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ponch22's review against another edition
5.0
Picked this up despite owning all the single issues. Was hoping for some more extras (like a prologue from some other Superman writer or extra content from Max Landis), but this hardcover collection is little more than all seven stories. However, they greatly benefit from being read in quick succession!
My individual ratings of issues 1–7 came in at 5*, 3*, 4*, 5*, 5*, 5*, & 4* (average of 4.4*). However, when I read them over the course of two days (instead of seven months), I noticed more connections and callbacks and foreshadowing (which any second reading would benefit from). While I still don't love the artwork in Hawk (issue #2), I felt it more appropriate for the themes of that part of Clark's story reading it between Dove & Parrot.
If you're interested in what kind of extras you get here, there's one extra interstitial ("The New Jimmy") at the end of Eagle (I believe) which is a neat look into the integrity of Jimmy Olsen (and partially Perry White). After Valkyrie, there are a bunch of variant covers and some layout sketches showing how detailed (or not) each artist is as they're laying out the story.
And probably the best part of the collection is a several page pitch from Max Landis, presumably what he offered DC before getting the job. Anyone who's heard Landis on podcasts or in YouTube videos knows he's a master at pitching stories—and here we get his 7-story arc of what he envisioned for this "Not a Superman Comic." There are slight differences between pitch and final script (I wonder if the changes came from lack of space in 22-24 pages per issue, notes from DC, or other sources) but it is neat to read what got him the job.
Overall, the whole story improved from reading it together. I don't know what to do with the seven bagged & boarded single issues now that I have this on my bookshelf... but in the end, I'm really glad I grabbed a copy to reread the series and get a little glimpse behind the curtain. (and that New Jimmy one-page story was nice too!)
My individual ratings of issues 1–7 came in at 5*, 3*, 4*, 5*, 5*, 5*, & 4* (average of 4.4*). However, when I read them over the course of two days (instead of seven months), I noticed more connections and callbacks and foreshadowing (which any second reading would benefit from). While I still don't love the artwork in Hawk (issue #2), I felt it more appropriate for the themes of that part of Clark's story reading it between Dove & Parrot.
If you're interested in what kind of extras you get here, there's one extra interstitial ("The New Jimmy") at the end of Eagle (I believe) which is a neat look into the integrity of Jimmy Olsen (and partially Perry White). After Valkyrie, there are a bunch of variant covers and some layout sketches showing how detailed (or not) each artist is as they're laying out the story.
And probably the best part of the collection is a several page pitch from Max Landis, presumably what he offered DC before getting the job. Anyone who's heard Landis on podcasts or in YouTube videos knows he's a master at pitching stories—and here we get his 7-story arc of what he envisioned for this "Not a Superman Comic." There are slight differences between pitch and final script (I wonder if the changes came from lack of space in 22-24 pages per issue, notes from DC, or other sources) but it is neat to read what got him the job.
Overall, the whole story improved from reading it together. I don't know what to do with the seven bagged & boarded single issues now that I have this on my bookshelf... but in the end, I'm really glad I grabbed a copy to reread the series and get a little glimpse behind the curtain. (and that New Jimmy one-page story was nice too!)
geekwayne's review against another edition
5.0
'Superman: American Alien' collects all 7 issues of the series by Max Landis and a host of great artists. Each issue has a different style and tone, both in storytelling and art. Each chapter is named after a creature that flys.
An early story shows how Clark can't control his flight and just seems to float upward. In his early teens, he is still figuring out how much force he should be using. In one, he is mistaken for Bruce Wayne at a party on a yacht (Bruce never shows up to these things). Batman shows an interest in this strange man and that leads to Clark "borrowing" a few things from Batman. He slowly learns and discovers who he is and who he is supposed to be.
Many times when people talk about Superman, he can seem sterile and uninteresting, but in the best stories, this is not the case. This is an amazing arc of stories from the early life of Superman. We see a frightened child and his family trying to figure out a strange phenomenon. We see an all too human Clark making the mistakes that teenagers do. We also see his friendships and who he tells his secret, and who he doesn't.
The included materials include a cover gallery, and some layouts for each issue. There is also the original story pitch which tells the tone for each issue. Some are based on Pixar or sun and sexy, others are action movie. The artists picked reflect the style of the story very well. My personal favorite is Eagle with art and color by Francis Manapul for the sheer joy of a goggled and gloved Superman eating Chinese food on a rooftop. I'm sure you'll find your favorite.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
An early story shows how Clark can't control his flight and just seems to float upward. In his early teens, he is still figuring out how much force he should be using. In one, he is mistaken for Bruce Wayne at a party on a yacht (Bruce never shows up to these things). Batman shows an interest in this strange man and that leads to Clark "borrowing" a few things from Batman. He slowly learns and discovers who he is and who he is supposed to be.
Many times when people talk about Superman, he can seem sterile and uninteresting, but in the best stories, this is not the case. This is an amazing arc of stories from the early life of Superman. We see a frightened child and his family trying to figure out a strange phenomenon. We see an all too human Clark making the mistakes that teenagers do. We also see his friendships and who he tells his secret, and who he doesn't.
The included materials include a cover gallery, and some layouts for each issue. There is also the original story pitch which tells the tone for each issue. Some are based on Pixar or sun and sexy, others are action movie. The artists picked reflect the style of the story very well. My personal favorite is Eagle with art and color by Francis Manapul for the sheer joy of a goggled and gloved Superman eating Chinese food on a rooftop. I'm sure you'll find your favorite.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
silvanwitch12's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
wwwgretareads's review against another edition
5.0
as a reformed “superman is boring” person i cannot recommend this enough.
sandeeisreading's review
5.0
"Who needs normal? Maybe weird is better.
Superman: American Alien starts with a younger Clark Kent realizing for the first time that he can fly. The bad thing about it was, he had no idea how he does it, how he can control it, and how to land with both his two feet on the ground.
I can't really tell you much about it yet (i've only read the first issue), but all I can say is that I enjoyed reading this. The only other origin story I've read from Superman was Earth One (I think), and that story didn't really focus on a much younger Superman. Here, on issue 1 at least, you get to see Clark discovering his abilities, then freaking out because he had no idea how it works. Being a kid, you think the most important thing in the world is to fit in, and with Clark being what he is, that would prove to be really hard, especially now that all his abilities start to manifest itself. I thought Landis did a great job showing us that.
The writing, I really liked. There was a bit of humor in it, which is always a plus for me. While Clark was discovering the stuff that he can do, his parents were also discovering things about their son that they did not know. So while we see Clark's character developing, we also see the development in the character of those people around him.
Looking forward to starting the other issues. I believe, so far, we only have 7 issues of this, so I'm definitely reading the rest.
sandeeisreading's review against another edition
4.0
This was recommended to me by a friend who absolutely love Superman. I was a bit iffy in reading it because of the title. Yeah. I'm one of those people that judge books not only by the cover, sometimes, by title too. Sue me. But whatever. I absolutely loved this. I'm glad I picked it up.
One of the things I loved about SUPERMAN: AMERICAN ALIEN was how each story is self-contained. You can read just one of the issues inside this volume and you'll be fine. You don't have to read the entire thing to understand what was going on because each issue has it's own story. It each focuses on a certain part of Clark's life, which I really liked.
On the first issue, we see Clark as a kid just discovering his powers. The second issue was Clark as a angsty teenager. Yes. He had his angsty moments too. Clark, his friends, and some people in Smallville, knows what he can do. And when a certain incident happened, he was conflicted as to whether to do something or not, just because he can.
Out of all the issues, my favorite would have to be the issue where his friends from Smallville visited him in Metropolis. He and one of his friend had a very emotional and heated argument about what the hell was he really doing. Clark was already saving people, but he wasn't called Superman, yet. He was just this person flying around Metropolis and saving people in situations normal people can't. Clark was still unsure of what he was really trying to do. He was a bit short-sighted at this point. He wasn't exactly sure what his priorities were. Does having the ability to help other people give someone the right to interfere? By doing that, would they really be helping, or just making this worse? I liked the fact that Clark even had friends Haha. I mean, let's be real, in the movies, and in some of the comic books, the only people Clark talks to were his parents and Lois Lane, that's basically it. At least here, I got to see him with his friends, the people he grew up with. The people who understand him the most.
There were quite a few Batman scenes here too. It's interesting how they got to know about each other here. Because of stupid misunderstanding that I bought no matter how ridiculous it was. And Dick Grayson was here too, a younger version of him. I'm not sure if he was already Robin here, but he was already living with Bruce.
Lex Luthor is one of those villains who strongly thinks that he was doing something good for society. I felt that I got to know him a bit more in this, even though he was only there for a short time, it was enough for me to understand what his motivations were.
Each issues were illustrated by a different illustrator. There was some that I liked more than others.
I haven't read a lot of Superman stories. I think I've only read three all in all: Superman Unchained, Superman: Earth One, Superman Red Son, and this. Out of all of them, I would recommend reading this for those who want to start reading about Superman. It's not cannon (I think), but you do like Max Landis' take on Clark's struggles, balancing himself between being himself and being the superhero everyone wants him to be. I liked how the stories were not really to show us how powerful Superman is. It showed us how human Clark is, despite having all the cool super powers he have.
Highly recommended.
One of the things I loved about SUPERMAN: AMERICAN ALIEN was how each story is self-contained. You can read just one of the issues inside this volume and you'll be fine. You don't have to read the entire thing to understand what was going on because each issue has it's own story. It each focuses on a certain part of Clark's life, which I really liked.
On the first issue, we see Clark as a kid just discovering his powers. The second issue was Clark as a angsty teenager. Yes. He had his angsty moments too. Clark, his friends, and some people in Smallville, knows what he can do. And when a certain incident happened, he was conflicted as to whether to do something or not, just because he can.
Out of all the issues, my favorite would have to be the issue where his friends from Smallville visited him in Metropolis. He and one of his friend had a very emotional and heated argument about what the hell was he really doing. Clark was already saving people, but he wasn't called Superman, yet. He was just this person flying around Metropolis and saving people in situations normal people can't. Clark was still unsure of what he was really trying to do. He was a bit short-sighted at this point. He wasn't exactly sure what his priorities were. Does having the ability to help other people give someone the right to interfere? By doing that, would they really be helping, or just making this worse? I liked the fact that Clark even had friends Haha. I mean, let's be real, in the movies, and in some of the comic books, the only people Clark talks to were his parents and Lois Lane, that's basically it. At least here, I got to see him with his friends, the people he grew up with. The people who understand him the most.
There were quite a few Batman scenes here too. It's interesting how they got to know about each other here. Because of stupid misunderstanding that I bought no matter how ridiculous it was. And Dick Grayson was here too, a younger version of him. I'm not sure if he was already Robin here, but he was already living with Bruce.
Lex Luthor is one of those villains who strongly thinks that he was doing something good for society. I felt that I got to know him a bit more in this, even though he was only there for a short time, it was enough for me to understand what his motivations were.
Each issues were illustrated by a different illustrator. There was some that I liked more than others.
I haven't read a lot of Superman stories. I think I've only read three all in all: Superman Unchained, Superman: Earth One, Superman Red Son, and this. Out of all of them, I would recommend reading this for those who want to start reading about Superman. It's not cannon (I think), but you do like Max Landis' take on Clark's struggles, balancing himself between being himself and being the superhero everyone wants him to be. I liked how the stories were not really to show us how powerful Superman is. It showed us how human Clark is, despite having all the cool super powers he have.
Highly recommended.
oddmara's review against another edition
5.0
Adorable. Literally no complaints. I love a good out of costume story, which is exactly what the beginning of this story was. For the amount of time it covers it's an extremely cohesive story and it's also able to stand as separate individual stories contained within each issue, which I really appreciate (since it's very hard to do). I love the way people just decided he's Bruce Wayne, just because he's another dude with dark hair and blue eyes, I relate to that immensely. For once I actually enjoyed the love stories going on, because one of the love stories was written to be a love story rather than an afterthought when the author remembers about fanservice, while the other was with a character that actually has a personality and importance within the story, so, go her! Dick Grayson was there and he was the best. What a little kid. Seeing him drawn as an actual 12 year old is a blessing. Also the way Bruce tries to beat him up and he immediately gets his ass handed to him. Clark just saying that he owes him a laptop. Amazing.
There were also some very gorgeous panels, like the one where he tried to fly to the moon and literally exploded into space. I loved all of the artstyles that were used, and how they were used strategically to fit the stories that they were telling, as usual, love it when art is actually used within story-telling. I also like the fact Superman has parents. And friends. It's a fun change.
There were also some very gorgeous panels, like the one where he tried to fly to the moon and literally exploded into space. I loved all of the artstyles that were used, and how they were used strategically to fit the stories that they were telling, as usual, love it when art is actually used within story-telling. I also like the fact Superman has parents. And friends. It's a fun change.
joshuamt's review against another edition
5.0
This one has become a rebuttal when people tell me that DC, and especially Superman, are boring and predictable.