Superman: Birthright

Superman is one of the most scrutinized comic book heroes, as everyone has their own ideal image of what the Man of Steel ought to be. As a result, when even the most minute detail of Superman is changed or reworked, whatever issue or collection this was done in is labeled with negativity. Sometimes it is small, other times, not so much. For the life of me, I cannot see how Birthright could, in any way, offend a Superman fan, long-time or new (unless having Clark becoming a vegetarian is sacrilege to you).The writing is outstanding. Mark Waid, author of my favorite comic Kingdom Come, has a firm grasp on the character of Superman. Additionally, he can portray the whole cast of Superman characters, from Lois to Lex, with wit, energy, and engaging dialogue. The story is very linear, despite it literally crossing continents. The chapters are not broken up by issue covers, which is a double-edged sword. On one hand, the story flows without stopping. On the other hand, I find these natural breaks allow for material to be digested. This is minor, and doesn't reflect the quality of writing, but I felt is important enough to make note of.The plot is extraordinary, and respects the history of Superman while also creating something new for the reader to enjoy. There is humor, tragedy, and adventure in Birthright, exposing the reader to several flavors of Superman stories. The origin of Lex Luthor is especially enjoyable, as it both humanizes and demonizes the megalomaniac. This is an origin story, but it's refreshing and deep. Superman's origin was given for years as just one page containing all the essentials. It takes skill to expand on this and make it interesting. Waid does this with ease.The art is great, though it took some getting used to. It's not really comparable to any other art I am familiar with in terms of style. Yu uses very angular shapes and figures, but rest assured, they are not abstract Picasso renderings. The cover chosen for this collection does not reflect the best art from Yu, so if it made you hesitate, don't worry. Yu's style really works for Superman, especially his wide, open shots that are frequently used to define this interpretation of Superman. At times, his facial expressions appear a little too angular to work, but this is infrequent. It's an interesting dichotomy, as certain aspects appear very realistic, while other panels are pure comic-book abstracts. Yu is something unique, and I'm glad this title had his talent.Overall, this is an easy recommendation. It's not the most thought-provoking work on Superman, but it is one of his greatest appearances. Don't confuse my previous remarks as saying Birthright is vanilla, because it's not. This is a clean, classic Superman that is placed in brutal real-world environments with both fantastic and all-too real villains. If you are just getting into reading Superman, I can think of no better place than Birthright to start with. It's undeniably great, and captures the true essence of Superman.

This really was a fresh take on Superman’s story. I like that not everything was laid out for him before he became a hero. Great job and highly recommend.

I love this reworking of the Superman origin story. Very compelling, it manages to take a story you have heard dozens of times and make it fresh and engaging. They do tend to pander to what the authors perceive as the core audience values, so weird stuff like Superman being a vegetarian gets added and the magically sinister words "industrial military complex" and "tribalism" get thrown around but It manages not to be a Obama campaign ad like spider man's recent outing.

Admittedly, Big Blue has seen quite a few different retellings of what should be a fairly straightforward tale: as Grant Morrison's peerless "All-Star Superman" puts it: "Doomed planet. Desperate scientists. Last hope. Kindly couple."Ah, well. Brevity may be the soul of wit, but if you're going to make a 12-issue series telling the story, at least you can trust Mark Waid to make it great.Mark Waid, the co-author of the wonderful "Kingdom Come" Elseworlds miniseries (which also examined Superman's purpose as the world's greatest hero), has struck gold yet again, telling the story of Clark Kent's journey into becoming Superman while covering all the bases: Smallville, Ma and Pa Kent, Lana Lang, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, and all the rest of Superman's star-studded supporting cast figure into the story in a meaningful way."Birthright" begins with the destruction of the planet Krypton, as Jor-El and his wife Lara send their infant son into space in a rocket ship in the hope that their son may land on a populated world. As Krypton explodes and the couple die in each other's arms, the comic books jumps forward to a Clark in his mid-twenties, traveling the globe and searching for a sense of purpose.Throughout the story, Clark comes to grips with his alien heritage and tries to reconcile his superhuman powers with his grounded, Kansas-bred sensibilities. Explanations for the foppish Clark Kent disguise, as well as Superman's eye-popping costume, are provided, answering questions comic book fans have struggled with for decades.The only bad thing about "Birthright" is that it ends. That's right, this is an origin tale that avoids tediousness and is so intriguing that it could have gone an at least a little longer. If you're going to see "Man of Steel" in theaters (which I highly recommend, by the way), "Superman: Birthright" is a good book to get you prepared for re-learning the origin of the world's first and possibly greatest superhero.

As a fan of Mark Waid I am Unsurprised by how much I loved this story. Waid was able to distill everything I love about the character into a cohesive and Beautiful tapestry of Identity and what it means to know yourself. This story gripped me from the very first page, and With every panel reflected why I love Superman.