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A review by sonofatreus
Superman for All Seasons by Jeph Loeb
5.0
This is it. A retelling of the Superman story without dwelling on Krypton (or Kryptonite) with every essential character well-represented.
The story itself is told in four parts, one for each season, from the perspective of four characters somehow fundamental to Superman's/Clark's life: Jonathan Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Lana Lang. They each have their own unique perspective on Superman, Clark, and what it means to have Superman in the world. Each of their stories is moderately small scale (no great world-destroying baddies, e.g.) and this helps humanize Superman in a way that has hardly ever been done so well. In doing so, we see Superman struggle first with adapting to his new powers, then fit into the world at large, and finally come to peace with balancing these. It is a complete story, with no real loose ends, and it didn't feel necessary to step into any of the more comic-booky aspects of Superman.
As for the art, it is superb. Sale dedicated the book to Norman Rockwell, which I only noticed halfway through. The influence is clear and, whether you like Rockwell or despise him, it makes Superman (again) seem human. He hulks over any other characters in his size, but he has a humility to him that others, like Lex, do not. Also, Smallville in particular seems like it could stand in for any small-town, USA circa 1950s-1960s (at least in the same way Rockwell does).
All around a perfect Superman story.
The story itself is told in four parts, one for each season, from the perspective of four characters somehow fundamental to Superman's/Clark's life: Jonathan Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Lana Lang. They each have their own unique perspective on Superman, Clark, and what it means to have Superman in the world. Each of their stories is moderately small scale (no great world-destroying baddies, e.g.) and this helps humanize Superman in a way that has hardly ever been done so well. In doing so, we see Superman struggle first with adapting to his new powers, then fit into the world at large, and finally come to peace with balancing these. It is a complete story, with no real loose ends, and it didn't feel necessary to step into any of the more comic-booky aspects of Superman.
As for the art, it is superb. Sale dedicated the book to Norman Rockwell, which I only noticed halfway through. The influence is clear and, whether you like Rockwell or despise him, it makes Superman (again) seem human. He hulks over any other characters in his size, but he has a humility to him that others, like Lex, do not. Also, Smallville in particular seems like it could stand in for any small-town, USA circa 1950s-1960s (at least in the same way Rockwell does).
All around a perfect Superman story.