What is a “Hot Pants” pick? Quite simply, it’s a book that all five reviewers on this site believe is worthy of your time. It may or may not be one of our favorite books, but it’s that rare breed of comic that struck all five of us, with our different tastes, as a good read. All-Star Superman is our latest “Hot Pants” pick.
Look, up in the sky. It’s a bird, it’s a plane. It’s…No, hold on. That’s not him. Couldn’t be. That doesn’t even look anything like him. Pudgy Superman? Really? And what’s up with the slap-stick comedy; this whole idea that Superman is dying because he stayed in close proximity to the sun for too long? Not to mention Lois Lane having his powers for a day and Supermen from the future wanting to know who J-Lo is? This is madness people, plain and simple. And yet…Though madness it may be, this is Grant Morrison at his best, writing done in one tales that nail the very core of what makes a Superman story good. Fun, exhilarating, and sensationally drawn by Frank Quitely, this book takes Silver Age scruples, the bizarre and nonsensical alike, and melds them with classic heroism and modern storytelling to find a new home and a new audience in evil genius Grant Morrison’s fantastic ongoing, All-Star Superman. It’s a title who’s stories should be savored, and quite frankly, as a whole they can be easily called the finest Superman series to come out in years.
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Would you consider All-star superman the defenitive superman stories?
26 May 2007 at 3:19 pm
QuoteNick, in a recent review of Ultimates 2 #13 you commented on the lateness of that book. How do feel about the delays that affect this book, especially now that arcs have been introduced? I know the delays on this are nowhere near as bad as Ultimates but it is usually 3 to 4 months between it each issue
27 May 2007 at 5:51 am
QuoteWas the use of the phrase “quite frankly” above on purpose? I love it!
27 May 2007 at 7:14 am
QuoteIt’s hard to say that Morrison’s work is the definitive story for Superman because I think that it’s a question that everyone needs to answer for themselves. I’m sure some would say that Jon Byrne’s relaunch in the 80’s was the definitive run of stories for them or others would say something else entirely.
For me, Morrison’s Superman just hits all of the right buttons that I want from a Superman story. The aspects that I mentioned above, the lightheartedness and the science, the goofy but great stories; these are what I want to appear in a Superman book.
So, is it the definitive version of Superman? Maybe not but it’s the best Superman book that’s come along in a long time.
27 May 2007 at 10:49 am
QuoteHonestly, I don’t like delays of any kind. There are so many extremely well done books that come out on a solid monthly schedule (The Spirit for one) without a problem, which tells me that doing a great book and doing it on time, is possible. Even if you have to employ what is essentially a “filler” artist to do it, it can be done.
That said, with the knowledge that this was supposed to be a bi-monthly comic from the start that has one of my favorite writers and one of my favorite artists working on it, I do look forward to seeing it come out and am never disappointed when it does. I wish All-Star Superman had a more set schedule, especially now that Morrison, like you said Glen, has introduced story arcs but as long as the delays don’t run into the six month range (like The Ultimates and WildCATS) and that the done in one aspect of the book isn’t completely forgotten, I can be patient.
I would like to say that my diabolical genius tendencies played a part in this but to tell you the truth…It was just plain old luck.
27 May 2007 at 11:03 am
Quoteall star supermans my favorite book right now.
27 May 2007 at 2:18 pm
QuoteI find Frank Quitely’s art to be so ugly that I just couldn’t get into this series.
27 May 2007 at 3:55 pm
QuoteAll Star Superman is my favorite super-hero title DC publishes. I can say without a doubt the reason for that assertation is the fact that when it does come out, it has Grant Morrison writing and Frank Quitely on art. I added both Superman and Batman titles to my pull list when they began the new creative teams, but the constant fill-ins have really killed my interest in all of those books. A punctual book with A-list creators would be ideal, but I’m happy to wait for a book when it’s as good as All Star Superman.
27 May 2007 at 5:48 pm
QuoteAll Star Superman is a near seamless synthesis of silver age wackiness and Grant Morrison’s wonderful weird ideas, this book just swims in energy and evocative big ideas, this is Morrison at his best, haven’t enjoyed him so much , and mind you I’m a big fan of the guy, since his days on Doom Patrol.
Frank Quitely is not normally my favorite artist, his distortive figure work is jarring to me, but there’s no denying the guy is a powerful sequential artist, nor is there denying he’s a great fit, despite my personal dislike of his style.
It’s been said but it bears saying again, if you are not reading this book and you love comics, do yourself a favor and check this book out. Morrison and Quietly just sing on this book, the Lex Luthor story, whose cover currently is one of those who grace the background of this page, is one of my favorite stories ever, in just a few pages Morrison and Quitely just nail Luthor’s character; egotistical, frighteningly brilliant, very charming and just completely insane.
27 May 2007 at 7:29 pm
QuoteI’ve enjoyed many takes on Superman over the years, and this is definitely one of them. I think Quitely’s art has even gotten better while he’s been on the title: drawing faces always seemed to be his weak spot, but he’s definitely improved.
28 May 2007 at 10:55 am
QuoteI loves me some All Star Superman. What’s odd for me about the book is that on at least two of the issues released so far, I’ve been kinda lukewarm about them when I first read them, but upon later re-reading, I grow to like them more.
There’s a Silver Age glee to the books, as Morrison unapologetically trots out the Lois/Superman/Clark love triangle or Jimmy Olsen’s wacky adventures and gives them a hip, updated spin without losing the fun. It’s meta-textual Superman adventures on some level, almost requiring folks to know of at least those Silver Age covers to be in on the joke, but it’s so in love with the concepts that it might just work if someone didn’t know that it has elements of parody.
And I love Frank Quitely’s art. I know some find his work ugly, and while I couldn’t possibly disagree more, I guess I understand where people come from. His work is very stylized, very European, and if you’re not into the exaggerated works of guys like Paul Pope or Frank Miller or Igor Kordey (another guy whose work I love but the average fan seems to hate), I can see where Quitely might just look bizarre to you. Me, I prefer a stylized look to the more pure realism of guys like Alex Ross, Greg Land, Jim Lee, etc. And Quitely’s ability to visually convey the bizarre is a big part of why All Star Superman works on such a grand level.
Definitive Superman? Probably not, if only because it’s a little bit too meta, a little bit too dependent on knowing what has gone before in terms of the characters (not continuity-wise, just general shape of the characters), but it’s my favorite Superman. I don’t know if there is a run I’d consider the definitive Superman, actually. Byrne’s run in the ’80s comes closest, and even there I’m not really what you’d call a fan. It might be a bit too much of its time to be considered definitive, the way Batman Year One is the definitive Batman story.
28 May 2007 at 12:06 pm
QuoteI generally like Quitely’s art, but up until recently, his faces didn’t really do it for me. His Emma Frost in New X-Men sometimes looked Asian to me, for example.
29 May 2007 at 11:39 am
QuoteI completely agree with Randy’s assessment of Quitely’s (and Kordey’s) art. People seem to either love it or hate it, with not a lot of room in between. Personally, I hated it the first time that I saw it, but as I’ve continued to read his work and to pay more attention to the details, he’s become one of my favorite artists. It’s really too bad that he isn’t quicker, because I would buy as many books a month as he could put out.
Which certainly feeds into my adoration of All Star Superman. By far my favorite Superman title ever. Gotta love any title that has Silver Age wackiness, the 12 labors of Superman, and the reintroduction of Solaris.
And since Kordey was brought up, does anyone know what he’s doing these days? Also grew to really like his art, and haven’t seen anything from him in ages.
On one last aside–someone above asked about or commented on the ASS arcs. In one of the interviews that Morrison gave before the series started up he hinted that there would only be one two-part story, and that the rest would be self-contained. If anyone’s interested I can dig around and see if I can find the interview again.
29 May 2007 at 5:49 pm
QuoteAnd since Kordey was brought up, does anyone know what he’s doing these days? Also grew to really like his art, and haven’t seen anything from him in ages.
He’s currently working on a book called The Secret History for Archaia Studios Press. I believe you can check it out at http://www.aspcomics.com
29 May 2007 at 9:18 pm
QuoteThe art took some getting used to but I quite like this title. I’m not a huge Superman fan, but All-Star Superman really captures a spirit that is both disarming and endearing.
None of the moodiness of the Azzarello storyline. Gah.
04 Jun 2007 at 6:04 am
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