A beautiful, beautiful thing
My copy of Absolute All-Star Superman arrived yesterday. It's the first 'Absolute' edition of a DC comics book I've had as they're normally out of my price range, but a reduced price and some Amazon vouchers meant I could have it.
I already own the book in the two collected volumes, but as it is (in my opinion) the best Superman story ever produced, this version with it's oversized pages and notes from the creative team were a must for me.
I'm generally not a Superman fan. Batman and Spider-Man are my guys. Batman is just a guy with money and a mental condition, flawed in many ways. Spidey, is an everyman, no money, no luck, and a reluctant hero at the start of his story. But Superman, he's a God. Indestructible, fast, strong, powerful, and ultimately dull.
How can you make stories of an indestructible super-powered being interesting? Generally you can't, and that's why Superman isn't a book I read. The only reason I chose to pick this book up in the first place was the creative team of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. And I'm glad I picked the book up because All-Star Superman is different. This is Superman living on borrowed time. This is the last days of the Man of Steel, and focuses on what he chooses to do with his time left on Earth.
If you haven't read the book (why?) I don't want to spoil it for you. There are lots of reviews out there that focus on the story already. I'm more interested in what the Absolute version has to offer.
The book is presented really well. Comes in a nice hard back box with art work from the book to keep it safe, then the book itself has a sleeve which has a really subtle title which only reveals itself from certain angles. As a collectors piece it's a beautiful thing.
So, the guts of the book. The book is an oversized version. A first for me, but I really like it. Especially with an artist I love so much. Frank Quitely's work should all be printed in this format because you can really see the detail in his work, and there's a lot of detail. Frank is a fantastic artist, not to everybody's taste, but I like his unique style. He has a great sense of movement and how physics apply to the subjects he's creating, and it looks even better in this size format. It made me really take care and take over each panel so I could take everything in. I'd absolutely love to see Morrison and Quitely's initial run on Batman and Robin released in this format.
The extras at the end of the book are a fascinating insight to the creative process that goes into putting a story like this together, and show the amount of work and effort creators put in. Something I'd never given much thought about was the covers. I always thought that was down to the artist, but it seems Grant Morrison clearly laid out what he wanted the covers to convey.
I particularly enjoyed the section explaining how they worked out the difference between Clark and Superman, and how even Lex would never notice they were the same person. Again, it showed how clever Frank Quitely is with his art. I don't want to spoil the book for potential readers, but there's a comparison drawing between Clark and Superman that is just genius.
It's the details like this that make a story I already loved into a now beautiful and compelling book worthy of space on anyone's shelves. If you appreciate a great story, amazing art, and thoughtful presentation then make room for this book on your shelves. Absolute All-Star Superman is absolutely amazing.
