Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 4 by John ByrneMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Superman: The Man of Steel Volume 4 collects Superman #16-22, Adventures of Superman #439-444, Action Comics #598-600, Superman Annual #2 and Doom Patrol #10.
This is Johnny Redbeard's swan song as the Superman architect and he goes out with a bang. Superman takes on his feelings for Wonder Woman, Darkseid with Wonder Woman, Silver Banshee, Braniac, Metallo, The Kryptonoid, and evil Kryptonians. The Newsboy Legion, The Guardian, and Supergirl (in a way) are reintroduced to the Superman mythos. Also, Superman meets Jimmy Olsen's hot young mom.
John Byrne and Jerry Ordway are the headliners on this on both writing and art, with Paul Kupperberg and Roger Stern handling what's left of the writing chores. The rest of the art team are heavy hitters like Ross Andru, Ron Frenz, Dick Giordano, Erik Larsen, Mike Mignola, Georeg Perez, Curt Swan, and Kurt Schaffenberger with more inkers than you can shake a stick at.
Despite it being the end of his run, nothing Byrne did felt phoned in to me. Superman dealing with the Phantom Zone Kryptonians in shocking fashion had an impact on him for years to come. A lot of threads were wrapped up but there were still plenty to tug at by the end of the run. The surface had barely been scratched of the Superman-Lois romance and Roger Stern brought in a slew of Kirby creations for future use in the final issue of this volume. Braniac was just getting off the ground and Luthor's Kryptonite poisoning had only taken a hand.
John Byrne steered the ship for a damn fine Superman run. While there are parts that are very much of their time, it's a timeless collection of Superman tales for the most part. Four out of five stars.
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