commander_blop 's review for:

Kingdom Come by Alex Ross, Mark Waid

4.0

---

Superman has been eclipsed by other, darker superheroes in recent years (Spiderman and Batman, especially) and there has been much talk in Hollywood about finding a way to make the Man of Steel relevant for audiences that like darker, edgier heroes. They need look no further than Kingdom Come. By portraying Superman as a father figure whose commitment to values like truth and justice (and never using lethal force) now seem corny and out-dated, Kingdom Come makes Superman current while staying true to his character.

I don't normally read comics books or graphic novels, so I won't pretend to be any kind of expert. I did grow up worshipping Superman: the old George Reeves Superman movies/serials at first, then the Christopher Reeve films (the first of which came out when I was five). So, I was quickly drawn in by the depiction in Kindgom Come of an older, self-exiled Superman who has become disillusioned with a world that has abandoned the values he championed.

There are more superheroes in this book than I can count and many of them were new to me. Occasionally, I got lost in the action but I'm sure this is mostly because I missed visual cues. On the whole, however, I was sucked in by the story, the incredible artwork, and the sheer pleasure of revisiting a childhood icon as re-imagined for adults living in a complex and frustrating world.