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A review by mschlat
Superman: American Alien by Max Landis
3.0
Three notes:
1) It's rare (and good) to see such an idiosyncratic voice on a Superman title. I wouldn't say that Landis gives a pure "grim and gritty" take, but we do have a Clark Kent who drinks as a teenager, swears, has limited powers growing up (and thus gets a bloody nose), and regularly doubts himself. It's a portrayal that is much more grounded than what you see in the normal comic books. (Note: there's a chapter with good art by Tommy Lee Edwards that's the pinnacle of this aesthetic.)
2) The best part (in my opinion) is Clark's relationship with his high school male friends. Landis does a great job of showing what it would be like to have a super-powered bro, and I can't recall any other story where Clark opens up to other guys like this. It makes the whole thing much more believable and appealing.
3) That said, there's a whole lot of continuity porn, started off by a chapter where Clark wins a vacation to Bermuda as a teenager, gets in a plane wreck, and crashes (in many ways) a party where he's mistaken for the ever-absent Bruce Wayne. Oh, and every other DC personage is there in their teenage years. I like the focus on Superman growing up; I highly disliked fitting in the rest of the comic universe into the book.
1) It's rare (and good) to see such an idiosyncratic voice on a Superman title. I wouldn't say that Landis gives a pure "grim and gritty" take, but we do have a Clark Kent who drinks as a teenager, swears, has limited powers growing up (and thus gets a bloody nose), and regularly doubts himself. It's a portrayal that is much more grounded than what you see in the normal comic books. (Note: there's a chapter with good art by Tommy Lee Edwards that's the pinnacle of this aesthetic.)
2) The best part (in my opinion) is Clark's relationship with his high school male friends. Landis does a great job of showing what it would be like to have a super-powered bro, and I can't recall any other story where Clark opens up to other guys like this. It makes the whole thing much more believable and appealing.
3) That said, there's a whole lot of continuity porn, started off by a chapter where Clark wins a vacation to Bermuda as a teenager, gets in a plane wreck, and crashes (in many ways) a party where he's mistaken for the ever-absent Bruce Wayne. Oh, and every other DC personage is there in their teenage years. I like the focus on Superman growing up; I highly disliked fitting in the rest of the comic universe into the book.