All Star Superman, Vol. 1
Two of the comics industry’s top creative talents, writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, the acclaimed team behind JLA: EARTH 2, reunite to redefine Superman based on the timeless, essential iconic elements that everyone knows about the Man of Steel.
In the first volume, the World’s Greatest Super-Hero rescues a doomed group of astronauts on the surface of the sun when he’s exposed to massive amounts of solar radiation no one could possibly anticipate how he’ll be affected - except Lex Luthor!
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Fun return to Superman’s Silver Age glory years
“All Star Superman, vol.1″
(DC Comics, 2007)
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It’s funny how a comic book “outsider” such as Grant Morrison can do such a fabulous job on one of the most mainstream of mainstream characters. Here, on this nostalgically-inclined mini-series, Morrison takes Superman back to his roots, or at least to the Silver Age glory days of the mid-to-late 1950s, when DC really got a bead on how to present Superman in his full, goofy glory. These stories are silly but thrilling, lighthearted and fun. Morrison not only gets the vibe right, but he also revisits some of the favorite themes of the Silver Age era. The romantic tangles with Lois Lane and her neverending quest to learn Superman’s secret identity; Jimmy Olson landing in trouble in the most absurd ways; supervillains who seem silly, and even a macho contest between Superman and two other duper-studs to see who gets to take Lois out on a date, while she gets super-powers for a day — this is the corny kinda stuff we old-timers were raised on! Can’t wait for Volume Two. (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)
5 Stars The greatest Superman story ever told…
((NOTE: This review is for both volumes one and two.))
I’ve never read a better Superman story, and I’ve read many Superman stories. Morrison weaves you through Superman’s struggle to understand himself, his relationships, all seen through the eyes of his own mortality and the potential loss of life bearing down upon him. It was for me some of the finest reading I’ve ever done.
There were moments in the middle where the story bogged down, but each of these places contained their own little gems; so rich in fact, that I couldn’t even justify it costing a star in this review.
Morrison begins with a simple premise, and like a true story-teller, he takes it to a logical conclusion. This story will remain as one of my all-time most treasured experiences with the written word. Fans of Superman won’t be disappointed.
Highly recommended.
5 Stars Futuristic Vintage
All Star Superman Volume One is a a lifetime achievement for Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly.It has a vintage feel that brings us back to old Superman stories form the time of Curt Swan, but with a futuristic and modern aproach to the man of steel.As I began reading the book i found myself back to my teenage years but the argument of the series is very dramatic and adult.I has spheres of meaning just like shakespeare and will please fathers and sons at the same time.A must have for anyone who loves comics!
5 Stars Absolutely everything that it is cracked up to be
I had repeatedly heard this book praised by one person or another, including my daughter, who is probably one of the world’s leading authorities on the Man of Steel. But the truth is that I’m much more drawn to the Marvel Universe of super heroes and I’ve tended to spend most of my time there. Still, having recently caught up on Grant Morrison’s stunning retelling of the X-Men, I decided it was time to read his even more highly praised Superman stories.
What I was instantly struck by was the way it was all written as if in response to a challenge, as if he’d been given a task for a master’s class in comic book writing:
Assignment — Write a series of stand-alone issues dealing with one of the major mythic elements of the Superman legend, attacking that aspect in a completely original yet completely engaging way. In this volume we see:
A new wrinkle on Superman himself
A Lois Lane story unlike any other
A brilliant Jimmy Olsen story
A Lex Luthor issue
An origins story with members of the Superman Squad
What is astonishing about these stories, quite apart from their startling originality, is Morrison’s profligacy in authoring them. Each story has sufficient richness to lead easily to a 5 or 6 issue run. So even though this volume collects only six issues, it has the same kind of content that you could expect in 25 or 30 issues. Each story pretty much stands on its own. There is a loose connection between some of them, but they don’t require each other to any large degree (though knowing that in the first issue Superman has both undergone a dramatic increase in his powers, but at the cost that he is experiencing a cellular breakdown that will lead to his premature death does color each adventure).
Because these stories are so rich and dense, this is one of those rare comics that repay several rereadings. And I should add how delightful Frank Quitely’s illustrations are. His rendering of the most frequently drawn superhero in comic history is just as fresh as Morrison’s stories.
I’ve already put in my order for ALL STAR SUPERMAN 2, due this February. Something to look forward to in the chilly days of winter.
5 Stars Complete, total perfection
Morrison has written some great comics - New X-Men, Doom Patrol, WE3, Animal Man, JLA, and the list goes on - but this might be the best thing he’s ever created. He strips Superman down to the basics, blending Silver Age earnestness with wild, far-ranging science fiction and mythology, and in the process he creates the perfect Superman story. From the one-page, four-panel origin story to Clark and Lois kissing on the moon to Jimmy Olsen dressed as Britney Spears to Lex Luthor’s costumed baboon to the indestructible flower at Jonathan Kent’s grave, the entire thing is pitch perfect. And Morrison ties all of these iconic images together with deeply effective emotional anchors. Even Luthor comes off as sympathetic.
Frank Quitely’s art needs to be mentioned. Morrison and Quitely work together a lot and it can be hard to separate one from the other; this is indisputably a good thing. Morrison is brilliant, but when paired with Quitely the combination tends toward the perfect. Quitely’s sense of pacing is unrivaled in all of comics (perhaps in the history of comics), and there are places where he almost seems to be channeling Jack Kirby’s mad imagination. This is gorgeous work and Quitely deserves all the credit he can get for it.
Filed under: Top Superman Comics