Rating:  -
Superman & Batman: Generations, An Imaginary Tale is a good idea for a story: "What if Superman and Batman aged in real time as the decades pass. What would there lives be like?"
I thought the story was decent but the artwork reminded me of Sunday newspaper comic strips. The writing was very campy. Example: Batman calling Robin "Old Chum"?? I thought I was watching the '60's TV series.
Another flaw in the story: You are constantly teased by repeated appearances of Bruce Wayne's wife whose face remains hidden. You never get to know who she is in the story.
If you're a die hard fan of Supes and Bats, you'll like this story. I'm used to reading and enjoying the "Superman/Batman" series (top notch artwork and great writing) so this book was a let down for me.
Rating:  -
This is an imaginary tale. One set in a different sort of comic universe. One where the characters age at a normal rate. Central to the story are two classic heroes, Superman and the Batman.
Skipping ahead through time in ten-year increments (with a final chapter taking place earlier than the rest), we follow the careers of Superman and Batman as well as their personal lives; spouses and children. There are some classic villains thrown into the mix but this is really the story of lives and not individual adventures.
Byrne does a very good job of capturing the look and feel of the comics' eras the stories are set in. He even includes the original inconsistencies in the universe (i.e. Superman originally could not fly (leaping in single bounds) but Superboy could). Unfortunately, information like this that was included in the original introductions were cut from this collected edition thus causing some confusion.
Some of the book is very dark as with aging comes dying. There are arguments, strife, separations and mysteries. Who did Bruce Wayne marry? We don't know as her face is never shown. But the effect of these generational glimpses is one of a complete story that is entertaining all the way.
Rating:  -
When I saw this Batman & Superman combination, from John Byrne no less, I was excited to pick it up. Boy was I disappointed. The concept is intruiging and the whole premise attempts to humanize superheroes but I found the whole story boring and quite uninteresting. It was almost half over before I began to more than bored but then the whole thing was unbelieveable (I know it's only a comic) and the end was really weak. The whole thing would have been better if it had been told in an epic format and been a little darker. I noticed a sequel is coming out but based on this story I recommend avoiding it altogether!
Rating: -
After a long absence from the Superman mythos (god, he is sorely missed), John Byrne returns not with a continuation of his more reality-based take on the Man of Steel, but instead with this generation-spanning tribute to his past.
Beginning in 1939, early in the careers of both Superman and Batman (who appears less in this than you may think), it has a brief introduction to all the relevant characters (including the "Ultra-Humanite" and proceeds to check in on the characters once every ten years. The Superman and Batman families expand, collide, and divide again over the years, and theoretically, the tonality of the project shifts to deal not only with these changes, but the very tone of the decades in which the characters existed. Byrne seems to stall on the sixties, however. The convoluted stories, surprise revelations, and stalwart, flawless characters remain true to the Julius Schwartz years, and never accelerate into the years and tone which Byrne himself drove.
It is a herculean task, however, to achieve what he did: redefine and meld the two stories, introduce and reimagine many of the side characters, and, in the end, make a meaningful story. As a whole, though, this feels like a first draft. To go back and add some more explanation (why can't Superman fly in 1939 in this universe?), shift the tone as necessary, and make the work feel more...fluid.
Close, but no cigar. But still...come back to Superman, Byrne! We need you!
Rating:  -
Generations is my all time favorite comic series.
A must read tale of Superheroes (SUPERMAN and BATMAN and their "generations") in real time over the span of many years.
This story spawned a sequal called G2 and yet another 12 issue mini that starts this January.
give this book a try and you will find an emotional roller coaster ride that will lift you up or make you sad- it is an impressive story.
The best.
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