Superman: Secret Origin

Superman has become an archetype, as well as an icon, of the superhuman (even though he's technically not human and, at the very least, he was preceded by Philip Wylie's novel Gladiator). But Superman was the first (1938, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster) to appear in comics and his comic book descendants number in their hundreds.With Superman being about 73 years old it's not suprising that his origin has undergone several re-interpretations as times have changed. DC Comics has rebooted their entire universe at least three times in the last 25 years. With the first of them, DC hired writer/artist John Byrne to reboot Superman, getting rid of Superboy, Supergirl, and Krypto the Superdog, and de-powering a character who had become virtually (and boringly so) effectively omnipotent in the process. Needless to say these changes didn't last and all three have since reappeared albeit not always the same as before. Superman: Secret Origins is a fresh look (in a 6-part comic series) at Superman's early years starting with him as teenager and ending with establishing himself in Metropolis in a way that defines the character for today. Ironically Clark Kent is visually based on the late actor Christopher Reeve who so defined Superman and Clark Kent in the movies. This works well and is an appropriate tribute to Reeve.Because of his powers, Superman can easily be boring and uninteresting as a character and credible threats have to be ramped up to ludicrous levels. In this story, however, we're looking at a teenager and a young man learning how to come to terms with his powers and the dangers they involve and in learning about the world. It's a journey to the beginning of maturity and the focus is on the man and not the superhuman. The storytelling is clear, uncomplicatedThe art by Gary Frank (a British artist) is clean, detailed, and realistic. If you were to make a criticism it would be to call him Bolland-lite. (Another British artist working in American comics who has a strong clear line in detailed realistic artwork but with an often humourous touch.) Frank's style is pleasing to the eye, his panels never confuse, but genuinely enhance the story.Geoff Johns is a talented but often inconsistent writer. Here, thankfully, he's on good form and he tells the story of Superman's early years with a sensitive touch. He hits all the usual bases: -Lana Lang, the first girlfriend; discovering his origin and the trauma it causes; meeting teenage Lex Luthor (before the premature baldness set in naturally). Johns even brings in The Legion of Superheroes. And cut to Clark Kent's wide-eyed country boy arrival in the great metropolis of... Metropolis to start his job on a near-bankrupt Daily Planet. He quickly meets Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane. Lois, and this is where Johns scores very highly, is a sharp intelligent young woman and she quickly notices that Clark's bumbling act is just that and she challenges him on it, though she doesn't get an answer. And on to the conflict with Lex Luthor, hero of the city, which includes effective reworkings of stock Superman villains the Parasite and Metallo. We also meet Lois's estranged military father who is almost as much of a sc*mbag as his ally Luthor. And much more.This manages to balance traditional scenarios with often subtle changes which enhance this retelling of an oft-told tale. Indeed this is so good and so accessible that it's the perfect introduction to the superhero comic for someone who's never read one before. I was enjoying reading this so much I felt frustrated when I came to the end that there wasn't any more.

As the title of this book says, this is the secret origin of Superman. We have had lots of different slants on Clark Kent taking on the mantle of Superman and now we have this offering from Geoff Johns.I am a big fan of Geoff Johns. He has done some excellent work on Superman -  Superman: New Krypton v. 1 (Superman 1) , Superman: New Krypton v. 2 (Superman 2) , Last Son (Superman (DC Comics))  and  Brainiac (Superman (DC Comics))  to name a few that i would highly recommend (though there are others to enjoy too!). He has also done the excellent  Flash: Rebirth (Flash (DC Comics))  and some brilliant work in the acclaimed Blackest Night series. And so, i was really excited about reading this book.And it didn't disappoint. This is exactly what i was looking for. This book chronicles Clark Kent's life on the Kent farm, his relationship with Lana, how he discovers his powers and ultimately puts them to good use. There are also some well-thought out sub plots too. An interesting look at how a young Clark and Lex meet in Smallville is well handled, and so is a trip into the future with the Legion of Super Heroes.As he moves to Metropolis and joins the Daily Planet we see the bumbling Clark Kent that Christopher Reeve played so well. Indeed, the artwork is so close to looking like Christopher Reeve i think he should have had his name on the front cover! In Metropolis we get to see Luthor at his most manipulative - blackmailing the military on one hand, and being seen as a saviour by the common man on the other. But as Superman arrives on the scene, that perspective is about to change....Perry White, Lois Lane and Jimmy all get a reasonable chunk of page space in this book too. And it is very interesting to see the origins of Parasite and Metallo here too.There is a lot going on here! But somehow Geoff Johns gets all of this into the 192 pages without it feeling rushed. It is very well paced, and edited.The artwork is excellent too - by Gary Frank and Jon Sibal - and really adds to the story without overpowering the writing. Everything is really well-balanced.As you can tell, i loved this book and read it in one sitting! And i will be re-reading this book again in the not too distant future. It is as near to being perfect as you could wish for, though i would have liked to have seen a bit more interaction with Clark and Lana as they grow older. I always liked Lana as a character and would have liked more storylines with her involved.All in all this is a must buy. If you are a fan of Geoff Johns, or Superman (or both) then you are in for a treat.If you are stuck between buying this book and  Superman: Earth One (Superman Limited Gns (DC Comics R))  then i would say - BUY BOTH!!! They both have something to offer to the origin of Superman, and handle it in slightly different ways that are equally enjoyable.As for this book - it is an essential addition to any Superman fans collection, and is near perfection. I can't recommend this book highly enough - and i hope you enjoy it too!

Possible Spoilers Ahead. This is a great origin story for Superman. It was very nostalgic because the artist made him look Christopher Reeves. I also like the fact that it includes characters like Lana Lang and Pete Ross, even though you do not get to see to much of them, it was good to see them in there. I think that Lana gets a decent part in Clark's childhood, but you only see Pete Ross about three times. The only thing I did not like about this, was that it skips forward from his childhood, straight to him going for a job at the daily planet, even though he mentions that he went travelling before he came to the daily planet. I think that it should have shown you him traveling around and discovering more about himself while saving people. The other thing I liked was when Clark and his parents are making fun about how tight the costume is and the fact that the underwear are on the outside. Also I like when he is helping Martha make the costume, using his heat vision to help with the sewing because in other comics when she has done it herself, it would not work because of the materiel that it is made out of, so I like that they addressed that issue and had Clark help because his heat vision can penetrate the material. All in all, I think this is a great origin story and I would give it a 10/10.