Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Frank Quitely
Reviewing this book is really no small task, and I’ve spent the better part of a week trying to figure out just how to start it. I’ve been raving about this book since the first issue hit shelves and lived up to all of my expectations, it’s a silver age tale told in modern settings. It’s super science and completely crazy adventures, and it’s Superman at power levels that he’ll never hit again in mainstream continuity. And it’s amazing. In fact, the worst part about it? It was only planned for twelve issues.
That’s right, the biggest problem this book has is that it ends in the first place.
There’s a reason that this book has won so much prestige and so many rewards, it’s a remarkable work of art in comic form. It’s genre defining. The kind of book that comes once or twice in a generation. It might sound a little outrageous, or even jumping the gun to say so, but the book is deserving. I’ve already seen people call this book the new Watchmen, and I’d be hard pressed to disagree. Morrison has crafted together a story here that perfectly combines his uncanny storytelling abilities with his wealth of ideas, the filter turned off, and the subject is Superman. We’ve seen Sun Eaters, Bizarros, a super-powered Lois Lane, Jimmy Olson as Doomsday, black kryptonite, Superman 1,000,000, a Superman from the fifth dimension, Solaris the Tyrant Sun, and Lex Luthor with the powers of Superman. Twelve issues, and I didn’t even list everything. The man quite literally did everything there was to do with the character, and he did it with the balls to the wall Morrison twist.
Hell, there’s a character named Dr. Leo Quintum who heads up P.R.O.J.E.C.T. that I’m honestly amazed isn’t named “Grant Morrison”, he just seems to represent every last one of the ideas that you can just imagine being pitched to Dan DiDio and resulting in a blank, dead, stare.
Last issue ended with the Death of Superman, in his Clark Kent identity at the Daily Planet, right before Super Luthor showed up to the party. Superman has a talk with his father, discovering his death and coming back to life to save the world as Luthor. Kal spends the majority of the fight hiding in the back with a Gravity Gun, as Luthor monologues about the sheer level of his new abilities. The ultimate fight of the two ultimate rivals where only one can possibly win, and the victor is exactly who you would expect. Superman saves the day, he stops the super powered Luthor and leaves him human. And then, with a last kiss with Lois, and his skin cracking with solar energy, Superman flies off to the sun to hold it together. He saves everything, and he sacrifices what remains of his life to insure that it stays that way. Maybe one day he’ll be back, after he builds his machine to save the sun, but in the mean time we’ll all remember his grand deeds and noble efforts.
Frank Quitely easily draws the best work of his life in the twelve issues of this story, which is saying a lot since I adore his art (with JLA: Earth 2 being the only true exception as every character shares the same build, even the women). His Superman is iconic, his Clark is spot on, his Lois is gorgeous, and his Jimmy is…..Jimmy is funny. If you’ve ever read a single issue of this series, you can already visualize exactly what I mean as the designs have remained consistent from the beginning. For those who have been living under a rock and haven’t seen a page of this wonderful book….the fuck is wrong with you?!
This review comes across as random praise, for the most part. I know and understand this, but All Star Superman is just that kind of book. You come out of reading it feeling something different then when you went in, and there’s a meaning and purpose behind everything that happens. It’s an amazing work of fiction, and easily among the best things either creator has ever accomplished. It’s one of the grandest things done with the character in years. It’s a must read title, one that as a comic book fan, you OWE it to yourself to read.
All Star Superman.
10/10
