It’s been decades since I sat down and read a comic. However, I still have this lingering love of Superman mythology so I went out a bought Superman: Birthright. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it got me wanting to continue reading more of his stories. However, I have no idea how to begin. There seems to be a plethera of different Superman comics and most of them with high numbers in the series.
Which of these comics are recommended for someone newly getting in the series? Are there going to be another start over soon where there’ll be a issue#1 again? Are there any of the Superman comics which should just be avoided altogether, whether from being way to late in the series to understand what’s going or just plain bad writing/storylines/arcs?
The current DC “event” - Infinite Crisis - is going to be followed by all the DC titles leaping forward a year in continuity - a year that has no Batman, Wonder Woman, or Superman action for unrevealed reasons. So either next month, or the one after - I can’t recall - you’ll be able to get in on the ground floor, essentially.
Also, they’ve cut the number of monthly in-continuity Superman titles to 2.
Alternatively, seek out All-Star Superman, which exists in its own little continuity-free world.
However. I have not read Birthright, and cannot account for similarity or dissimilarity of it to these stories.
You’ve picked a good time. Next month, Superman and Action Comics (the third monthly Superman title is being discontinued), like most DC titles, will jump ahead one year in continuity. While the events will be connected to the current megaevent (Infinite Crisis), it should still serve as a good spot to start reading. The first arc is by Kurt Busiek (who’s a very well-regarded writer right now, so it should be quality work).
In the meantime, some of my favorite Superman stories aren’t canon, but still really let the character shine.
Red Son is the story of Kal-El landing in Soviet Georgia instead of Kansas. He grows up to become Stalin’s greatest weapon and later leader of the Soviet Union. It’s not knee-jerk anti-Communism (but neither is it a Stalinist apology), but it depicts Superman as basically a good man tainted by scary communist ideology. How Lex Luthor finally stops him is among my favorite comic book moments ever.
Secret Identity (also by Busiek) is the story of a boy named Clark Kent growing up in the real world (where Superman is fictitious) who suddenly discovers that he really does have the powers of his namesake. It’s the story of how he comes to terms with his place in the world. A more realistic look at what Superman’s life would be like, but without the cynicism and darkness that sometimes covers such treatments of superheroes.
Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow is the unoffical epilogue to the Pre-Crisis Superman, and for my money the best Superman story ever written. It’s the story of Superman’s last great battle against his foes. It’s an imaginary story, but then again, aren’t they all?
Grant Morrison is currently writing All-Star Superman, and it’s great! It doesn’t sync up with current continuity, but it’s a wonderful, weird, love letter to what made the Silver Age Superman so compelling.
In regular continuity, probably the most important story in recent years (besides perhaps Birthright, it’s good to find another fan of that, btw, it hasn’t been universally accepted by the fandom) is The Death of Superman saga (Collected in the Death of Superman, World Without a Superman, and the Return of Superman). It’s been condemned as a forerunner to event-driven comics, but taken on it’s own merits, I find it quite good.
Oh, this is wonderful news. Does the new series have a completely new title or will it have a title similiar to something like Superman: Infinite Crisis #1. Or is it unrevealed as of yet?
It’s the old titles and numbering system*, but I’ll eat my hat if there’s not a big “One Year Later” logo or something on the cover. Alternately, just keep an eye on the weekly comic book threads, and we’ll keep you posted. Give me a moment and I’ll find the exact issue numbers for you.
*Actually, Adventures of Superman is reverting to its original title, Superman, and the book currently titled Superman is being cancelled. But that’s just trivia.
Superman will be reverting to its old numbering (or, rather, Superman will be canceled, and Adventures of Superman will revert to being just Superman), and be #650, and Action will be #836.
Infinite Crisis is the 7-issue limited series that leads into the one-year jump. (Issue 5 is out this week, IIRC.)
These all sound like good reads. Are these available in book form or are they only attainable by buying the original comics?
I really don’t mind reading non-continuity series, especially as long as I know that its not meant as cannon or if the continuity errors are fairly minor. Its intriguing to think of how the characters would had developed differented if their situation and environment were different.
All three are in collections. Red Son and Secret Identity are collected in trades (they were short series).
WHTtMoT is in at least one collection - DC Universe - the stories of Alan Moore, which also includes For The Man Who Has Everything (another great Superman story), The Killing Joke (one of the more important Batman stories) and Mogo Don’t Socialise (one of the coolest GL stories ever).
Ok, let me make sure I’ve got this straight about the present series.
Currently, there is a 7 part series called Infinite Crisis which at the end will result in a 1-year continuem advance in the Comics - Superman (issue# 650) and Action Comics (issue# 836). There is also a comic called All-Star Superman which doesn’t necessarily fit the continuem of the other comics, but is still a compelling story in and of itself.
So to get a really good catch up would be to back up and read the Infinite Crisis series (since I’m only a few episodes behind) and then pick-up with Superman and Action Comics.
Is the All-Star Superman series also going to end up with a 1-year advance or continue doing its own thing? Also is this series a limited short-term series or one that is meant to continue indefinitely?
All fine so far. (Although I’m suddenly not sure if it’s me or Gamera who’s right with the first OYL issue of Action…)
You should be able to jump in on OYL Superman and Action, without IC. The purpose of the gap is to give a clean start (and presumably not coincidentally, a good jumping on point) without eliminating what’s come before.
AS Superman is completely separate from the main universe, and therefor won’t have a one year jump.
As to whether it’s continuing, DC hasn’t been too clear on that, actually. It’s been referred to as both a 12-issue maxi-series and a continuing series (of which Morrison and Frank Quitely (the artist) have the first twelve issues worked out so far).
That seems the most sensible approach, to me. Yea, it may take a while to find, buy, and read all of the several thousand Superman comics that have been published since then, but it’ll be worth it.
KC was great, but I don’t really call it a Superman story, despite a big Superman presence. I also wanted to throw in something that’s still in continuity, not another Elseworld.
I only own one superman TPB: Superman for all Seasons. Its great.I too would be cautious about what else to read, given that I hate just jumping into comics (My all time pet peeve is the “See Issue 234” heading that shows up to explain some random nonsense a character is after spewing. I dont have that issue! I want a self contained story!). As such, I’ll probably stick to once-off graphic novels for now, like the already mentioned Red Son, True Brit, and maybe Worlds Finest. These are not neccesarily “Superman” stories, but hey.
Heres some somilar threads I’ve started you might like:
