Superman: Earth One (Volume 1) 2010 DC Comics
OGN: Original Graphic Novel
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Shane Davis
My Rating: 9 out of 10
If you ever felt alone.
If you ever felt rejected.
If you ever felt confused.
If you ever felt lost.
If you ever felt anxious.
If you ever felt wrong.
If you ever felt wronged.
If you ever felt unclean.
If you ever felt angry.
If you ever felt ashamed.
Then you are Clark Kent, Earth One, and this book is for you.
Okay, I own up, I took those lines from a My Chemical Romance video! But nothing could be more appropriate. This is the king of all emo comic books! The Man of Feels. Seriously though, this is the age old tale of a downtrodden misfit kid, who got picked on in school for being different. Certainly something this reviewer can relate to. Maybe because it struck a personal chord with me I perhaps favoured this book more than I should have. But after all isn't that what reviewing is all about? Giving your personal opinion on how said subject affected you? From a critic's point of view, sure, this book has its flaws. Upon it's release six years ago, this original graphic novel received a very mixed reaction from critics. Many of the negative comments seemed to stem from the writing, which I can appreciate both sides of the argument. Straczynski's dialog can be a bit long winded and stagnant at times, but only on occasion. Nothing a third draft could have sorted out. And something I am willing to overlook, as I was so taken in by the world he has created here.
I for one believe the writing was very strong in this book, and something that a lot of the big-name, weak-game authors could learn from these days. My only other criticism in this book, is the complete and total lack of big garish sound effects! I'm aware that this was a deliberate choice to fit the mood and tone of this book, but I need my CRASH, BOOM, POW's, dammit! Fight scenes like this one below would have really benefited from some onomatopoeias. One of the reasons I love reading super hero comic books (and Superman books in particular) is the dynamic reading experience you get when scanning from panel to panel of glorious colourful artwork, and unfortunately as beautiful as the art was here, there was something lacking in that instance.
OGN: Original Graphic Novel
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Shane Davis
My Rating: 9 out of 10
If you ever felt alone.
If you ever felt rejected.
If you ever felt confused.
If you ever felt lost.
If you ever felt anxious.
If you ever felt wrong.
If you ever felt wronged.
If you ever felt unclean.
If you ever felt angry.
If you ever felt ashamed.
Then you are Clark Kent, Earth One, and this book is for you.
Okay, I own up, I took those lines from a My Chemical Romance video! But nothing could be more appropriate. This is the king of all emo comic books! The Man of Feels. Seriously though, this is the age old tale of a downtrodden misfit kid, who got picked on in school for being different. Certainly something this reviewer can relate to. Maybe because it struck a personal chord with me I perhaps favoured this book more than I should have. But after all isn't that what reviewing is all about? Giving your personal opinion on how said subject affected you? From a critic's point of view, sure, this book has its flaws. Upon it's release six years ago, this original graphic novel received a very mixed reaction from critics. Many of the negative comments seemed to stem from the writing, which I can appreciate both sides of the argument. Straczynski's dialog can be a bit long winded and stagnant at times, but only on occasion. Nothing a third draft could have sorted out. And something I am willing to overlook, as I was so taken in by the world he has created here.
I for one believe the writing was very strong in this book, and something that a lot of the big-name, weak-game authors could learn from these days. My only other criticism in this book, is the complete and total lack of big garish sound effects! I'm aware that this was a deliberate choice to fit the mood and tone of this book, but I need my CRASH, BOOM, POW's, dammit! Fight scenes like this one below would have really benefited from some onomatopoeias. One of the reasons I love reading super hero comic books (and Superman books in particular) is the dynamic reading experience you get when scanning from panel to panel of glorious colourful artwork, and unfortunately as beautiful as the art was here, there was something lacking in that instance.
Okay, so now I've got out of the way the very small issues that I did have with this book, I can get to the good stuff. I know what you're thinking, "You gave this bastard book a 9 out of freaking 10, Chris." And I shall tell you why I rated it so high. This is the ultimate introduction story to Clark Kent. I don't care whether it's Earth-1 or Earth-22, this is the book you want to read if you're looking for a Superman origin story. Straczynski has completely hit the nail on the head as to WHY Clark made the decisions he did. He really understands the Man of Steel's struggles and makes the reader actually sympathise and relate to this alien. For once Superman is made accessible and humanised before our mortal eyes. This is unusual for a Superman book, as the character is often portrayed as distant and very inhuman. Being raised by his loving adopted earth parents Jonathan and Martha Kent, he has some important core values instilled in him. But like every adolescent struggling to find his place in the world, he has to come to terms with who he wants to be. What kind of a man does he want to be? A super man? Or does he carry on doing his best to blend in to the wallpaper, and fall in line with the rest of society?
Clark can do anything he desires, he could work as a top athlete, a super scientist, a mathematical genius. He could literally earn as much money as he wanted and take care of his widowed mother for life. So why does he decide to become a journalist for a struggling newspaper? This is one of the things I loved so much about this book, as it answered one of the questions I have always wondered myself. His journey to becoming Superman is so important in this book and I recommend it to anyone, even people who just can't get into Superman comics, or really just don't like him as a character in general. So much so that I am going to force-loan this book to my Talk Nerdy colleague JB, knowing fully well that he hates Superman! If any book can convert a non Superman fan into one, then this is the one to do it.
Aside from the wonderfully written origin story, we also have a huge storyline which introduces a very important foe in Superman's life and his Kryptonian heritage. The idea here is brilliant and a complete game changer. The villain is brilliantly written and suitably terrifying. I was a big fan of the artwork in this book and really enjoyed the panelling and wonderful bright yet gritty colour pallets used. I liked the balance between intricate detail and comic-book-style pencilling with both the characters and environments. It really made the whole story feel believable, yet fun at the same time. Which is what I always look for as an important balance in the comics I read. Plus there was loads of what I like to call 'Superman money shots'. The whole classic super hero pose. See these examples. I'm just a sucker for it. You can't deny, that's a bad ass looking Superman.
Clark can do anything he desires, he could work as a top athlete, a super scientist, a mathematical genius. He could literally earn as much money as he wanted and take care of his widowed mother for life. So why does he decide to become a journalist for a struggling newspaper? This is one of the things I loved so much about this book, as it answered one of the questions I have always wondered myself. His journey to becoming Superman is so important in this book and I recommend it to anyone, even people who just can't get into Superman comics, or really just don't like him as a character in general. So much so that I am going to force-loan this book to my Talk Nerdy colleague JB, knowing fully well that he hates Superman! If any book can convert a non Superman fan into one, then this is the one to do it.
Aside from the wonderfully written origin story, we also have a huge storyline which introduces a very important foe in Superman's life and his Kryptonian heritage. The idea here is brilliant and a complete game changer. The villain is brilliantly written and suitably terrifying. I was a big fan of the artwork in this book and really enjoyed the panelling and wonderful bright yet gritty colour pallets used. I liked the balance between intricate detail and comic-book-style pencilling with both the characters and environments. It really made the whole story feel believable, yet fun at the same time. Which is what I always look for as an important balance in the comics I read. Plus there was loads of what I like to call 'Superman money shots'. The whole classic super hero pose. See these examples. I'm just a sucker for it. You can't deny, that's a bad ass looking Superman.
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My final point and another one of my favourite things about the book, was the dynamic of the relationship between the Daily Planet staff. Being part of the Talk Nerdy bullpen myself maybe I related to another aspect there, but you can't deny the pure banter that is flying thick and fast here. Perry White is on point (yet for some reason I always have J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson in my head when I read him!), Jimmy Olsen is cooler than ever and Lois Lane is just 'stubbornness' and 'girl power' personified. The back and forth between her and Clark is really well executed. Already you can start to see their complicated yet compelling relationship developing. Lois is no fool and she's totally already onto Clark! Check out one of my favourite panels below where she grills him. Some of my favourite pages in the book are scenes in the Daily Planet, purely for the dialog. This is unusual for me seeing as I'm usually a very action orientated comic book reader, favouring the big splash pages, bright capes and explosions to the small boxed-in drab exposition panels. I put this down to the marriage of great writing and great art. I loved every page of this book. All for different reasons too.
This book tackled heavy issues, yet still managed to remain lots of fun and was such an enjoyable read. Why can't DC execute this kind of thing in their cinematic universe?! This is a question that I often ask myself after reading various DC Comics and watching their animated Movies and it's driving me crazier with each passing day. They have the material, they have the writers, they just need to utilise those stories and scripts better. This is what Man Of Steel needed to be. This is the tone and quality that we need to be demanding from our DC movies, and from our DC comic books! Accepting anything less or sub-par, well...that's Not Okaaaaay!
- Chris Wakefield
Twitter - @chriswakefield0
Twitter - @chriswakefield0