i'm still thinking about comics: All-Star Superman

While last week saw the release of a major event book that I certainly have a few thoughts about, I'm trying to focus on the positive in general, so without further adieu, lets talk All-Star Superman.

I love this comic. Capitol L-U-V, write in my diary, buy it chocolates, and consider settling down love this comic. I could drown in the river of ink that's been spilled about the retro feel of this book and the ways in which it has brought fun and innovation to a character that has been starved of both, so I'll talk about another aspect that I don't think gets enough credit. I mean, Morrison and the Quit (also the title of a buddy cop movie I think) not only turned Superman into a better character, but they managed to make that other guy, Clark Kent, even more interesting.

Oftentimes, I feel like Superman is played like a separate character than Kent entirely, as though their stories have nothing to do with each other. Like if a writer is penning a Kent-centric story, then Supes comes through sparingly like a guilty pleasure, or if the story is focused on gods and aliens then Kent just acts as an opposing viewpoint for Superman. You might see the meager Kent having Superman thoughts, or Kal-El using his heat vision to make a new ring for Lois, but it rarely does it seem like it is the same person doing these things. Clark's identity is generally used as an extra tangle in the middle of a more important conflict and not an inseparable part of one man's life. Rarely have writers seamlessy mixed the two aspects of the character into one world, as one story. But Morrison has done just that. For instance, in this latest issue (#6) we see Clark having a conversation with Pa Kent back at the farm, before ripping into Supeman mode and chasing Krypto to the moon with the enthusiasm of a farmboy endowed with powers beyond those of mortal men. Then there is a beautiful panel of Supes chillin' on the moon with his dog, watching the Earth spin like its another quiet night in a Kansas field. The set-up for this scene is nothing that hasn't been done before, but it has such a natural flow between the mundane and the superhuman that Ma and Pa Kent might as well have raised Kal on a Kryptonian farm.

Quitely illustrates all of this with his usual detailed and polished style. If it weren't for the unique look of all the characters and his mastery of facial expressions and movement this would not have come off near as powerfully as it did. Whether its Krypto landing in a field or Clark sharing a malt with his old friends, the art looks alive.

Morrison and Quitely should get married. And then adopt me.

Also purchased this week:

Civil War #6

Justice #9

Manhunter Vol. 2: Trial By Fire