I thought it was a great story! Not just a great Superman story, but a great story...period. I actually found the bits following the Lee family and Roberta as engaging as the Superman parts of the story.
This story is truly a great slice of Golden Age Superman goodness...but with some modern elements thrown in. Back in the 40's, the idea of Superman being an outsider or an 'immigrant', and his feelings about that, were not really a key focus of the mythos. His alien backstory was more a plot device to explain his powers than anything else. So naturally, the kryptonite amd Superman learning about his alien origins is an aspect of the story that they've retro-fitted into this era, and so far its been integrated beautifully with the story of the Lee family.
I LOVE the art. I must say I wasn't sold on it when the first previews came in, but actually reading it, I loved it. This Superman visually looks like a perfect blend between the Morrison New 52 Superman and the one from the Fleischer cartoons.
Some of the dialogue felt a wee bit 2019 to me, but not so much that it was distracting.
REALLY looking forward to the next installment!
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I'm glad we see parts of the Klan that get glossed over by history books like their hatred of Polish people and other Eastern Europeans like when the Grand Scorpion asks whether the pitcher's name is Kowalski.
Also, it's oddly satisfying to see Superman use a phone booth again.
I also think it's good that we see the more casual racisms at play here, too - often it's just the worst kind, so that people who carry lesser forms of it can assure themselves that they aren't. That was refreshing to see.
Agreed! It's just iconic.Also, it's oddly satisfying to see Superman use a phone booth again.
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It's interesting how a story which is so very back-to-basics can still feel so relevant and modern. This is really a careful restoration and examination of Superman and his supporting cast, and oddly it feels more fresh and potentially timeless than a lot of superhero comics today (and here I'm contrasting it with Miller's just concluded Superman Year One).
I really liked the expressiveness of the faces; that's something where I think superhero comics artists can study from the manga artists. I also liked how Yang naturally made Jimmy Olsen into the connecting social glue between the various parts of the plot. This is a story where the relations between the various characters matter.
«Speaking generally, it is because of the desire of the tragic poets for the marvellous that so varied and inconsistent an account of Medea has been given out» (Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History [4.56.1])
Bought part one of the collection a couple of days ago. Excellent.
I don't read new comics much anymore. Partly the price and partly they don't appeal. But I loved this one. It gets Superman back to more or less his original version and the things he originally did while being highly relevant to today's political and social climate.
I need to find and listen to the radio serial. From what I've read, it was this story that introduced Kryptonite and had him discovering his heritage.
I know the radio show also introduced Jimmy Olsen and Inspector Bill Henderson. Having him be black in the comic version is cool and ironic because the original version was a radio drama so he could have been black and it was just never mentioned.
Volume One seems more about the interactions of the kids and that's fine. The sister and brother are interesting the way he wants to fit in at almost any price and the conflict that leads to while you have the other boy whose uncle is a Klansmen. The struggle of this boy to make his uncle proud by involving himself in things he doesn't believe are right probably reflects the struggle of many people of that era.
Superman's part, at least in volume one, sort of parallels that and I assume the comparison will be even greater in Parts 2 and 3. But it was brilliant how the radio show compared an immigrant from another planet to real immigrants. Superman comes across very much as the guy who sees he is accepted largely because he fits in with the majority in charge in terms of what he looks like. I liked how uncomfortable he seemed (though granted he was getting hit by kryptonite at the same time though nobody knew it) when Lois started drilling him on how he got his powers. It's telling that none of her guesses were that he was an alien from another planet. His choice of going with "Learned secret meditation techniques from monks in Tibet that give him his powers" because it sounds the best and most imaginative also fits in with the mystery men of the era and the "secret techniques he learned in the East" to paraphrase the Shadow.
I very much like that, for the visuals, they went with the Max Fleischer cartoons. I'm looking forward to the remaining collections.
Power with Girl is better.
Ah yes. I've listened to the first eight chapters of "Fiery Cross" today. In some ways, the original broadcast was even more hard hitting although the comic book version deals with the more subtle aspects of racism. There was no Atom Man as I think the stories had not yet developed the idea of a superhuman opponent even if not much of one. Yup, seems the kryptonite was a different story but the comic book version shines in combining stories to draw the parallel to Superman's own situation.
Power with Girl is better.
Finally got to the LCS today (been a month or so). And this......
F*ck yeah.
This was everything I wanted it to be and more. This is the kind of Superman story I dream about. In all my posts when I say stuff like "If DC could pull it off, [idea X] could be amazing!" Well, this is what that looks like. This is DC getting it right. This, I dare say, is a Morrison level of "getting it right." And that's damn high praise from me when it comes to Superman. It's smart and heartfelt but it doesn't drag itself down, it's fun and straightforward and doesn't try too hard to look deep, and Yang is deft af weaving his commentary into things without preaching a damn bit. It feels like a perfect modern update of Fleischer. I'm not even gonna bother to nitpick.
I hope this thing sells to make Batman blush.
And eight bucks for this? I feel like that is a more than fair price. I expected it'd be ten. I recently bought a couple manga (my first ever) and those are about ten bucks, but they're not colored, and they're smaller. They're longer than this was, but I still feel like the production value and dimensions here are extremely well designed for readers outside the LCS. Is this thing being distributed through book stores as well?
Last edited by Ascended; 10-20-2019 at 07:41 PM.
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
Once again Yang writes what seems to be one of the best Superman stories I've read in a long while between this and JLC he's 2 for 2 on his own independent projects. Also proving that Superman's status of lacking cultural relevancy is not a natural occurrence but rather something that DC manufactured by fearing the elements that make the character who he is; an immigrant, a weirdo, and a man who stands up for the little guy however he can. Yang doesn't just seem to get the character but has a fresh perspective that adds to the overall foundation of the character without having to take a chainsaw or wrecking ball to older stuff first.
And I have to say the every single character in the story was enjoyable to read. Roberta, Tommy, Chuck, Lois, and Jimmy were all great.
Rules are for lesser men, Charlie - Grand Pa Joe ~ Willy Wonka & Chocolate Factory
Bought it. Just read it.
Fantastic!
This issue serves as a reminder that Superman's immigrant refugee status should NEVER EVER be downplayed (staring daggers in John Byrne's direction).
And also ... holy crap, are we finally getting non-human- looking Kryptonians??? Is that what Jor and Lara (and Kal) actually look like??? Green skin, solid red eyes, and antennae??
Super Bonus Points is that's where Yang is going with this!
December 18th and Part 2 can't get here fast enough!
Is this aimed at kids? Is it a very childish story or what?
Damn, the art looks great!