We were chatting about Superman on The Gutter last night and I did a poor job of defending Kal-El from the haters. (Not mentioning any names).
Short and sweet - there have been some writers who have done some regretable things with Superman's continuity - but poor writing is to blame. Superman certainly does not have a monopoly on bad writing. The thing is that he's such a boy scout that he gets on people's nerves a bit. The concept seems to rub people the wrong way sometimes - but I say that you should not blame the character - Supes is the Best - After reading these, you will have to agree with me:
All-Star Superman - Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
Action Comics - Geoff Johns and Gary Frank
Superman/Batman - Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinnes
Secret Identity - Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen
Red Son - Mark Millar and 4 artists
Supreme - Alan Moore and a lot of artists
Supreme is not Superman, but it's definitely about Superman, and everything that is great about him (even orange kryptonite!)
Comments
02:15 Sat Apr 19th, 2008
Superman would be very difficult to tackle creatively, for a variety of reasons: he's generally bound by labyrinthine company-mandated continuity; he's powerful to the point that it's difficult to create suspense in what is generally considered an action/adventure character; there have been seventy years of Superman stories, making finding a new and interesting take difficult; and I imagine many creators would feel a certain pressure when working on a character of that pedigree (I'm currently in the middle of reading Steve Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen's IT'S A BIRD, which touches on that aspect of things.) And on top of all that, terrible injustices were heaped on the character's creators, which leaves a bad taste in my mouth. BUT. I firmly believe that there's no such thing as an inherently bad character. Everything hinges on execution. And on occasion, even after 70 years, some creators can still get an awesome story out of the Big Guy. Not as many creators as are writing all the various Superman comics on the stands in a given month, though. Foley
07:26 Sat Apr 19th, 2008
Supes was never my favourite though I have enjoyed several Superman stories across the years. It depends on the writer. So much of what Foley says is true.
11:19 Sat Apr 19th, 2008
I agree - and I avoid the crappy Superman stories (of which there are many) - I also have yet to read a Supergirl story that I didn't want to use as lining for a birdcage. But I also wanted to mention another good Superman book: Superman/Batman - Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinnes
17:35 Sat Apr 19th, 2008
I can't believe I have something to contribute to this conversation... but I do! Some of the Superman stories on my shelves that I really like: Birthright by Mark Waid et al - lots of suffering for the guy, and I LOVE the ending Kingdome come, again by Mark Waid, art by Alex Ross - Superman is such a cold-hearted badass Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? by Alan Moore & 3 artists And Red Son, definitely. Admittedly, these are all kind of "new take" stories... but they all explore aspects of Superman that are interesting and problematic: his inability to be a real human being, the weight on his shoulders, etc.
17:48 Sat Apr 19th, 2008
Birthright is drawn by Leinil Yu, isn't it? It's on my 'to buy' list...
01:24 Sun Apr 20th, 2008
Not fond of Leinil Yu anymore. Never been *TOO* fond of Supes either. Although I have to get Red Son - I just hear good things about that Elseworlds story. My problem with Superman is that he's got it all. To a lesser degree, I'd say the same thing of Martian Manhunter. Too many powers, too many possibilities. It's just impossible to re-create the character. Only Elseworlds are truly exploiting the character with any creative decency (my opinion only). And if you've ever read DC One Million, you'll know that it won't get better anytime soon....
08:49 Sun Apr 20th, 2008
I'm pretty sure I read DC One Million. Or was that Infinite Crisis on DC One Million? Maybe One Million Infinite Crises on DC Universes? A Million Infinite Crises? Crisis: What Crisis?
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MorganJ
00:35 Sat Apr 19th, 2008
And I missed out...