the robots in the fortress, it just feels out of place.
Each of the six issues collected here are stand-alone tales, which are ultimately linked by one major plot event in issue one. In the first issue "...Faster...", Superman goes to the sun to rescue a crew that went there on a missue, things go horribly wrong for Supes and we find out what Lex has been plotting, the highlight of the issue for me was the retelling of the origin in 4 panels and the splash page that comes straight after.
In the second issue, entitled "Superman's Forbidden Room", our hero takes Lois Lane to the fortress of solitude and its quite an enjoyable issue told by Lois' perspective.
Issue three ("Sweet Dreams, Super Woman...") is my joint favourite in this collection, its extremely enjoyable from start to end, and I had such joy in my face reading it, I loved how the whole date thing played out and I've read it again twice straight after I finished reading the whole book.
Episode 4 "The Superman/Jimmy Olsen War!" is probably the weakest of the collection, but its still an extremely entertaining read, in it Superman goes crazy when he comes close to Black Kryptonite, and the only one who can stop him is Jimmy Olsen, who is director of P.R.O.J.E.C.T. for a day.
The penultimate story "The Gospel According To Lex Luthor", showe Clark in prision to get an interview from Lex, things go out of control and Clark (who doesnt appear in the suit in this chapter) is trying to hide from Lex his abilities, its another extremely enjoyable tale.
The last story is my favourite along with number three, it is called "Funeral In Smallville" and its also extremely enjoyable, I love Superman playing with Krypto, its really fun to read and I also enjoyed the interaction with the three new workers at the farms and who they really are, this is probably the story in which Morrison goes crazier in, and thats what gives it strenght.
The art by Quitely is brilliant his work is very detailed in both people and backgrounds, the very first splash page of Superman flying feels fresh despite being something everyone has seen thousands of times. Out of the people he draws, Lois Lane in particular strikes me as the most beautiful, his Clark is perfect as well, because his body is different and it helps show that as hard as he tries, he'll never completely fit in. The colours by Jamie Grant are also excelent, he gives the book a lighthearted feel for the most part, but when he needs a change, its perfect, especially in the prision scenes, the part where the Sphinx shows up and the part that stands out the most for me, are the last few pages of issue six, which give the book a melancholic tone.
The only extras included are short Biographies on the creative team (Morrison, Quitely and Grant) and an introduction to the series by editor Bob Schreck, which says pretty much everything I think about this series.
If your looking for a fresh take on Superman, or just a (mostly) lighthearted super-hero story All-Star Superman is for you. This collection has all it takes to stand the test of time and be known as one of the classic Superman storis in the future. This book shows that Superman is not dead, and has just been lacking writers of Morrison's creativity to be compelling once again.
Rating:  -
I'm not really a hardcore superman fan nor do I really write reviews unless its completely awesome or disgustingly awful. This one is the latter. I am a plot driven fan and this one doesn't really have one. The dialog and character interaction is so cheesy that I'm surprised that I didn't see a Kraft advertisement anywhere in the book. The more I read through the pages, the more I got disappointed. Almost zero character development. What I did like about the book is the use of color for each panel and the way they wrote superman on the cover. Other than that, it sucked. If all star Superman is suppose to be a new line that allows for redefinition of the story, they're doing a really awful job at the moment.
Rating: -
Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely are like a superhero team themselves. Add in their amazing inker and colorist Jamie Grant and you have real life all stars.
First off, the show is stolen by an empowered Lois Lane, a colorful and adventurous Jimmy Olsen, and a Lex Luthor that gives history's greatest evil masterminds a run for their money. Quitely's quirky art is top notch and I can't say enough about the colors. The vibrant colors are fantastic and they need to be in a world where "rainbow coats" are the fashion.
Morrison writes great dialogue and Jimmy Olsen and Lex Luthor get the best lines. However, Superman's story is interesting as well. The man of steel is coming to grips with the fact that he is going to be dead a lot sooner that he imagined. His relationships with Lane, Olsen, and Luthor in his final days are rather fun.
It's a great spin on Superman in this odd, futuristic Metropolis. Even casual fans of Superman like me well get a great read.
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