Finally got around to reading Superman: Earth One, local library got a copy donated.
Probably the first thing that popped in my mind after reading it is this was way too decompressed. I know it's JMS, and this time in comics is just the standard for that kind of stuff, but this is a 100+ page comic, and I blasted through it in about 10-15 minutes. Tons of pages with little to no dialogue or narration.
Anyway, taking that aside, it was a fairly solid story. Not as good as many are trying to make it out to be, but still not too bad. Davis' art was pretty good (though I kind of wish he and Frank would have swapped EO books). The only thing about his art that seemed weird, and maybe this was just me, but when Clark eventually put on the suit, did Davis draw his face literally different from when he's in normal clothes? I guess having Kryptonion's faces as morphable putty is one way of getting around the 'how does no one notice this!??!?!' complaint, but that's a pretty silly way to go about it, in my opinion. Outside that, though, I did enjoy the art.
Though, as I said, it's not without flaws. The decompressed storytelling makes the beginning of the book drag a lot. The idea of him job seeking is a good one overall, but we didn't need a third of the time it took in the actual book to get what we needed there. Though the writing was generally good, there was times when it became a little too heavy handed and sentimental, like at his father's grave, and it loses some poignancy. The villain is pretty crappy and generic, comes off in a very 'this is a plot device, guys!' way. I guess he's just a set up for a bigger threat, maybe why they used him instead of an actual re-imagined Superman rogue, but he brings the plot down. And finally, seams. I don't understand why anytime a new, 'modernized' suit of these characters are created we have to have these ugly ass steams all over the place. I simply don't get it.
Also, another thing that kind of made me face palm was the reaction to Superman. Yeah, I get it, it's 'realistic', but that kind of reaction to superheroes has become so silly and cliche at this point, it just feels so dumb. 'Oh my God, he saved the planet, but maybe it was all a set-up!', 'Oh yeah, he saved me...oh my God, he's a monster'. Might as well have had someone go 'Oh, they must be shooting a sci-fi movie' when the invasion was happening. Surely, there has to be a way to approach from a different angle, I mean **** the dog, this kind of stuff has been stale for years, maybe even decades, now.
So, in the end, decent enough that I'll give the second volume a chance when/if a local library gets it, but I'm not anticipating it all that much. I'm not entirely sure why people have latched on to this book like they have, but then again, I'll never understand how people are so into Bendis' Avengers tenure, but sales show they obviously are. Of course, I think a lot of people were pretty much set on this being 'the second coming of Superman' well before it hit shelves (and I come to this conclusion based on the fact that so many people had EO avatars and wanted to see stuff from it in the new film months before it actually came out), so maybe that had something to do with it.
I liked it. I think the only problem I really had was that no one questioned how or why Clark managed to get an interview with Superman that fast after an alien invasion. I hope they pursue more books in this universe.
