Welcome to Earth One!

[fifthfiend]

Just what wee need, a Clark Kent who puts people who assist American Soldiers in danger by revealing their names on the internet.

Hahahaha, people who say things like this hating it is exactly why Superman should do it.

 

[Kurosawa]

well apparently batman earth one is going to be first year batman being all amateur and making mistakes and stuff like that. and while thats been far less overdone than self doubting superman, i dont really care to see amateur batman either. its been done and i dont really need it again.

Agreed. That said there are some good things in this Superman book and at least JMS seems to understand a few key elements that other writers don't. If the destruction of Krypton was different I'd cut him more slack. It's not as good as Birthright but I like it about as good as Secret Origins and much more than Man of Steel.

Of course the Amazing World of Superman version or Action Comics 500 will always be my favorite versions.

 

[Mystirious]

lol, so true...

Excellent distinction.

They should have him start out doing reporting

Then go like "this is ********, ya'll sellin' out to THE MAN"

Then start a blog

EDIT: Clark Kent should work for Wikileaks.

Hahaha I would read that

 

[Drz]

This was a great book. It gives us a fresh take on Superman and from a Superman reader lets you know that this is a totally different Superman. I think the main thing people expected was that Clark Kent should have never struggled with the idea of becoming Superman. However this book does the opposite and shows and explains why. The only thing I thought missing from the book was Lex Luthor. I thought he would have at least had a cameo similar to like Man of Steel #2 but he wasn't even in this book. I am looking forward to the rest of the line but mainly volume #2 of this series they did leave it open for a sequel and the villain of the book was alright to my surprise.

Glad to hear you liked it. I gotta go and checkout whenever ima buy it this week or not. It seems the general reception is positive, outside for those not liking it being an elseworld and thus comes the argument: it's different, so it sucks! >_>

 

[Ultimate_Superman]

One of the things I really liked as well at the end of the book you get the full first interview Superman gave to Clark Kent which gives us some insight on Superman: Earth One and you get the Lois Lane story on the big fight as well.

 

[Eze]

glad to hear you liked it. I gotta go and checkout whenever ima buy it this week or not. it seems the general reception is positive, outside for those not liking it being an elseworld and thus comes the argument: It's different, so it sucks! >_>

More likely the argument is, JMS wrote it, so it's AWeSOME!!!

It's not unfair to say that Superman: Earth One is a flawed work,

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/best-shots-advance-reviews-101026.html

Shane Davis’ art is emphatically photo-influenced if not hideously photo-traced, right down to the sudden shift of a bespectacled Clark Kent looking more like a mirror image of Tom Brady than Christopher Reeve.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=2805

Considering the bold chances all miss their mark, and JMS fails to honor the Superman mythology's most endearing and iconic aspects, it's not difficult to consider this project a failure on nearly every level.

http://comics.ign.com/articles/112/1129376p1.html

Superman:E1 is legitimately flawed. Here's why...

"When we were building this book we had a lot of things in mind. We were looking at what fiction was popular at the time ... and since we are in the periodical business, and we want to be in the bookstore business, what better continuing character should be in that market but Superman?" he asked.

"But we needed to make him hip, moody and sexy in order to really appeal to who are really wanting to read novels with our characters."

http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2010/10/28/entertainment/doc4cc999d9e3646010412641.txt

Artists create art, while hackneyed corporate sycophants "build books". That is pandering folks. Teenagers are insecure, mostly from biological processes. People enjoy fiction they can relate to, so the most obvious way to make fiction accessible to teenagers, is write about insecure characters. Stan Lee mastered this, decades ago while for years DC resisted this trend opting instead to follow a more heroic, ideological path.

Marvel you could relate to, DC inspired. Then teh 80's came, and in search of that almighty dollar, DC decided to follow the Marvel route, and go for the easy money. More and more DC characters were revamped to be more "relatable". Now some 25 years later, Superman becomes Spider-man, and the international media conglomerate claims it's a new exciting modern revamp.

 

[Kurosawa]

More likely the argument is, JMS wrote it, so it's AWeSOME!!!


http://www.newsarama.com/comics/best-shots-advance-reviews-101026.html

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=2805
http://comics.ign.com/articles/112/1129376p1.html

Superman:E1 is legitimately flawed. Here's why...


http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2010/10/28/entertainment/doc4cc999d9e3646010412641.txt

Artists create art, while hackneyed corporate sycophants "build books". That is pandering folks. Teenagers are insecure, mostly from biological processes. People enjoy fiction they can relate to, so the most obvious way to make fiction accessible to teenagers, is write about insecure characters. Stan Lee mastered this, decades ago while for years DC resisted this trend opting instead to follow a more heroic, ideological path.

Marvel you could relate to, DC inspired. Then teh 80's came, and in search of that almighty dollar, DC decided to follow the Marvel route, and go for the easy money. More and more DC characters were revamped to be more "relatable". Now some 25 years later, Superman becomes Spider-man, and the international media conglomerate claims it's a new exciting modern revamp.

DC has been ashamed of what they are for years and their desperate attempts to be Marvel have done serious damage to several of their main characters, Superman most of all. Statements like that from Didio just shows they are not in any way able to write the character in any legitimate manner. Even the best scenes in this book (the costume being made from the blankets, Clark as the mask, etc) are cribbed directly from the classic elements from the time when Superman was relevant and look like they wondered in by mistake. They have so little imagination that all they can do is endless cover versions of stories that were done first many years ago.

 

[Drz]

DC has been ashamed of what they are for years and their desperate attempts to be Marvel have done serious damage to several of their main characters, Superman most of all. Statements like that from Didio just shows they are not in any way able to write the character in any legitimate manner. Even the best scenes in this book (the costume being made from the blankets, Clark as the mask, etc) are cribbed directly from the classic elements from the time when Superman was relevant and look like they wondered in by mistake. They have so little imagination that all they can do is endless cover versions of stories that were done first many years ago.

But isn't this what big companies just do? Like Grant Morrison compared comic writers to Shamans of the clans/tribes. Retelling old stories and adding extra stuff or correcting "mistakes" and plot holes.

 

[Eze]

But isn't this what big companies just do? Like Grant Morrison compared comic writers to Shamans of the clans/tribes. Retelling old stories and adding extra stuff or correcting "mistakes" and plot holes.

Grant Morrison is rationalizing the lack of creativity that has plagued the Modern Age. Not his fault tho, corporate mind set dictates how the books are too be built and they can't see anything beyond formula.

I love Superman, but the amount of wasted potential in his "mass appeal" projects really angers me.

 

[Eze]

First page, first issue.

Superman's dialogue, his actions. Where is that guy now?

Superman used to be a power fantasy, as all pulp heroes were. Then Wertham published "Seduction of the Innocent.", and DC castrated Superman to make peace with the conservative mindset.

rant off.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

But isn't this what big companies just do? Like Grant Morrison compared comic writers to Shamans of the clans/tribes. Retelling old stories and adding extra stuff or correcting "mistakes" and plot holes.

It sounds like Morrison is taking a far more metaphorical approach to that idea than you're thinking of. I doubt he's talking about just rehashing stories that have come before. More likely, he's talking about mining familiar archetypes and putting his own spin on them. The subject matter may all be familiar, but the context, details, and underlying messages would be something unique to him (or any other writer who does the same). That's pretty different from DC backtracking their franchises to focus on older characters or literally rehashing the same plots that earlier writers have done with modern touches.

 

[TruerToTheCore]

I wouldn't put too much blame on "Seduction of the Innocent". It hurt companies like EC Comics, but DC didn't really have big problems with it. On the contrary, it crippled their competitors. It's also the reason why American comic books were (and are) usually a synonym for "superhero fiction".

 

[Karelia]

Amazon has Superman: Earth One listed as temporarily unavailable. My copy still hasn't shipped and I pre-ordered it a few weeks ago. Disappointed much

 

[Kurosawa]

Grant Morrison is rationalizing the lack of creativity that has plagued the Modern Age. Not his fault tho, corporate mind set dictates how the books are too be built and they can't see anything beyond formula.

I love Superman, but the amount of wasted potential in his "mass appeal" projects really angers me.

Morrison is good at taking old ideas and constructing new stories with them, however. What JMS did was just crib scenes that were in plenty of previous Superman comics and toss them into his Emoman story to make it feel a little authentic.

Reading anyone's account of Superman's development and relationship with Ma and Pa Kent is pretty lame after reading Maggin's novels anyway, as they are so superior to all other versions (even Birthright) that it isn't even funny.

First page, first issue.

Superman's dialogue, his actions. Where is that guy now?

Superman used to be a power fantasy, as all pulp heroes were. Then Wertham published "Seduction of the Innocent.", and DC castrated Superman to make peace with the conservative mindset.

rant off.

I agree although the most creative and important period of Superman's existence was easily the 58-67 period or so and that was after SOTI.

 

[hippie_hunter]

That owned BUT it owned because Krypton would have blown up anyway, the only thing it did was explain why Krypton's rulers weren't listening to their best scientist saying "the planet is going to literally explode and kill all of you, like, tomorrow."

Agreed, but JMS brought up a good point in Superman: Earth One in that if Krypton blew up naturally, something like that should have been detected literally centuries before hand (especially in a highly advanced society like Krypton's).

I think that it was a good update on how Krypton was destroyed. After all, this is a new continuity like Ultimate Marvel is. There really isn't a problem with having changes like updating the circumstances of how Krypton was destroyed (the key part is that Krypton was destroyed and Kal-El is the last of his kind and making Jimmy Olsen less nerdy (though still somewhat geeky). It's when they make drastic changes like how Ultimate Marvel had Deadpool into a humorless cybernetic mutant hating supremacist, Cable be Deadpool from the future, Namor being a criminal, and Captain America into a jingoistic ******* when changes becomes problematic.

 

[Motown Marvel]

Superman:E1 is legitimately flawed. Here's why...


http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2010/10/28/entertainment/doc4cc999d9e3646010412641.txt

Artists create art, while hackneyed corporate sycophants "build books". That is pandering folks. Teenagers are insecure, mostly from biological processes. People enjoy fiction they can relate to, so the most obvious way to make fiction accessible to teenagers, is write about insecure characters. Stan Lee mastered this, decades ago while for years DC resisted this trend opting instead to follow a more heroic, ideological path.

Marvel you could relate to, DC inspired. Then teh 80's came, and in search of that almighty dollar, DC decided to follow the Marvel route, and go for the easy money. More and more DC characters were revamped to be more "relatable". Now some 25 years later, Superman becomes Spider-man, and the international media conglomerate claims it's a new exciting modern revamp.

yeah. its stupid that DC apparently feels its best to follow popular fiction trends rather than trying to create them.

 

[fifthfiend]

Agreed, but JMS brought up a good point in Superman: Earth One in that if Krypton blew up naturally, something like that should have been detected literally centuries before hand (especially in a highly advanced society like Krypton's).

That's a completely dumb point to bring up in a universe where "naturally" means a man who can fly and shoot lasers out of his eyes. Defending dumb story ideas via insistence on strict real-world science is the the lowest refuge of pop-scifi writers.

 

[hippie_hunter]

That's a completely dumb point to bring up in a universe where "naturally" means a man who can fly and shoot lasers out of his eyes. Defending dumb story ideas via insistence on strict real-world science is the the lowest refuge of pop-scifi writers.

Except those powers also come "naturally" through Superman's biology. It's not like he magically got those powers or anything like Captain Marvel or was made that way like Wonder Woman.

 

[Kurosawa]

The problem with Krypton being destroyed by an outside source is that make Superman the avenger of his dead world, not the champion of his adopted one. It's Batman territory. Byrne's Superman was more of an Ultimates version than this one TBH as it made significant changes in Superman's core personality and identity.

The other thing that ticks me off is they keep popping up with new versions of Superman but meanwhile Kal-L, who represents Siegel and Shuster's Superman gets killed in one stupid crossover, then brought back in the next stupid crossover and used in an idiotic manner yet again.

 

[hippie_hunter]

The problem with Krypton being destroyed by an outside source is that make Superman the avenger of his dead world, not the champion of his adopted one. It's Batman territory. Byrne's Superman was more of an Ultimates version than this one TBH as it made significant changes in Superman's core personality and identity.

Except nothing has shown him making the decision of wanting to avenge his dead world. He flat out says that his ties and loyalties are with Earth because that was where he raised and lived at for his entire life. For most of the story, he knew absolutely nothing at all about Krypton.

If he "avenges" Krypton, it's going to be because whoever wants the entire Kryptonian race wiped out, is going to come to him. Earth-One Superman is not going to hunt this being down to avenge a world that he has no memory of, and had no knowledge of until the very last pages of the story. Just because Jor-El wants Kal-El to avenge the murder of Krypton, doesn't mean that Clark Kent is going to. Clark going after whoever was responsible for Krypton's destruction would just be bad storytelling. Making Superman the avenger of Krypton goes completely against the very human characterization that Straczynski developed with the Earth-One Superman.

 

[fifthfiend]

Except those powers also come "naturally" through Superman's biology.

This is exactly my point.

 

[Eze]

Morrison is good at taking old ideas and constructing new stories with them, however. What JMS did was just crib scenes that were in plenty of previous Superman comics and toss them into his Emoman story to make it feel a little authentic.

Reading anyone's account of Superman's development and relationship with Ma and Pa Kent is pretty lame after reading Maggin's novels anyway, as they are so superior to all other versions (even Birthright) that it isn't even funny.



I agree although the most creative and important period of Superman's existence was easily the 58-67 period or so and that was after SOTI.

I think we both agree Superman was all about conviction, at least that's what I think the character has lost touch with.

 

[hippie_hunter]

This is exactly my point.

But what's the point of criticizing about JMS adding a tad of logic to Krypton's destruction when adding "logic" has been done many times before to all sorts of science fiction from Superman's biology as the basis for his powers, or the "science" of Star Trek, and whatnot.

This is a new continuity. Not everything has to be exactly the same and it's not like it's affecting the more important New Earth Superman.

 

[Eze]

But what's the point of criticizing about JMS adding a tad of logic to Krypton's destruction when adding "logic" has been done many times before to all sorts of science fiction from Superman's biology as the basis for his powers, or the "science" of Star Trek, and whatnot.

This is a new continuity. Not everything has to be exactly the same and it's not like it's affecting the more important New Earth Superman.

There's nothing inherently more logical about alien conquest as opposed to unstable chain reaction. It's change for changes sake to cash in on a certain demographic, whose got a real hankerin for brooding vengence minded anti-heroes.

Imagine if Batman Earth One embraced the 60's T.V. camp. Not everything is exactly the same, and New Earth Batman is the same, so no harm right?

 

[Tron Bonne]

Agreed, but JMS brought up a good point in Superman: Earth One in that if Krypton blew up naturally, something like that should have been detected literally centuries before hand (especially in a highly advanced society like Krypton's).

Well, then his point is bogus. I don't understand this mentality that just because Krypton is advanced means that they're literally this perfect race that can do no wrong. If anything, Krypton's destruction by environmental neglect is more relevant and poignant now than it was before, since we do have people debating a scientifically proven process that's doing damage to the planet on very political terms. I mean, sure, it's exaggerated to a degree (since we aren't going to blow up tomorrow from climate change), but superhero fiction like this is exaggerated by it's very nature. That's why we have Reed Richards pulling some gizmo out of his butt in 15 minutes that should take 15 years to research and develop.