All-Star Superman Lives Up to Name
So I just read Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All-Star Superman #1. I definitely liked it enough to follow the series, but it wasn’t quite what I expected. (In my opinion, it could be better than what I expected. So no complaints there.)
Spoilers on the inside.
This is definitely the Grant Morrison who is often associated with the phrase “mad, beautiful ideas.â€? There’s a clear sense that the outrageous is expected in this world, including missions to the sun, human suicide bombs genetically mutated by Lex Luthor, and colorfully-clad scientists trying to create new waves of humanity. The volume is turned up to 11 here. I’m not usually a huge fan of the way Frank Quitely draws faces, but he certainly notes the tone here. Very interesting color work by Jamie Grant, too.
What I found interesting is that this issue ends with a To Be Continued that introduces a major change in status quo. I was expecting more standalone stories that had a kind of frozen-in-amber feel to them, since the All-Star line is supposed to “timeless versions� of the characters. Instead Morrison has given Superman the Kryptonian equivalent of skin cancer and had him reveal his secret identity to Lois Lane. Now, I am almost always strongly in favor of Superman revealing his identity to Lois Lane. I think that it’s a far more interesting dynamic than the love-triangle-for-two angle that is more usually associated with the character. I think the effort to do character-based emotional storytelling with the backdrop of grand superhero adventure could pay off extremely well for this book, so I’m happy to see it attempted here.
Of course, watch, by the end of Morrison’s run (however long it turns out to be), Superman’ll be cured, Lois gets super-amnesia, and I have to take all this back. I sure hope not. (Well, I figure Superman will probably get cured. But you know what I mean.)
About Dave Thomer
Born and raised in Philadelphia. Studied philosophy at Fordham University in the Bronx, where I made many great friends and met my wonderful wife. We moved back to Philadelphia, where I studied philosophy some more and became a teacher. Online and off, I'm looking for ways that we can be better citizens and build stronger communities.