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awurdeman's review
Lots of fun characterization of Lex Luthor and Lois Lane, but oddly I felt like Superman himself didn't have as much to do in these issues (aside from a great subplot where he trains with Mongul to fight an incoming threat). Obviously a Superman book should make Superman's voice and/or character a compelling part of the story. Also, unlike most modern collections, this feels much more like an anthology than a single story. Recommended mostly if you really like Superman, but even then there are stronger entries.
sean_from_ohio's review
3.0
This massive collection moved Superman into the next century and not just because it chronicled that specific moment. Superman was stale and lagging far behind his counterparts at Marvel and many books at DC. The book is far from perfect but even though its over 20 years old, it felt modern in a way that Superman hadn't for years. New creative teams breathe life into the books. I really enjoyed the many times Lois narrated. She and her deal/interactions with Lex Luthor were fantastic. The Brainiac chapters here were very solid but possibly overlong. The Eradicator and "haunted" Krypton portions were much less enjoyable. Lex is still a top notch antagonist and he's done incredibly well here. The art was also a considerable upgrade. The likes of Ed McGuinness, German Garcia, Doug Manhke, and more added so much to the book. Overall, a very solid read and the best Superman monthlies offered in decades.
michaelclorah's review
3.0
Years and years ago, I had a complete run of Superman comics from 1986 up through June 2000 (8 or 9 months into the Loeb/Kelly tenure). After 14 years of Superman comics, I was dissatisfied with the Loeb/Kelly creative direction and quit the books. When I saw this collection, I got to wondering - Were the books REALLY that bad? Was I just turned off by the change of creative voices, maybe a bit complacent in my acceptance of the previous creatives? So I borrowed this book from the library, and ... well, it's not as bad I remember, but it's not particularly good either. I think quitting the books was justified.
I'll say this: Loeb's issues are somewhat better than I recall. His "Lois Lane" voice doesn't work for me. At all. I mean, I hate his Lois Lane voice and his attempts to make her "flawed" and add some hackneyed tension to the Super-marriage. But his plots are solid (except that absurd confrontation with the Imperiex probe) and he's blessed with some very good artists. The high point of this run of Superman was clearly (I thought it then, I believe it now) Mark Schultz and Doug Manhke's Superman: The Man of Steel issues. Schultz's hard scifi angle and his use of John Henry and Natasha Irons gives the book a clear identity apart from the others, and he writes sharp plots and strong characters. And Manhke's born to draw Superman. The Immonen/Millar team delivers lifeless if tolerable chapters, with a mixed bag of artists attached (although it was a real treat to again see Stuart drawing Superman!). Those Joe Kelly issues though - poor artwork, and scripts that try so transparently to be hip and funny, but just don't work. I'll admit - humor is highly subjective and I'm sure many others feel differently, but this is my review.
In short, Schultz/Manhke are amazing. Loeb/etc. are okay. Immonen/Millar/etc. are bland, and Kelly/etc. are tiresome. And that's not a good enough hit-to-miss ratio to justify my dollars.
I'll say this: Loeb's issues are somewhat better than I recall. His "Lois Lane" voice doesn't work for me. At all. I mean, I hate his Lois Lane voice and his attempts to make her "flawed" and add some hackneyed tension to the Super-marriage. But his plots are solid (except that absurd confrontation with the Imperiex probe) and he's blessed with some very good artists. The high point of this run of Superman was clearly (I thought it then, I believe it now) Mark Schultz and Doug Manhke's Superman: The Man of Steel issues. Schultz's hard scifi angle and his use of John Henry and Natasha Irons gives the book a clear identity apart from the others, and he writes sharp plots and strong characters. And Manhke's born to draw Superman. The Immonen/Millar team delivers lifeless if tolerable chapters, with a mixed bag of artists attached (although it was a real treat to again see Stuart drawing Superman!). Those Joe Kelly issues though - poor artwork, and scripts that try so transparently to be hip and funny, but just don't work. I'll admit - humor is highly subjective and I'm sure many others feel differently, but this is my review.
In short, Schultz/Manhke are amazing. Loeb/etc. are okay. Immonen/Millar/etc. are bland, and Kelly/etc. are tiresome. And that's not a good enough hit-to-miss ratio to justify my dollars.
michaelclorah's review against another edition
3.0
This book was much better than I remember it being, but reading it now, I can definitely see why I hated these issues when they first came out. 1. There are some really lackluster issues along the way - The Joker/Harley issue did nothing for me, nor did the Shazam issue. J.M. DeMatteis seems to have trouble finding his voice with Superman in general.
Rereading the issues, twenty years later, I liked Jeph Loeb's issues more than I did originally. If I read the "Parasite as Lois" saga as being largely his, it's three or four issues long and fairly passable. The story's main problem is, it's WAY TOO LONG when all the other titles are factored in. The four Superman titles pass subplots and themes back and forth - so a story about a mopey Superman who is sad because his wife is being inexplicably awful to him might seem like it's running a reasonable three or four issues of Superman, but it's also running through three other titles and winds up in actuality being twelve to sixteen issues long. That's way too much mopey Superman. And then it's immediately followed by four more issues of Superman being completely inactive, as his allies fight to save his life.
That said, read over a couple days rather than a couple months, I could see better what the writers wanted to accomplish. Although I'm really, unbearably sick of "Lois is replaced/dead/missing and Superman becomes inactive and pathetic" storylines.
I tend to think most of Joe Kelly's issues are terrible, although I have to acknowledge he did a nice job on the Batman/Superman team-up issue - Batman's respect and worry for Lois/Superman, Superman's dedication and his inspiration ... well done.
Mark Schultz's issues remain, twenty years later, the highlights. I love his use of Steel and Natasha - some nice stuff there, especially when Natasha challenges John to treat Superman as his partner, rather than acting like his sidekick.
I'm curious if there will be a third volume of this run. This book collects the last issues of Superman that I read back in 2000. A complete run of every Superman comic from Man of Steel #1 ended during this run - I'd never read the last issue, the Shazam one, before. That's when I'd quit. (Although I have read a collection of the "Our Worlds At War" storyline, which I recall being just dreadfully awful.)
Rereading the issues, twenty years later, I liked Jeph Loeb's issues more than I did originally. If I read the "Parasite as Lois" saga as being largely his, it's three or four issues long and fairly passable. The story's main problem is, it's WAY TOO LONG when all the other titles are factored in. The four Superman titles pass subplots and themes back and forth - so a story about a mopey Superman who is sad because his wife is being inexplicably awful to him might seem like it's running a reasonable three or four issues of Superman, but it's also running through three other titles and winds up in actuality being twelve to sixteen issues long. That's way too much mopey Superman. And then it's immediately followed by four more issues of Superman being completely inactive, as his allies fight to save his life.
That said, read over a couple days rather than a couple months, I could see better what the writers wanted to accomplish. Although I'm really, unbearably sick of "Lois is replaced/dead/missing and Superman becomes inactive and pathetic" storylines.
I tend to think most of Joe Kelly's issues are terrible, although I have to acknowledge he did a nice job on the Batman/Superman team-up issue - Batman's respect and worry for Lois/Superman, Superman's dedication and his inspiration ... well done.
Mark Schultz's issues remain, twenty years later, the highlights. I love his use of Steel and Natasha - some nice stuff there, especially when Natasha challenges John to treat Superman as his partner, rather than acting like his sidekick.
I'm curious if there will be a third volume of this run. This book collects the last issues of Superman that I read back in 2000. A complete run of every Superman comic from Man of Steel #1 ended during this run - I'd never read the last issue, the Shazam one, before. That's when I'd quit. (Although I have read a collection of the "Our Worlds At War" storyline, which I recall being just dreadfully awful.)
gerryds's review
3.0
Slightly above average. Has a lot of mixed issues so the story and art quality varies. But overall, enjoyable.
tarmstrong112's review
4.0
I enjoyed this collection of Superman stories from the dawn of the Millenium. It was a fairly strong start for the new creative teams and I had a lot of fun reading these stories. Looking forward to reading the next volume.