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Rating:  -
The second volume of Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman was released this month, bringing the iconic hero's twelve-issue All-Star arc to a finish. And Morrison and his artist cohort Frank Quitely wrap it up as powerfully as it started in volume one.
The All-Star imprint was designed by DC in 2005 as an avenue for acclaimed writers and artists to try their hands at the publisher's top-tier superheroes, like Superman and Batman, without having to concern themselves with the years of continuity associated with those characters.
Morrison doesn't totally redo the origin story (though he summarizes it in four simple panels) or rehash old Superman stories, but instead uses classic moments, characters, and the overall history of the series to create his own story, and it proves to be the quintessential example of the All-Star imprint, providing big moment after big moment, and great endings for nearly every issue. He gives readers a Superman both familiar and yet totally fresh and exciting.
He doesn't waste any time using Superman's seemingly infinite powers and indestructibility on thugs in the streets of Metropolis. In true, sometimes strange, Morrison fashion, issue one starts in medias res, with Superman in space. An expedition to the sun is facing difficulties, and in Superman's successful effort to save it, the heat actually alters him at a cellular level. As it turns out, the whole scenario was planned by his arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor. Superman's cells begin to burn out, his power fades, and it looks as though the end is near for the Man of Steel.
It is then foretold that Superman will complete 12 heroic feats before his death, and those feats are carried out over the course of the series. Whether Superman dies isn't necessarily the most important thing, though. The trick with Superman has always been convincing readers that an indestructible, all-powerful being might be in danger, or unable to complete his task of defending Earth's people, and Morrison handles this to perfection.
Longtime Superman fans will find endless references to series lore mixed with the futuristic space-age happenings. And though many may find it a bastardization of the icon himself that Morrison gives his mighty powers to just about everyone--from other survivors of Krypton to numerous characters that consume a Superman formula to future incarnations of Superman and even to a dog--the author's decision to do so gives readers a Superman worth caring about more than ever before. This is a Superman, then, not necessarily to be admired for his powers, but what he does for people with them and what he sees in the people of Earth, what he sees in us.
Quitely builds every panel meticulously with understated detail. The art is deceptively simple, and while not calling much attention to itself, works to serve the overall tone of the stories.
Morrison's All-Star Superman may not be the perfect tale of Kal-El. The series has its missteps (two issues dedicated to the painfully hard to read dialogue of Bizarro World most immediately come to mind) but it's one of the best Superman reads out there. The All-Star title never lets off the gas on the action but finds some of its biggest moments in between, in the subtle accents Morrison gives an enduring hero. For longtime fans and those who swore off the Last Son of Krypton long ago, All-Star Superman is a fantastic breath of life for a timeless character.
-- William Jones
Rating: -
Reprints All-Star Superman #s 1-6
DC's All-Star line takes major icons and places them into stand-alone series with no direct connection to the larger continuity. It allows the creative team to build a world for the title character and his supporting characters that draws as much or as little from any era of the character's previous stories, and to mix and reinvent elements without worrying about how it'll impact and interact with other stories and titles past, present and future. I love the deeply inter-connected continuity of modern comics, but even for me it's still great to see stand-alone titles like this pop up where they can go off on their own unlimited tangents.
The vibe creators Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely have chosen for All-Star Superman is, on the surface, a retro one - a timeless look and feel that in many ways harkens back to the Superman tales that took place years (and decades) before Crisis On Infinite Earths, but with a more detailed flair to the art and the more advanced storytelling that's evolved over the years. It's in many ways a more innocent world than utilized in most modern comics, and it's all built on the root elements of the Superman mythos. Superman is the well-nigh invincible champion of all that's good and right in the universe, while his alter ego Clark Kent bumbles and bumps his way through life (in a way that really shows Superman's skill - it can't be easy to save the world in the guise of Clark Kent while still carrying on the facade of looking so inept); Lex Luthor is the omnipresent arch-nemesis determined to bring Superman down at any cost, a scientific genius whose obsession with bringing down the one man who looms larger than him on the world stage is both endless and, to the reader's viewpoint, rather comedic. Lois Lane is the Superman-loving ace reporter who despite all her world-renowned investigative jornalism skills can't see that Superman and Clark Kent are the same person even when he's right in front of her with glasses off insisting that that's indeed the case. In short, it's the modus operandi of the old Superman stories, only played up even more so. It would have been so easy for this to come off campy but it never does; it comes off with a unique charm and freshness all its own. I don't think this take on Superman and the rest of the cast could ever work in the more realistic in-continuity comics of today, nor would the virtually limitless nature of Superman's power (in fact, we've seen that that doesn't work. The in-continuity Superman can and should be immensely powerful, but the stories where they get carried away and make him a little Too universe-shakingly powerful don't work as well as the ones where he actually has to Push himself to, say, level a mountain range or fly out beyond Pluto). However, it all works within the confines of the self-contained All-Star Superman.
Being a more innocent and 'classic' take doesn't mean it's lacking in imagination though: innovative new allies, rivals and villains, genetically engineered giant humanoid spacecraft that probe the reaches of deep space for centuries on end, strange prophecies from the future...no shortage of good ideas here.
The basic premise for the actual story centers on the after-effects of one of Luthor's latest anti-Superman gambits: the Man Of Steel saves a space research station from sabotage masterminded by Luthor, but Lex's real goal is met. Superman soaks up an unfathomable amount of solar energy during the rescue and the battle inside the Sun, and it results in his already nearly limitless power levels spiking even more. The downside of this, as Luthor's calculations predicted, is that he's going to burn out. His increased power levels will eventually kill him, and maybe in the not too distant future. While not believing that this grim scenario is a done deal, the possibility of his own mortality causes Superman to re-evaluate things like his relationship with Lois. Also, a normal person faced with a strong chance of having a very finite amount of time left is going to be faced with the question of what they feel is most important to accomplish in the time they have left. What new dimensions does a question like this take on when the person in question is already an unstoppable force who saves the world - and beyond - on a regular basis? A visitation from the future that seems to bear out that Superman will indeed die soon, but not before accomplishing his greatest feats, adds credence to the possibility of Superman's impending death, and tension to the question of what exactly Superman will take on in his (allegedly) last days.
Excellent on all levels. The coloring is unique and even the lettering is exceptional. (In some comics you have to wonder how do they choose which words in the captions to write out in bold? At random? Not so here, and the highly variable styles of lettering used for certain characters seems to bring their otherworldly voices right to life.)
Writer Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely have each done a lot of memorable work, but this is easily among the best for each of them. Highest recommendation.
Rating: -
I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book. I originally was not a Frank Quietly fan and All-Star branding meant the story did not fit into contuity so could be treated as an "Elsewhere" style story that could go off way beyond what the hero should be.
But I was very surprised. I have started to really appreciate Quietly's art. And beyond his personal style, I think it fit this story perfectly. I tried to imagine another artist, and though the story would have been good, it would have been missing something without Quietly's art - well done.
For the story itself, it was excellent. I like Morrison's writing and unlike Frank Miller (who penned All-Star Batman) who really took the characters beyond how they are currently portrayed and made them extreme caricatures, Morrison kept the characters true to how they should be portrayed. He just used his freedom to devise a storyline that took Superman beyond the current comics.
The book is made up of many stories (one per issue) with one underlying plot-line running through all. The smaller stories are (just descriptions not the names):
1) Superman saving a wealthy man from the sun
2) Superman showing Lois the Fortress of Solitude
3) Lois getting Superman's powers for a day
4) Jimmy replacing the wealthiest man in the world for a day
5) Clark interviewing Luthor in prison.
6) Supermen from the future coming back in time when Clark was still in Smallville.
My favorite being The Luthor interview. I thought Quietly's art was great for this story. He drew a fantastic. And, Morrison captured both Luthor and Clark perfectly.
If you like any of the following, get this book (and volume 2 - to complete the story):
Superman, Grant Morrison, Frank Quietly or just a real good story.
Rating:  -
This was comic was ridiculous. The story jumps around, the character development was weak at best, the plot devices are ludicrous, like, how can a sonic wrist watch summon superman from earth to the moon? Or where the hell does Samson come from? He just seems to show up for no other reason then having a pissing contest with Superman for the affections of (now SUPER) Louis.
I won't go into all the reasons why this sucked, trust me though, don't waste your time and money. If you want to read a great book with an interesting take on Superman, check out Red Son.
If this is what Superman has become, I'll stick with GL and Batman.
Rating: -
This a great book, far superior than its brother "All Star Batman". With a smooth taste to the silver age type of narrative, Grant Morrison delivers a beautifull contemporary tale of Superman, structured in well-defined chapters, completed by the amazing work of Frank Quitely, that puts tons of detail in each page.
A lot could be highlighted, but there's some nice comedy throughout the book that deserves to be mentioned. Particullary the story where Superman has to deal with the cocky Samson and the really stupid Atlas is hillarious and worth the money allone. You most certainly won't regret the money spent.
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