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Title: The Return of Superman by Bob Kahan ISBN: 1-56389-149-2 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 03 September, 1993 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.92 (13 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Exciting but Drawn Out
Comment: In 1992, DC Comics made national headlines when it announced its intention to kill Superman. The year-long storyline spanned over three dozen comic books in more than half a dozen titles, including all four monthly Superman titles (ACTION COMICS, SUPERMAN, THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN and SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL). It left the Superman mythos with two new villains (the Cyborg and Doomsday) and three new allies (Superboy, Steel and the Eradicator), all of whom had their own titles for a while. It began an era of Superman's publishing history which would last for the remainder of the decade, in which the titles were treated not as individual titles, each with its own identity, but as parts of one continuing storyline, a weekly Superman comic book with four or more creative teams rotating chapters. As a result, the 1990s Superman comics would be marked by long, convoluted storylines with protracted resolutions, a billowing supporting cast populated by two-dimensional characters who existed more as plot devices, and a sense of excess and disjointedness in almost all of the stories.
The story that began it all was collected in three volumes: THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN, a slugfest heavy on dynamic visuals and weak on plot; WORLD WITHOUT A SUPERMAN, the best of the three, which explored the ramifications of the death of Earth's greatest hero (and a part of the story later sagas would sorely miss); and THE RETURN OF SUPERMAN, in which four pretenders claiming to be Superman emerged, all to take part in a great battle when the real Superman returned.
In this collection's first third, the creative teams explore one Superman pretender apiece to varying results. The best is Roger Stern and Jackson Guice on the Last Son of Krypton. Stern is one of comics' grandmasters of characterization and pacing, which meshes well with Guice's realistic but cinematic style. Close on their heels are Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett (Superboy), whose loose, frenetic but clean, often melodramatic storytelling show why they would become THE teen superhero duo, both in Superboy's own title and in ROBIN. In comparison, writer-artist Dan Jurgens (Cyborg Superman), the Michael Bay of comics, finds his grandiose images at war with his writing tendency towards exposition over characterization, to the extent that two of his chapters are almost solely a series of drawings with narration captions. Worse yet is the Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove team (Man of Steel). Simonson tries for a social conscience but is clumsy and preachy in her delivery, and Bogdanove's unfairly maligned impressionistic, exaggerrated style clashes with the other three. (For the record, after his own short-lived, Simonson-penned series ended, Steel would become one of DC's best, most complex supporting players.)
Unfortunately, these explorations can only last so long before the story must be resolved, and it is, as convoluted as possible. Too many chefs spoil the pot, as each team's need to include a major plot point revolving around their faux Superman slows the pacing to a near crawl. There are exciting set pieces, but the weaknesses of one team affect all of them. Jurgens' lack of characterization, for example, gives the reader no emotional investment in his Superman's sudden plot twist. And the sudden introduction of Green Lantern in the eleventh hour, from his own title by Gerard Jones and M.D. Bright, distracts from the central plot.
Still, the collection IS exciting. For comic series completists, this is a handy gap filler, although be warned: The last few issues are not reprinted in their entirety, as subplots introducing later storylines were cut from the collection. For comic books fans just wanting to see this pivotal story, this collection is a must, although I also highly recommend Roger Stern's novel THE DEATH AND LIFE OF SUPERMAN to fill in the gaps in background and present a more even flow to the stories presented here.
Rating: 5
Summary: Massive Enjoyable Volume
Comment: This is a large graphic novel consisting of four possible returning Supermen: A Superboy clone, a cyborg, a man in a steel armor, and a heartless Kryptonian. In a way this tetralogy seeks to define what makes Superman tick...is it the body, the soul, his Kryptonian heritage? The book comes to a fantastic climax changing forever Green Lantern and spawning three new series after the book was finished. I enjoyed the origin of Steel, who embodied Superman's heroism. The return of Superman was handled tastefully and was touching. This book may be considered the third in the Death of Superman series and is one of the best Superman GN's on the market today.
Rating: 4
Summary: Superman Is Back...But ...
Comment: At one time, in the 80's, I had a comic book collection numbering in the 1,000's. Thanks to the first Superman film, his exploits were among my "must buys" every month. However, for economic reasons and due to the rigors of college, I stopped collecting comics on a regular basis by the time this storyline first saw print in single issue format in the 90's. Special events in my favorite heroes "lives" may briing me out of retirement for a brief time-if I was intrigued enough. Even though, I knew it was an event, that was in part, created to boost sales-The Death Of Superman story qualifies as too cool to pass. When I was out looking in the bargain bin in a comics shop, I came across all three parts of the story as trade paperbacks, at a good price, I couldn't pass it up.I was curious to see how the team would be able to get our hero back from the dead
The 3rd part of The Death Of Superman saga, called obviously enough, The Return, begins as 4 different incarnations take over for the Man Of Steel, following his death. Superboy, Steel, a visor-wearing version, and Cyborg Superman all have a unique motivaton to take over. But to be honest, I could done without Visor Supes. I just didn't find him all that appealing or interesting. The only reason I think that 4 subs were put in the story anyway, was because there are 4 Superman books and each writer needed to have its own version. Which leads me to my next problem, as good as the overall storyline may be this last part can get a bit long at times. If Visor Superman had been eliminated, for example, this last part would be better I think
As for the art, It's solid overall, but I have to say that the art team of Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding stands out as the best here. The pencils and inks seem to stand out a bit more. While I was reading their chapters, the art seemed to be more crisp and detailed-The book was put together by some taletned folks though.
If you happen to own the preivious books in the saga, then by all means complete the trilogy. Be warnd. The longer book hurts the emotional impact began the first 2 parts and is not as good. The paperback has 480 pages and also features The Green Lantern
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Title: Batman: Knightfall, Part One: Broken Bat by Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon ISBN: 1563891425 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 03 September, 1993 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Kingdom Come (Graphic Novel) by Mark Waid, Alex Ross ISBN: 1563893304 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 01 October, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by DC Comics ISBN: 1563893428 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 01 May, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Superman: Wedding & Beyond by DC Comics ISBN: 1563893924 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 01 January, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey by Dan Jurgens ISBN: 1563892014 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 01 September, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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