Superman Essentials

But that mini rant isn’t the only way I’m going to prove Superman still rocks. I’ve compiled a list of the best Superman books on the market for readers curious to check out and learn why he is the first, and best, super-hero. So get yourself educated and go find out why Superman is…excuse the pun…super.

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You don’t really get more spectacular than All Star Superman. All you have to do is check the various comic review website on the vast internet to see all the praise the 12 issues of All Star Supes has received. This is the Superman story everyone should read to understand what makes the character so great even after 70 years of publication. I swear, if you read this series and find yourself still pondering why Superman is a great character you deserve to be put out of your misery. It’s as simple as that. And between all the super science and heart oozing from All Star Superman, you will also find the quintessential brawn/brain tussle between Superman and his nemesis, Lex Luthor. I could probably rant and rave generalities for pages, or detail to the finest point why All Star Superman rocks but it’s best if you give the book a shot first-hand.

The first six issues are collected in an easy to find hardcover and paperback format with the second, and final, collection coming out at the beginning of next year. Or, if you’re feeling feisty venture into a comic shop and hunt down the twelve issues to begin reading immediately. 

If All Star Superman is about how super the man is, For All Seasons is about how he got there. There is a reason Clark Kent throws on a pair of tights and risks his life for unknown strangers every day and For All Seasons reveals the answer to that question. And even though Jeph Loeb has been on a rather long miss streak as of late, whenever he collaborates with Tim Sale it’s god damn magic. Seriously, sparkles shoot out of every page of this comic. Don’t you want that? The experience is magical and when you close the last page feeling normal won’t seem so bad.

Superman For All Seasons can be found in an easy to find paperback edition collecting the entire four issue series.

 

Everyone knows Superman’s origin. It’s the ultimate immigration story but Birthright gives it a little more flair to the original 1938 story as well as expands upon the Superman mythos; namely Lex and Clark’s relationship which apparently precedes their meeting in Metropolis as adults. While riffing elements from Smallville for comic canon seems like a horrible idea, Mark Waid was able to take the idea of Lex and Clark being childhood friends and implement it without treading over 70 years of history and making it believable to heighten the dramatic impact of the story. And just like a lot of stories on this list, the central conflict is that of Lex vs. Superman. One who is for himself vs. one who is for everyone. There is a reason this dynamic has lasted generations and is revisited all the damn time.

First released as a twelve issue max-series, Birthright is now collected in a paperback edition meaning you won’t have to go bin diving if those white boxes scare you.

Kingdom Come

When a new more violent generation of superhero takes over and makes a mess of the Earth it’s the job of the old guard to return and teach them some manners. You can obviously see how Superman factors into this biblical epic. And while the entire DC Universe is involved, Superman is the central figure to teach the ways of old on a younger, less experienced type of hero and show them how justice is best served. Answer: not cold.

This is also an interesting story because it gives a spin on the standard Superman/ Lois eternal love scenario. Now while I much prefer the standard status quo for Supes and Lois, it was still fun to see this hauntingly possible scenario play out and how it would affect not only Superman but also Clark Kent. Kingdom Come is a story completely about the iconic nature of Big Blue and why every hero does, or should, aspire to be like him.

Kingdom Come is collected in numerous paperback collections containing all four issue of the mini-series. Or you could throw down for the Absolute Kingdom Come for $75 which might sound like a lot but once you take a look at Alex Ross’ beautiful interior art you will feel completely satisfied with your purchase.

 

Don’t let the title fool you, Red Son is really a Lex Luthor story hidden under the Superman man. The premise to Red Son is what if Superman crash landed his Kryptonian shuttle in soviet Russia instead of Kansas and how that would influence his upbringing. The answer: not the whole lot. Even though he is born with the ideals of the Soviet Union, Kal-el still grows up to be a hero the entire world looks up too. It’s Lex Luthor, however, that makes this story interesting with his American ideals clashing Superman’s soviet principles that make Red Son such a great story. By having these two nemesis’s from different countries and upbringing it really boils down why they hate each other so precisely.  But don’t expect the standard Superman beats Luthor ending in Red Son, instead you are given quite the mind-f*ck that connects the two rivals far beyond your imagination. This is a “what if” story, or an “Elseworld” in DC terminology, but either way, it is damn good.

Superman: Red Son can be found in a paperback edition which will be a hell of a lot easier to find than hunting down the four rare issues that make up this series. 

I ended up combining these two stories because they are both by Alan Moore and can both be found in the same collected book, DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore. And while there are plenty of great stories within that book’s pages, for the sake of this article, we will focus on the two huge Superman stories. A lot of raging comic nerds hold these two tales as the pinnacle of Superman stories. Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow tells the last days of the Man of Steel, along with his supporting cast and rogues, and For the Man Who Has Everything shows just how much Superman has lost but still continues to fight for the greater good. The stories also hold up even without the use of contemporary coloring techniques although the art does get goofy from time to time ( psshh Batman when you see Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman failing to knock down a force field with their magical fists it’s probably best to skip the step where you attempt to do the same with a stick alongside your precious boy wonder). Both these stories are still A work and really go a long way digging under the skin of what makes Superman the hero he is.

Looking for more? Here are some current monthly Superman titles to check out…

 
Action Comics is always a good place to start. The original superhero comic, Action is currently the home of DC Comics’ All-Star Geoff Johns. If you don’t know the name “Geoff Johns” just believe me when I tell you he is the guiding light of everything DC and a hell of a super-hero comic writer. He has the process down to a science. His current work on Action

If that doesn’t make you want to check this book out each month then let the insanely epic storylines do the talking. So far we’ve seen General Zod and his cronies release the entire inhabitants of the Phantom Zone on Metropolis, a trek to the future where Superman reacquaints himself with his childhood friends, The Legion of Super-Heroes, whose formation is because of what Superman represents, and currently we’re seeing Brainiac destroying entire planets on his quest to learn the entire universe’s knowledge. Next stop being Earth.

“Brainiac” will then be segwaying right into the nine part epic “New Krypton” that flows between all three monthly Superman-verse comics (Action, Superman, Supergirl). Now I know what you’re thinking: I’m writing this article to push the concept of Superman into the forefront of your brain and it’s to fast for me to already be jamming three monthly titles down your throat, one of which is Supergirl!

Well there is a reason for the story moving between three books besides DC editorial wanting to rake in as much of your dollars as possible. Well, that might actually be the real reason. But as readers we aren’t suppose to know that, we’re just suppose to shut up and act naïve enough to believe everyone at DC just wants the fans to get the best stories possible. Even so, we should get genuinely excited for “New Krypton” because all three Superman books (yes this includes Supergirl) are being worked on by writing collaborators. Geoff Johns has written JSA with James Robinson (current writer of Superman) and Sterling Gates (current writer of Supergirl) is Johns’ personal assistant. This means that even with a story passing under three different pens it should flow perfectly between chapters and hopefully deliver a story whose scale matches the talent involved.