Absolute All Star Superman

[[VIDEOID:b6b521d5bc56a945e1c74643ace7c6a1]] One of many absolute edition reviews i made, largely so you can get a feel for the look of the book as well as its bonus features. my vids are mostly about the particular addition, with minimal critique of the story/art itself.

STORY: Rightly considered to be among the best Superman stories ever published, "All-Star Superman" manages to be self-contained, yet open-ended...making for a very satisfying experience. Grant Morrison's writing almost always overflows with creativity, yet sometimes falls into the trap of being incoherent; "All-Star Superman" deftly avoids that trap, all the while bursting with cool ideas. The only downside: such a bombardment of concepts may bewilder newcomers and casual fans, and the story assumes at least a basic foreknowledge of Superman and his traditions.

ART: Frank Quitely (enhanced by Jamie Grant) is a master of capturing moments of action while never feeling static. His work conveys a magnificent sense of motion, which makes this comic fun and exciting to read. Quitely also builds in tons of background detail, rewarding close attention and future reading. His faces are sometimes inconsistent, but never to the point of making it difficult to identify characters. And his sense of pacing perfectly complements Morrison's story, rocketing along while allowing the reader to linger as necessary. Top-notch art, to be sure.

PRESENTATION: The "Absolute" format is perfect for this material. The expansive trim-size and stout, coated paper-stock practically suck the reader into the artwork. Sewn-signature binding allows the hefty book to lay relatively flat, ensuring that nothing important is hidden in the spine-edge (the iconic double-page introductory shot of Superman flying near the Sun looks SPECTACULAR).

A snazzy dust-jacket features new art from Quitely, while the paper-over-board casebinding showcases the well-known Superman-resting-on-a-cloud over Metropolis cover from issue one (the Neil Adams variant is included inside). My only minor complaint is that the spine-design of the slipcase is somewhat boring.

The collection is rounded out by a bonus-features section, with sketchbook work from both Morrison and Quitely, and text-pieces which serve to flesh out the characters and concepts (some of which are merely fascinating background details). This shows just how much material Morrison bakes into his storytelling, though admittedly some of these ideas get lost in the story itself.

BOTTOM LINE: This format has breathed new life into "All-Star Superman," already a great comic. The Absolute edition of this story has already become one of my prized possessions. Even if you already have the individual issues (or even the smaller hardcovers), this collection is worth every penny.

There are 12 reasons why this comic stands as the best Superman tale ever. No spoilers here, by the way!

In issue 1, Superman undertakes an impossible mission, and succeeds, of course--though at a cost.
In issue 2, we visit his clubhouse (Fortress of Solitude).
In issue 3, he spends time with the love of his life.
In issue 4, he spends time with one of his best friends.
In issue 5, he faces his greatest nemesis.
In issue 6, he spends time with family, both present and future.
In issue 7, he goes against the forces of the dark.
In issue 8, he goes toe-to-toe against the dark itself.
In issue 9, he remembers the legacy he came from.
In issue 10, he creates the impossible.
In issue 11, he defeats the impossible.
In issue 12, he becomes the impossible.

Seriously, buy this comic! Each page is brimming with optimism!!

Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman quite simply may be the greatest Superman story ever told, period. Created under DC's continuity-free All-Star bannar (which also produced Frank Miller's craptastic All-Star Batman & Robin), All-Star Superman presents a tale of the Man of Steel as his greatest enemy Lex Luthor has finally found a way to do the previously unthinkable: kill him. Now, Superman's time is running out and he knows it, but that doesn't stop him from admitting his love and identity to Lois Lane, interacting with the Supermen of the distant future, and concluding with a final showdown with a super-powered Lex. What makes All-Star Superman so good is the fact that Morrison is free to tell a truly fantastical story featuring a truly fantastical character, and the story as a whole carries a sense of awe and wonder unlike any Superman story has in decades. This is made all the better thanks to the stunning artwork of the great Frank Quitely, whose cinematic renderings are an amazing sight to behold. Finally collected in a beautiful Absolute edition, All-Star Superman may very well be the best thing to come out of DC this decade, and saying that it's a Superman story for the ages is a massive understatement indeed.

Absolutely amazing. The quality and care put into the production of this absolute edition shows the reverence for the masterpiece that is All Star Superman, the greatest superman story ever told. It came very, very carefully packaged and flawless in my case. It has a book marker strip and a beautiful dust cover. It's hefty and the hardcase it slides into is beautiful, displaying Superman gazing lovingly at the Earth between his hands. The most perfect way to introduce any reader to the truth of the character of Superman. The ideals he represents. The writing and art in the pages inside are so amazing that they make me feel nearly as optimistic as Superman himself. I have read this series before, but to re-read it in such quality is well worth the price I paid. The extra content at the end of the book is much appreciated. The introductory letter is clearly written by someone who shares my love of this character. If you can afford it, or are having second thoughts about whether or not to get it, please do so. It's well worth the money, at least it was for me. When I'm feeling down, or overwhelmed by life's cruelties, I open this book and read it. It's helped me through some dark times, and incites me to strive to be like the fictional character inside. Crazy I know!! That a fictional character can make me want to be more like him. But like any good form of art, it transcends it's creators and goes on to make us think and feel. And the ideals inside are well worth striving towards since they exist in our world.

As I have grown older, I have a harder time justifying my continuation of my lifelong habit of collecting comic books. As I walk out of the comic book store I might glance at my receipt and reflect of how I might have outgrown superheroes, and how I have less time to read (for the pleasure of it, since there is always another document or report at work to look forward to).
But every now and again there might be a story so powerful that my faith in the medium is renewed, my doubts are erased and I can proudly pronounce that piece of comic book as honest to goodness ART. (Not surprisingly, this mostly happens to me with my favorite character; Superman)
This is one of those stories.
Grant Morrison has been a favorite of mine for a long time, and while in his beginnings in the mainstream (his superb JLA run) he was viewed by me as "Vertigo guy", he has slowly taken his sophisticated approach to storytelling over to the DC Universe, to the point where I consider him and Geoff Johns to be the primary creative forces of the company, sort of the Lennon and McCartney, with vastly different approach to their craft but resulting in some of the most exciting comic book stories of the last decade.
This is, without question, his Magnus Opus.
This is the most classical & timeless Superman story ever, where all the main ingredients of his mythos are presented in their most essential form but still maintain amazingly approachable to any person with the slightest interest and familiarity with Superman and his universe.
Morrison's Superman, and for that matter any of the characters presented in this story, is an amalgam of over 75 years of history, somehow becoming the most timeless and yet refreshingly new version of the characters presented here; Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, Ma & Pa Kent, Bizarro & Lex Luthor (who steals the show BTW); all in all a veritable cornucopia of everything that has made Superman the global icon he is.
The story starts simply enough (well in Superman stories at least) with Superman going into the Sun to save an expedition of scientists threatened by Lex Luthor's latest scheme, only to find out that Luthor has finally succeeded in doing the unthinkable; by over exposing him to solar radiation which will end up killing Superman. From here on out the story focuses on what the Man of Steel will do to try to set things right before times runs out, facing some of his hardest trials (just like the gods of ancient Greece did to justify their place in Olympus) before facing once more Lex Luthor in a desperate attempt to save the world.
Frank Quietly brings a decidedly classical approach to every single art panel and image, and the coloring is simply breathtaking in this extra sized version, which brings out the level of detail to an even better level. Some people have commented on his face work, but I say that everything looks topnotch to me.
The advantages of this Absolute version is not only having the story in a single volume and the extra size of the art (plus the quality of paper is excellent) but by having a great set of extras for diehard fans like the series proposal, sketches, and creator notes.
That is a decidedly brief taste of where this magnificent Absolute version is about, and I do believe that anybody with the slightest interest in Superman should check out this out.
Believe me you won't regret it...any maybe it will make you (like me)fall in love with comic books all over again

I declare myself guilty!!

I read this story in paperback format a couple of years ago. I hated it! I hated All Star Superman Vol. 1, and I hated even more All Star Superman Vol. 2. I hated Grant Morrison's choppy narrative, and I certainly hated Fran Quietly's "ugly" character drawings. I H-A-T-E-D All Star Superman!!!! You can see my reviews here on Amazon. I didn't liked it.

Fast forwad to now (2012). I read Absolute All Star Superman... and I liked it so much!!

There are a bunch of different variables that made my taste to change. I'll try to resum it here:

* The Absolute Edition for this book is BEAUTIFUL. Maybe one of the most perfect Absolute Editions so far. The dustjacket is strong. It doesn't bend after you separate from the book like in other Absolute Editions (I'm looking at you, Absolute Superman for Tomorrow!)

* Frank Quietly's art, enlarged... Wow!!! Maybe it was because I could see everyting with more detail. The faces, the background, people's (and specially Clark Kent/Superman) body language. Man! It was something to appreciate!

* The coloring. Not sure why I didn't notice before, but the color pallette for this book is stunning. Bright skies, shinny stars, red-blue-and yellow were so vivid!! Skin tones. Everything seem to pop-out of the pages. Bravo!!

The script by Grant Morison is not for the new reader though. I think that's what affect me the most the first time around. I felt lost. There's a lot of references of old Byrne and Kirby old stories that only uber fans will be able to recognize. This is not a complaint. Not this time around.

The reason why I enjoy the story WAY more then the first time I read it is because I read a lot of back-up Superman books, and several interviews about All Star Superman that made me realize things I didn't notice before.

Another reason (and this is an important one, new reader) why I enjoyed this book now is because I read DC: ONE MILLION trade. Many things from that book ti-in perfectly with this collection. I didn't particulary liked One Million, because is a typical Morrison Story: Choppy and uncoherent in some parts. That't being said, One Million DID helped me a lot to connect a few things in All Star Superman.

As a final dish, I must mention the extra material. Is good and helpful. You have some afterwords from Morrison and Quietly that explain certain bits of the creation of the collection. You also get a shrt description of the characters in the story. Where they were before this story kicked in and all. Helpful! What it really lacked was a cover gallery with the art as big as the page. We get the covers, but all of them are crammed in one page. Oh well...

Anyway, I can say not that I'm one of the many All Star Superman fans out there, however, please remember that if your new on comics, you might want to read a few Superman comics before starting this one. The most recommended (and only book I would say) is DC: One Million. I think you'll be set-ready-and go by then.

This is hands down, one of the most beautiful, moving, and loving tributes to Superman ever written. The stories in All Star Superman are lyrical, beautiful science fiction tales that really resonate. Morrison's treatment of Superman is respectful, fun, emotionally true without being insipid, and filled with a sense of wonder and awe. The Superman here is the quintessence of the character, in that, somehow, Morrison manages to distill what everyone subconsciously responds to about the fictional character into his twelve part story. These stories, and the entire All Star Superman run, also suffers from none of Morrison's usual weaknesses, which tend to be his penchant for overloading his writing with throwaway abstract concepts that can distract from his main narrative and a stubborn unwillingness to sacrifice complexity at the altar of clarity. He avoids this terrible habit here, and tells straightforward, though by no means simplistic or trite stories.

What really makes all this worth it though, is the unbelievably dynamic, beautiful, moving, amazing pencils by Frank Quitely, unquestionably a genius craftsman. I guarantee if this volume had been drawn by anyone else, people would talk far less about it. I can't say enough about his work, and would have highly recommended the volume for his art alone, even if it wasn't the perfect compliment for Morrison's science-fiction-pop-fantasy take on the Man of Steel.

The Absolute format is the perfect showcase for this incredible piece of comic fiction, and with its large pages, the sense of wonder I felt when I first read an issue was magically renewed.

My only regret is that, given how successful this initial Morrison and Quitely love letter to Superman was, it's amazing that the people at Dumb Company haven't managed to insist that they do a sequel. Then again, this is DC comics, so that might be asking a lot.

Buy this. Spend the money. You will never regret it.

A 12 issue run that took years to complete, DC allowed Frank Quietly the time to illustrate in his detailed fashion. As many great comic stories are, this is an out-of-continuity tale that has all the flavor of the Silver Age with just enough darkness of the Modern Age to make it palpable and compelling.

Thanks to a turn of events orchestrated by Lex Luthor (who else?) Superman discovers he is dying. What follows over the next 12 issues are his attempts at tying up all the loose ends of his life, while dealing with the outrageous everyday life of comics' greatest superhero. Grant Morrison delivers a Superman before he was dumbed down to allow room for a Batman.

This Kal-El is a real SUPER-man, in strength, intelligence, ingenuity, and moral fiber. It took 70 years for DC to publish the first real look at this character as he should be, the best in all of us. Superman confronts his relationship with Lois Lane, wherein we see the Man of Steel as human, alien, and at times near frightening. Morrison also provides a fascinating new spin on Doomsday and the hands down best Bizarro ever written.

Morrison's ideas are so off-the-wall, so imaginative, so "Silver Age," that I often found myself laughing out loud at the boldness of the story. It's a crime more couldn't have been made from this brilliant series, but the best runs are the shortest, most concise, most focused stories. It's why I've given up on the monthly books, with their soap opera-like redundancy.

After finally getting my last issue, I had a subscription, I felt a sense of relief and release. I never have to read another Superman story again. I've already read the best. In my opinion, All-Star Superman is the unsurpassable benchmark.

The best Superman story....ever.

This is the best Superman story every written. Superman is the kind of character that his greatness depends on who is writing the character. I really enjoyed this story. I don't buy Absolute editions often and when I do, it has to be something I really enjoy. This is a great story. I highly recommend it.