This week sees the release of a brand new Superman book that has been in the works for a long time – Superman: Earth One. Although early reviews are causing some confusion amongst the fans, we here at Multiversity are all fairly excited for the first book in DC’s new “serialized hardcover” books.
So it got me thinking – how many books does Superman currently have right now? The answer might somewhat surprise you given what was going on with New Krypton not even a year ago.
Take a look behind the cut for Superman’s list of books, and be sure to keep your eyes open for a review of Earth One from MC this week.
Superman
Superman finally fixed his greatest failure – enlarging the bottled city of Kandor. As the city came out, so did thousands upon thousands of Kryptonians, who terraformed their own planet and ended up in a war with Earth. Now they’re all dead, and Superman’s identity is in a bit of a crisis. So how does he resolve it? By walking across America. The idea is that he will become closer to his adopted home and hopefully find true meaning to the phrase “Truth, Justice, and the American Way.”
Should We Get It? I would say so. To be fair, this is the only real Superman story at the moment. While other writers for this site find JMS’ writing style to be a bit invasive and preachy, for the most part I feel like this story has been the story Superman needs. For years, Superman has been a character many find boring or overpowered, perhaps only because he wasn’t relatable enough due to his alien nature. JMS and DC aims to change that, bringing Superman back as a hero for all – even if they rub our noses in our societies failures for a while in the process.
Then again – if you’re going to use a superhero as a soap box, why not use the biggest superhero ever, right?
Superman/Batman
To be perfectly honest, the write-up I wrote for my Batman article applies here, so I will copy and paste accordingly:
Superman/Batman is one of the longer running titles featuring Batman Superman, and it has actually kind of mattered. Superman/Batman is neither a main title for Superman or Batman, but the title has had importance in the past – specifically, when Loeb wrote it. In it’s 75+ issues, it’s been an interesting collection of varied team-up stories, and actually has some rather unforgettable tales mixed in with a lot of forgettable one. It’s 75th issue was also pretty fantastic, if only for the Azzarello/Bermejo Joker/Lex story – fantastic! At it’s current point though, it’s kind of devolved. I mean, there was an Our Worlds At War tie-in recently… and Our Worlds At War is from 2001 and was barely relevant then. It’s essentially the same as (Batman) Confidential now – writers or artists come in to tell a story, and outside of those stories the title doesn’t matter.
Should We Get It? Superman/Batman admittedly has more writers and artists I enjoy, with it’s recent Annual being totally worth the buy and Joe Kelly on the list of upcoming writers for the book. But this really is a non-essential title for main any story of Batman Superman nowadays.
Time Masters: Vanishing Point
With Batman missing, Rip Hunter puts together a small team of super powered individuals adept at universe challenging events. Superman is one of those intent on stopping Batman from returning. Why? We’re a bit unclear at the moment, but what we do know is that Batman’s return could potentially unravel everything from existence. So if you ask me, it’s about time Superman finally beat up Batman for good (although that assuredly won’t happen in the story).
Should We Get It? It is DEFINITELY not Superman essential at all. To be truthful, this is a Booster Gold/Rip Hunter story. However, Superman’s appearance in it does dictate that it make it to this list, so that’s why you’re seeing it. However, he and Green Lantern have barely featured at all in the story, so if you’re a Superman fan just in it for the classic curl, you can save your dollars on this one.
Now here’s where things might get a bit more interesting. You see, Superman used to have at least two books at one time, and earlier in the year he was split between several books. However, outside of one main book and two books he just co-stars in, what else is going on with the rest of the Super-world?
Well, for that we have:
Superman’s family
Action Comics
Action Comics was the book where Superman first appeared in that oh-so-classic cover. Now, the book belongs to Lex Luthor, Superman’s greatest nemesis. Kind of a funny turn of events, to be truthful. Then again, for the past year the book belonged to Nightwing and Flamebird, two Kryptonians that scavenged the Earth for Zod’s sleeper cells. The book currently features Lex seeking the power granted to him during his brief time with the Orange Power Ring, traveling the globe and fighting other villains in search of the power created by the Black Lanterns – only to find himself face to face with Death herself.
Should We Get It? I should say so! Getting Paul Cornell was one of DC’s smartest moves, as the man is an absolutely fantastic writer. In just a few issues, he has turned the book from a relatively meh book (after a fantastic run by Geoff Johns) into a must-own title. Cornell’s Luthor is darkly funny and features all the right motions in order worm it’s way quite deftly into your buy pile.
On top of that, rising star Nick Spencer takes up the back matter with a Jimmy Olsen story that after just one installment had the collective internets buzzing with excitement over the first back-up feature that made the title worth buying just for it.
Talk about tough acts to follow, am I right?
Supergirl
Supergirl stars Kal’s cousin Kara. After crashing to Earth in a similar (albeit delayed) way to Superman, Kara has gone on to star in her own book that just recently went above and beyond everything that came before, defying all preconceived notions that people have about the character. Sterling Gates came in to write a brand new Supergirl that was three dimensional, with a tale spinning into and out of New Krypton starring her family and identity on Earth as a Kryptonian. Most recently the book revolved around Supergirl finally meeting her Bizarro self and being called upon to assist saving the Bizarro planet.
Should We Get It? I have ranted and raved for a long time about how good Supergirl is. To put it quite simply – throughout all of New Krypton, this was the only book that was consistently great. I haven’t been disappointed by a single issue of this title since I’ve started reading it, and I don’t see that changing. With Nick Spencer about to take over writing duties, I’m sad to see Gates go but hope only the best for him.
Suffice it to say, though, that I was steadily buying Supergirl before I was even buying Superman. That’s just how good the book is.
Superboy
Superboy has been my favorite Super-family member ever since Geoff Johns reimagined the character in Teen Titans (to mixed reactions, based on fan attachment to Young Justice). Conner is the type of character that still has a lot of room for growth, despite 17 years as a teenager. Now that he’s not dead anymore, Jeff Lemire will be taking the reigns of Conner to write the book that he needs: Conner in Smallville, balancing civilian life with super heroics.
Should We Get It? There are two reasons that this is a yes: the first is that the book is being written by Jeff Lemire. Anyone who has met Jeff or read Essex County/Sweet Tooth know that he is a very relatable guy with a very relatable approach to writing. He’s 2 for 2 now in writing younger characters that are incredibly endearing, and I don’t see why this would change with a third book. The second reason is that, quite simply, my favorite dynamic is the Spider-Man dynamic – a young superhero who has to balance his life. My favorite Spider-Man was the one that went to high school while being a superhero, and while Conner certainly has more power than Peter ever had, this is the main dynamic of the book (though I’ll assume that the super heroics will probably take center stage more than school life).
Put simply, everything about this book sounds amazing. I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to read it.
Adventure Comics (and Legion of Super-Heroes
Adventure Comics relaunched as Superboy’s title, but due to responsibilities elsewhere, Johns and Manapul left the book and it was instead turned into a book fit for the final New Krypton crossover before becoming a nostalgia title for Levitz to bring modern readers up to date with the Legion, and to fit the Legion into modern day continuity after being rather irrelevant for quite some time.
Now the two books, both written by Paul Levitz, operate at different timelines – one where Superboy was still tagging around with the Legion, and one that picks off where New Krypton and Geoff Johns’ Legion story ended. However, both are on their way to intersecting soon enough for a sequel to the Great Darkness Saga, which can’t be good for the characters.
Should We Get It? I’ve been getting both, but to be truthful I’m considering dropping Adventure. I like what’s going on in the main title to a certain extent (despite Levitz’s writing style, which feels awkward given today’s writing standards), but Adventure Comics is simple nostalgia writing and really doesn’t bring anything new to the table (despite a good back-up by Lemire starring the Atom). The Legion book is entertaining, but it also depends how big of a fan you are of the Legion in the first place. If you aren’t into big space-y books like Green Lantern Corps or REBELS, Legion isn’t for you – and neither are essential for Superman fans, despite his HUGE role in Legion stories in the past year (what with Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds and all that…)
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Of course, this list doesn’t mention the Steel one-shot coming out in January, nor do I mention Power Girl, the other Kryptonian heroine out there. If you have interest in the extended family, I can very highly recommend Power Girl. Judd Winick and Sam Basri’s run has been great. You can also find Superboy in the pages of Teen Titans.
So there you have it. Kind of a surprising list, no? Superman is a huge character with a large family, but DC has gotten quite good at putting the character and his world into a smaller element, even giving his first title to his greatest nemesis. Crazy, huh? It’s kind of shocking if you look at how many books Batman has in comparison, and the two share a book!
However, this is also the first Too Many Comics! post where I’ve almost universally said that you should be buying every main title. Superman, Action Comics, Supergirl, and Superboy (assumedly) make up the most well-rounded family in terms of comic books, with each book worth buying for a variety of reasons. I can’t think of a time where this fits any other major superhero group.
Superman is the superhero. He was the first, and he frequently sets the bar for everyone else. I guess in between his new homeworld getting destroyed and his walk across America, he just doesn’t have time for the superheroics he used to! That doesn’t mean you can’t go out and find some great Superman stories, though. If you haven’t purchased it already, Absolute All-Star Superman comes out in a few weeks (and then again, even if you already own it, you should get it again).
Then again… keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming Wonder Woman edition of Too Many Comics. Talk about shocking.
