Next-level Superman recommendations

[C_Miller]

Hey all,

So I'm a pretty big Superman fan, but I don't consider myself especially well read. I've read the classics. Man of Steel, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow, Birthright, All-Star, For All Seasons, ect. So right now I'm looking for the stories after the classics. Great stories that either may not be "groundbreaking" or just ones that are forgotten when mentioning the best stories on the character.

I've been reading the character with regularity since the New 52 started. I have some smatterings from prior to the New 52 though.

Thanks!

[Dispenser Of Truth]

The big overlooked Superman stories to read are Elliot Maggin's novels Last Son of Krypton and Miracle Monday, which can be read online at superman-thru-the-ages.com, alongside his other short stories and Samuel Hawkins' wonderful Superboy stories. As far as comics go, some big other recommendations would be Superman #400, Grant Morrison's JLA run (it's great in general, especially when it comes to Superman, and introduced a few elements that popped up in All-Star Superman if you enjoyed that) and maybe Final Crisis, Kurt Busiek's work (a run on the main Superman title, and Superman: Secret Identity), Hitman #34 ("Of Thee I Sing", a one-issue story of Superman bonding with the titular hitman, whose occupation Superman is unaware of), Red Son, Mark Millar's material in Superman Adventures (the spinoff of the 90s Superman cartoon, this has some of Millar's earliest and best work. The series in general is actually wonderful and the best Superman ongoing of that decade, including work by the likes of Scott McCloud), Luthor by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo, Peace on Earth by Paul Dini and Alex Ross, and Joe Casey's excellent run (Adventures of Superman #612-624). I'd also pick up collections like Superman in the 40s/50s/60s/70s/80s and Superman vs. Lex Luthor.

[seanholmes20032003]

In terms of story quality, which version of Superman is the best? The Superman stories I am interested in getting your opinion on is Superman, Blue Superman, Red Superman, Soviet Superman, Superboy Prime, Superman One Million, Quantum Superman, Cosmic Armored Superman, SupermanX or some other version(s) of Superman I have not mentioned.

[Cyberstrike]

Blue and Red was an interesting experiment in giving Superman a whole new power set and having to learn how to use his new energy powers but live as an energy being. The split when he became Blue and Red was when it fell apart and started reminding me a bit of Marvel's infamous Spider-Man: The Clone Saga. Red Son was an Elseworlds story and I've never read it namely because I was sick of Elseworlds stories by the time it came out and it didn't and doesn't seem like a story I would like. Superboy Prime should be redeemed. Superman One Million was weird but then again the whole DC One Million event was masterminded by Grant Morrison who does weird stories just for the hell of it. The others I have never heard of.

[Johnny Thunders!]

I just read “Going the Gauntlet “ by Marv Wolfman and Jerry Ordway. It’s my favorite new (new to me, it’s in the Byrne hardcover) Superman story of the year, next to Smashes the Klan. It may as well be a great Astro City or EC Comic. I think I completely missed Ordway!

[Vordan]

I just read “Going the Gauntlet “ by Marv Wolfman and Jerry Ordway. It’s my favorite new (new to me, it’s in the Byrne hardcover) Superman story of the year, next to Smashes the Klan. It may as well be a great Astro City or EC Comic. I think I completely missed Ordway!

So many 80s and 90s Superman stories have sadly never been collected, so not many people have read them or know they exist.

[oldschoolfan]

Hey all,

So I'm a pretty big Superman fan, but I don't consider myself especially well read. I've read the classics. Man of Steel, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow, Birthright, All-Star, For All Seasons, ect. So right now I'm looking for the stories after the classics. Great stories that either may not be "groundbreaking" or just ones that are forgotten when mentioning the best stories on the character.

I've been reading the character with regularity since the New 52 started. I have some smatterings from prior to the New 52 though.

Thanks!

Try these:
Superman/arkham
Emperor Joker
Camelot falls
Panic In the Skies
Superman adventures #11and 12

Precrisis: Kryptonite Nevermore

In fact, if you can find them precrisis superman from #131 to 150 are really good reads, if you like that style of storytelling.
All of them are collected if you want to read them in that format.

[dancj]

A couple that are usually mentioned as classics but you didn't list:
Red Son
Secret Identity

After that:
Camelot Falls
The Dark Side
For Tomorrow (many hate it, but I thought it was good)
Superman and the Legion of Superheroes
Braniac
Escape from Bizzaro World
The Return of Superman (unfortunately you should probably read the lesser Death of Superman and World Without a Superman stories first)
Son of Superman

[Burning Eyes]

Showcase Presents: DC Comics Presents Superman Team-Ups volumes 1 and 2
Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman: Trinity by Matt Wagner
Superman: Exile
Superman: Eradication! The Origin of the Eradicator
Superman: Panic in the Sky
The Death of Superman
World without a Superman
The Return of Superman
JLA by Grant Morrison
Action Comics #775: What's so funny about Truth, Justice, and the American Way?
Superman: Ending Battle
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Superman/Batman: Supergirl
Superman/Batman: Sorcerer Kings
Superman: Up, Up, and Away!
Superman: Secret Origin
Superman: the Return of Doomsday
Superman: the Reign of Doomsday
Justice League of America: The Nail
Superman: Earth One
Smallville Season Eleven - a very good (and definitely underrated) presentation of Superman.

[C_Miller]

How are the other volumes of Man of Steel? I read the first volume, which is the mini, and it seems like the rest of it are when Byrne took over the normal books.

[Johnny Thunders!]

I would get the Decades Series, the 40s through the 80s. In the 80s book it features the "Miraculous Return of Jonathan Kent". A big deal since the Kents had been gone for decades at that point. It also features the Jim Starlin story "Where No Superman Has gone Before."

[LifeIsILL]

How are the other volumes of Man of Steel? I read the first volume, which is the mini, and it seems like the rest of it are when Byrne took over the normal books.

The first 50 issues of Man of Steel is written by Walter/Louise Simonson....yeah they're pretty good Superman writers.

Superman, just like any long-running character, has many "unknown" or "underrated" stories.

One of my pet peeves is when people undermine Superman's intelligence, that's just a big dumb brute.

Which is one of my favorite stories is "The Most Dangerous Door in the World", where he outsmarts Lex Luthor and makes him look like a complete fool.

Superman_v.1_213.jpg

Pre-Crisis Supes is just the best.

[devil leonx]

Try these:
Superman/arkham
Emperor Joker
Camelot falls
Panic In the Skies
Superman adventures #11and 12

Precrisis: Kryptonite Nevermore

In fact, if you can find them precrisis superman from #131 to 150 are really good reads, if you like that style of storytelling.
All of them are collected if you want to read them in that format.

What did you like in panic in the skies and Superman / Arkham?

[Darkseid Is]

I've read

Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow
Man of Steel
The Death of Superman
For Tomorrow
Morrison's Action Comics
All-Star Superman
Red Son
Kingdom Come
and a bunch of Action/Superman/Justice League issues.

If anyone could recommend only one or two at the most books, that would be great! What are the ones that make you say "You haven't read ________! AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A FAN?!"

[dancj]

If anyone could recommend only one or two at the most books, that would be great! What are the ones that make you say "You haven't read ________! AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A FAN?!"

If you've read Death of Superman then you really want to read The Return of Superman which is far superior. (Some people liked World Without a Superman which comes in-between, but I didn't).

If I can only pick one more then Secret Identity