for all seasons

[eternaldream24]

I just finished for all seasons and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was putting off reading it because of the artwork. As my husband said "why is Clark so fat in this?" But really the art wasn't that bad and I got used to it. I'm not sure which origin I like better for all seasons or Geoff Johns secret origins. As far as artwork I definitely prefer Geoff Johns but as far as the storyline it's a toss up because I really
enjoyed both.

I still have more superman origins that I need to read.

What did you think of for all seasons and what's your favorite origins story.

[The World]

Yeah For All Seasons is a goodie, I have the trade somewhere. A Superman origin story from the outside looking which is certainly different from the usual. Didn't really care for how Sale drew Superman himself but I thought he did an excellent job of showing the power he possessed in action.


If you enjoyed the art here you might want to look into some of Tim Sale's Batman stories with Loeb

[Cipher]

I love For All Seasons. Even though it isn't my preferred take on Superman (I might not use it to introduce the character to someone), when you come into it with a larger breadth of reading, it's a really effective, humanizing take on the character and his world. The Lana Lang chapter is heartbreaking. Definitely the most appealing use of the world John Byrne created (which I rather loathe under his pen).

Contrary to posts above, I love the artwork too. I think it's even more effective than Sale's Batman work. Lois looks fantastic, everything is wonderfully animated, and while Superman may look odd at first, Sale's design works perfectly well in creating a slightly softer version of the old Shuster art.

My favorite Superman origin, though, is Grant Morrison's Action Comics run. Hands down.

[Dispenser Of Truth]

Definitely the most appealing use of the world John Byrne created (which I rather loathe under his pen).

Absolutely the best descriptor for this book. It looses points for the weird "Toxin" subplot (so she was the second hero after Superman? The hell is that nonsense?) and mopey, doughball Superman, but pretty much everything else is perfect.

[manofsteel1979]

For All Seasons is just a beautiful book. While the Byrne version of events no longer longer holds a lofty space in my fandom of Superman, FAS is the best representative of that version of the character's "origin" as it existed from 1986-1999 ish, although I would call it more of a "year one" story.

Oh and my favorite Modern take on the origin is still the first two thirds of BIRTHRIGHT. In my own head canon that one (with a few small bits of SECRET ORIGIN and Morrisons ACTION 1-8) is the definitive origin of Superman.

[Adekis]

As long as we're discussing headcanons, I used to have an idea for a compiled Superman origin story which would start with the prologue to Birthright and then jump headfirst into just the first issue of For All Seasons and then All-Star # 6 and before Superman starts doing his Golden Age thing. Now my favorite is definitely Morrison's run on Action. But I digress.

Ha. The truth is that back when I was really invested in the Byrne era, I really loved Superman For All Seasons, but I don't really think it's aged that well.

The first issue is still one of my favorites. Smallville looks good, if a bit too old-timey, Clark doubts himself just enough for me to be okay with it because he's still young, and I love the tornado scene. There's not a ton I regularly criticize about Man of Steel, but the movie's tornado scene just did not live up to my All Seasons fueled expectations. The only things I don't like are Post-Crisis Pete Ross and Lana Lang.

The next several issues really aren't my cuppa tea, though. I haven't liked what I call "Kingpin Luthor" much for a long time (certainly not with his "Fred Mertz" hair), Toxin was creepy, and I didn't particularly like how much doubt Clark dealt with after the first issue.

I do still like Superman fighting the fire a lot though, and the bits with that kid that keeps falling off the building.

[eternaldream24]

Do you all prefer the for all seasons lana where she is the one pining for Clark or the smallville tv show version where Clark is the one with the obsession? The lana in for all seasons reminded me of early seasons Chloe.

[Adekis]

Do you all prefer the for all seasons lana where she is the one pining for Clark or the smallville tv show version where Clark is the one with the obsession? The lana in for all seasons reminded me of early seasons Chloe.

Actually, I think I personally prefer the Post-Crisis Lana to the Smallville Lana- I just never always had something against that version of Lana- not entirely sure what. Maybe it was that she was such a big black hole for Clark's attention, maybe it's that she stuck around longer than I thought she should have.

That said, the Lana from the Post-Crisis era always bugged me too- her and Pete both, actually. I like the idea that Pete Ross was the only kid in Smallville to know Clark's secret, and the Post-Crisis versions of both do away with that, Pete not knowing Clark had powers and Lana knowing. I think more important was all the abuse Lana went through Post-Crisis only to have Clark more or less always romantically disinterested in her. In addition, I can never figure out what it is Lana did after Clark left to go traveling the world. I'm not a huge fan of her becoming a CEO, or a fashion designer, or an action-electrical engineer, but I want her to do something. My favorite Lana is probably the one from Superman III.

But of course, I digress. I guess I'm not really talking about For All Seasons any more at this point.
Sorry about that.

[manduck37]

I love For All Seasons. I wouldn't consider it an origin story but more of an "early days of Superman" story. I like how each chapter was told from a different person's perspective. For All Seasons is one of those trades that I've loaned out to people and they just love it. Even people who were never big Superman fans gain a new appreciation for The Man of Steel after reading it. I let a co-worker borrow it most recently. He read it all in one sitting and came back telling me he would easily recommend it to anyone who wanted to get a better understanding of why comics are great, not just Superman. He certainly gained a new appreciation for Superman too. It's another great story from the Loeb and Sale pairing that was just putting out gold at the time.

I read For All Seasons and Batman: The Long Halloween around the same time, when I picked up the trades for both. Two of my best purchases.

[daBronzeBomma]

Was FOR ALL SEASONS ever given an absolute edition?

[adkal]

The first issue is still one of my favorites. Smallville looks good, if a bit too old-timey, Clark doubts himself just enough for me to be okay with it because he's still young, and I love the tornado scene. There's not a ton I regularly criticize about Man of Steel, but the movie's tornado scene just did not live up to my All Seasons fueled expectations. The only things I don't like are Post-Crisis Pete Ross and Lana Lang.

Years ago (and I do mean 'years ago') I wrote a Superman-movie script and incorporated aspects of the first book of For All Seasons. Like you, I was hoping for more with the tornado scene in Man of Steel (I did do more in my 'rewrite' but dialled it back in line with the 'realism' they were going for).

As an aside, parts of the encounter with the World Engine had a tornado-battle-esque feel to it, I think.

As for For All Seasons, it's not something I would recommend to someone new to Superman (or even someone with a somewhat 'limited' view of comic book art styles), but it's certainly something someone interested in Superman should read eventually.

[dancj]

Like most of the Loeb/Sale collaborations (except Challengers of the Unknown which I really liked) I found For All Seasons to be a fairly weak story boosted by fantastic art.