The Official Superman Thread - Part 4

[Motown Marvel]

im sure morrison's relationship with DC is just fine, but i feel his interest in the new 52 isnt his bag, which results in a lack of inspiration for writing superhero comics. which is a huge bummer. i wish they'd just put morrison in control of superman, batman, and wonder woman.

i thought geoff johns' run on superman was great. the story arc with legion and the one with brainiac were both awesome.

 

[Cain]

I liked Up, Up and Away, Last Son and Escape From Bizarro World. Geoff Johns' Action run was ok with me. Probably some of the last good writing he did actually because currently he's been kinda rusty on GL and especially JL. Aquaman is his best book right now.

 

[Motown Marvel]

i feel geoff johns started sucking once blackest night was through. everything before that was totally solid.

all that brightest day and flashpoint stuff that followed was pretty awful.

his current GL run started out pretty shaky, but its sorta finding its footing. even though all this evil guardians crap is dumb and i think they need to chill out on the rainbow corps. business. aquaman is decent enough. i dropped JL after 3 issues, that crap was awful!

 

[hippie_hunter]

Justice League has gotten a lot better though. The latest arc feels like Johns has reigned in Lee a bit and he's taken a bit more control of the creative process as opposed to how he usually works with artists like George Perez, Francis Manapul, Gary Frank, and Ivan Reis.

It still is nowhere near his best though. Without an artist that is really good in the creative process to really amplify the stories, Johns kinda falls flat. It's kind of his biggest downfall. He needs that special kind of artist in order for him to shine.

 

[Spade]

He stumbled with Blackest Night, then Brightest Day went nowhere. Johns has done nothing since to get me reading his books.

That said, his last try at Superman was pleasant. I wouldn't mind if he took over Action Comics after Morrison.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I thought his Superman comics kind of sucked outside of the Brainiac arc, and that was largely because all he really did with Brainiac was combine the best elements of the established comic and animated versions.

 

[BigSams50]

Think about it though you're still missing out on other books that could actually match your excitement because you throw the money in the direction of the book that is dull. CConn and Anubis are right on the money. The minute a book I was into isn't living up to my expectations I drop it and move on to another.

If I never did that I would've missed out on a crap load of great comics that I gave a shot to because I had extra money to take the chance on them. Specifically independent books whenever I have dropped a book from the big 2. You could always give it another look when another writer comes in or when people who's opinions you trust actually recommend it instead of just supporting mediocrity and losing the chance to spend that money on something worth it.

Thats a good point. I'll probably stop picking this up until the new writer gets on board. Then give him a shot

 

[CConn]

I thought his Superman comics kind of sucked outside of the Brainiac arc, and that was largely because all he really did with Brainiac was combine the best elements of the established comic and animated versions.

Nah, the LOSH was pretty awesome too.

 

[Anubis]

If you didn't mind the ditching of the legion that was around before the old one came back.

 

[hippie_hunter]

If you didn't mind the ditching of the legion that was around before the old one came back.

But that already happened in a rather mediocre Justice League of America/Justice Society of America crossover. With the old Legion already back and established and a previously mediocre story aside, the Legion of Super-Heroes arc in Action Comics was pretty damn good.

 

[Anubis]

Blah, blah, blah, I want *****e bag Brainy.

 

[hippie_hunter]

But Brainy is a *****e in this incarnation as well.

 

[CConn]

Eh, I like the classic incarnation, myself.

I mean, I totally respect Waid's version, and I'm sure it was totally written more awesomely, but at the same time, the original LOSH is just classic and iconic, IMO.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, no. Waid all the way for me.

 

[Spider-Nerd]

So I'm considering expanding my readership to include some superman. For the most part I never strayed from spider-man or x-men books but in the last 5 years I've heavily invested in batman and the rest of the batfamily. I much prefer my characterization of superman to be that of "the big blue boyscout" but I'm open to other interpretations. Are Action or Superman worth getting on board? How about some stories worth reading from the pre-reboot DC universe?

 

[HighFivingMF]

Geoff Johns' run on Action, especially Last Son and Brainiac. All-Star Superman of course.
What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and The American Way?
Birthright is generally regarded as the best interpretation of his origin.
The relaunched Action Comics is great, but he's younger and not exactly a boyscout-type.
The relaunched Superman is alright, I really dug the first six issues but a lot of folks didn't and it kind of declined after that. So I dunno.
Alan Moore's "For The Man Who Has Everything" and "Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow"
The Death & Return of Superman would be on most lists too.
Kingdom Come is about a lot of characters, but Superman is the star.

 

[Spider-Nerd]

Sweet, thanks HFMF. I read death and return when I was growing up and it was all the rage. I remember enjoying it.

 

[Scarecrow_King]

I think Grant Morrison is, like, the most over-rated writer of all time. But All-Star Superman is hands down the best Superman story I've ever read.

I'd put For All Seasons on that list, too. It's a great story about Supe's early years and his relationship with Lex.

 

[HighFivingMF]

I'd put For All Seasons on that list, too. It's a great story about Supe's early years and his relationship with Lex.

I meant to put that on mine too. Whoops.

 

[CConn]

Birthright is my favorite origin, personally.

 

[The Batman]

Red Son needs to be on the list.

 

[CConn]

On the film?

 

[The Batman]

^ I meant list...why the **** did I type "Film"?

 

[Dangerman]

I would have put Superman Earth One on the list as well. I also would have put Superman: For Tomorrow and Rucka's whole run up there as well.

 

[Cain]

^ no not all of Rucka's Action work because his second run was mediocre and didn't even feature Supes anyway.

In addition to some of the other stories already mentioned I'd add

Exile
Ending Battle
Panic in the Sky
Time and Time Again
Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite
Escape from Bizzaro World
Up, Up and Away
Kryptonite
Secret Identity
The Last Family of Krypton
Superman Beyond (the Morrison one)
Superman and the Legion of Superheroes