Superman Beyond - good, bad, indifferent?

[Red_Knight]

Hey everyone,

following the (IMO) great conclusion to Batman R.I.P., I finally broke down and decided to give FC another whirl (Yeah, me. The guy who started the long-standing "FC - a letdown?" thread. I'm shocked, too. :tongue: ). After reading through issue #1-4 as well as "Submit" and "Resist" in one sitting, I'm glad I budged. Call me converted. :biggrin:

Now, I was wondering what the good word is on Superman: Beyond. I hear it's supposed to be pretty important, but I haven't been able to find very many reviews, unfortunately. The whole 3D-gimmick sounds kind of off-putting as well.

What's your verdict on the book? Is it good, is it bad, and, most importantly, does it really add to the main story of FC? I'm not getting Rogues' Revenge, Revelations, or any of the other "sub-minis", so the question for me would be whether Beyond could be lumped in with those or not.

Any feedback would be appreciated!

[DarKye]

In my opinion it's the only tie-in that seriously adds something to the book; All the others narrate interesting stories, but you can easily do without them.

Beyond is probably gonna be a must read to comprehend certain events in the final issues, although you better get ready for a lot of metatextual writing and a need for multiple reads before you dive into it.

[joint venture]

I am not a Superman fan. At all.

But I have found Superman Beyond quite good. The story is definitely a Superman story. DiDio could either slash and cut it all, then paste it inside Final Crisis. But it would have been hard to follow and messy.

So far, I think it is the only story that is instrumental to Final Crisis.

I was resistant to the 3-D gimmick at first, but gave in for the sake of information. I expect them to print it normally in the FC collected edition though.

But that's me.

[Todog]

There are two different questions here: Is it good? Not even remotely. Is it necessary to Final Crisis? Indications are that, unfortunately, yes, most likely it is.

[mdg1]

Honestly, it's a bit impenetrable. But I've read worse.

[Sean Walsh]

I think I understood it while I was reading it.

And unlike most 3D comics (and some Grant Morrison comics), it didn't give me a headache. So that's a big plus right there.

[Mat001]

It's important because it explains what the Bleed is in relation to the new Multiverse and gives us the origin of the Monitor.

[Samuraixsithlord]

A lot of important things happen in Beyond, that you really have to read it to find.

Merryman mentions that a "Monkey" wrote the Book in the Library of Limbo, and that "Monkey" is the person who guides Uotan into finding out his true identity in FC #5

Also Billy mumbling about the "Ultimate Evil" becoming the "Ultimate Good" sounds pretty important.

[Samuraixsithlord]

A lot of important things happen in Beyond, that you really have to read it to find.

Merryman mentions that a "Monkey" wrote the Book in the Library of Limbo, and that "Monkey" is the person who guides Uotan into finding out his true identity in FC #5

Also Billy mumbling about the "Ultimate Evil" becoming the "Ultimate Good" sounds pretty important.

[mdg1]

I'm not convinced that "furry hands guy" is the Limbo monkey/Detective Chimp/Himon/whoever.

But I'm willing to wait and see. :)

[Infra-Man]

It's good save for the really, really, really lame 3-D.

[king911]

Its good. but you should also read Rouges Revenge and Legion of 3 Worlds :biggrin:

[Desaad]

I absolutely loved it.

One of my favorite issues of the year.

[Anthony Z]

I loved the book and had no problems with the 3D but I think it can affect the flow of reading it. You have to stop, put on the glasses and so on so it keeps pulling you out of the book and really, it's pretty meaty and something you should reall devote some serious reading time to.

[Zenith23]

Superman Beyond - good, bad, indifferent?

none of the above, it is merely excellent.

[berk]

I am not a Superman fan. At all.

But I have found Superman Beyond quite good. The story is definitely a Superman story. DiDio could either slash and cut it all, then paste it inside Final Crisis. But it would have been hard to follow and messy.

So far, I think it is the only story that is instrumental to Final Crisis.

I was resistant to the 3-D gimmick at first, but gave in for the sake of information. I expect them to print it normally in the FC collected edition though.

But that's me.I second pretty much all of this, except I have no idea if DC will print it without the 3-D. Wish they'd done that in the first place, myself, but yeah, it's definitely worth reading, even if, like me, you don't much like the Superman character.

[Calvin Government]

It's a huge, epic Superman story deeply tied into Final Crisis. The 3-D thing is hit or miss - some of the pages that used it, honestly, used it to shockingly great effect, while others were purely average, but as long as you only read the select few pages with the glasses on, you're good.

If you dislike Morrison, you won't like this - it falls prey to many of the most common critiques of his work - but I found it enormous, epic and fun.

[n2doop5u]

I personally loved it and this is my first real foray into major tie ins. I actually think (and don't crusify me here) its the best of the Final Crisis's, including the main story. Its just a lot of fun to read and think about.

I just read it without the glasses.

[Shellhead]

I agree that it appears that Superman Beyond will be essential reading for Final Crisis. Quality-wise, I thought that it was comparable in quality to an average issue of All-Star Superman, which was pretty good. I would have preferred that they didn't use the 3D gimmick, but at least it makes sense for the story.

[Buried Alien]

It's been a long while since the first issue. When does the second issue hit the stores?

It seems like we wait longer than we ever have before to move forward in comic book stories.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Samuraixsithlord]

It's been a long while since the first issue. When does the second issue hit the stores?

It seems like we wait longer than we ever have before to move forward in comic book stories.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

the second one comes out in January i think.

We finally get to see Mandrakk in issue #2 i believe.

I figure Mandrakk will show up at the end of FC #6 and everyone will be like "wtf?". Then we Get Superman Beyond #2 which shows us more of Mandrakk's back story.

or Superman Beyond #2 will lead up to his appearance in FC #6, depending on which one comes out first.