Scan barcode
A review by ericbuscemi
Superman, Volume 1: What Price Tomorrow? by George Pérez
3.0
I got a free digital copy of this first issue of the New 52 Superman by signing up for the Amazon Comics Newsletter. The promotion is valid until July 21, so if you are interested just click here. (Now that Amazon owns Goodreads, I feel obligated to point out that I am not shilling for Amazon, I just like free comics and thought you might too. I wish Goodreads was still independent, sigh.)
Back to Superman. I have a small confession to make: I have never read a Superman comic, and have only ever seen the Brandon Routh Superman movie, which was pretty terrible. I did own one Superman comic growing up -- [b:The Death of Superman|154795|The Death of Superman|Dan Jurgens|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1318892030s/154795.jpg|149410] -- but since it came sealed in black plastic, I never even opened it, let alone read it. If you are anywhere near my age and had collected comics as a kid, you understand.
So I am probably a good target market for this reboot, as the main point of the New 52 was to give all the DC characters easily accessible entry points. And in that regard, this issue was a mild success. I was definitely able to follow the plot with no issues despite only a tertiary and skin deep knowledge of the character and his universe. I also appreciated the writers updating said universe for the 21st century -- e.g. The Daily Planet has been bought out by a multinational corporation, and has video and digital segments, in addition to print.
But the main issue remains as to why I am not, and have never been, a Superman fan -- immortal, invulnerable, lawful-good characters are just tedious and boring -- despite the excellent point made in David Carradine's monologue from Kill Bill Vol. 2.
This is why Batman has been and will always be more interesting, and more popular, than Superman. And hence, why I will read any and every Batman comic I can get my hands on, and won't bother with the second issue of this Superman reboot, despite the story and artwork both being pretty good.
Back to Superman. I have a small confession to make: I have never read a Superman comic, and have only ever seen the Brandon Routh Superman movie, which was pretty terrible. I did own one Superman comic growing up -- [b:The Death of Superman|154795|The Death of Superman|Dan Jurgens|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1318892030s/154795.jpg|149410] -- but since it came sealed in black plastic, I never even opened it, let alone read it. If you are anywhere near my age and had collected comics as a kid, you understand.
So I am probably a good target market for this reboot, as the main point of the New 52 was to give all the DC characters easily accessible entry points. And in that regard, this issue was a mild success. I was definitely able to follow the plot with no issues despite only a tertiary and skin deep knowledge of the character and his universe. I also appreciated the writers updating said universe for the 21st century -- e.g. The Daily Planet has been bought out by a multinational corporation, and has video and digital segments, in addition to print.
But the main issue remains as to why I am not, and have never been, a Superman fan -- immortal, invulnerable, lawful-good characters are just tedious and boring -- despite the excellent point made in David Carradine's monologue from Kill Bill Vol. 2.
This is why Batman has been and will always be more interesting, and more popular, than Superman. And hence, why I will read any and every Batman comic I can get my hands on, and won't bother with the second issue of this Superman reboot, despite the story and artwork both being pretty good.