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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
This book asks a question that should have been explored (at least in print like this) long ago: What if Superman had landed 12 hours later, in the Soviet Union, instead of Kansas.
The resulting work is mostly good. The art is superb, with the whole book enjoying the look of a Soviet-era propaganda poster (indeed, the foreword includes some Super-Soviet posters, take a look and enjoy).
The story itself isn't bad. Some uneven spots here and there and a few things are downright hokey, but we're talking about superhero comics here, so expect some of that. I thought Stalin was a little too grandfatherly and cardboard cutout, even for someone appearing for as short a time in this book as he did, and the villain who motivates some of the action was kind of in and out. I also find it hard to believe that what little Marxism/Bolshevism/Communism was addressed by Superman would be addressed that way, even for a character who is supposed to be so naive about the system (I suppose the point could be made that it's Superman's powers that make him able to lead a Communist nation and effect that philosophy properly for the simple fact that he does not have the simple human needs and frailties that Communism fails to address, but even so, his thoughts about the Soviet system and how his beliefs and actions were motivated by it, fell a little flat to me).
I really enjoyed the wonderful twist at the end although I am not sure if it should have been altered slightly so the story would end the same over and over again, no matter what the previous action was (I know this makes no sense now, but read it and you'll see what I mean).
P.S. Loved the Batman origin story in this one.
The resulting work is mostly good. The art is superb, with the whole book enjoying the look of a Soviet-era propaganda poster (indeed, the foreword includes some Super-Soviet posters, take a look and enjoy).
The story itself isn't bad. Some uneven spots here and there and a few things are downright hokey, but we're talking about superhero comics here, so expect some of that. I thought Stalin was a little too grandfatherly and cardboard cutout, even for someone appearing for as short a time in this book as he did, and the villain who motivates some of the action was kind of in and out. I also find it hard to believe that what little Marxism/Bolshevism/Communism was addressed by Superman would be addressed that way, even for a character who is supposed to be so naive about the system (I suppose the point could be made that it's Superman's powers that make him able to lead a Communist nation and effect that philosophy properly for the simple fact that he does not have the simple human needs and frailties that Communism fails to address, but even so, his thoughts about the Soviet system and how his beliefs and actions were motivated by it, fell a little flat to me).
I really enjoyed the wonderful twist at the end although I am not sure if it should have been altered slightly so the story would end the same over and over again, no matter what the previous action was (I know this makes no sense now, but read it and you'll see what I mean).
P.S. Loved the Batman origin story in this one.
A wonderfully executed 'What if...?' take on Superman, that isn't the USA good/USSR bad cliché that it could so easily have defaulted to.
It's not about super-powered battles either; the action takes a back seat and is often glossed over to simply look at what might happen if someone with limitless abilities and political power tries to do what he thinks is best for everyone - even if they disagree. It's all an entirely plausible and logical answer to that 'what if' question.
The alternate Luthor, Lois, Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern are entirely consistent with this world. So much so, that they're truly intriguing and deserve volumes of their own to allow us all a deeper insight.
The ending is truly inventive, essentially rewriting the origin story in a mind-bending way, but it also hits those three key words again - plausible, logical, consistent. However, by far the biggest twist is when you finish and you're left to wonder 'what if that ending/origin applied to the 'normal' Superman universe?'
It's not about super-powered battles either; the action takes a back seat and is often glossed over to simply look at what might happen if someone with limitless abilities and political power tries to do what he thinks is best for everyone - even if they disagree. It's all an entirely plausible and logical answer to that 'what if' question.
The alternate Luthor, Lois, Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern are entirely consistent with this world. So much so, that they're truly intriguing and deserve volumes of their own to allow us all a deeper insight.
The ending is truly inventive, essentially rewriting the origin story in a mind-bending way, but it also hits those three key words again - plausible, logical, consistent. However, by far the biggest twist is when you finish and you're left to wonder 'what if that ending/origin applied to the 'normal' Superman universe?'
This read was in no way bad, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t let down.
In 2003 Mark Millar decided to give us the elseworld story of Superman if he landed in the Ukraine and grew up in Russia. We see the story start in the 50s during the start of the cold war (cause like duh-if Russia’s involved you gotta start at the Cold War, right?) and the story moves on from several years to then decades and even centuries. It all starts around the early 50s, when Superman is revealed to the whole world and Americans instantly panic. It’s Russia’s response to America’s nuclear weapons. Superman is seen all throughout the world and in America, people are terrified that they are being watched by Russia’s Man Of Steel. Lex Luthor, who in this world is the same selfish brilliant mind, steps up and makes it his goal to rid the world of Superman (WOW an elseworld Superman story where Luthor still hates Superman?? Who would’ve thought). After Stalin’s death in 1953, the people of Russia want Superman to be the new leader of their nation, hoping he’ll be better than Stalin. He’s hesitant at first as he feels strange ruling a whole nation, however after seeing all the starving and dying people he takes it upon himself to take over. We see him become more and more strict over the years and we also learn that Luthor has basically been the reason/creator of Superman’s rogue gallery. Superman’s methods grow darker and people rebel. We even see a version of Batman in this world and he becomes a pretty huge threat to the Man Of Steel. It does all come into one huge ending with a weird ( and in my opinion-silly) twist.
Mark Millar seems very different in this story. For some reason, to me it doesn’t feel like a Millar story. Part of me feels like he was trying a different approach with this story and maybe it’s because of the character it was. The read just felt very plot heavy in a way that Millar doesn’t usually do, at least that I’m not familiar with. It’s a very dense read, with the pacing being very slow at times. Now it’s not *terrible* pacing, but it does have its dragging moments. A lot happens with only little being shown if that makes sense. The big build ups to certain plot points in the story resolve too quickly and at times just don’t make sense. Maybe that's what MIllar was going for as this was only a 3 issue mini-series, but it really messed with the flow of the read. It seems like Millar was trying to do some real prolific work at times as the concept of the read is great, but with Millar trying to focus more on getting a lot done in little time, it just felt dense. Not terrible or even bad by any means, just a chore at times. I also kinda have a problem with the lack of characterization with Superman. Even though the story is mainly told through his perspective, it feels like I don’t know much about this version of him. From what we see he’s kinda the same as the normal universe Superman and sure that could have been the whole point, but he also does a lot of things differently. All while we never get a closer look into his mindset about those things.
Dave Johnson with Andrew Robinson and Killian Plunkett with Walden Wong, were the artists for this team and I quite enjoyed it. It was consistent through the whole read even when the teams did switch and it helped the read move along through Millars dense writing. It’s a kinda cartoonist-like style that is reminiscent of the late 90s animated DC shows. They all do a great job of giving you full pages that aren’t just panels while there’s heavy dialogue or narration. With how heavy the reading is in this one, I think it’s almost saving the read by doing unique transitions and paneling while that heavy writing is happening.
Overall; The story is pretty solid but the execution was a little weird. I think Millar could have done a lot better if he approached it with either more issues or cutting off some of the fat from the overall plot. Also the ending could’ve been done better.
In 2003 Mark Millar decided to give us the elseworld story of Superman if he landed in the Ukraine and grew up in Russia. We see the story start in the 50s during the start of the cold war (cause like duh-if Russia’s involved you gotta start at the Cold War, right?) and the story moves on from several years to then decades and even centuries. It all starts around the early 50s, when Superman is revealed to the whole world and Americans instantly panic. It’s Russia’s response to America’s nuclear weapons. Superman is seen all throughout the world and in America, people are terrified that they are being watched by Russia’s Man Of Steel. Lex Luthor, who in this world is the same selfish brilliant mind, steps up and makes it his goal to rid the world of Superman (WOW an elseworld Superman story where Luthor still hates Superman?? Who would’ve thought). After Stalin’s death in 1953, the people of Russia want Superman to be the new leader of their nation, hoping he’ll be better than Stalin. He’s hesitant at first as he feels strange ruling a whole nation, however after seeing all the starving and dying people he takes it upon himself to take over. We see him become more and more strict over the years and we also learn that Luthor has basically been the reason/creator of Superman’s rogue gallery. Superman’s methods grow darker and people rebel. We even see a version of Batman in this world and he becomes a pretty huge threat to the Man Of Steel. It does all come into one huge ending with a weird ( and in my opinion-silly) twist.
Mark Millar seems very different in this story. For some reason, to me it doesn’t feel like a Millar story. Part of me feels like he was trying a different approach with this story and maybe it’s because of the character it was. The read just felt very plot heavy in a way that Millar doesn’t usually do, at least that I’m not familiar with. It’s a very dense read, with the pacing being very slow at times. Now it’s not *terrible* pacing, but it does have its dragging moments. A lot happens with only little being shown if that makes sense. The big build ups to certain plot points in the story resolve too quickly and at times just don’t make sense. Maybe that's what MIllar was going for as this was only a 3 issue mini-series, but it really messed with the flow of the read. It seems like Millar was trying to do some real prolific work at times as the concept of the read is great, but with Millar trying to focus more on getting a lot done in little time, it just felt dense. Not terrible or even bad by any means, just a chore at times. I also kinda have a problem with the lack of characterization with Superman. Even though the story is mainly told through his perspective, it feels like I don’t know much about this version of him. From what we see he’s kinda the same as the normal universe Superman and sure that could have been the whole point, but he also does a lot of things differently. All while we never get a closer look into his mindset about those things.
Dave Johnson with Andrew Robinson and Killian Plunkett with Walden Wong, were the artists for this team and I quite enjoyed it. It was consistent through the whole read even when the teams did switch and it helped the read move along through Millars dense writing. It’s a kinda cartoonist-like style that is reminiscent of the late 90s animated DC shows. They all do a great job of giving you full pages that aren’t just panels while there’s heavy dialogue or narration. With how heavy the reading is in this one, I think it’s almost saving the read by doing unique transitions and paneling while that heavy writing is happening.
Overall; The story is pretty solid but the execution was a little weird. I think Millar could have done a lot better if he approached it with either more issues or cutting off some of the fat from the overall plot. Also the ending could’ve been done better.
I quite enjoyed this. A book about the blinkered views of people in power and their inability to see that they are becoming what they are fighting against. The characters aren’t very likeable but I really enjoyed the ending
I really liked this- what a unique, original concept, and faithfully carried out. It could have turned jingoistic quite easily, but it did not. The ending also provided a great deal of food for thought.
First read July 21, 2012:
Wow! Excellent story, and one of those 'whaaaaaaaaaaaa....' twists (or turns?) at the end that you couldn't have guessed.
I'm not very knowledgeable of the main Superman story arch, but I still appreciated this graphic novel a ton. I think comic book fans and history buffs alike could write articles for journals on this. And probably already have.
Wow! Excellent story, and one of those 'whaaaaaaaaaaaa....' twists (or turns?) at the end that you couldn't have guessed.
I'm not very knowledgeable of the main Superman story arch, but I still appreciated this graphic novel a ton. I think comic book fans and history buffs alike could write articles for journals on this. And probably already have.
One of the best graphic novels I've ever read, and what a way to get into Superman. A terrific story, the artwork is incredible, the concept is as intriguing as any other comic book story. Never been more interested in Lex Luthor, it's his story as much as the Man of Steel's. Great stuff.
This is one of the best Superman stories I have read.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A