All Star Superman: Volume 01 (All Star)
by Grant Morrison
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recommended to Sam by:
Allah.
recommends it for: Comics, Superman, GM fans. Cynics, lepers, + those suffering from... something. Just read it, man.
recommends it for: Comics, Superman, GM fans. Cynics, lepers, + those suffering from... something. Just read it, man.
Flat out: This is Grant Morrison and you're going to get it if you like him, or Superman, or super heroes, or comics, or fun, good reads, esoteric amazingness, or anything of any kind of serious quality.
Things that would possibly hinder you're getting this: The fact that it's Superman, a character that's been out of date and really unnecessary for way too long now. This is the ubermensch made interesting again.
Someone described this to me as "Superman experiencing a mid life crisi&q...more
Things that would possibly hinder you're getting this: The fact that it's Superman, a character that's been out of date and really unnecessary for way too long now. This is the ubermensch made interesting again.
Someone described this to me as "Superman experiencing a mid life crisi&q...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone who wants a little joy in their lives.
Do you think Superman is too good? Too powerful? Too hard to empathize with? Just too goofy in general? Well, then you need to give this one a look. All the perceived weaknesses of Superman's character are made into something so strong, so iconic, that I have a hard time believing that anyone could hate this book. The writing and art are both nothing short of incredible, with an opening page that serves as an amusingly fast-paced reminder of the origin that even most non-comic book fans know by ...more
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Read in April, 2008
This is a modern Superman comic with a classic feel.
The stories told in this book are all short, 30 page vignettes. Each story almost entirely self-contained. The plotting is simple and mostly the sort of thing you'd have expected to find in an older superman book. No inter-dimensional plots. No grand issue-spanning narratives about epic battles with unbeatable foes. Just single-issue comic stories about Superman living out the life of the superman.
The art as well as the characteriz...more
The stories told in this book are all short, 30 page vignettes. Each story almost entirely self-contained. The plotting is simple and mostly the sort of thing you'd have expected to find in an older superman book. No inter-dimensional plots. No grand issue-spanning narratives about epic battles with unbeatable foes. Just single-issue comic stories about Superman living out the life of the superman.
The art as well as the characteriz...more
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Grant Morrison took the most boring character in the buisness and made him interesting again by confronting him with his mortality. Superman will die. But before the man of steel passes away he'll get some things done to ensure that his doings will not have been in vain.
This book is only the start of one of the best Superman storys since the Alan Moore's "Whatever happened to the man of tommorow". As expected Morrison brings a lot of wacky ideas into the story but never forgets the ...more
This book is only the start of one of the best Superman storys since the Alan Moore's "Whatever happened to the man of tommorow". As expected Morrison brings a lot of wacky ideas into the story but never forgets the ...more
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I love Grant Morrison's often esoteric take on the gods, by which I mean modern embodiments of popular archetypes, and let's face it, the comics is where that's at in our culture. Superman faces 12 challenges, he has cancer thanks to luthor who sits in a cell on death row. In many ways this is an homage to all things classically Superman, but the drama is personal and weighted with emotional mystique, while the action is handled nostalgically in most cases lightheartedly. Of course, as in any...more
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Probably my favorite "modern" take on Superman. It actually presents a heroic Superman instead of that lame crying loser Superman we usually get in modern comics.
Sure its not as good as when Superman gets turned into a giant ant or when he gets turned into a giant lion its still a really good story.
Yet for some reason DC decided to release just the first half the story???? instead of waiting for the entire series to be finished and release it all at once.
If you ever wanted ...more
Sure its not as good as when Superman gets turned into a giant ant or when he gets turned into a giant lion its still a really good story.
Yet for some reason DC decided to release just the first half the story???? instead of waiting for the entire series to be finished and release it all at once.
If you ever wanted ...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
nerds. Yeah, I said it. What are you going to do?
Grant Morrison writes Superman again? I heard great things about this book, about how it was a throw back to the great golden-age of comics with a modern twist. This is what he wanted to do when he wrote those Supreme comics a decade ago. Okay, it’s pretty good. And Frank Quietly’s art is nice- though Superman (and Clark Kent) looks like a giant Ox- which I guess is what happens when you’re the most powerful dude on the planet. Lois Lane sort of looks as if she were modeled off of Kri...more
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Silver Age Superman stories filtered through Grant Morrison's brain, and amazingly enough, Grant makes it work.
There's a real sense of wonder in this stories and whenever the cynical 'real world' creeps in it feels more like Grant is making fun of the real world, instead of the comic book one.
Big huge cosmic stuff mixes with smaller, emotional moments.
My only complaint is Grant's Luthor comes across as a bit pathetic. There's no feeling that this guy is the one person who could challen...more
There's a real sense of wonder in this stories and whenever the cynical 'real world' creeps in it feels more like Grant is making fun of the real world, instead of the comic book one.
Big huge cosmic stuff mixes with smaller, emotional moments.
My only complaint is Grant's Luthor comes across as a bit pathetic. There's no feeling that this guy is the one person who could challen...more
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6 comments
Of course I would always prefer something that Morrison had dreamt up himself but this really did make me like Superman. The only time that I have been able to stomach him before was when Frank Miller was taking him apart with Batman invented weaponry. Morrison shifts him away from the twee quality which I have always seen there and made him a guy with problems. I think that is where the irritation always sprung from with Superman, what would get under his skin?
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
Any comic book fan!
No matter how you feel about Superman this is THE superhero book to read this year. The amazing Scottish scribe Morrison pulls it off again with his inspired writing leading the caped crusader through a personal journey of mythic proportions while also providing a good deal of hilarious comic relief. Buy it, read it, then covet it and feel cooler than all the other kids who have no idea what happens to Superman when he is exposed to black kryptonite!
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Read in March, 2008
There is a lot of hype about this book. Believe it. For those of you who would never touch the squeaky clean boring Superman books with a ten foot pole. For those who think you will always prefer Batman. For those who think the Superman mythos is insane and dull. This is the book that will change your mind. It is a Superman for those who have never read it and a Superman for those who love it. Check it out.
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I thought it was impossible for me to care about a Superman book, let alone have it become my favorite current comic. Morrison hits every tone just right, combining Silver Age silliness with post-modern hues, "All Star Superman" is at once a cerebral and patoral piece of art wherein Supes is just as comfortable battling a time devouring Chronovore as he is watching over the Earth on a cloud.
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
people who love Superman
This book is nice if you take each story separately and appreciate it in that way, but as a volume it lacks coherence. However, it is evident that its creators really know and love Superman and did not waste this experience. Interesting ideas are explored and the pages are not wasted, but the characters are definitely not the same we all know are love—for better or for worse.
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uhhhh....
Superheroes? I don't get it. I like the idea that Superman is the real guy and Clark Kent is the secret identity (really? yeah. duh. I just don't spend a lot of time thinking about it).
I like the big ugly monsters and the frequent use of hot pink in this book. It looked nice. But I don't think you could ever get me into super-hero comics. Yeah. Shucks.
Superheroes? I don't get it. I like the idea that Superman is the real guy and Clark Kent is the secret identity (really? yeah. duh. I just don't spend a lot of time thinking about it).
I like the big ugly monsters and the frequent use of hot pink in this book. It looked nice. But I don't think you could ever get me into super-hero comics. Yeah. Shucks.
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
comic fans
Having used this book as a reference for most of this week, I can without question say it's never going to get old.
But seriously, it's Morrison, it's Quitely, what else do you need? They do Superman like he should always be done, and they do it without any self-congradulations or false pretense.
An essential book for a graphic novel collection.
But seriously, it's Morrison, it's Quitely, what else do you need? They do Superman like he should always be done, and they do it without any self-congradulations or false pretense.
An essential book for a graphic novel collection.
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Written with unfiltered love and adoration of the character and his mythos, every panel of every story whittles down Superman to his essence. Every character is tone-perfect, and the stories practically glow with that perfection. The arc is not even completed, but I already feel confident calling this one of the five best Superman stories ever.
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
This is what superhero comics are at their very best. I look forward to a lifetime of rereading this. No need for any foreknowledge of continuity or any of that mess. Just pure shiny pop fun. The first page of issue 1, where the entire Superman myth is retold in three panels; it gives me chills just thinking about it.
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Read in January, 2008
It's an interesting take on Superman, who I often find kind of boring on his own. The idea of his impending death, coupled with the knowledge that he won't die after all create an interesting tension. I'm not always into the jumps in time, but I think that as the series continues to play out, that will all become clear.
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Read in May, 2008
Returning a sense of wonder to the world's first superhero, the writing is pitch-perfect and the artwork is outstanding. And for once, as a reader, empathising with an invulnerable man is no challenge at all. I love this book. The third chapter is the best Superman story I've read. Ever.
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Read in April, 2008
Perfect Superman, sad, sweet, and exciting. Funny and clever use of golden age tropes (like 'Lois Lane-Superwoman' and 'Superman vs. Jimmy Olsen!') reinvigorate the character without trying to make him something he's not. Plus! Plausible Clark Kent. And really excellent Lex Luthor.
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