Tracie and I have recently read Superman: Earth One. We both wanted to critique and discuss. So in this open format, I’ll fire the first shot. Tracie and all others... feel free to shoot back.I hate when some non-comic book reading book reviewer says something about a character that is completely wrong, but the common (non geek) public sees it as fact. Before I had read Superman: Earth One, I noticed many critics (all who loved Superman:Earth One) stating some "facts" that were completely off based. The largest was that this graphic novel made Superman relevant again. WRONG! You aren’t reading Superman... just because you picked up the hot Amazon book of the week, doesn’t make you a Superman Expert. Have you read the last 2 years of Superman’s titles? Have you read Superman: Secret Origins, or seen Smallville? There are new live action movies in the works, DC has also put out multiple animated movies starring Superman. The Man of Steel is as relevant as ever. (editor’s note: not saying Smallville is good, just relevant)
Having written all that, I had a bad/biased mind set against Superman: Earth One. First, (the reason stated above) all the critics telling me I should like this mopey, dark brooding Superman, who is now more "relevant" for today’s youth. 2nd, I’m really growing away from J. Michael Straczynski’s work. With the exception of Thor, he had disappointed me with a few character directions recently and I was assuming he’d butcher this graphic novel too. 3rd, it was basically an "Elseworlds" story, even though its not titled as such. So I was betting this was going to be a "D" list book, that should be passed by. I’ll admit, my attitude towards this book was poor. And it didn’t help matters that Monty and others were making jokes and comparing it to the "Twilight Series".
After all that I’m here to say: "I was wrong!Superman: Earth One was Excellent!" I loved it. I have to admit, there were aspects of this that were completely unique and never told in a Superman story before. Yes there were times Clark seemed quiet and a little bit arrogant. But incredibly unsure of his place and maybe a tiny bit scared of his role in the world. By the end of this book, I felt this interpretation of Clark was great and in some ways a very poinent origin of his dual identity. I found myself beaming at the end when Clark put on his glasses & tie and akwardly stood in front of the mirror and smiled. JMS got the core of who Clark/Superman was correct, even though this is a "what if/elseworlds" of sorts. There are basic elements of who he is, no matter what Universe, No matter what reality, no matter what format. TV, Comics, Movies, Cartoons... Superman is one basic thing. A symbol for good. And JMS got that right. This is a must read for all Superman fans.
One last thing before I turn this over to critics to pick apart. Shane Davis does a real nice job of building a modern-real world in his illustration. I dont think this is Gary Frank or Frank Quietly caliber story telling, but his unique style really added to the "Different" Superman tale trying to be told. I think if this had another artist, the message would have been muddied a bit. The alien villian was a great design, and I hope we see more of the same in the sequel! Shane has been a welcomed edition to all things DC!
The one real problem I had with all the pages I have seen so far is that coloring seems a bit too dark for a Superman book, especially one meant to a gateway book.
ReplyDeleteNo question... it is a bit dark for a Superman Book. But in defense, its a different universe's Superman. So i'm ok with a subtle darkness about him. (both literal in coloring, and in mood) As opposed to All Star Superman, who was Silver Age Sunny (which isn't a bad thing, just a tonal choice for that specific story), Earth One Superman is a little darker, but the critics really over stated that. I don't feel like Clark is "Dark", but his world... his Metropolis is and he's trying to figure out how he'll respond. I still feel like this is "our" Clark in essence. If Marvel were to pull Superman and make a "Ultimate" book... I think this is what they'd produce.
ReplyDeleteI think a major problem I have with Superman (along with a lot of other heroes) is that since I have been born writers have been trying to justify him and by extension the entire superhero concept. Part of which includes these re-inventions trying to make him more relevant. The problem is that writers are trying to be too smart for their own good. Superheroes survive on the fragile notion that we can suspend our disbelief but when you start to poke at it everything falls apart (like Morrison's Batman/Bruce Wayne reveal). Really I think all that we need is for writer's to stop trying to justify absurdity and just go along with it, I mean they do that with the cartoons and everyone loves those (except The Batman which to be fair improved a lot after they stopped with the constant Bat-Wave nonsense).
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