Superman: Day of Doom

Superman Post-Crisis #45

by Dan Jurgens, Bill Sienkiewicz (Illustrator)

Collecting the 4-issue miniseries revisiting the behemoth who killed the Man of Steel! On the anniversary of Superman's death, someone is following Doomsday's cross-country path...and murdering people along the way!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Superman, Mystery, Crime

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

Dan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday, Hank Henshaw, and Booster Gold. Jurgens had a lengthy run on the Superman comic books including The Adventures of Superman, Superman vol. 2 and Action Comics. At Marvel, Jurgens worked on series such as Captain America, The Sensational Spider-Man and was the writer on Thor for six years. He also had a brief run as writer and artist on Solar for Valiant Comics in 1995.

Reviews

[Alejandro · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good concept but developed in a messy way


I got this on its single comic book issues, but I am choosing this edition to do a better overall review of the whole story.

HOW RELEVANT IS REALLY THE "DEATH" OF SUPERMAN?

One of the ideas of this mini-series was to analyze about how relevant really was the "Death" of Superman since well, he returned after a year!

True, but it's interesting that the story tries to denote that while Superman returned, the rest of the dead ones during the event weren't. All the people dead during the destructive fight between Superman and the monster known as Doomsday, along with all the citizens of Coast City were still dead, and certainly all that provoked impacting consequences after that.

The important message is never taken for granted anything or anybody, because maybe tomorrow you won't have them anymore in your life.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK ON THIS MINI-SERIES?

On this mini-series, a new reporter on the Daily Planet is assigned by Perry White to do the annual article remembering the "Death" of Superman, and he isn't thrilled about it, since a terrible personal tragedy in his family was a loose result due the "death" of The Man of Steel.

That was a good concept, however, the story didn't seem to reach its goal, but basically doing a revision of the known events during and right after of the "death" of Superman. But even worse, in a totally unnecesary way, it's introduced a mysterious villain who is doing some terrorist attacks related to the sites where the fight between Superman and Doomsday happened, but if that was totally superfluous to the basic concept of the story, it is even more than worse, when the villain isn't captured, his/her identity never revealed, and the villain never appeared again (and due the New52 reboot, it's certain to say that the villain never will appear again), so, why the heck wasting pages on that?!

An idea for a really mature story was wasted into a pointless cliché super-hero case.

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dan Jurgens and Bill Sienkiewicz are roped into revisiting the death of Superman in this decidely unnecessary volume from DC Comics. The anniversary of Superman's bout with Doomsday requires a reporter's reaction for the Daily Planet. As Lois Lane and Clark Kent have already done so, new writer Ty Duffy is tapped for the assignment. His travels across Metropolis lead to chats with former Leaguers like Booster Gold, former villains like the Prankster, and wounded survivors left broken in the wake of the onslaught. Superman himself is occupied following a trail of destruction that perfectly mirrors the steps of Doomsday, and seems to be heading for the Man of Steel himself. When Duffy, Superman, and the mysterious Remnant finally meet, ugly truths about living in a superhuman world are brought to light. Dan Jurgens is a fine writer, and does his best to deal with an editorially-mandated story designed to cash in on a former DCU event. His handling of the players is fair enough, but the side plot involving Remnant takes away from what could have been a moving look at survivor's guilt. The distinctively gritty pencils of Bill Sienkiewicz are wasted here, as his work is being used to relay talking heads instead of his classic action. Day of Doom is a sadly a doomed ploy to cash in on the death of Superman.

[Dan Prestwich · Rating 1 out of 5]

What if we used a terrible framing narrative to recap a not especially good but very famous comic storyline? That would be worth everyone's time, right?

D-

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read at all, but I had one major problem with it: WE NEVER FOUND OUT WHO THE VILLAIN WAS! AFTER ALL THAT BUILD-UP, WE JUST NEVER LEARN HIS IDENTITY! If there's some graphic novel that rectifies that, I would love to read it. (Because now I want to know who hates Superman enough to kill more people as a copycat Doomsday to show Superman how his death/resurrection usurped the loss of all the other lives.) That's a pretty convoluted idea--I'm going to kill more people to show Superman how these people who were killed aren't properly mourned. I mean, it was well done, honestly, until we never found out the villain's ID. That said, this story was emotional and gave a different look at the Man of Steel and the "Death of Superman" story arc. I liked that most of the story was told through the perspective of someone who wasn't a fan of Superman. It was interesting, engaging, and a bit of a punch to the gut. When Clark realized the gravity of the loss--not that he didn't know it, he just didn't let himself settle into it (because, oddly enough, he was also traumatized by the whole situation)--that was a powerful moment. And Clark's reaction was very human--it's not that he didn't empathize, that he didn't feel the weight of the entire Doomsday tragedy... it's just that he hadn't let himself fully experience that empathy and that weight because he just wanted to put such a dark time in own life behind him. I think most people would feel and react similarly. So, yeah... all in all, a pretty good book, except that the ball was totally dropped in the end... BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GET THE VILLAIN'S FULL STORY WITHOUT KNOWING WHO HE WAS AND, THEREIN, HIS FULL MOTIVATION. Still, I'd say this is worth reading, just be prepared to want MORE.

[Drew Canole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Argh, an example of why superhero comics can really suck.

What really should just be an epilogue chapter for the Death of Superman is presented as a standalone book.

A new reporter is tasked with reporting on the anniversary of the "death" of Superman. He doesn't think the story is worth the ink it'll be printed with (I could say the same of this comic). It turns out he hates Superman because during the Doomsday destruction his father couldn't get his medication and died. This reveals to Superman that the victims of the attack are greater than reported. Uhh, yeah, isn't that the same for any disaster? Being mad at Superman for being the hero who gets all the credit although he lived is like getting mad at an emergency services worker who nearly dies during a rescue mission.

There's a villain that does stuff, then disappears. Very messy script.

The only saving grace is Sienkiewicz inks. Even the color is bad, whole pages of muted brown for the flashbacks. Just adding murk to the line art.

[Laruku 85 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me. Only try to back my childhood memories. in the past i read in my friend house after plays SEGA GENESIS. Now i read in a time of Pandemic.

well, I will not comment on the story and the artwork. but this event gave me childhood memories👦🏻

[Tobias Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting companion to the comic that got me into comics. Superman forced to wrestle with the deaths other than his from that famous issue. Stupid villain at the end but nice pencils. Another DC infinite read I'd never have heard of otherwise.

[Edward · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this since Bill Sienkiewicz was listed, but turns out he just does the inking! Big bummer. Otherwise it’s an ok revisiting of the death of Superman by the writer (& artist?) that originally did it.

[TheWord · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 Superman - Dia do Juízo Final 1 e 2 Panini

[The_J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Give it up already, he didn't die

[Trekscribbler · Rating 3 out of 5]

If SUPERMAN: DAY OF DOOM -- a narrative penned by Dan Jurgens, the genius behind "The Death of Superman" storyline -- should be remembered for anything, it's in igniting the desire to go back and reread (and relive) the events of the entire "Death" series. Certainly, it's hard to compete with one of the most revered stories to come out of comics in the past twenty years, but Jurgens does a respectable job only trying to give a nod to the events now in Supe's ever-growing history. While the perspective of "looking back" is a nice touch, I found the character of 'Remnant' to be little more than formulaic. Still, DAY OF DOOM is a quick read, and it deserves a place on any Superman fan's bookshelf.

[Victor Orozco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story within a story in that a Daily Planet journalist is called in to write on the anniversary of the Death of Superman. Interviews on the various calamaties that happened show a sense of grief and hopelessness, especially in the face of Superman's return.

All the while a mysterious entity is out wreaking havoc in the same places that Doomsday struck. I have to admit the lead-up was great but the ending was a bit contrived.

Okay read, just not that great at the end. C-

[Ernest · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite several good moments, I was overall distinctly underwhelmed by this work. I like the idea of looking back Superman and Doomsday and some of the ideas explored, but in the end there is an uneasy mix of introspection that doesn’t quite work and a villain that doesn’t fit with the overall volume.

[Juan Jose]

The story of a copy cat killer named the remnant, that never appears again. The art by Dan Jurgens and Bill Sienkiewicz, that combination, does not work. This all part of the 10th anniversary of the "Death of Superman"

[Thorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the strangeness of the art, and the kind of story this compilation told, I found this an interesting read.

[John Pennell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Story and Retrospective... Although i thought the laying of guilt and shame on superman was a little forced and there is very little closure.