Best Superman Stories Ever?

**drewkearns** · 06-29-2006, 05:54 PM

Normally I am a strickly Marvel fanboy, but for reading's sake I wanted to ask you DC boys what the best Superman tpb's are that I could pick up and read. I watch Smallville, and enjoy it a lot and am looking foward to seeing the new movie, but I have no idea where to start looking for some really good stories comics-wise. Any help would be great.

**JulianPerez** · 06-29-2006, 06:09 PM

Mostly I'm a Marvel fanboy too, but I do make an exception for Superman. I wonder why that is, that guys like us can love Marvel and not be as big as fans of DC, except when it comes to Superman?

Ahhh, well, anyway, as for great Superman TPBs:

Check out SUPERMAN IN THE SEVENTIES. It has some stuff by Cary Bates and Elliot Maggin, including the Len Wein story that was the first introduction of the Galactic Golem. Very best work from one of the better decades.

Mark Millar's RED SON is a recommendation a lot of people will probably give you, but it is nonetheless pretty great a Classic Superman story and totally worth checking out, a "What if?" tale if Superman was Russian.

Despite the name, get the recent color full-color re-issue of SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN VOL 1 by Jack Kirby. Filled with trippy concepts, an asskicking Jimmy taking on biker gangs, race cars, monster clones, four armed mutants, and all that good Kirby stuff.

Hopefully, they will collect into trade paperback the recent, extraordinary Busiek/Johns UP, UP AND AWAY story arc, which features the best use of the Prankster yet: iching powder that disables Hal Jordan, making prank phone calls when refrigerators loot the town, a new Kryptonite Man, Supergirl vs. the Kryptonite Man, and...oh, yeah: Lex Luthor piloting a Kryptonite transformer. A Kryptonite. Transformer.

They're already coming out with SUPERMAN SHOWCASE VOL. 2, which is a little like the Essentials - black and white reprints of tons of comics; you can buy one on Amazon for $11 or less. These are great because you get to read a lot of Superman's history (along with classic old school stuff) and it's cheap. I'd go for VOL 2 instead of VOL 1, because VOL 2, the focus is more on science fiction grandeur, instead of the pleasant silliness of the late fifties/early sixties of VOL. 1. Genius ideas, but Superman was still finding his wings...by VOL. 2, the formula has been refined.

Some books you may see recommended that should be avoided:

FOR TOMORROW (Ecch from start to finish)

THE RETURN OF SUPERMAN (featuring ugly art and an overhyped, unpleasant story - not worth spending money on. Think of it sort of like DC's answer to the Spider-Clone Saga.)

**Sean Whitmore** · 06-29-2006, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by JulianPerez

THE RETURN OF SUPERMAN (featuring ugly art and an overhyped, unpleasant story - not worth spending money on. Think of it sort of like DC's answer to the Spider-Clone Saga.)

Which story does this book collect? I don't recognize the title.

SEAN

**chriskenny** · 06-29-2006, 06:19 PM

I actually enjoyed Return of Superman. I don't think it works as a Clone Saga parrallel because they weren't fixing a mistake. They were working out a mystery of what happened to Superman while at the same time setting up new characters, a mystery, and a villain. I thought it was one of the few mega Superman crossovers that actually worked. It was decent.

You are right about the art though. Not very good.

Chris

**bodomsMARVEL** · 06-29-2006, 06:19 PM

superman: for all seasons. i loved it. its written by Jeph Loeb and Drawn by Tim Sale. same guys who did spiderman:blue, daredevil:yellow, and hulk:grey. its the story of how he learned to deal with his powers and become superman.

**chriskenny** · 06-29-2006, 06:26 PM

The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told has some great samplings of Superman stories from every era. An early printing of the book has my favorite Superman story, written by Alan Moore... the one with Mongul attacking Superman on his birthday by giving him his heart's desire. Great stuff.

The Superman Adventures books are pretty good. Has some great one-off stories from Mark Millar, who really "got" what made Supeman great in this animated series title.

Superman: Peace on Earth is fully painted by Alex Ross and written by Paul Dini who wrote the old Batman cartoon. That is a nice, simple classic Superman tale.

If you want to see what Superman looked and acted like in his first appearances, it might interest you to check out Superman Chronicles Vol. 1, which reprints the earliest adventures in chronological order.

I don't know if you are a John Byrne fan or not--or even a fan of his retcon of Superman or not--but they just released the first four volumes of Superman's rebooted history. If you want to read Superman's first post-Crisis Superman tales, then Superman: Man of Steel Vol. 1-4 are out. It is a nice starter on the Superman you see in the books today.

Superman For All Seasons is a book by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale that is pretty solid. A story set in Superman's earliest adventures. If you like their Batman work or even their Marvel work together, you will like this. It is in the same vein.

Can't think of much else. I love Superman as a character but I seldom find really great, outstanding stories.

Chris

**dancj** · 06-30-2006, 05:28 AM

Originally Posted by JulianPerez

THE RETURN OF SUPERMAN (featuring ugly art and an overhyped, unpleasant story - not worth spending money on. Think of it sort of like DC's answer to the Spider-Clone Saga.)

The Return of Superman is great. Death of Superman and World Without a Superman were rubbish, but The Return of Superman is just a great all out stupid action packed epic - and just about the only good story to come out of the whole jurgens era of Superman.

I'd recommend:
Whatever Happenned to the Man of Tomorrow
The Return of Superman
Red Son
The Dark Side
Secret Identity
the Superman Adventures digest books by Mark Millar

**jhp789** · 07-01-2006, 05:36 PM

Many hardcore Superman fans will disagree, but I think Birthright is an excellent introduction, especially for a Smallville fan.

**astronato** · 07-03-2006, 06:38 PM

I'm pretty new to Superman too. I've been buying up trades and old back issues for the last year and loving it.

Does any recommend SUPERMAN: INFINITE CITY

http://www.dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=5730

the word Infinite in the title scares me away a little but the solicit seems interesting.

**Devil_LeonX** · 07-03-2006, 11:01 PM

I've been looking for some issues of Superman and when I finnally found them I saw that they are actully part of something called "Godfall" and I found that ebay is selling the entire set for what it costs to almost buy 2 of them. I would just like to know is GF worth buying? What happens in it?Is it a good story? And any intesting things come from this storyline? Thanks in advance anyone.

**dancj** · 07-04-2006, 04:28 AM

Godfall's not that great.

I've got Infinite City at home. The art is nice, but I haven't read it yet

**van-zee** · 07-05-2006, 11:43 PM

These are my picks:

http://neatgeek.phpnet.us/?p=27

**DWEarhart** · 07-06-2006, 12:37 AM

One of my personal favorites came out back in the mid to late eighties. He was stranded on Apocalypse with amnesia, and brainwahsed by Darkside to be his new champion. Superman grew a beard and wore some weird toga outfit.

There was a sweet throwdown between Supes and Orion, and once Superman regained his memory, and was told about the acts Darkseid had him commit, he was maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.