Supreme: Story of the Year

Supreme: The Story of the Year by Alan Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've had my eye out for this for the better part of a decade and even had a couple dreams about finding it at a convention. When it popped up on ShopGoodwill a couple weeks ago, I put a pretty high bid on it and was relieved when I only had to pay $16 plus postage for it.

Like a lot of guys my age, I was a rube when Image Comics formed and started churning out books. I read 10-12 issues of Supreme and wasn't impressed. Eventually, Alan Moore got a writing gig on the book and thirty years later, I've finally read it.

Okay, so describing this without spoiling too much is going to be hard. Supreme has amnesia and finds himself in The Supremacy, a place outside of time where all the versions of Supreme go when there are Revisions in reality. Ethan Crane, Supreme's alter ego, is an artist working at Dazzle Comics. As he regains his memories, he relates the tales to Diana Dane, his co-worker and potential love interest as a villain's scheme slightly unfolds.

That doesn't make it sound that interesting but, boy howdy, it is. Supreme's tales are drawn in a 1950s style and the whole book is a very meta love letter to Superman. It's a very fun book and I don't see how anyone could think Alan Moore hates comics after reading this. It's quite clear that he loves comics, even all the goofy ass crap. Instead of trying to explain away all the Silver Age silliness, Moore unapologetically rolls around in it like a dog on something disgusting.

There are classic homages all over the place. Supreme started life as Kid Supreme so a lot of Silver Age Superboy stuff is there, like the robots, a Legion of Super Heroes homage, and a Supreme Hound. As he ages, we get Alan Moore's take on the old Justice League/Justice Society team ups, homages to the EC Comics, and even Moore's take on a very Spectre like character. Much like in 1963, he makes it feel like there's a whole box of comics out there I need to read.

I feel like I'm underselling this. It reminds me of All-Star Superman in some ways and feels like an extension of Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow in others. This is one of those books I expect I'll discover something new every time I read it. There are references to all sorts of golden and silver age stories and I know some of them went right by me.

Five out of five stars.

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