ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #1
© DC Comics

Mania Grade: A-
Issue: 1
Authors: Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Jamie Grant
Publisher: DC
Price: $2.99

Related Links

0

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #1

DC's All-Star line depicts "iconic" visions of their more popular characters, out of continuity with their main titles. These series present DC's most titular character in situations familiar not just to comic fans, but to most people. As such, when this first issue of SUPERMAN begins, Grant Morrison and Frank Quitley very succinctly repeat the Superman myth in a single page "Doomed planet. Desperate scientists. Last hope. Kindly couple." They quickly bring us to the issue's present, wherein our caped hero saves a mission to the sun gone awry (Lex Luthor, remote talking robot bomb). The Superman's arch-nemesis has recently betrayed the United States government that released him from prison in exchange for a more constructive scientific contribution. Unfortunately, our hero's too-close-for-comfort exposure to the sun's radiation drove his cell processes into overdrive, effectively making him terminally ill. By the time her returns to Earth, he must make several important decisions.

I applaud Grant Morrison's effort to spin a bit of substance into a story that could've been rife with origin clichés. While perplexing in a couple of parts, this first issue manages to offer a compelling, original story coupled with an "iconic" depiction of Superman. Unlike the series's Batman counterpart, Morrison plays it straight and the book reads all the better for it. Frank Quitely conveys motion within and between his panels far better than most artists. His realistic, minimally exaggerated characters portray both action and sentiment with an admirable level of detail. Jamie Grant's computer coloring only complements the entire enterprise further, and I'm usually curmudgeonly about anything to do with computers and art.

This first issue of ALL-STAR SUPERMAN is most certainly worth your time. But, you've probably heard that already.