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During a desperate mission to rescue a team of astronauts
from annihilation near the sun, Superman's entire body is
supercharged with solar power - to the point where a fatal
chain reaction in his cells leaves him with only a year to
live. Now the world's greatest superhero must set his affairs
in order, beginning by telling Lois Lane the truth about his
secret identity. He also has to face a superpowered Jimmy
Olsen, a vengeful Lex Luthor and a team of supermen from the
future...
DC
Comics boasts that this new series, from a star team of comics
creators, will "strip down the Man of Steel to his timeless,
essential elements." What this means in less flowery language
is that the stories told in these pages are not tied to the
continuity of the mainstream DC Universe.
However, this does not mean that no prior knowledge of Superman
is necessary or that new readers can simply jump straight
in. Taking a rather pick-'n'-mix approach, writer Grant Morrison
throws in characters and other elements from throughout the
Man of Steel's history - including Parasite, Krypto the Superdog
and the Fortress of Solitude - with little or no explanation
for the benefit of less savvy readers. Unlike the regular
continuity, Clark Kent is not married to Lois, and he does
not reveal his dual identity to her until he realises that
his days are numbered. The Luthor depicted here is the scientist
of old, rather than the businessman of the post-John Byrne
era. Yet this is not simply a tale set back in the Bronze
Age of comics or in the world of the movies (though the artists'
renditions of a petite Lois do look a little like Kate Bosworth
from Superman Returns). This graphic novel takes place
in the 21st century (quite possibly the near future, given
some of the genetic technologies depicted - more on those
in a moment). Morrison also cherry-picks some more recent
characters and concepts, such as references to Doomsday and
the fact that Superman's abilities are becoming increasingly
powerful and sophisticated, rather as they are doing in the
current mainstream series.
Many of the episodes in this collection (reprinted from issues
1-6 of the All Star Superman comic book) focus on a
particular character or set of characters, such as Lois, Jimmy,
Luthor and the inhabitants of Smallville.
Penciller Frank Quitely and digital inker/colourist Jamie
Grant create deceptively simple-looking but beautiful art,
which leads the eye effortlessly across the page. Their renderings
of female faces are not unlike the style of Milo Manara (with
whom Quitely worked on Sandman:
Endless Nights), with a bit of Steve Dillon
thrown in for the male characters. Like Dillon and Garth Ennis
in Preacher, the creative team send up their bald villain
- by showing that Luthor also lacks hair on his eyebrows,
which are shown to be drawn on with a pencil. The artists
also manage to make the stooped, clumsy, almost oafish Clark
a believable secret identity for Superman: owing to his posture,
he seems overweight rather than muscle-bound.
Some of the more bizarre plot turns did leave me a little
perplexed, though. For instance, it seems that genetic modification
of human beings is commonplace in this universe, and no one
seems to have any moral objections to it, despite this being
such a controversial topic in the real world. Perhaps things
are different in a universe already populated by superhuman
heroes. I also found it hard to rationalise a communication
from a bandaged Superman of the future during Episode 2, "Superman's
Forbidden Room", with later revelations about this character.
On the other hand, the notion of the Man of Steel being damaged
by an overdose of the solar energy that usually powers him
makes perfect sense. It is not unlike the theory of free radicals:
though we need oxygen to survive, it is also gradually killing
us because of the aging effects of oxidation (which is why
we are encouraged to consume antioxidants).
In artistic terms, All Star Superman is both free and
radical in its interpretation of the Superman myth - a most
intriguing spin on a familiar character.
Richard
McGinlay
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