All-Star Superman

All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After being overloaded by solar radiation on a trip into the sun, Superman is dying and has some loose ends to tie up...

This book had some strikes against it from the start. It's one of those hyped books that everyone talks about and it stars Superman. Apart from the Dini/Timm animated series, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, and DC Comics Presents when I was a kid, I've never been a tremendous Superman fan. To top it off, Grant Morrison wrote it. Will it suffer from Morrisonian complications and weirdness?

Nope. It wound up being Superman, boiled down to his essentials, racing against time to safeguard the world before he dies. The All-Star label on the book is fitting. Grant Morrison cherry picked various aspects of Superman lore from the golden age through the present day and put his own spin on them, capturing the essence of Superman. We get Bizarro, Krypto, Superman robots, the Fortress of Solitude, Metropolis, Smallville, and the Daily Planet.

Superman dying from an incurable condition removed the one obstacle I normally have for enjoying Superman stories. Once the safety net is gone, the rulebook goes out the window. Superman puts his affairs in order while battling threats to earth, all the while heading toward a big showdown with Lex Luthor.

Frank Quitely wouldn't have been my choice for a big Superman story but his art really grew on me. The way his Clark Kent and Superman contrast goes a long way toward making me believe people couldn't tell they're the same person.

The conclusion was satisfying and brings me to my biggest complaint: I wanted the book to keep going. I'd read another 12 issues of All-Star Superman, no problem. All-Star Superman is right up there with Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow for me. 4.5 out of 5 stars.



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