ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, which won 3 Eisner awards and numerous accolades, has a fascinating backstory of its own.
From Mark Waid’s intro to ALL-STAR SUPERMAN vol. 2:
“But the big moment is the perfect line of dialogue. It comes in Chapter Ten, when Superman, without a second’s hesitation, takes time from his world-building feats to embrace and comfort a suicidal young girl. When he tells her, “You’re much stronger than you think you are,” they become the most moving words we have ever read in a Superman story. And they are perfect because they reveal, in one sentence, the fundamental secret of Superman and why we love him so: Gods achieve their power by encouraging us to believe in them. Superman achieves his power by believing in us.”
Awesome moments from All-Star Superman:
Superman receives his prognosis.
Trouble with Kryptonians.
“It’s never as bad as it seems. You’re much stronger than you think you are.”
Of course, Superman is also a nostalgic throwback to the Depression Era values of America’s agrarian past, whereas others argue that it is Iron Man Tony Stark who better embodies the contemporary sensibilities of the 21st century’s Gen Y Millennials. Yet Superman endures as the ultimate American synecdoche because he has evolved with the American Dream but continues to represent a nostalgic melancholy for a troubling past. Morrison’s Superman, however, seems to transcend as a “Man of Tomorrow” whose utopian futurism functions as pure ideal and spiritual inspiration.
Tim’s Soap Box:
Crazy Jane from Doom Patrol (and the Brotherhood of Dada along with the kookiest moments of Doom Patrol) illustrate the power of comics to imaginatively engage both the impossible and the pure potentiality of fiction!
By: Doc T on May 3, 2010
at 9:43 am
From the Seattle Times: “Local Boy with Cancer Turns into superhero for a Day.”
“The Make-A-Wish Foundation made 13-year-old Erik Martin’s superhero dream a reality with a giant city-wide role playing scenario that incorporated all of Seattle. With the help of the Seattle Sounders, Spider-Man and a DeLorean, Electron Boy saved the day.”
Further proof that Superman doesn’t lecture or preach, he inspires.
By: Doc T on May 4, 2010
at 12:10 pm
But for the record, the final chapters of Mark Waid’s BIRTHRIGHT are the best sequel fodder for the movie franchise. Didn’t Lex get a blood sample on the kryptonite shiv? Holy Bizzarro clone factory! No need to recycle oh so tired General Zod plots when you have 24-hr Superman clones at Lex’s disposal! and if you throw in big robots, no one will complain.
By: Doc T on October 5, 2010
at 10:48 pm