Wednesday, August 29, 2007

TOP TEN :: Top Ten Single Issues Ever :: #4


All-Star Superman #1
by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

This comic is the essence of everything that Superman and his world is about, done in 22 pages. And if it’s not the best Superman comic ever than it's darn close.

The issue starts with the most concise retelling of Superman’s origin ever. After that we dive headlong into the middle of Superman’s most recent adventure. A team of scientists mapping the surface of the sun have fallen prey to sabotage at the hands of Lex Luthor, and there’s only one person who can save them. But this time saving the day comes at a fatal price and now there’s only one thing Superman can do.

Grant Morrison writes every character absolutely perfect. Superman has a quiet dignity, Lois is a motor mouth, Jimmy is relentlessly positive, Luthor delights in his own evil machinations and Clark is clumsy in the best Christopher Reeve way. Frank Quitely’s art is incredible. Recommended to anyone as their first Superman comic.

1 comment:

Andy Mansell said...

In order to write a good superhero story you have to like comics and respect superheroes-- the suspension of disbelief, the rules of a universe with superheroes- example-- a punch in the jaw will knock someone out for an extended period of time without brain damage.
In order to write a GREAT superhero story you have to LOVE your subject. More than any other character (except Spiderman) there needs to be a genuine affection for Superman or the story will fail. The first few issues of this series defines what is right about mainstream superheroes. On the flip-side-- All Star Batman and the All Star Avengers (read: The Ultimates) hold the concepts, the genre, the venue and especially the readers in contempt. Hey let's bring back Terry and the Pirates and show how complicated Terry and Pat's relationship can be in a realistic setting. YUK!!!
But All-Star Superman takes everything wonderful (read: full of WONDER) and makes it work. I would still have chosen the two part Alan Moore "final" Superman story over All Star because the Moore story is the firm basis for all successful Superman revamps (including All Star Superman). However-- I would choose Frank Quitely's art over anybody else.