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Best Superman stories

Cowboy Scientist

13:17 / 29.06.04

I'm trying to prove a friend that Superman is cool (he is, isn't he?). She likes Silver Age, so if the comics are from this age, better yet.

13:32 / 29.06.04

lazy. sure there's a thread for this. you could get 'the greatest superman stories ever told' which is a pretty spiffy collection and tho old not too hard to find. it contains affable al moore's 'imaginary story' one - can't remember what it's called right now - which is probably the single bestest Supes story ever done right.

if you really want to know superman though, get moore's recently collected supreme books, it's a total telling of why anyone should give a fuck about superman.

this thread sponsored by the northampton bearded gents assoc.

16:21 / 29.06.04

I was scouting the shop recently, and found a Jimmy Olsen and the Paperboy Legion (something like that...) colour trade, and a Bizarro one. They looked the best.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

17:50 / 29.06.04

I'm sorry, but I think the several years from Doomsday through to the Fall of Metropolis storyline rocked like a big yin.

Haus of Mystery

20:51 / 29.06.04

You should be sorry.

21:15 / 29.06.04

Here are some of the best of the Silver Age:

"The Girl In Superman's Past" -- Otto Binder/Wayne Boring 1959

"Superman's Return to Krypton" -- Jerry Siegel/Wayne Boring 1960

"The Death of Superman" -- Jerry Siegel/Curt Swan 1961

"The Last Days of Superman" -- Edmond Hamilton/Curt Swan 1962

"Superman in Kandor" -- Edmond Hamilton/Curt Swan 1963

"The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue" -- Leo Dorfman/Curt Swan 1963

"The Showdown Between Luthor and Superman" -- Edmond Hamilton/Curt Swan 1963

"The Composite Superman" -- Edmond Hamilton/Curt Swan 1964

"Must There Be a Superman?" -- Elliot S. Maggin/Curt Swan 1972 (really a Bronze Age story)

Most of these can be found in commercially available collections.

21:29 / 29.06.04

Go here for a bunch of Superman stories online, from the Golden Age to the Silver Age and on.

It's got a few neat ones on there. But I don't know if I've ever read a truly GREAT Superman comic. There's been some decent ones... But nothing really spectacular stood out for me.

00:35 / 30.06.04

I gotta agree and say that reading Alan Moore's Supreme stories are what made me appreciate Superman in all of its sublime weirdness. Batman too for that matter. Superman's super-pets, his Fortress of Solitude, et cetera, these were things that annoyed me before. I felt that they were tugs on the main character ideals of Superman, and generally detracted from the Big Picture. But reading Moore's Supreme put me in a mind where I could appreciate some of the truly strange stuff. That might not being the same as saying that I like the stuff that clutters Superman's seventy year history, but it has given me a healthy appreciation.

I read Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow, and felt that it was a good enough story. Then I read Supreme. I reread WHttMoT and it definitely struck me in a much different way. Sure, it is most definitely not a Silver Age, but it is the end of the Pre-Crisis Universe, and basically sums up all of Silver Age Superman's existence.

13:33 / 30.06.04

OK, I'm a child of the 80s and I think there are some really good Supes stories out there besides the ones penned by Alan Moore or from the Silver Age. So here goes:

John Byrne's MAN OF STEEL mini, starting his famous 'reboot,' is fun.

I found the first few years of all the Superman titles after the reboot to be quite fun. Marv Wolfman's adventures, illustrated by the wonderful Jerry Ordway, was an example of a well-done superhero monthly, as was Jurgens' monthly. Byrne's monthly SUPERMAN was really pretty good, right up until the end, I'd say. His ACTION COMICS (i.e. 'Superman team-up') was ok, had some nice moments but was the weakest of the bunch.

The first few years of MAN OF STEEL, by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove, were really fun too, as I recall.

The DEATH AND RETURN OF SUPERMAN was prime 1980s well-done superheroic epic/soap opera. Seriously. His actual death is kinda boring (in that it's just a huge fist fight with a Hulk-like rampaging creature), but it's the time after he dies and the return that gets interesting & fun.

The about-to-be reprinted "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way" by Joe Kelly & Doug Mahnke (ACTION #775) is really a great comic. One of the best Supes stories in years. Although I expect that JLA: ELITE mini will suck hard.

Some of Jeph Loeb's run with Ed McGuiness was ok. There was an issue with Superboy (now living with the Kents) and Supes that was strong on character.

SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS is really nice character work, by Loeb & Sale.

13:37 / 30.06.04

Kingdom Come is the best Superman story i've ever read. there are other characters in it, but Superman is the heart.

18:35 / 30.06.04

Superman: red son written by mark millar.
The dialogue and the conclusion are just to perfect.

Spyder Todd 2008

19:30 / 30.06.04

Red Son kicked major ass. It's also the only Supes story I know of that explains why Kal-El looks like a human. Even if Millar totally stole my idea about that.

Scoff if you will, but the broken and manipulated Supes in DK2 struck me as being right on the money as to how Supes would turn out when he got old.

Best Supes cameo is in Sandman VOl10, the wake. ("I dreamed I was flying" or something similar)

But the best Superman story ever is "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow". The first line is something like "This is the story of a perfect man who came from the sky and did only good..." It's brilliant. I hated Superman, and this story made mme realize how great he could be.

03:10 / 01.07.04

It may be obvious, but 'Action Comics #775' - 'Whatever Happened To Truth, Justice, And The American Way' is a truly bitchin' modern Superman story that takes on the very normal question of why the character of Superman is relevant at all to the world we live in. He did some other really great single issues early in his run on Action Comics, too.

I'm a big fan of Joe Kelly and Jeph Loeb's work on the Superman titles and their run of 4-5 years (while not particularly consistent) had some really great, imaginitive stories (avoid anything by JM DeMatteis, though - like the plague). The 'Emperor Joker' storyline they did was good fun, with some great character moments, and a fucking great final issue. I think it's in trade by now. It was one of their strongest Event storylines over those years.

The two-part story in Grant Morrison's JLA #6 & 7, I think, (where rogue angels invade the Earth) has some fantastic Superman moments. I've generally held that the Electric Superman phase of his life was rad, but only because of how Morrison used him.

The Tales of Bizarro World trade that came out a few years back makes for great reading, and it's a good way to show somebody that Superman is interesting as a phenomenon because of all the insane shit that came along with him. All Humans Love Bizarro.

I'd definitely stick with Action #775 as a starter Superman story for someone looking for proof that Superman is 'cool' without engaging in the 'DC Universe' as a whole. They're reprinting it next month, if I'm not mistaken.

09:40 / 01.07.04

I liked the Kyle Baker Superbaby story "Letitia Lerner- Superman's Babysitter".
Click me!

Spyder Todd 2008

14:59 / 01.07.04

Hey, now I can say I've read the story that got the Elseworld's 80 pager canned. Whoat!

Cowboy Scientist

15:10 / 01.07.04

Thanks Evskig, very complete and useful list.