Comics The Death & Return of Superman

[JTStarkiller]

Since I was little, I've had a set of comics dealing with the death and return of Superman that I'm ashamed to admit I've never read (except The Death of Superman). I now want to start at the beginning and understand the complete story arc from when Superman is killed to his resurrection. Out of these issues -- what's the correct order, what am I missing, and what is not necessary?

The Death of Superman TPB (w/ Lois holding blood covered Superman)
The Legacy of Superman 1
The Adventures of Superman 500 (top says "Back from the Dead?!")
Funeral for a Friend (7 parts)
Reign of the Superman! (4 issues with the different logos)
-- Adv. of Sup. 501
-- Sup. 78
-- Sup. in Action Comics 687
-- Sup.: TMOS 22
Reign of the Supermen! (says Back for Good!)
-- Sup. 82

As you can see, I'm not too big into the Superman comics, and would like to change that. I appreciate anyone who takes the time to help me with this.

 

[David Ford, RPD]

Why not just pick up the novelization? It's quite good.

 

[TheFalcon]

Isn't everything connected to the saga collected in the three tpbs (Death of Superman, World Without a Superman and Return of Superman)?

I'd recommend just picking up those.

 

[JTStarkiller]

Thanks for the info. I also didn't think about the novelization, but I'd much prefer to read it in its comic form.

It looks like I have everything need to avoid the WWAS tpb. The ROS tpb is what I need.

 

[Gabe99]

Comic Vine February 6, 2013:
Interview: Grant Morrison on ACTION COMICS, MULTIVERSITY & the Death of Superman

CV: Will we get answers about the mention of Superman's first death, Doomsday or the statue with Superman's pre-New 52 costume?

GM: All those things, I wanted to show that they had happened. I didn't think it was actually important to show the actual event. I think it's important for Superman's origin to show that he once died. If some other writer down the line wants to tell the story, it's theirs to tell. This story is more about suggesting what went wrong and moving forward it's showing a situation where he's facing something even worse than Doomsday.

Did DEATH OF SUPERMAN Happen In the NEW 52? SOULE on That Question & NEW DOOMSDAY Event

Losing his Justice League seat to Lex Luthor isn't the only big thing coming for Superman in April. Readers will also find out what happens in the New 52 when Superman battles Doomsday.

And no… readers shouldn't be so sure that Superman has already been killed by the villain.

Charles Soule, writer of Superman/Wonder Woman, indicates that the previous mentions of Superman's "death" at the hands of Doomsday in the New 52 were misleading (and the quotes around "death" are his). He implies that Superman's revamped mega-fight with Doomsday isn't in the past of the New 52, but might actually be in the universe's future.

In a storyline that begins in Action Comics, Superman/Wonder Woman, and Superman, the Super-writers are re-shaping the battles between Doomsday and Superman. Soule is working on the Doomsday story with Superman writer Scott Lobdell and Action Comics writer Greg Pak.

(It's worth noting that Chronicle screenwriter Max Landis, who's writing a digital Adventures of Superman story for DC, revealed last year that he was approached by DC to work with Pak on a weekly, year-long series to reboot the death and return of Superman. He declined the opportunity, but you can see him explain it at right here.)

Soule also indicates that the story will cross through the Superman universe, involving other characters, and will lead into this summer's plans for Superman.

"Superman's due for a real, big, universe-shattering story, and this is certainly that," Soule said.

Readers have already seen a very cryptic sequence related to a "prophesy" about the battle between Doomsday and Superman in the New 52 — as told in Pak's Batman/Superman #3.1: Doomsday, which was part of September's Villains Month.

Although that sequence wasn't necessarily factual — because it was only a story told by Zor-El to his daughter on Krypton — readers were shown that other heroes "rise" to take Superman's place after his death, including Supergirl, Power Girl, Superboy and Steel.

Since that September issue, Doomsday has been playing a role in Superman/Wonder Woman, which was launched in October. Soule showed a fight between Doomsday and Wonder Woman, and has featured the mystery of the villain's appearance at the center of his new series.
Batman/Superman #3.1: Doomsday

Soule, who's also working on Red Lanterns and Swamp Thing for DC (along with several titles at other publishers), talked to Newsarama about what we can expect from the upcoming Superman story with Doomsday, and whether he and other writers are shaping a new version of the "Death and Return of Superman."

Death And Return Of Superman Pitch by Max Landis

 

[Gabe99]

Superman Gets 'Doomed' in May

Before Superman gets to his relaunch at the hands of DC Entertainment's chief creative officer Geoff Johns and newly signed artists John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson, he has one final villain to deal with. Sadly, it's the one who killed him two decades earlier.

Although the plot of the storyline remains under wraps for the most part, solicitation information for those issues suggest that Superman will transform into … something, while Lois Lane will continue her own transformation as her latent psychic powers come to the fore once more. Are we going to see Superman turning into a Doomsday himself, with Lois having to defeat a super-monster?

Launching with the one-off release Superman: Doomed #1 by Scott Lobdell, Greg Pak, Charles Soule and artist Ken Lashley in May, the storyline continues through that month's issues of Superman, Action Comics and Superman/Wonder Woman.

 

[Gabe99]

EXCLUSIVE: Klaus Janson Discusses DC Return, Working with Johns, Romita Jr. on "Superman"

Earlier this month, DC Comics made the blockbuster announcement that Geoff Johns, John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson are the incoming creative team on the "Superman" monthly series.

In his first interview since the announcement, Janson spoke with CBR News exclusively about the newest landmark in the artist's already legendary career. During our discussion, the award-winning penciler, inker and colorist spoke passionately about his love for the Man of the Steel, his craft and what it means to be collaborating with Johns and Romita. He also shared his thoughts on the upcoming 30th anniversary of "The Dark Knight Returns," the four-issue miniseries he illustrated with Frank Miller.

Currently teaching sequential storytelling at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Janson also looked back on his personal history with Superman, which includes reading comics featuring the Man of Steel as a young boy after moving to the United States from Germany, watching "The Adventures of Superman" television series starring George Reeves and drawing the story "The Living Legends of Superman: Chapter Seven" for "Superman" #400 in 1984.

What can you tell us about the Superman that you, John and Geoff are going to unleash in the summer of 2014? Thanks to the New 52, this is obviously a younger version of the character, but can you talk about specifics regarding his suit or the look and feel of his overall appearance?

At this point in the process, we haven't nailed down any final decisions on the look that we are going for just because we are still at a very early stage. There is an organic development that generally happens where the characters determine their own visuals, and that occurs only after drawing those characters a lot. It's akin to what writers talk about when they say that the characters write their own stories after a while. With the art side of things, we will know what Superman looks like after having penciled and inked him for a while.

Does the suit look more like armor or does it look more like cloth? I don't think we know the answer to that yet, so you'll have to hang around and see what happens like the rest of us.

EXCLUSIVE: Superman is "Doomed" in May Crossover Event