Reviews

All-Star Superman, Vol. 1 by Frank Quitely, Grant Morrison

chelsea_444's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Clark Kent: "...I'll tell them how you helped me out, quelled the riot... Lex, I know you're not all bad..."
Lex Luthor: "I've always liked you, Kent. You're humble, modest, uncoordinated: human. You're everything he's not." 

arabialuvsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

polymorph's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ben_books's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

jnnylghnn's review against another edition

adventurous reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

justspringsteen's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

viera's review against another edition

2.0

Better than the film for sure, but still boring and predictable as unseasoned oatmeal. I don’t really care for the characterization of the side characters either. When you need to lower your world’s IQ to help the main character survive in it, it doesn’t say much for the character. It just seemed joyless, rushed and uninspired. I did like how much Clark Kent got on Lex Luther’s nerves though. That was a fun sequence. The other gimmicks (Superman’s paranoia-inducing sewing room, Lois’ petty middle school antics, Black kryptonite turning Superman “bad”, “You broke the moon!”, the Krypton cousins trashing the place, Zibarro...)—just no. I mean Superman is at his best when he’s being cheesy, but this ends up being tacky side of the spectrum. The last story and great art are consolation prizes but the majority of the book drags you through the motions and wastes opportunities for human connection and authenticity.

colindalaska's review against another edition

5.0

Grant Morrison’s best work. Smart, clever, with an obvious love of the Superman mythology- and without an ending written backwards, upside down, or a dream.

xsleepyshadows's review against another edition

3.0

Most of these stories are kinda amusing or just kinda meh for me. The thing I really like is that they get some aspects of superman in there I really really love and are just perfect. I like seeing superman playing fetch with krypto, having superman fly Lois' car to the fortress of solitude, and my favorite story in this graphic novel was when Clark Kent was doing his interview with Lex! I love seeing Luthor being extra (that whole gym scene!) and just completely falling head over heels for Clark Kent and at the same time complaining about Superman. What at cool juxtaposition. There is a few other small bits that I like and I feel like they understand the character despite the some of the stories being meh. I think this was worth the read, especially for the Clark Kent and Lex Luthor story! ~Ashley

stevenyenzer's review against another edition

2.0

I've never had strong feelings about Superman either way, but this didn't help my opinion. Far from mythic, awe-inspiring, etc., it felt like a regular old comic book, complete with goofy plotlines like the "black kryptonite" that turns Superman evil.

This series is probably intended for more serious comics fans than myself; the multitude of references to characters I'm not familiar with, plus the ending featuring the Super Squad (I know that's not right, but I'm too lazy to check the real name), were largely lost on me.