Superman: Earth One

      If you've ever seen me post in a Superman related topic, you've probably read the words "I hate Superman" in some variation of bold text and marked with one or several explanation points.  However, this is a half truth. 
    Just as with many Marvel characters, i love the core of the character, but hate almost every interpretation in recent years. A man with Brainiac level thinking power getting tricked repeatedly by lead walls. A man with Flash level speeds being slow enough to get decked by a magic fist. And having long range powers and telescopic vision means he shouldn't even have to get that close to begin with. 
  But the truth is, i'm in love with everything Superman stands for. Truth. Hope. Humility. These things have always driven me as a person for as long as i can remember. They are the driving forces in Superman's character. And they are all emphasized brilliantly in this book. 
 

 

Plot

  Young Clark Kent has just stepped out of the obscurity of Smallville and into the massively diverse city of Metropolis. His goal: To find himself. As he excels in every field he applies to (athlete, Scientist, reporter, and so on), He finds himself searching more for happiness than for a huge income. 
 But when the past he knows almost nothing about comes to find him, Clark must decide if he is willing to give up promised fame and fortune to save the world, or let the past he knows almost nothing about decimate humanity. 
 

The Good 

 
As with almost  every re-imagining out there, Earth One does a great job of bending the legend of Superman into a modern masterpiece. Metropolis feels like every major city with its bright and promising days, and its seedy, dangerous nights. Clark stays very humble and quiet even as he baffles scientists and tosses linebackers two and three times his size.  Jimmy Olsen is slightly altered, but still lives up to the cool collected bowl of awesome he has been portrayed as rightfully in the past few years. And Lois is the same old Lois. Hot, hot headed, and as smart and intelligent as they come. 
 Almost all of the alterations to the story are smart and believable. Everything from the bright colors of the Superman costume to the act of villainous monologing are addressed in a sense that makes you think "...OK" and not "aw geeze...".  
 The costume itself looks perfect. Exactly what should be used in the next movie. Shane Davis knows how to alter something, and not change it until its stupid (coughcoughSUPERMANRETURNScoughcough...). 
 And the New antagonist fits very nicely into his back story. I'm actually kinda sad that he would never work in the proper DCU, cuz i think i love -er.... like him allot. as a villain... in a comic book... from a heterosexual/comics geek standpoint. Anyway. 
 

The Bad 

 
 One thing that i really hate about people writing Superman is how they all seem to want to make up their own explanation for something that should NOT be re-explained. The S on Superman's chest Stands for HOPE! It was adopted by his ancestors as a family crest, but it actually means something, just like every other hieroglyph out there. (example: The Swastika doesn’t mean Nazi, Nazi's just used it. It stood for something all on its own before they came along, and still does). Once again, we find the origin of the S being because "Clark's a Superman" and not  because it was found in the ship and stands for something more meaningful than a symbol to draw the eye. I feel so strongly that this whole concept is all stupid Smallvilles fault (one more season... one more season...). 
 I also have  a serious problem with the interview with Superman written by .... Clark Kent. Seriously? 
 In case you don't see the problem with this, let me shine a light for you. Superman is about Truth. He rarely lies. Usually, he tells vague half-truths about his identity. He makes you assume things, so he doesn’t have to flat out say "what? Im not superman!"   
 The original interview with Lois deal was necessary for a good handful of plot and character progressing reasons. For starters, it emphasized the chemistry between Superman and Lois, something that is vaguely noted upon in this story. It also Makes Lois the top dog, and Clark the second string. I cant remember any time when Lois lost a front page story to Clark, and the reason was because he respected her too much to beat her with a Superman exclusive only he could supply.  And when I read Clarks work, i cant help but feel like he really is thinking of normal people as simple idiots as her writes it. The way he describes Superman, and has a "conversation" with Superman... Its one thing to report a superman sighting or a superman action, but pretending he's in a room talking to you... that just feel a whole lot like lying. Clark Kent is not Peter Parker. he lets you Assume what you want, instead of pushing falsities at you. 
 

Summary 

 
If you loved   Birthright  . You might love this equally. Or you might just like it. But i don't think anyone with even a vague interest in Superman can hate this take on him, as its perfectly drawn and almost perfectly written. The only other problem i had with this is that it was $20 bucks for about 3 comics worth of story. I really would have rather this came out first in single issues. But Even the cover is beautiful, and i'm very happy i didnt have to wait 3 weeks (or months) to get the story. 
 I give this one a 4 out of five stars. If anyone knows where i can get one of those sweet leather hoodies, let me know.

   

Superman: Earth One is the first of DC's new original-allstar created-graphic novels. The concept is to re-create classic DC icons like Superman and Batman as if they were "born" in our day and age. Top talent in the comic industry will handle this re-imaginings, in this case, Superman was born again thanks to JMS (J. Michael Stracynski) scripting and Shane Davis on art. The result is one of the best new graphic novels released in years. Of course it has some faults but overall Superman: Earth One is worth the 20 bucks out of our pockets. Let's take a look at this graphic novel: 
 
PLOT 
I have always hated DC releasing a new origin story for Big Blue almost once every year, I get the continuity issues etc but releasing the origin of probably comic's most iconic hero over and over again seems unnecessary. Geoff Johns, current architect of the DC Universe and man with huge talent, recently wrote Superman: Secret Origin and it was great! It really was! Art by Gary Frank and a plot that explores almost every aspect of Superman's history (including The Legion days) made it a fantastic read but MAKE NO MISTAKE, Superman: Earth One is NOT just another origin story. It is mainly conceived as a very late response to Marvel's Ultimate Universe and probably the smartest way to draw new readers into the DC fold, by creating a story that introduces a character potential readers know by pop culture daily and dress then put this character in a new simple and shiny story to make it "cool" again. The thing is...it works and it does it flawlessly. If you ever want to break someone into the world comics, handing them over a copy of S:EO will become a logical choice. Sure, this tale is out of continuity and not really your typical fan-boy bubblegum concept story like All-Star Superman is but it is a fantastic tale worth reading over and over. I am HUGE fan of JMS and became very excited about his work on Superman when he was first announced, however his current lackluster storyline "Grounded" failed to live up to my hype and naturally I was not so excited anymore when Earth One Superman was announced, however do not be fooled and take JMS for granted on being lackluster again, this Superman story may be one of the best out there yet. The dialogue is fantastic, all the characters we know related to Clark's journey to Metropolis are there, but the twist on the plot (this time around) show's as very interesting take on Supes, he is presented as a young man who KNOWS he can become extremely successful in ANYTHING he wants to do on life, it is almost ugly to watch, a hero that is famous for defending justice, truth and the american-way acting like a know it all stuck up show off. This element of character development however is what makes the moment of "redemption" in the book so freaking great, JMS turns things around when we KNOW it will happen and it still hits you like it was the biggest twist since the ending of Killing Joke a few years ago. My only complaint is the sort of lack in Clark Kent dialogue as the story progresses, it seemed as if reading his internal monologue wasn't enough and of course another "mistake" was definitely the complete absence/mention of a very prominent Superman character/villain, nuff said. The choice for a villain was also strange, I agree it goes with the flow and feel of the story but the fanboy in me really hoped for someone we actually heard of. Everything else though, was plain brilliant. I would like to continue reviewing each aspect of the plot and writing but I fear spoiling a hands down amazing Superman tale. 
 
ART: 
Shane Davis I did NOT know. I heard of him and remembered some art way back in Superman/Batman but aside of that had not seen or remembered his work. THIS if other chunks of his work failed to do so, really put him on the (my) map, he is PERFECT for this book, everything about this is gorgeous, his costume design (which I insist should be used for the next Superman movie) and even the character design on classic Superman cast like Perry, Lois and Jimmy Olsen were done top notch. If you read S:EO and believe plot was not enough, art on this book will do things for you, art alone is worth the 20 bucks priced on the JMS/Shane Davis tale. KUDOS to Shane Davis more making it to my top 10 comic book artists of all time and making this one of the most stunning Superman tales in the last few years. 
 
SO:  
Story was fantastic! Sure there were some artistic liberties that JMS decided to take but I found out that if you stop looking at this with the eyes of a fanboy and just sit there enjoying the ride, you will be able to appreciate the fact that you a re reading one of the best graphic novels released about the Man of Steel and you do NOT need Lex Luthor or Brainiac or Metallo or any of those guys to make this work.  
As I said before, if the story alone is not doing it for you, art will blow your eyes and brains away, Shane Davis crafts a perfect Superman for 2010 and beyond, probably drawing the future of Superman movies and most likely forcing Zack Snyder to take a second look at wardrobe design for Big Blue. 
Are you kidding me? YES this book is worth your money and time! Get it! Get it now! I guarantee you will not be disappointed, if this is the quality Earth One books will bring to the table then I CANNOT WAIT for Batman: Earth One by the demigod Geoff Johns and uber-awesome Gary Frank. IF ONLY JMS COULD BRING THIS KIND OF HEAT TO THE BORING A$$ "GROUNDED"!! 
 
Seriously though, get this book. I highly recommend it.

 Superman: Earth One is a contradiction. It's a poor story with wonderful writing and beautiful art. It's a story with the goal of telling a modern origin story for Superman that either doesn't know how to do so or is unwilling to do so.

In this story, JMS recasts Clark Kent as Peter Parker. I'm actually kind of serious. Earth One's Superman is a reluctant hero. Clark begins by looking for ways to cash in super-abilities to take care of himself and his mother-figure while haunted by his dead father-figure's wisdom about using his great power to help the world. But the reluctance of this Superman actually goes farther. He actively looks for ways to avoid his heroic responsibility, and even backs down from becoming a journalist at the Daily Planet because of the challenge it presents when his abilities don't allow him to naturally excel there. Obviously, this is all an attempt to humanize the character so we can all better relate to him. It really does work. By why bring Superman down to our level, where we have no reason to look up to him? This is Superman. This is not supposed to be a reluctant hero.

Another questionable decision JMS makes is to give the tragedy of Krypton's destruction a face to blame. Krypton is no longer the tragic tale of a planet that needed to be saved from itself. Krypton was murdered by outside forces. JMS reduces the tragedy and meaning of Krypton's destruction by giving Superman something concrete to blame and hit for it. JMS has put an element of revenge into Superman's story. There's someone out there Superman can make pay for Krypton. So to sum this up, Superman is no longer on Earth to save it for himself like his homeworld could not be and he gets a little payback.

This isn't all to say that JMS has no good ideas in this story. He does an amazing job with the Daily Planet crew, making them all interesting and well-realized characters. The Earth One version of Jimmy Olsen is a vast improvement. He's easily the best character in this story and completely blows away the Jimmy Olsen we usually get.

JMS also makes the bold decision not to have Lex Luthor appear, and it works great. It really keeps the focus on Clark without having to perform literary gymnastics to give him some reason to interact with Metropolis' foremost businessman.

Unfortunately, there's nothing really interesting about the original villain who appears. He exists only to deliver the exposition about Krypton's destruction and serve as the face of it for Superman to hit. He is a fairly generic alien villain, and the only unique thing JMS attempts with him is the horrible notion that everything from Krypton's solar system from the lifeforms to the metal react differently under differently colored suns.

As great as Shane Davis' art is, his Superman costume is absolutely terrible for how much it tries to ignore the elephant in the room. Here's what should be told to every artist who tries to update or redesign Superman's costume. If you intend to keep the red trunks, stop now and go find another project. You have already failed miserably. Because the only thing really worth changing about Superman's costume is the red underwear he wears on the outside. You can play with trim, buckles and cuffs all you want. It simply is not going to distract from the fact that Superman wears that pair of red underwear and it looks stupid. It's a waste of time and almost offensive that you would even bother.

Davis also fails in a way with his design for Clark Kent. Clark's jacket is simply awesome. I wanted a leather jacket similar to that once. I never got it, though. Why? Because it was $650. It was $650, and it was nowhere near as cool as Clark's hooded leather jacket here. Country boy Clark Kent, who is looking for a good paying job for himself and his mother, is walking around with a ridiculously expensive designer leather jacket. Either he actually spent that much money on something like that, or he stole it. Neither option seems to mesh with the character. Davis just designed something that looked cool instead of something right for the character.

I thought I was the target audience for Superman: Earth One, because I am not really a Superman fan. I think the character has become stagnate and desperately needs someone to evolve him to the 21st century. An "Ultimate Universe" take on Superman is exactly the kind of thing I was up for, but this book fails to deliver.

What would happen if the Man Of Tomorrow's origin was told today? As Clark is just trying to find his place in the world his life will go through many changes. As Clark Kent's origin is totally retold with a modern day perspective. Return to Smallville and Metropolis as Clark Kent goes from average farm boy to Superman of Metropolis! No need to read any current run-on Superman's series, Clark Kent will take you on the adventure of a lifetime! Writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Shane Davis, join the Superman on this amazing adventure that tells the readers about how Kal-El/Clark Kent came to Earth and became the hero we all know. 
   

The Good

This Superman origin story was created extremely good. J. Michael Straczynski's story for Superman's current series is really capturing my attention. The Grounded Story arc for Superman is trying to make the Man Of Steel a more relatable character, this Origin story really does a good job at making him relatable. Superman begins as a young man (in his early twenties) searching for what he is to do in life. Moving from Smallville to Metropolis was a big deal for Clark in his early days. While other origin stories make Superman a bit older, I think him being in his twenties was a good move on J. Michael Straczynski's part. Seeing Clark work in all of those jobs was very interesting. Today (in Superman's modern stories), we don't really see Superman actually working or using his intelligence on different situations. In just mostly been New Krypton, alien invasion, and the dead rising. So J. Michael Straczynski really portrays Superman as a highly intelligent person. Superman could even have his own "Superman INC". Anyway, Superman Earth One was a really action packed adventure.  
 
When Tyrell told Clark the battle between Kryptonians and Tyrell's people, there was a mysterious figure preferably Brainiac because of his hate for all living things. I am ninety percent sure that Brainiac was the one who gave them a Kryptonian drilling machine that would destroy the planet from the inside out. So that could be a signification that Earth One will have a sequel. Clark encountered many people in his life that will eventually play a key role in making the hero that Metropolis loves. Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White had minor roles, however it was still interesting to see that "Jimmy will soon be Superman's Pal, Lois will be his wife, and Perry White his annoying boss", it also turns out that Clark named himself "Superman"! Instead of Lois, so that was a really unique from the other Superman story lines. Because, Lois was the first to say "Superman" and that started the romantic spark between the two, so hopefully in the sequel graphic novel J. Michael Straczynski talks more about Superman and Lois.

With all that's been going on in Superman's career, it would be hard to remember what great minds brought Superman to existence. Writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster originally created Superman in Action Comics #1 in June of 1938. From that point, Superman has been a fan-favorite character for years. Eventually, his (and everyone else's) origin story was retold, due to the events of Crisis on Infinite Earth. Other more modern stories was created to relate to the newer generation of comic readers. While some don't even know the names of the two people whom created Superman they know exactly how Superman came to Earth. The baby in the rocket story never gets old, some of our most interesting "Elseworld" story lines come from this. Last Family Of Krypton, Superman Red Son, Kingdom Come, and others.  
 

The Bad

When the story came close to an end, Superman hate was something that was really predictable.  
   

The Verdict

Superman Earth One Graphic Novel should be a must have for readers of Superman, and also those who like J. Michael Straczyski's story telling. Superman Earth One also contains the story that Clark Kent wrote about Superman (or himself), and also artwork by Shane Davis. The writing, artwork, and story was well played in this graphic novel is a 5 out of 5. Until the next Earth One Graphic Novel.  

    J.M. Straczynski is one of my favorite comic book writers so that's one of the main reasons I picked this one up.To be honest I really don't see why to re-tell or retcon so many thimes The Man of Steel's origin.First we got Geoff John's Superman:Secret Origins and now this, a modern retelling of Clark Kent's origins. So we start all over again.Clark Kent moved from Smallville to Metropolis in order to find a job and get money and live happily ever after with his mom, Martha Kent after Jonathan has died. Both Jonathan and Martha wanted Clark to become a hero, a symbol of hope one day to the people but Clark always felt alone and feared that if he would reveal himself to the world he would be thought a freak and will have to wear a "mask" in his daily life because he couldn't decide which one is his "real" life,the boy who was found by two lovely parent and the kid from Smallville or the other persona he would one day develop.As the story moves forward we get to see piece by piece Clark's childhood and how the 'S' symbol on his costume reflects the word ' Son' because that's what his mother Martha thought when put the scarlet letter on the suit's chest.She thought that Clark was sent to Earth as a Son who will sore higher then anyone and because he is THEIR son.And even after getting job at a hightech company becoming a quarterback at Metropolis Football Team and getting a job of a riporter at the Daily Planet alongside Perry White,Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane , he still wasn't sure when to step out from the shadows so all it took was an alien invasion which invadated the World in order to destroy the last son of Krypton because they were the ones that destroyed Krypton for their own survival. Clark finally puts on the costume and after a fierce battle he emerges victorious althou not everyone looks at him as a hero but as a menace who staged the whole thing to get him accepted .Jimmy Olsen manages to take a picture of the Man of Steel which gets him and Lois a top riporter, finally Clark arrives to the Daily Planet and tells Perry White that the young man's name is 'Superman' which he found out after 'interviewing' superman and with this he got a staff job. 
   The book overall is a great read because presents Clark as a man in his early 20's who fights with personal dilemmas and the whole book is set in the present day so even new readers can enjoy it.I sure did. 
   I'll give a 4.5  out of possible 5 for this one.

I loved this comic because it hard to put down and i enjoy reading this great story.The art and story is brilliant and really cool how they did Superman Clark and the suit.Its a great story to read and shows how he became this great hero and his origins too.I giving it 5/5 because its a fun story to read and shows how Clark became Superman and great way to show a great american hero.
.

It really is hard to keep Superman fresh.  His origin story is something everyone knows, a lot of the times even non-comic book readers.  Superman may not be the most popular Comic Book character that is likely a battle between Spider-Man for Marvel and Batman for DC, but Superman is hands down the most iconic character.  Being Iconic how do we make him accessible?
Modernizing Superman is the goal to Earth One.  Clark Kent is aged in "his 20s".  He dresses like a hipster and he suffers from questions of  "what to do with my life?", like we all do.
The major set back with Earth One is that it is ultimately another retelling of Superman's Origin.  Why he was sent to earth.  The morals that his parents taught him that defines the "MAN".  Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Etc, etc.  The only difference is the setting.  I find the setting off setting to be honest.  Lois calling Jimmy, just Jim for example is one of the changes to this modern setting.  It  just didn't sit right with me.

  Continuity is not an issue yet, but this book does set up a new universe and I worry about the direction of these Modern Characters.  Jimmy is extremely brave and Lois is a good Detective, but drops the ball here and there.
My biggest problem with this book was the subtle "Dan Didio" cameo.  The page where the citizens of Metropolis are being interview for TV, the very first guy looks like Dan Didio.  I really hope that was not on purpose, but Didio has placed himself in comics, I know that because during the holidays I reviewed a few Christmas comics and there was a comic version of Didio. 
 
Overall this is a solid read. Superman: Earth One is an accessible series for people who want to read Superman. Without the past continuity that has gotten out of hand with Superman Red and Superman Blue, as well as War of the Supermen and Emperor Joker.  This book is fresh, it is a nice take on Superman, but it is not a must read for me.  It is a nice gateway comic to expose comics to non-comic readers, but it is not a book I would proudly present besides Watchmen, Grant Morrison's Batman or even Peter Milligan's X-Statix.  It is a hardcover I would keep in my collection as a book to lend, like I said, its a good gateway comic.
 
Cheers
- Silkcuts

Superman earth one is new take on the age old story for a new generation.   JMS decides to give us Clark Kent as a man with unlimited possibilities but trying to find the one that will make him happy.  Trying to give us a fresh take on these characters JMS fails to make any significant improvements but still tells an interesting story.  
 
The story begins with Clark Kent exploring potential jobs such as scientist  and a football player in order to fit in with society.  All these jobs offer  high salaries(which he wants in order to support Ma Kent) and high acclaim. Clark seems lost in the big city s he seems to care about what everyone wants but him. Clark sees the Daily Planet as potential job but the reasoning behind it is not clearly explained. Clark see the paper in a rack and decides to apply for a job.   
We are also introduced to Lois Lane and Jimmy Olden both who retain their personalities form the man DCU. Lois is a hard noised journalist who wants to get the story and Olsen is a happy-go-lucky shutter bug.  Perry White is still the old guard editor in cheif as he has ben portrayed in the past. JMS did not stray to far from the formula in developing these characters at all.
In a secret lab scientist have been working on Clarks ship that he came to earth in. They activate the ship which then summons the main antagonist to earth. Earth is invaded by Tyrell and his ICP look a likes. This invasion forces Clark to choose between being human or giving up a normal life and becoming the protector of earth. The motivation behind Tyrell's  invasion is that his people made a deal with a mysterous figure who destroyed kypton in exchange for genocide of the 
 kryptionians. i feel like this cheapens the destruction of Krypton and this also leads to my biggest complant about the whole book. It reads like there was going to be a sequel to this graphic novel and that how the story read. JMS should have tried to make this a more complete experience to give the reader more closure.  Superman saves the day with an assist from jimmy  and Lois and the world is exposed to superman.  
Shane Davis  backgrounds are good but i felt his character art was inconsistant. Character facial expression seemed awkward and their faces different form the pages before. The art did not detract from the story at all and i felt the action scenes were well done.  
This was an enjoyable story overall but the changes made to mythos did not add anything to the experience and it was a good superman story granted it should have been a more complete one. 

I had previously posted this as a blog but was advised to post it as a review so here it is.
 
 
When i picked up Superman : Earth one, i fully expected ( and if im being completly honest intended) to hate it. Everything i'd heard about it said that this clark kent was not my superman, not my hero, not the guy who's symbol is tattooed on my right arm. I was fully prepared to sit here and write a scaving review and blame Straczyns ...(tharr be more) ki for ruining my hero for the new generation. but i gave it a chance. i read it in one sitting, i refused to put it down. It was incredible all the things that i'd worried about were there, but the way they were presented didn't change the character, they strengthened it. watching clark struggle with wether or not to even become superman made it all the more glorious to see him do it. at the core of this superman was the same guy who stood up for truth justice and the american way. an alien who considered himself an american but served our world. I appluad Straczynski he did an excellent job with my hero. Earth one has become a world i want to return to again and again    

    I recently bought myself the new "Superman Earth One" graphic novel just believing the local comic shop lady's words that it is very good. I did get to read some good reviews on this book on many sites on the web. I was initially skeptical about this book. Would it completely retell the origin of Superman? Would it present just another passing by superman adventure? Would it change whatever I had known so far about Superman? To top that, the cover shows Superman with his eyes burning red as though showing anger. I was also apprehensive that the story may talk about smallville and superboy looking at the younger version on the cover.  

      As I started reading the book and especially after passing the scene where he shows this angry behavior as seen on the cover of this book, all my uneasiness went away. At least there is no smallville story repeating and no superboy. However Clark is in his initial 20s when he arrives in Metropolis after the death of his foster father Jonathan. The initial part of the story has Clark Kent wandering in the city to find himself 
a job while trying to figure out who he is and what should he do with the special powers and intelligence far superior to human beings around him. He does know that he is not from here based on the limited information his foster parents told him. He tries a hand at different job prospects and finally lands up as the mild mannered reporter at the Daily Planet. The whole story is about how Clark Kent really "becomes" Superman. I should hand it to J. Michael Straczynski for a marvelous weaving of a refreshingly new story not changing anything about the iconic character. Shane Davis has done a fantastic job of illustrating this young Superman in course of discovering his true identity. Clark looks neither too old nor too young to look like a superboy(which I personally don't like). He looks just the right age. 

Straczynski shows great attention to details. I had never thought about several things about Superman. For instance, how did he get his clothes? how did the "S" came to be on his clothes? Are his clothes made of earthly material? How big was the space ship that he arrived in as a baby? How did he really become a superhero? Why couldn't he become a villain by misusing his powers and rule the world? Trust me Straczynski has answers to all these and much much more. This book is worth every penny and should be in the shelf of every comic book lover. A must buy for Superman fans. Hats off to Straczynski and Shane for their commendable work. Hope to see more of their work in future for many other characters too. After reading this book, my fondness for Superman as a superhero has increased further. I am now looking forward to read Straczynski's "Wonder Woman Odyssey". 

Now naturally many would ask "Was there really a need for this? We already know his origin". 
But keeping in mind that there would be many people who are new to this character and eager to know about him.
Earth One fulfill the needs of those people while revamping the origin and adding something new to it, not only those people, even if you have read the origin, you would be pleased to read it as it has given a cool new generation image of superman.
Shane Davis is a freak, dosen't matter who the star is in the comic , i would buy his comic to see his pencilings alone.
Effects has been awesome, giving more cinematic look to the comic. And the writer did a fair job with the book.
I would say if you love superman, go for it you wont be disappointed.

It's only been the last few years that I've become a big-time Superman fan. So it was natural for me to pick up this book, I wasn't on this site then which is why I'm writing this review now. I'm happy I picked up Earth One and I really enjoyed JMS' take on the origin of the character.

This book is definitely a modern take on The Man of Steel and at the same time JMS brings a lot of the classic elements to the Superman character that I absolutely love! In this story Clark is a young man on his way to the big city to make a name for himself. He lines up several different job options, all of which are high-paying, but he's not doing it for the money itself, he's doing it so he can support his widowed mother and I love that aspect of the character! Throughout the entire book Clark is struggling with what he wants to do versus what he should do and that's a great struggle for a budding superhero.

One problem with writing an origin story for a character that has lasted as long as Superman has is what you add or subtract from the overall mythos. This is what I love and dislike about this book. All of the original aspects of Superman's story are there, Him being the last survivor from Krypton, being raised in Smallville, him being an outsider, him having superpowers etc. but because the book is so short and focused on getting to the action, JMS doesn't expand on those aspects except to let us know that they remained in tact. However, that being said, I do love what JMS does with the Smallville stuff, especially the scenes where Clark is visiting his father's grave and the scenes where Clark remembers the advice he was given.

Then there was what was added to the origin, and I thought it was brilliant! I loved how JMS connects the new villain to Krypton (I won't go into details, you should really read it for yourself), and I love the interpretation of Perry White, who's tough and hard with his staff without becoming a copy of J.Jonah Jameson. Lois is great as a determined and intelligent reporter and the same can be said for Jimmy, sorry JAMES Olsen as a photographer.

The art of the book is phenomenal. Shane Davis does a great job of giving the entire story a modern look without pushing it into unbelievable territory. Superman looks heroic without going over the top, and I have to commend him for having Superman's Eyes flare to Red when he's angry, it looks awesome! I love how Metropolis looks modern and dirty without becoming a copy of NYC. Overall, whatever problems I may have with the book are truly minor in what is a well told story both in writing and art, Even if you don't like Superman, give this book a read, you won't be disappointed.

Originally posted on my blog, The Comics Cove, not too long ago...

I've read a good chunk of Straczynski's run on Amazing Spider-Man, and it makes for some of the most interesting stories for that hero I've ever read. I've also read various re-tellings of Superman's origin story, and I have to say, as far as they go, Straczynski's Earth One is probably the best one I've read at this point.What makes it most interesting, for me, is that it takes place during a specific point in Clark's life. He's on the point of adulthood, having just come to Metropolis from Smallville, and is trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life. He's bound by nothing: he can be a star athlete, work for a pharmaceutical firm, virtually anything he wants, as long as he takes pains to conceal his alien origins. He's struggling with that point, as well as his mother's desires for him to do what he truly wants, whatever makes him happy, despite a wish to make a lot of money and support her the way he thinks she should be supported.

All that changes when an alien fleet, led to Earth by a signal from the ship that brought Clark to the planet, flood the skies and threaten the entire planet. Suddenly left with no choice, Clark puts on the costume his mother made for him and dives into the fray to stop the invaders. What he finds is that the aliens are the murderers of his people, the Kryptonians, and they've tracked him to Earth to finish the job. With things suddenly a lot more personal and the fate of the entire planet at stake, Clark must use every ability, talent, and resource he can to protect his adopted home and make a life for himself on Earth, his home.

I've enjoyed every JMS story I've experienced, be it in comics or on television, and Earth One is simply the latest in a long line of them. One of my favorite parts of the story involved Clark's search for a job--how was he going to define his place in the world? What was he going to do, and why? It reminded me very strongly of Good Will Hunting, in how he was bound by nothing, and could choose any field in which he would automatically excel, making for some amusing scenes as well as setting up a compelling character exploration.

Clark's decision, at the end of the story, is not surprising--we all know he ends up at The Daily Planet--but his rationale for making the decision says a lot about him. He clearly doesn't care about money; he is much more interested in the ability and willingness of people to help others. When the rep from Neodyne offers him a boatload of money to sign him for their company, but brushes off the recent destruction and tragedy from the alien invasion as not being their problem, Clark immediately blows him off. The staffers of The Daily Planet, however, risked their lives to cover the alien attacks, in dogged pursuit of the truth, even helping Superman in the fight. In gratitude, Clark decides he wants to work alongside them in his civilian guise.

Artistically, I was pretty blown away by Shane Davis's work. His pencils made for a realistic look to the narrative that really brought the visual delivery to a whole new level. I also really loved the colors employed by Sandra Hope; they were very pleasing to the eye without being overwhelming, and really helped the story pop. Both make a beautiful delivery of the visual package for this story.

Overall, I found this story to be very compelling, and that's saying a lot. Superman has never been one of my favorite comic book heroes, but as always, JMS writes a story that really makes you root for him. The art is breathtaking, and the writing makes for a story that is both familiar and freshly reinterpreted. Highly recommended.