Mention Containing Books Absolute All-Star Superman (All-Star Superman #1-12)
| Title | : | Absolute All-Star Superman (All-Star Superman #1-12) |
| Author | : | Grant Morrison |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 328 pages |
| Published | : | October 26th 2011 by DC Comics (first published January 2006) |
| Categories | : | Sequential Art. Comics. Graphic Novels. Superheroes. Dc Comics. Comic Book. Superman |
Grant Morrison
Hardcover | Pages: 328 pages Rating: 4.28 | 7844 Users | 673 Reviews
Explanation In Favor Of Books Absolute All-Star Superman (All-Star Superman #1-12)
This is a stunning achievement that fans and non-fans of Superman will enjoy. It’s restrained, subtle, nostalgic, and gorgeously illustrated.
I don't know what is and isn't considered a spoiler for this book, so I'll err on the side of caution. Superman is delivered some fateful news involving a situation orchestrated by his arch nemesis (how's that?), and he proceeds to reflect on his life, his choices, and the people that are close to him. As he does this, events unfold beyond his control which lead to increasingly exciting adventures. While each chapter almost feels self-contained, one begets the other and you realize that in fact they're all leading to a purposefully unified whole and ending.
As this is a standalone mini-series, All Star Superman is kind of its own world. Frank Quitely, at the top of his illustrating game, creates this vintage, Golden Age-inspired Superman. At one point, even the very first Superman logo makes an appearance. Which is why going back and reading these characters through comic history will help you spot Easter eggs placed by character-history obsessed writers like Grant Morrison. Much like his epic run on Batman, Morrison draws from Superman's long history, incorporating various villains, characters, objects, designs and plot points for a truly unique reading experience.
Morrison writes these characters extremely well, with maybe the exception of Lois Lane. She is such a classic and vital presence in Superman stories, and I just didn't love her characterization here. She's often rude, sarcastic, cold, yet capable of warmth, kindness, and love. My Superman knowledge is limited (but growing), so I don't know if this is "true" to character, but I felt that she came on too strong and should have been written more moderately.
Lois Lane aside, Morrison's Superman is by far the most dynamic version I've ever seen. He's smart, strong, humorous, subtle, altruistic, sad, angry, weak, and full of regret. The most human I've ever seen him, which is so great because that's exactly who he tries to be. Then there's quirky, desperate, funny, cross-dressing (gay?) Jimmy Olsen. Bullheaded Arthur White. Manly jokester Steve Lombard. And kind, simple Jonathan and Martha Kent.
And of course we come to the also well-written Lex Luthor. Arrogant, sharp, witty, thirsty for revenge. While he has that "evil for evil's sake" facade, he's really fleshed out, a man who's been defeated one too many times and devotes his entire life to destroying his natural born enemy. You have to admire his dedication, and he's pretty ruthless despite his congenial appearance.
I also really enjoyed the cerebral moments, even if I didn't fully understand them. The whole Bizarro Cube World with the Bizarros and Zibarro (not Sbarro) Supermen and the crazy opposite way they talk. I no hated no that part! The Underverse. P.R.O.J.E.C.T. and their experiments. The strange pink world at the end. And all the crazy gadgets like the Doomsday Gun. Morrison has an appreciation for the wacky sci-fi stuff and I just love it.
Some quotes:
"...The measure of a man lies not in what he says but what he does."
"Fear is the sauce on the steak of life...!"
"Question: What happens when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object?"
"Call me nasty..."
"After bodily death, as neoconlab studies confirm, individual awareness persists for a time and builds for itself thought-palaces or complex hells to inhabit..."
It's focused yet epic, light yet deep, new yet old. Somehow Morrison takes everything you know about Superman, everything classic, gives it a slight twist, shoves it into the staggering artwork of Frank Quitely, and out comes this one of a kind, are you ready for it masterpiece.Be Specific About Books As Absolute All-Star Superman (All-Star Superman #1-12)
| Original Title: | Absolute All-Star Superman |
| ISBN: | 1401229174 (ISBN13: 9781401229177) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | All-Star Superman #1-12, Superman: Miniseries |
| Characters: | Superman, Perry White, Lex Luthor, Bizarro #1, Lana Lang, Krypto, Lois Lane, Jonathan Kent, Martha Clark Kent, Jimmy Olsen |
Rating Containing Books Absolute All-Star Superman (All-Star Superman #1-12)
Ratings: 4.28 From 7844 Users | 673 ReviewsAssess Containing Books Absolute All-Star Superman (All-Star Superman #1-12)
One of the best Superman stories ever. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely absolutely nail the god like sci fi quirky feel from the 1950s and 1960s. The art is strange (if you don't like the neo-Kirby influences of Quitely. I personally love it) and the years of taking psychedelic drugs have clearly influenced Morrisons take on Superman but fundamentally they distill what makes superman great that has been lost in some of the mode modern stories about the character. Definitely a more European takeBesides reading the original comics and watching the movies, I don't think I have read any other Superman comic before. I don't even care for him or Batman (I'm a Wonder Woman kind of guy), but I really liked this comic. I watched the movie that was based on this comic and liked that as well. This is what the Man of Steel movies should of been and not the crap it turned out to be (sorry). I also read this because I like most Grant Morrison's stuff. He really added some heart and soul to the
OMG I've had this forever and got it mixed up with The Multiversity, which I read and liked awhile ago! D'oh! Gots to read this soooon.
All-Star Superman is one of those titles I return to every few years to re-read. It's Superman at his finest. While he's more powerful than ever due to a trip to the sun, it's his humanity that is his greatest strength. Like Morrison's run on Batman, this is Morrison's ode to the Silver Age. It's packed with odes to classic goofy Superman stories from the 50's and 60's. Yet, when Morrison gets through with them, they aren't goofy at all. He's put a super science spin on them that I delighted in.
By taking the characters and the worlds they inhabited at face value, Grant Morrison, in his own words, hoped to show how the superheroes pointed to something great in us all (Supergods 292). His work on All Star Superman stands as the quintessential story of the Man of Steel. All Star is another final story, one that presents Superman faced with the promise of his own mortality. In facing this challenge, however, Morrison has Superman perform his greatest feats. All Star stands outside of the
I re-read this instead of watching Man of Steel, and I just re-read it again instead of watching Batman v. Superman. It's a wonderful Superman story, highlighting different facets of the myth in turn, and always takes the narrative time to show Superman being kind, funny, gentle, sad, sweetall the messy human stuff we tend to paper over in superhero stories.Somewhere out there in the multiverse, this decade saw the release of the Superman movies we need in 2016, the films that do for the
3.5 stars.Didn't quite impress me as much as it did many others, I think because I kept comparing it to the greatest "superhero eulogy" story ever (IMO), Silver Surfer Requiem. It never quite reached that level of beauty and somber finality for me, though.Still, the parts that were great were REALLY GREAT, and this easily enters the canon of essential Superman stories.
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